


Devils Like To Dance

by HateWeasel



Series: Devils Like To Dance [1]
Category: Kuroshitsuji | Black Butler
Genre: DLTD, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-24
Updated: 2017-05-09
Packaged: 2018-05-15 21:03:50
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 448
Words: 786,920
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5800066
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HateWeasel/pseuds/HateWeasel
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A long life becomes dull beyond the years you were meant to live, Ciel discovered. To rid himself of an eternal boredom, he swooped down to extremes to revive an old rival. However, his new-found entertainment didn't exactly go the way he had expected... There's murder, ungodly supernatural forces, and... romance? Weird, but Ciel's going with it.</p><p>A relatively popular fanfic on FF brought to AO3</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Peculiar Fellows

 

Phantomhive Manor. The place was abandoned for many years after its caretakers died. However, after approximately a century, two shady individuals rode into town and claimed the estate. A small boy with strange, dark blue hair that looked as though he was in his early teens and wore an eye patch, claimed to be the sole heir to the Phantomhives. No one can really say if this is true or not, as the last known Phantomhive, Ciel, was thought to have died in 1889. The boy and his companion, his supposed butler, a tall man in black, with hair to match, and eyes that seemed other-worldly, somehow managed to convince Her Majesty of the boy’s lineage, and thus he was granted the estate.

It then stood as though untouched by the hands of time, on the outskirts of London. Many secrets were kept out of the public eye inside the Manor’s walls, like this one, which happened in early autumn one night. In the basement, the two inhabitants were said to have performed a peculiar ritual, said to have brought back one who has long been dead.

“Are you sure about this, My Lord?” inquired the man in black, “Whatever comes of this must be taken care of. Are you sure you have thought this through?”

“Of course I have. Don’t be stupid,” the boy answered, removing his eye patch with a look of disinterest. “I wouldn’t have done all of this planning if I hadn’t. I’m not one to waste precious time and resources for nothing, Sebastian.”

While lighting the candles around the circle that had been etched onto the basement floor just for this occasion, the man called Sebastian responded, “As long as you know what you are doing. This _thing_ is going to be a lot of trouble.”

“You act as though this is some pet rabbit or something.”

“It might as well be.”

The young master gave an authoritative look to his servant, his eyes of different colours, attempting to get Sebastian to retreat. When this failed, he scoffed and headed to the center of the circle, where there was a table. What lied on that table was covered with a cloth, but was still recognizable. A human body.

He neared it, placing his palm on the forehead of the lifeless mass, and then spoke:

_“Ignis et de loco doloris angustia dolores eos ad me venire, obsecrans ut venires ad me. Egredimini de carcere serviunt mihi adhæsit anima misera tenebris. Patet ex hoc damnatorum limbo ad me, Jim Macken!”_

Light escaped the lines on the ground, bringing with it scorching winds as the flames from the candles flared up, but the boy remained ever determined to complete his task. His eye of blue changed to a fiery red and glowed, as did its companion, his eye of purple, with its dark signature it stayed the same hue, but joined its friend in illuminating.

And then it stopped.

The room fell silent again. The circle ceased its letting forth of relentless winds and blinding essence. The candles died, no longer giving off small flames. Everything was quiet.

The boy broke this silence after furrowing his brow in confusion and disappointment. “I don’t understand! Something should have happened!” He put his hand against his head as he pondered what went wrong.

The next to break the silence was Sebastian. “Perhaps it’s for the best, My lord. I’m not sure what good could have come of-”

Suddenly, there was a gasp.

The once lifeless frame began to move, flailing about like mad. It moved clumsily trying to both assess the situation and perhaps defend itself from potential danger.

That is, until it fell off the table. It fell with a thud, emitting a small “ _Oof!”_

“What the bloody hell is going on here?! Where _am_ I?! What’s goin’ on?!” A voice that belonged to a boy appearing to be slightly older than the first came from the body as it removed the cover from its face.

The boy that was on the floor flailing about had fair skin, icy blue eyes that looked like they’d cause you to freeze over if you dared to look into them, and hair that framed his face was so lightly coloured, one could almost mistake the platinum blonde for white. He quickly searched the room for an explanation to his location while he swore enough to make a sailor blush. His eyes stopped on the duo in front of them, returning their stares.

Then there was silence. Again, it was the young lord who broke it. "Are you… Jim? Jim… Macken?”

“So what if I am?!” Snapped the blonde teen on the floor.

The previous boy smirked with his nose slightly in the air, looking down at the other. He spoke with a slight tinge of amusement in his voice. He spoke only two words; a name. His name. “Ciel Phantomhive.”

At this point, all the blonde could do was stare at the bluenette with disbelief. He stumbled on his own words, trying to form a sentence. Eventually, he managed to cry out, “ _What?!_ ”

The blanket that was previously covering his frame fell to the floor as he quickly stood up, revealing a bit _too much_. In response, the teen across from him did some yelling of his own.

“ _Put some bloody pants on!”_

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah, hello, hello. I am the HateWeasel. This fic got reasonably popular on FF, so I decided it was high time I posted it here as well! This is the first chapter in a long-ass series, but people seem to like it for whatever reason to stick with it. Bless their patience.
> 
> This chapter is so old... Thank goodness I had help revamping it! I had help from the lovely SpiteChilla, who graciously decided to edit for me out of the goodness of their heart. So therefore, you guys on AO3 are getting the PREMIUM version, and not the old, tattered, sad one that those poor fools on Fanfiction are getting! 
> 
> Pity them. Pity them all!
> 
> Until the next chapter, my duckies...


	2. The Blond, The Demons, and the Telly

It’s been several weeks since we acquired a new member to our “family”. I would like to say Jim is adjusting well, but I really have no idea. He’s _quiet_. Not at all how I remember him. He also insists that I call him “Alois” like when I first knew him, because “it sounds better”.

Alois spends most of his time in front of the TV, which is fine, I suppose. It’s a much easier method of getting him to learn about modern culture and all the history he has missed. It would raise suspicion if he didn’t even know who Hitler was. He simply eats up the content, hanging onto every word that comes from the strange box. His fascination is understandable, him being a kid from the 1800’s and being introduced to television.

He watches a lot of History, social, and cultural documentaries on Netflix. He seems to think that’s all the Wii can do. When he gets tired of watching them, I tell him that if he watches three more he can watch three episodes of his beloved BBC sketch comedy shows. He’s partial to _Monty Python’s Flying Circus, Little Britain,_ and _The Catherine Tate Show_ , and he bases his knowledge of how a modern British teenager should act on them, often greeting others with an “Alright?”, “just like ‘Lauren’ does”.

He also watches whatever I watch on the television. He doesn’t have one in his room, the used-to-be guest room, and I don’t have Netflix on the one in mine. I like watching things that scare him. It’s so funny for some reason. I forced him to watch _Halloween_ because it’s of cultural significance, and how he screamed, and jumped, and cried… It’s not even that scary of a movie!

Well, on this particular day, I wanted to catch up on episodes of _The Walking Dead_ , so I needed the TV. I walked into the entertainment room ready to kick Alois off. “Alois, I want the TV. Stop whatever nonsense you’re watching and move over.” I said. But when I entered the room, he wasn’t there. I didn’t give much thought as to where he might be and just sat down and started watching.

Time passed, and I was almost done with an episode when I heard the smoke alarm go off. Quickly, I paused the show and went to investigate. Following my nose, I was led to the kitchen. I opened the door and was immediately flabbergasted at the scene that was playing out before me.

“You idiot! Why on earth would you put a lizard in the toaster?!” Shouted Sebastian over the sound of the smoke alarm as he quickly tried to extinguish the flames.

That stupid, _stupid_ blonde had put a lizard in the damn toaster. Flames were rising from the counter where said toaster once was. The rag that my butler was trying to use in order to quell the inferno caught fire, and he dropped it on the floor.

“I wanted to know if it could toast anything other than just toast!” He cried out to Sebastian as the man was trying to locate the fire extinguisher.

“But why a _lizard_?!”

“I don’t know! I thought it would be interesting?! I don’t _know_!”

Eventually my servant put out the fire. The counter was riddled with scorch marks and the toaster, a toaster no longer. I walked forward to join them and we all just stood and stared and the ruins. I broke the silence to turn to Alois.

“You ’ _thought it would be interesting_ ’?” I said to the blonde. “That is the reason I’m going to have to pay to get my counter and toaster replaced?!”

I’m not sure if I was angry, astounded, or a combination of the two. I knew Alois was impulsive, but _Jesus_! He met me with silence, he stared at floor and fidgeted. Obviously I sounded angry. Wouldn’t you be? But still, I continued.

“What kind of moron puts a _lizard_ in a toaster?!” I made sure to push my point by putting emphasis on my words, hopefully to prevent a repeat performance.

The boy before me looked up, with the face of a guilty-looking puppy, never ceasing his fidgeting with the edge of his T-shirt. “Sorry…” he mumbled. His voice held the sort of sincerity that was unexpected. Come to think of it, I don’t think I’ve ever heard him make such a noise. But still, I had to be firm.

“Hold out your hands,” I instructed. The blonde hesitantly did as he was told, and extended his hands with a look of confusion on his face.

_SMACK!_

_“Ouch!”_

One might think that hitting his hands with a wooden spoon might have been a bit harsh, but child welfare can kiss my arse. I won’t let anyone get away with destroying bits of my house scot-free! It’s happened too many times in the past, and I’d like to keep it that way. _In the past._

_“_ Don’t play with the appliances, understood?” I said to him, expertly hiding the smirk that was tugging at the corners of my lips.

Rubbing his hands, he looked at me and said mockingly, “ _Yes, my Lord.”_

The dirty bastard…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yikes, I remember how the second and third chapters are in first person... Bear with me, bear with me. It was a time when I was figuring out what the hell I'm gonna do with this damn series. It was a time of discovery...
> 
> And bad writing.
> 
> So much bad writing... ugh...
> 
> Thank goodness for my wonderful editor, the delightful SpiteChilla, author of "Redemption of the Fallen Stars", who has graciously agreed to edit this old rag out of the goodness of their heart.
> 
> Still want murder.
> 
> Until the next chapter, my duckies~!


	3. Threads of Dread

Ah, how good it is to be alive! However, it’s quite dull staying inside the mansion all day. Granted, I am allowed in the garden and the courtyard, but I’m not allowed past the fence. I often spend my days inside, where I watch “TV” in order to learn about modern culture and all the stuff I’ve missed. Was London always so flammable? It appears to often get burned to the ground, with all the Nazi Blitzkeigs and such.

But that is neither here nor there. I want to go and see the city for myself, not just on “TV”, or while riding in the “Car” with Sebastian in order to pick Ciel up from school everyday. What I have seen is quite amazing. There’s “Cars” and lights everywhere! People walking around in funny clothes, cyclists riding their machines; in fact, there are many machines! People ride in them, carry them, they hold them up to their ears and talk into them. Ciel claims that that is what modern telephones are like; It’s extraordinary!

My prayers to enter the city where answered by none other than a fallen angel. Ciel entered the entertainment room where I was watching _Torchwood_. (Which is if you ask me, like the gay version of _Primeval)_

“Get up, we’re going to town.” He said while tossing an old pair of shoes at me.

Immediately I stood up. “Really?! I mean… _Really?_ What ever for?”

“To get you some clothes of your own. I’m tired of having to let you borrow mine.”

Understandable. I don’t have any clothes, so I’ve had to “liberate” some from Ciel. I was wearing a blue T-shirt with a small stain on the collar that appears to be chocolate, and some “Jeans”. Both were a bit too small for me, although it is my understanding that having “Jeans” that are too small is stylish nowadays, somehow. However, not nearly as stylish as the attire of the boy who was quickly picking out a coat to throw at me.

He looked rather posh in his royal blue sweater, that permitted only the collar and the edges of the white dress shirt underneath to be visible, black “Jeans”, that seemed to caress his legs so perfectly, and his shoes, that were so obviously name-brand. Perhaps I will be allowed to wear such fancy clothes after today. As I attempted to ponder this, the high-class-hipster had put on his (name-brand, expensive-as-hell) coat on and started to shoo me out the door.

We walked to the awaiting vehicle/method of transport, then I proceeded to gracefully plop down into the back seat, where surprisingly, Ciel joined me. “Sebastian, we’ll be going to the mall.” He said.

“Are you sure that is wise, My Lord?” the man behind the wheel continued with: “I think that might be a bit… _overwhelming_ , for Alois.”

“That’s the only place I can think of where we can see a large variety of clothes and styles.” He paused for a moment. “It’ll be annoying if he whines about our choices later.” He spoke as though he had to clarify himself.

“So I get to pick my own clothes, then?”

“Just don’t pick anything… _weird_.” He went back to looking out the window. “I don’t want to be seen in public with a deranged looking blonde.” He paused and looked over to me with a smirk, “And I _refuse_ to be seen in public with one dressed in drag.”

“Well, aren’t you _nice._ ”

“I’m going to buy you clothes, so yes. Yes I am.” I thought I heard a small chuckle coming from the driver’s seat, but I’m just going to chalk that up to my imagination.

Seeing as though I’m not going to out smart-ass the bluenette in the seat next to me, I decided to look out the window. Mother of god… it’s just like on TV! The buildings, the lights, the fashion, the double-decker buses. It feels like I’m on another planet!

“Alois, please stop bouncing around in the seat, you’re shaking the entire vehicle. Also, don’t press your face against the window like that, you’re smudging it.” My excitement was totally ruined by the front-seat-poopy-pants-man. Doesn’t he know how hard it is to adjust to a different time-period? Something told me that arguing with him was going to be useless as well, so I forced myself to settle with sticking my tongue out at him. Thought I heard a small chortle come from the seat next to me, but that seems doubtful somehow.

We arrived at this gigantic complex. It was probably as big as the Phantomhive and Trancy mansions combined. I was literally at a loss for words. I couldn’t take my eyes off of it.

“Hey, half-wit wonder…” I suddenly felt someone kick my leg.

I turned to gaze into the eye of the perpetrator. “Ow! What’d you do that for?!”

“Just making sure you’re awake. Let’s get inside, it’s bloody freezing out here.”

I followed the vertically challenged gentleman inside the massive building. My immediate reaction: it looks like an opera house, but less elegant, and more fun-looking. This place was a damn joyous wonderland of excitement and adventure! Just as I was about to run off and play, I was stopped by the fun police, a.k.a. the _Butt_ ler in Black.

“ _Don’t_.” Something about the way he said that single, solitary word made all that excitement I felt before turn into nearly pants-shitting terror. And with that, I stayed with my designated group.

We passed many clothing stores, but there was one that stood out. _Something-or-other-Topic._ “What about that store?”

“Hm? Oh, I was just waiting for you to find that one… Fine, go ahead.” Sir Phantomhive hath spoken! Into the store I shall go to reap a plentiful bounty!

Bravely I lead the way on the treacherous journey into the store! As I frolicked, I picked up whatever looked interesting and ventured toward the dressing room. It took me awhile to figure out how to put some of the clothes on. I also think some of these might be for girls. "Well, whatever,” I thought. I exited the dressing room wearing a white T-shirt with Jesus riding a Tyrannosaurus Rex and the words “Like A Boss” on it, a rather odd black blazer with a hood and a bunch of pointless buttons that serve no purpose other than decoration, and Shorts that stopped at mid-thigh.

“What on earth are you _wearing?!_ ” The shorter of the two gentlemen waiting outside the dressing room exclaimed.

“Untwist your panties, Cielykins. I think I look fabulous, if I do say so myself. What do you think, Bass-man?”

“Oddly stylish. Well done. However, I think it’s a tad cold out to be wearing that.”

Ciel interrupted the conversation to yell some more. “Who _cares_ about weather?! Those shorts! No man with any self respect would be caught dead in shorts _that_ short!” I never thought he’d get so flustered over a pair of shorts. Okay, time to mess with him.

“Inside voices, Ciel, we’re in public! Have you no decency?”

“’ _Decency?!’_ You don’t know the first thing about decency you _poof_!” I have absolutely no idea what he means by that. “Poof”? Is it some sort of modern slang term? Whatever, I’ll look it up, later.

“What’s wrong, Cielykins? Do I _mesmerize_ you?” I don’t think I really deserved the punch to the shoulder he gave me.

In the end I bought a rather generous amount of clothes. Shirts, shoes, pants, jackets, a coat or two… but the one thing I bought in bulk where shorts that come up to the mid-thigh. Simply because messing with Ciel is too much fun. Also, they make my arse look _amazing._

Who wears short shorts? _I wear wear short shorts!_


	4. A Rainy Day Breeds Restlessness

It was a rainy day in the London area. The sky was an ever gloomier shade of grey, it was windy and cold, and all was quiet but for the relentless pitter-patter of the rain. And the gloomy atmosphere was getting to a particular blonde lad gazing out at the oh so grey scenery. “This _sucks_. I’m so bored!” He whined.

“Then _do_ something,” answered the boy sitting on the couch across from the first. The Phantomhive boy was busying himself with a game of Sudoku.

“Like what?”

Without even bothering to look up from his game, the second boy answered, “I don’t know, read a book or something.” and motioned to the general area where the bookshelf was located.

“Reading sucks.”

“Play a game, then. Look, I’m playing Sudoku.”

The blonde perked up for a moment, then proceeded to walk over to his companion in order to further investigate this “ _Sudoku_ ” thing. “What kind of game is that? How do you play?”

Moving over to allow the blonde a place to sit, the bluenette boy showed the more blonde of the two his partially filled out sheet. “It’s a puzzle game,” he explained, “The big grid has a bunch of smaller grids in it, and the smaller grids need to be filled up with the numbers one through nine. _However_ , each number can only appear in a row on the full grid only once. If you fill the entire grid, you win.” He looked at the blonde who was wearing the most confused expression on his face. “Just try it.”

It was the Trancy’s turn to play. He filled number after number in on the graph, and erased number after number off of it. With each failed attempt to progress, the lad became increasingly, and obviously, frustrated.

“This is a terrible game!” he suddenly cried, “Games are supposed to be _fun!_ This feels like work!”

“I told you, it’s a _puzzle_ game. It’s going to take some thought to solve.”

“Thinking sucks.”

The smaller of the two was only able to roll his visible eye in response. “I’m not sure what to tell you about that.”

“Don’t you have any other games?”

He thought for a moment, trying to think of something that will keep Alois quiet for awhile. Then, it hit him. “Hey Alois, you’ve never played a video-game before, have you?”

“A ‘video-game’? What’s _that?”_ Alois’ new-found enthusiasm was apparent. He jumped up out of the seat. “C'mon, c'mon! Tell me, tell me!” he grabbed his compatriot’s knee and shook it. “Pretty please?”

_“Stop it.”_ The pensive boy slapped the hand of the fair-haired youth as he stood up. “Come on, I’ll show you” He motioned for the other to follow him to the entertainment room where lies the _Nintendo Wii_.

It’s quite difficult to explain a video-game console to someone who has never heard of such a thing. Even if he did, only approximately half of it would register in the mind of the excitable blonde. So Ciel decided the best method of teaching him would be to show him directly.

He activated the console and put in the disc. _Wii Sports_ , it was, since it’s simple, and didn’t take much explaining. But first Ciel gave Alois the remote and had him make his own _Mii_. The blonde clumsily worked the controls with a face of absolute wonderment, and made his virtual likeness. “Whoa… This is amazing! This is technology, and not some sort of magic?!”

“Yes, this is how far humanity’s technologically advanced over the hundred or so years.” Ciel coolly replied. “And it just keeps advancing.”

“Bloody hell… What’s next? _Flying machines_?”

“Actually… We already have those. They’re called 'aeroplanes’.”

_“Mother of God…”_

The boys spent the next few hours playing the _Wii_. Each trying to best the other at various virtual sports. Alois would win at baseball, while Ciel would win at golf. Ciel would win at bowling while Alois would win at boxing. Both were quite frustrated with tennis for whatever reason.

And that is how they spent this rainy day. Laughing and playing, winning and losing, and generally enjoying each others company. This continued until a particular butler walked in. “I’m sorry to interrupt, My Lord, but there is a phone call for you from Detective Bailey.”

The young master straightened himself and regained his usual composure while Alois was sure to pause the game. “Thank you, Sebastian. Give me the phone.”

The butler did as he was instructed, and the Earl answered his call. “Hello? Ah, it’s been awhile, Bailey, is there something I can help you with?” This went on for several minutes as Alois waited as patiently as an Alois Trancy could behind the couch, watching. Finally, the eye-patched gentleman hung up.

“Get your coats on, we’re going out.” he instructed.

“Out where?” Alois inquired with his usual enthusiastic tone he chimes whenever an outing is mentioned.

“The Police Station. Sebastian, get the car ready.”

The man clad in black simply bowed in response, and said: “ _Yes, my lord.”_

 

 


	5. It's A Mystery, My Lord

The ride to the station felt shorter than it was, even with the eccentric blonde in the backseat hoping up and down in excitement. "There's even more lights on than usual!" he exclaimed with his face abnormally close to the window. His face would have been whacked against it as soon as the man in the driver's seat turned a sharp corner suddenly.

"That's because it's raining." The gentleman in the seat next to him has been summoned to the police station this rainy day in order to assist in solving a case. His attention, as opposed to the blonde going on and on about the lights, was on the call he had received earlier regarding this.

A body was found early that very day . The victim was a young woman, perhaps in her twenties, found in her own apartment on the east end. Judging by the marks around her wrists, ankles, and throat, she was bound, and killed by strangulation. Ordinarily, this wouldn't be a reason to call on the Queen's 'ol Gaurd Dog. The fact that this is a serial murder, however, **does**.

Six. Six people have been killed this way. All by strangulation, all in their own homes. But that's not the strangest thing. They all had the number _nine_ on them. The killer, for one reason or another, appears to have written the number nine on the victim's bodies. Those are the only similarities.

Before Ciel was able to dwell on this more thoroughly, the car rolled to a stop in the parking lot of the station. "Ooh, what's all this, then?" asked the boy in the seat next to him.

"The Police Station. They're probably going to have us look at dead bodies and such."

"Neat."

There was a man waiting by the entrance under the awning smoking a cigarette. He looked to be in his forties, with a stern face and hair that was starting to grey. The man was wearing his suit in a rather untidy way, with his tie disheveled, his shirt not tucked into his pants, and an obvious mustard stain on the collar. He looked at the group and said: "Welcome back, Mr. Phantomhive."

"Hello Detective Bailey," said the the young earl as he walked under the awning to enter the building. "Stumped with another case, I see. Tell me, how ever where you able to become a police officer in the first place?"

The detective furrowed his brow at that comment. "Being a detective takes a different set of skills than an ordinary officer, Phantomhive. My job isn't exactly easy."

"Is that so? I've been doing your job for years with little problems. I guess I've been doing it wrong." said Ciel as he gave his coat to Sebastian.

Bailey did not find that funny. However, he wasn't going to argue with the a child who reports directly to her majesty. Instead, he changed the subject. "Who's this kid?"

"This is my associate, Alois Trancy. He will be assisting me on this case." He certainly wasn't going to leave Alois alone in his house without supervision. Repeating the "lizard in the toaster" incident would probably resulting in their being another victim. This time, a air-headed blonde boy.

"Hello, sir. Pardon my intrusion." Alois is not usually polite. Alois certainly is not "normal". But if there's one thing he is, he's a good actor. He is perfectly capable of _pretending_ to be normal. This sudden reaction from Alois was almost enough to make Ciel laugh. _Almost._

"Do you know if there are any signs of a pattern in the killings, Detective?" Sebastian asked.

"Ah, Mr. Michaelis. Other than the number 'nine' written on the bodies and the suitcases found with them, no."

"Suitcases?" the boys asked at once.

"Yes, weren't you informed over the phone?"

"I heard nothing of suitcases."answered Ciel, " Show them to me at once."

The group walked down the hallways of the station, catching the stares of the inhabitants."Uh, why is everyone watching us?" asked the blonde in a whisper.

The darker-haired boy whispered back, never losing pace, "We're kind of famous around here. Try to ignore it."

They reached the evidence room after trekking through a hallway of awkward stares. Detective Bailey got the suitcase and put it and it's contents on the table. "This is the suitcase from the most recent killing. All of them are the same suitcase, and contain the same things: A children's puzzle book, and a piece of paper with a number number on it. It's like he's helping us count the bodies! This one has the number six on it..."

"...And the next one will be seven." Ciel interrupted. "Is this all that was found? Did the killer leave any DNA behind or what he used to kill the victim with?"

"No. This is all that we found. The bastard was real careful about what was left behind." The detective rubbed his forehead, as though his was fighting off a headache.

"Any ideas on a motive?"

"None. The victims where all kinds of people, none of them seemed to know each other, either. These attacks seem completely random."

"They aren't." Alois said after an unusually long silence from him. "This person brought everything he needed to the scene, and he made sure to not to leave behind evidence." The blonde was unusually serious, however, this could be expected. He was at one point known as the Queen's Spider, and fulfilled a similar duty to the Watchdog.

"But he left behind a suitcase?", Bailey asked, "How is that 'careful'?"

"Maybe they _**want**_ to be caught."

"That's ridiculous! No criminal wants to be caught!"

"Not true." It was the Phantomhive boy's turn to speak. "Alois could be on to something. There have been serial killers of a similar nature who left coded messages behind to decode the whereabouts of their next target. One of the most famous of these is the _Zodiac Killer_ in America."

"So our killer is a narcissist, then. He's just taunting you."

Bailey stood there astonished by what the two boys where suggesting. "So then... how do we catch him?"

With a smirk, the Phantomhive boy walked over to the table and picked up the book. " _The key to finding them is right here_."


	6. Solving Puzzles, and Education

Over the next few days, Ciel Phantomhive sat at his desk, trying to figure out where the killer will strike next. Each body was found approximately a month-and-a-half apart, so that gives him some time in order to do so. In the meantime, he has instructed the authorities to look for witnesses who may have seen any suspicious persons in that time frame.

On his desk, he had a map with the locations of each of the previous crime scenes marked with a dot. The blunette sighed and leaned back in his chair. He had looked through that puzzle book countless times and still can't make a connection to any location. "It just doesn't make sense," He thought. "What does this book have to do with this map?"

It was a certain blonde that pulled him from his thoughts. "Cieeeeeeeeel! I'm boooooooooored!" He whined.

"Alois, I'm busy. Go read a book or something." The more serious of the two rubbed his head in response.

The fair-haired lad waltzed over to the desk and sat on it. "I don't wanna read. It's _boring._ "

"Reading isn't _boring_. You just haven't found a book that interests you, and _get off my desk._ "

"Doubt it..." Alois paused for a moment and added: "Why? Do my shorts still bother you?"

_"Tch."_ He hit the nail on the head. There was something about those damn shorts that seemed to bother Ciel. Boys should not show that much leg, regardless of the reason, in Ciel's mind. "That's part of it," he said, "I also don't appreciate your arse all over my desk."

The blonde's mouth twisted into a smirk. He then proceeded to rub his buttocks against the desk. "What's that? You really shouldn't mumble, you know. I couldn't understand a word you just said!"

" _Stop that_! Go find something to do other than bothering me, I'm busy!" The blunette stood up and shouted.

"Busy with _what,_ exactly? It just looks like you're sitting here, staring into space!"

"I'm was _trying_ to find out how _this_ puzzle book relates to _that_ map."

Alois stood there for a moment, inspecting the map. "It looks like that game you showed me. _'Soodookoo'_?"

"You mean ' _Sudoku_ ', and I don't see _how_."

Alois picked up the puzzle book and flipped to a page with a Sudoku puzzle on it. "Look, the grid on the map looks the the grid on the puzzle." He pointed to a dot that was labeled with the number "one", the number of the first victim and the number that was found in the suitcase with him. "These numbers here? They look like the given ones in the puzzle."

Ciel just stared at him, mouth slightly open in disbelief. He looked at the map, then he looked at the puzzle, and back again. And then it hit him. Alois was right.

"How on earth did you...?"

Alois shrugged and put the book on the desk. "Dunno, it just came to me."

Ciel remembered the number "nine" drawn on the bodies. "Then the number 'nine' must relate here, somehow... could it be?"

"What?"

Ciel looked at the Alois and said: "The number of total victims there will be."

"Then what happens after they reach nine?"

"I have no idea," he began, "But whatever it is, it can't be good. I can't believe I'm saying that, but, _Alois, you're brilliant_!"

Alois smiled smugly and took a bow. "Thank you, thank you. I know I'm awesome. Feel free to tell me more."

"Now if only you knew how to _read_."

The blonde ceased his posing and looked and the boy behind the desk. "I do too know how to read, you bloody _midget cyclops_!"

Ciel furrowed his eyebrows in frustration and clutched his eyepatch. "I am not a _midget_! I'm only _thirteen centimeters_ shorter than you!" His face suddenly starting to resemble a tomato.

"Funny how you know the _exact_ differences between our heights," Alois teased, "that's rather odd, Ciel. Are you that touchy about your height?"

It was at that point that the Phantomhive boy lost his temper. He reached across the desk and forced Alois over to him, causing papers, books, and writing utensils to fall off the desk under the floor. The boy's head was now trapped under the more petite one's arm, his scalp being assaulted by Ciel's fist being ground against it. Yes, Ciel had given him his first _noogie_.

"Ow, ow, **OW**! Stop iiiiiiiit!" cried the blonde trying to wrestle his way to freedom. But Ciel was simply not having it.

"I may be shorter than you, but I can still kick your arse!"

Alois had not anticipated this. Ciel was usually so calm, cool, and collected. Never had the reanimated boy have suspected that he would resort to violence. "Let gooooooo!"

"Fine," said the Queen's _noble_ Watch Dog as he released the Spider. "But I still don't believe you can read."

Alois rubbed his now pain-ridden cranium. "I _can_ read, and I can _prove_ it!" he yelled indignantly.

"Alright then," Ciel walked towards the bookshelf and selected a book. "Read this." He tossed it to the ever-so-defiant blonde.

He caught the book in his hands and swallowed. "You mean, right _now_?"

Ciel scoffed in response and said. "Yes. _Right now_. And read it _aloud_ so I can hear you."

Ever determined to prove himself, Alois looked at the cover of the book. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone was it's title. He turned to the first page, cleared his throat and began.

" _'Chapter one: The Boy Who Lived.'" He began, slowly, "'Mr. and Mrs. Dursley, of number four, ...Pri...vet Drive, were proud to say that they where perfectly normal, ...thank you very much. They were the last people you'd expect to be in...volved in anything strange or mys... mys... myster...'_ " Alois scrunched his brow in frustration as he continued to stumble over the word. He became even more so when Ciel walked over to read the book over his shoulder.

"You mean, ' _Mysterious_ '?" he corrected.

"I _know_ that!" said the blonde objectively. " _'Mr. Dursley was the di... dee... die?_ '"

" _'Director_ '." Ciel corrected again.

" _I know what it says_!" Alois said, flustered by the fact that he has trouble reading. But that's to be expected of a former street rat. The only education he had received had been from _Claude Faustus_ , his former butler , in the short while he had lived as a Trancy. Really, it was quite surprising he knew how to read as well as he could.

"Alright, so you can read." Ciel said. "But you're _reading level_ is still unacceptable. Is there anything else, you don't know? Can you even find _Britain_ on a globe?"

Alois blushed and looked at the floor, ashamed that he in fact, could not. "...N-no..." he mumbled.

The bluenette was legitimately surprised by that. This boy in front of him, who had just potentially cracked the code to locating a serial killer's next target, a thing _Ciel himself_ could not do, cannot find the very country he lives in and was expected to serve on a globe.

"Obviously, we have some work to do." He said rubbing his forehead. "It appears as though I have to catch a ' _Sudoku Killer'_ , and somehow provide you a proper education." He looked up at Alois, "First thing's first. I need to solve this puzzle."

"I would try to assist, but I'm obviously too dumb for this sort of thing."

"You aren't _dumb_." Ciel said, much to the blonde's surprise. "You just haven't learned yet."

Alois suddenly felt so much _brighter_ at those words. He gave the shorter boy his biggest smile and said: "So how can I help, then?"

"It's simple," began the more composed of the two, "we play Sudoku."

" _Boring_! I'm out."

_**"Get your ass back in here!"** _


	7. Jim, Jimmy, Jimbo

Solved! The puzzle that had so obnoxiously stood in the way between the authorities and a serial killer, was finally removed! Or was it? There where multiple ways to solve the Sudoku puzzle, and there was no certainty that the case had anything to do with Sudoku at all.

Naturally, this had occured to our boys. The solution they had comeup with for now: Solve the puzzle in as many ways as possible. However, in order to do this efficiently, they needed help. Ciel was of course working on this as well as the Trancy boy, they had recutted the help of several constables, and even Sebastian.

One would think that our favourite raven-haired butler would be able to do this all on his own, but the fact remains that this is not humanlly possible. There are a select few who know of the true nature of the Phantomhive estate. They know the story, the legend, but a few mere police constables however, do not. Sebastian, who could probably solve this entire mystery on his own, was instructed not to. Anything to attract any unwanted attention to themselves was strictly taboo, therefore the servant was only limited to solve less than even a handful of Sudoku puzzles. Granted, he doesn't particularly mind. If he cannot do this to keep his master's secrets, then what kind of bulter would he be?

Our favourite blonde however, felt thouroughly useless. He has yet to solve even one puzzle, and was starting to get very, very, frustrated. "What is with this?!" he cried, "Why is this so hard?! I hate Sudoku! Whoever this killer is, he will pay dearly for forcing me to play this bloody game!"

"Calm down, you're so noisy..." said the boy's friend, who was sitting at his desk. "It probably doesn't help if you sit upside-down. You aren't getting enough blood to your brain."

The blonde was lying on the couch in the petite Phantomhive's office, on his back, with his legs in the air, resting on the back said couch. He had his Sudoku grid clipped to magazine as a hard surface. Ciel could be right, this is no way to solve a puzzle.

"But this is hard, and it's boring." whined the blonde in his ludicrous position, "Hard like your couch, here. My arse hurts from sitting on it normally."

"You offered to help, if memory serves."

The flaxen haired boy grunted while making an attempt to right himself in the seat. "Could you at least fluff your cushions?"

"Nope."

Ciel's response was plain, simple, and to the point. He never even looked up from his own puzzle. Alois had always found it interesting how he used his words and movements so efficiently. The same Alois, who was constantly playing around and dancing around the point, just for the sake of his own amusement. These mannerisms Ciel would bring where naturally forgein to the Trancy boy due to this.

Alois dwelled on this a few moments before another thought popped into his head, as it often does. "Hey Ciel," he said, "There are a lot of 'sevens' on these charts. How are we going to investigate them all?"

Again, he had pointed out something Ciel has already thought of. However, this plan takes a lot of man power, and will be troublesome to put into action. The Phantomhive boy looked up from his puzzle for a moment to look at Alois. "We'll need multiple investigators to perform serveilance on the locations that someone actually lives in. We can rule out anything other than homes on the map."

"What about hotels?"

"The killer obviously planned this out thoroughly. He probably staked the place out more than once. People don't usually stay in hotels for very long, so it would be safe to assume that the killer wouldn't risk trying to kill someone without knowing things such as their schedule, the most likely layout of their house, et cetera."

"I see..." Alois paused for a moment to look down at the map on the Earl's desk, then looked back up to Ciel, "Hey, Ciel, are you a serial killer?" he asked in a joking tone.

"Only sometimes." he joked back. This was not entirely untrue however, as demons need to aquire souls somehow. It's quite easy to forget how really dangerous Ciel has the potential to be. No one would ever suspect that the small, delicate-looking boy before the young blonde's eyes could very well snap you in two had he the desire to do so. Alois knows this. However, it is most often in the back of his mind. Ciel is his only friend, he trusts Ciel. And, although he knew the boy would never admit to this aloud, he knew that it was the same for Ciel as well. He smiled to himself at this.

"We may have to pitch in as well and go on serveilance duty." added the slate-haired boy.

"Sounds like fun!"

"Oh, that reminds me..." Ciel looked away to open a drawer in his desk. He reached inside and pulled out a cellphone. "I've been meaning to give you this. You'll need it." he said handing the small device to the blonde who was currently on the verge of dancing.

"Oh my god! Really?! I can have this?" said the blonde, clutching his amazing new device.

"Yes, that's why I got it in the first place. It's hard to function nowadays without one. Just don't give your number out to random people-" Ciel was interrupted by the blonde who was suddenly hugging him.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank youuuuuuu! You're the best!"

The Phantomhive boy tried to wrestle his way out of this, but to no avail. "Unhand me! I don't like hugs! I said let go!"

"You like it!"

BAM! "Oof!" Alois was promptly punched in the gut. He let go in order to clutch his now-pained stomach.

"That's what you get." Ciel said, straightening himself. "I need to make a phonecall, so please keep it down."

"Psh, Fine." said the blonde, landing on the couch with and obnoxious thud.

"Thank you." Ciel dialed the police station to convey his plan to Detective Constable Bailey.

"WHAT?!" Bailey, however, was not impressed. "You expect me to put out that many men for one case?!" he said over the phone.

"Isn't just one case." said the boy, adjusting his eyepatch. "It's a series of related cases. That's why it's called 'serial murder'."

Ciel could hear Detective Bailey sigh in defeat on the other end of the call. "Fine, I'll do it."

"Thank you very much. I'll fax you the key later."

"Alright, I'll send some people to the possible locations. This better be good, kid."

"Don't call me 'kid'!"

*Click!*

Ciel hung up the phone in a huff. He does not like being called a "kid". Especially since he's much older than most of the inhabitants of the city, including Ditective Bailey.

"Haheeheehahaha!" the blonde lounging on the couch, again, upside-down, giggled, "He called you 'kid'! Hahahaheehaa!"

"Shut up, 'Jim' no one asked for your opinion!"

The blonde sat up. He does not like being called by his old name. The name "Jim" isn't nearly as cool-sounding as "Alois", in his opinion. Not nearly flamboyant or flashy enough for his tastes. "Don't call me 'Jim'!"

"'Jimmy', then."

"No!'

"'Jimbo'?"

"No!"


	8. Spiderboy Gives Chase

Ciel Phantomhive had put his plan into motion. The puzzle was solved, and now the _real_ game begins. The blunette chess-master had placed all of his pieces into the appropriate locations, now, it was just time to wait. He had most of the city's detectives performing a stakeout, you see. All of the players on the side of London's Law enforcement where on the lookout for suspicious persons loitering around the potential future crime scenes, searching for the _Sudoku Killer._

Although he isn't the killer, there was a "suspicious" person loitering around the yard of "location R", an apartment complex on the northern side of the Thames River. He was a blonde boy who looked no older than at least fifteen. He had fair, pale skin, and icey blue eyes that seemed to suit the weather perfectly. The boy wore a dark purple coat and black pants to hopefully shield himself from the cold weather. His breath was visible as he played with his soccer ball outside the building. He did this alone as other children would prefer to stay inside during such unpleasant conditions. But then again, _so would he_.

 _"This sucks!",_ he thought, _"It's bloody freezing out here!"_ The boy stopped for a moment and looked to the cafe' across the street, where his "back up" was supposed to be. The two pain-looking officers had convinced Alois to be the one to stand outside in order to monitor the situation more closely, as "No one would ever suspect a child". Alois, however, thinks he may have been tricked.

"Those bastards..." he said aloud, "I can't believe I let them trick me! Nothing's happening anyway! _What kind of bloody lunatic would commit a murder in this stupid weather?!"_ He kicked the ball again, taking out his anger on an inanimate object, probably for the best.

The boy in purple quickly realised he may have spoken too soon. As he kicked the ball, a man wearing a coat with a hood, walking his dog rounded the corner, _again._

 _"That's the fourth time I've seen him circle this building,"_ Alois thought, _"I think that may count as 'suspicious'."_

The boy boy formerly known as "Jim" kept up his farce, and the man kept up his _own._ He rounded the corner with his white dog with brown spots a few feet in front of himself, even passing Alois on the sidewalk. The man got to the edge of the lot, where he looked around a bit to see if anyone was watching, and rounded the next corner to the other side of the building. No one was watching, no one, _except Alois._

He nudged his soccerball in the same direction the mysterious man had went, taking care not to be seen by the man, or seem out of place. He stuck his head around the corner to see what the man was up to. Lo and behold, the man had walked up to the side of the building and had started to look into the windows like some sort of creep.

Alois pulled out his phone to send a text, (yes, he could text,) keeping the man within his periphial vision.

_"Suspicious person sighted. A man in a grey coat with a hood, with a large white dog with white spots in 'location R'. Suspect has circled the building numerous times and is currently peeking into windows on the western side of the ground floor._

_-AT"_

_Send._

Alois waited a few moments, carefully watching the man's every movement. He watched as the man stood my the window, taking notes, and occasionally look around to see if anyone was watching. The blonde had oh-so carefully stayed out of sight. Then, _his phone rang._

It was an alert ringtone, notifying the phone's owner of an incoming text. He quickly reached for his phone to make it stop, but it was too late. The suspicious person swiftly whipped his head around to the origin of the sound and saw Alois, and immediately knew he had been _seen._

The man stood there for a few moment, then took a few steps back. His dog barked at the boy who had dared to startle it's master. It's leash was dropped as the suspect ran, and the blonde clad in purple followed in pursuit.

The dog saw this and lunged at the boy, barring it's teeth. Alois put his arm up in order to protect his face, neck, and torso. The boy fell to the ground with a yelp, as the defensive canine's teeth pierced his coat and skin. The cotton lining of the coat was now seeping from the coat and now lay in clumps on the ground, bits dyed scarlet here and there.

Now Alois was _really_ mad. Not only is his favourite coat now _ruined_ by the tear, the blood, and _the smell of dog_ , but the suspect is also going to get away. As a result, he will be scolded by Ciel later for being so worthless. " _That, I do not need"_ , he thought.

He did the only thing knew he could do in an attempt to rid himself of this troublesome mutt. _He punched it in the face._ The dog still latched on, much to Alois' displeasure. So he hit it _again._

By now the canine's nose was bleeding and it had a large bruise on the side of it's head. Yet, it still would not give up. Thoroughly peeved at this, the blonde hit it _again_. And again, and again, and again, _and again._

It finally let go. The dog now lay whimpering in pain near the spot of the tussle. But our hero had no time to deal with that. His arm hurt, his _fist_ hurt, and the suspect was getting away. " _Perfect."_ he thought aloud.

Alois looked at the ground and noticed a bit of snow has gathered since he was attacked, and his foe's master, while trying to escape, had left footprints.

He had no time to waste. Alois followed the trail, sprinting as fast as his legs could carry him. He jumped several fences in order to catch this man. As he ran, the freezing air entering his throat hurt his lungs, the wind felt like it was cutting into his skin, he slipped numerous times in patches on the ground where water on the ground had decided to freeze, but still, he ventured forward. What Alois Trancy _wants_ , Alois Trancy _gets._ The blonde was relentless when it came to getting his way, and the thing he wanted most was to catch this _bastard_.

The man exited the alleyway with our hero in full pursuit, _right into a busy intersection._ Horns honked, tires screeched, and the blonde stopped to catch his breath, huffing and puffing regardless of the frozen air stabbing the lining of his trechea and lungs, the very same air escaping his lips moments afterword being visible for the whole world to see. He looked across the street to see the man he had been chasing up to that point staring back at him doing the very same. The man then turned and started running again with traffic picking back up after being interrupted by the very same person. Alois had lost him.

His ears and basically most of his innards and limbs where now in pain from the chase, so it took him a moment to realise his phone was ringing. This time it was an incoming call. Alois answered it coughing and wheezing from the air.

"* _huff*...* huff*..._ H-hello? _*cough!*"_

"Alois?" It was the voice of the boy's blunette friend on the other end, "Are you alright? You didn't aswer my text? What happened to the suspect?" Alois interrupted the interrogation to cough. "You sound _terrible_."

Alois paused for a few moments to collect himself and calm his breathing. Evetually, he responded:

_"He got away."_


	9. What's The Deal With That Trancy Kid?

Hours had passed, and information of what Alois had seen had been passed on o the authorities. The boy's coat now lies within the garbage bin, and his wounds where being treated. "Are you sure this blood isn't from that mongrel, Alois?"

"Yes, I'm pretty sure of this when a dog's teeth enter my flesh, Sebastian." Everyone in the room was at a loss as to why Alois _had_ no apparent injury, although he insists upon it. The two gentlemen in the room besides the blonde boy where equally flabbergasted by his story.

"You say you _punched_ the dog? From the injuries it sustained, it looks more like you perhaps hit it with a rock, Alois." Sebastian frowned, clearly not buying Alois' story. The usually calm demon was getting increasingly annoyed with this problem child. Whenever he makes a mess, _Sebastian_ has to clean it up, whenever Alois breaks something, it is _Sebastian_ who must fix it. Most of the time, these events are _completely_ avoidable, and how anyone could be so clumsy or ignorant was beyond the raven-haired man. But what had disturbed him _most_ , however, was the _"what if"_ had Alois been telling the _truth._

The average domestic dog has a bite-force of 260 pounds. For a human arm to be unaffected by that is virtually _impossible._ The dog tore through Alois' coat, meaning it most likely was _not_ just "playing". So if this is the case, _why is Alois' arm unharmed?_

This also bothered Ciel, who was equally unable to wrap his head around it. Thus, he decided he needed to further discuss this with his butler. But first, he needed to get rid of Alois.

"Alois, you're filthy, and you smell like dog. Go take a bath." he said.

"Well aren't you _nice?"_ responded the boy in question.

" _Always."_

"I still think you legally should be unable to come within five meters of a wooden spoon."

"Bath. _Now."_ the bluenette shooed his blonde friend out of the room.

Alois bowed, imitating Sebastian. " _Yes, my lord."_ And left the room, closing the door behind him.

Ciel immediately turned to his servant, "So about his arm..." he begun.

"I was pondering the same thing, my lord. That is _not normal._ "

But really nothing was, in the Phantomhive house. The house has been destroyed countless times, and mysteriously restored overnight, and has been one of the headquarters for England's underworld for _centuries._ The inhabitants certainly where not _"normal"_ either. The butler is a demon of an unknown age who is forced to be a much younger demon's servant forever, the younger demon previously mentioned was not always a demon, and was granted demonity by a third demon, now deceased, and is a sociopath, a bit of a sadist, and suffers from _Post Traumatic Stress Disorder._ Then there is the blonde in question, who has psychological problems similar to if not the same as the first boy, but also appears to have _Bipolar Disorder_ and _Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder._ In addition to that, the Trancy boy was brought back from the dead...

It was these thoughts that came flooding into Ciel's head when the word _"normal"_ was mentioned in this context. It was this train of thought that caused a question to claw at his mind. "What exactly _is_ Alois?"

Sebastian paused for a moment, searching for an answer to his master's question. A small smile graced his face, when he thought of this answer: "I suppose he may be a _'zombie_ ', my lord." This thought was funny to the servant, as it may as well be true.

"I don't think he's a rotting walking corpse..." Ciel said, not finding Sebastian's words to be humourous. "Perhaps we should make him visit a physician." he suggested.

"Shall I forge the appropriate documents, sir?"

"Yes," the young master replied, "I don't want a _zombie_ in my home. We need to get to the bottom of this."

"Understood." the man clad in black answered, and thus, he left to complete this task.

Meanwhile, elsewhere in the very same manor, a certain blonde was enjoying a luxurious bath. "Tell me your secrets, O rubber ducky..." he said, pressing the small bath toy up to his ear before giving it a gentle squeeze.

**"*** _**squeaky! Squeaky!*"** _

" _Yeeeeeeeesssssss..."_


	10. The Unexpected Silver Lining

Another clue had turned up in the case to the _Sudoku Killer_. The dog that the man had left behind in order to escape the Trancy boy was wearing a collar, and on that collar, where _tags._ Putting tags on your pets can be useful in finding them when they are lost, but when they are lost and you are a suspected murderer, not so much. Locating the suspect was as easy as pretending to return a lost dog, or was it? When Detective Bailey called the number on the tag to do this, the man on the other end said he hadn't the slightest clue what Bailey was talking about.

This was an easy fix, however, since the police are able to find your address with just your phone number. Even if you deny it, your neighbours know if you have a dog. You can't tell them otherwise.

The man's name was Miller, Peter Miller. He was a shy man who never socialized much, but a hard worker, and was well-respected at his workplace. But here he was, sitting in the police station for suspected murder. Although he refused to answer the investigator's questions, upon further inspection of his residence, there was a map marked residences he would potentially strike, a Sudoku key, plans to break into one of these homes, and various knives and such. _This man was obviously the killer_.

"No..." The Phantomhive boy sat on the sofa in the living room, rubbing his temples in frustration. He was watching a breaking news report on the latest murder that happened over that weekend. It was committed by _none other than the Sudoku Killer._

"But he should be in jail!" Shouted Alois angrily at the magical talking box. "We caught the bastard! _It's over!"_

But it wasn't. Another body was found. This time, it was a man in his late thirties. He died by strangulation, his ankles and wrists had marks on them as though he had been bound, and a number "nine" was drawn on his corpse. With his body, a small suitcase with a children's puzzle book and a peice of paper with the number "seven" written on it as it's contents was found. Same tactic, same calling card. _It was the work of the killer._

Ciel got up and walked to his office. He had to start again at square one. With no other leads, it was uncertain how this madman was going to be caught. He sat down at his desk and let out and exasperated sigh.

"Ciel?" The boy's blonde companion entered the room. He sat down on the boy's desk and just looked at him, trying to think of something to say.

"I thought I told you not to sit on my desk." said the annoyed bluenette.

"Yeah, I know." said the flaxen boy seated on the desk. "But I was afraid you where coming in here to _sulk."_

Ciel simply did not have the energy to argue with the outrageous, short-short wearing boy seated in front of him. Nor did he have the time. He had to think of a way to find this bastard, and fast. He was making a mockery of the Watchdog! Ciel picked up the most case file of the most recent victim, and started from there.

"What are you doing?"

"Reviewing these files." That was it. Another short and to-the-point answer from Sir Phantomhive. Alois knew at this point there was not much he could do to help his friend feel better, but that doesn't mean he wouldn't _try._

"Is that the body?" He asked, pointing to a picture of the victim's lifeless corpse. "Huh. Whoever the guy we're looking for is, he must be pretty strong. He took down a grown man without much of fight."

A light-bulb went off in Ciel's head. Once again, one of Trancy lad's off-handed comments had set a spark off inside him. "Alois, _that's it!"_

_"Huh?"_

"Don't you see? No single person could wrestle a man that size to the ground on his own! Evidence supported Miller being the killer, and at the same time the deaths continue because _there's more than one killer!_ " Ciel was emitting an unusually excitable tone. The rarity of this intrigued, amused, frightened, and excited Alois as well.

"Oh my _**god!**_ That _has_ to be it!" the fair-haired boy exclaimed. But his smile faded. "But how do we catch _all_ of them?"

Ciel made his way around the desk and put his arm around the shoulders of the blonde. "Don't worry, I have a plan." he said. "Come with me."

"Where?" Alois asked, his cheeks slightly flushing at the unexpected physical gesture.

 _"I need to have a word with Mr. Miller."_ said Ciel, leading the the other boy out the office door.


	11. Seatbelts: How Do They Work?

Two boys waltzed into the interregation room one day in order to speak with a serial killer. Nothing strange here, other than the man they had come to see. A mister _Peter Miller,_ he was called. The man had been suspected in being involved the the _Sudoku Killer_ case. The _Sudoku Killer_ was suspected of being a narcissistic killer due to the fact that he had left behind a code that would help find him.

The man who sat on the other side of the table didn't seem like that person at all. He was clean-cut, and looked rather plain. He rarely spoke, but when he was asked a question he was always indirect. Sometimes even going off topic.

But this man was not alone in commiting these atrocious crimes, oh no. There were others. The authorities just needed to find out _who._ Asking that man sitting hunched in his chair opposite the boys would be useless, as mentioned earlier. Despite this, one of the two boys, the one who goes by the name "Ciel", had a plan.

"Hello, mister Miller, how are you today?" asked the boy.

"What the?" said Peter, "they let _kids_ in here?

Ciel, who would otherwise be angry at such a comment, let it go for the sake of the investigation. "I may be young, but I'm _quite_ the detective."

"Is that so?"

"Yes. I just came by today to tell you that the others will be joining you soon."

Peter swallowed hard."' _Others'?"_ he repeated.

"Yes," the boy smirked, adjusting his eyepatch, "Thanks to you, we were able to locate them."

The man rested his elbows on the table's surface and put his head in his hands. " _Oh man,_ " he said, "this isn't how it was supposed to happen.."

"That's right, the game is over." said Ciel, "You _lost."_

A smirk graced Alois' face as he realised what the blunette's plan was _._ He was going to trick the information out of him. AS long as he is able to keep up the illusion of knowledge, he will be able to extract information from the man without him even realising it. "This is so... _amusing_." thought the blonde.

" _Oh man,"_ Mister Miller continued, "If Beck finds out, _he'll get the others to kill me..."_

A small chortle escaped the eyepatched Earl's lips. "Oh yes, _Beck,"_ the boy's farce continued, "I've met him, I'd say you're royally screwed." He looked to his blonde friend, knowing that his game was now obvious to him. "I can't remember the rest of his name... Alois, do you remember it?"

"Beck... Beck... _Beck..."_ the fair-haired boy, pretended to think, scratching his chin and furrowing his brow. "I'm sorry, I don't. I only got a brief look at the file."

"Beck, Beck Garrett?" inquired Mister Miller, completely taking the bait.

"Yes, that's it. Thank you." replied the sly devil "That's all I needed to say, Mister Miller. Be careful, now."

"Thanks..." replied the man as the two boys exited the room, closing the door behind them.

"That was hilairious!" spoke the blonde as they where exiting the building, "Why didn't you let him know he's been had? It would've been funny to see him _squirm_."

Ciel opened the car door, seating himself before answering his companion's question. "I like to keep as many peices in play as possible. They may be useful later."

"I guess that makes sense."

"Because it _does_."

"So what's next? We now know the name of their leader. Do we track him down?" Asked the blonde, fumbling with his seatbelt. He can never seem to get the blasted thing put on right.

" _Naturally."_ Ciel looked out the window. He felt the vehicle shake as the flaxen boy next to him moved about attempting to untwist his seatbelt without strangling himself.

"Here." Fed up with the irritating movement, and wanting to go home, he shifted and reached over to help the blonde untwist his seat belt. The slate-haired teen guided the other's hands and with a click, also helped him fasten the buckle.

"Thanks." Alois had hoped the boy who had just assisted him did not see the slight blush on his cheeks.

The other boy scooted back into his own seat and looked out the window. _He also hoped the the very same thing._


	12. A Cafe, Paper, and Magic Charms

Beck Garrett was a college sophomore with a bright future. Clean-cut, neat, but plain-looking. He had short brown hair, a narrow chin, and wore glasses. Always a quiet boy, but with a intelligence that brilliantly outshone his classmates throughout his entire school career. That said, he was easily bored by work and talking to people who aren't "interesting" to him. He was always bored. _Always._

Be that as it may, he did take delight in watching people try to solve their problems and worries. In fact, he enjoyed this so much that he would sometimes intentionally cause these problems. Going out with girls, treating them like princesses, only to cheat on them latter, causing random "accidents" that could very well ruin people's lives, framing people for offenses that they in fact, did not commit...

Yes, the young man was fond of watching people suffer emotionally. He enjoyed the power that came with it. In addition, when he was a young boy, he would also tease his pets, pulling the dog's tail, taking the fish out of it's bowl, hitting the cat with a stick. Beck found it all so funny somehow.

He sounds like two other boys we know. The Phantomhive and Trancy boys. They also fancied watching people get up set. The difference between these two groups, however, where that the boys where sociopaths, and Beck was a _psychopath._ Sociopaths a _made_ that way, through trauma or abuse. Psychopaths are simply _born._

Beck Garrett was charismatic and charming. It's no wonder that he was able to get others under his spell. The others he enlisted into his game where all people he had met online. People who where also quiet and generally "odd". Most of them felt as though they had been wronged by society.

Take Peter Miller for example: He was often bullied and abused as a child and he had recently discovered his supposed "girlfriend" was dating other men and was only interested in his money. That would make anyone upset. Then came Garrett out of the blue in his time of self-loathing. With a few words and wonderful promises, poor Peter was under his spell, and became part of the group who would become collectively known as _"The Sudoku Killer"._

It was now the task of our boys to apprehend this man and his subordinates. Ciel knew this wasn't going to be easy. They would have to swiftly and cleverly outwit this foe. Even if they did arrest him, there was no guarantee that he would reveal the identity of his minions, or that they would stop after their leader is gone. However, the eyepatch-wearing gentleman also knew that they where equally as likely to either disperse or make more mistakes without leadership.

"Beck, they got Peter! What do we do? What if the rest of us get caught?!" asked one of the people at this large table in a secluded corner of a small cafe' in downtown London in a whisper.

"No worries," the clever young man began in a soft voice, "Peter's not a squealer, and he _knows_ the penalty for singing." He smiled at this, calmly and coolly sipping his coffee.

"He'll become _number nine?_ " said a third person, a young woman, perhaps freshly out of high school.

 _"Exactly."_ the chess-master's smiled twisted into a smirk at this. " _Oh, how fun that would be."_ he said, placing his cup back on it's saucer.

"Only _one more_ until then, said" said the first man.

"So exactly what are we going to do then?" joined a fourth person, another man appearing to be in his late twenties or early thirties.

Beck looked at the fourth and said, "Patience, I have a plan. I promise you, it'll be more fun than all the rest _combined."_ The others smiled and nodded to each other at this. They where clearly excited to find out what was in store next. And with Beck at the head, no one, not even the police, could stop them.

Except of course, for the two boys seated at the other side of the very same cafe'. These lads where not ordinary. They could be referred to as _"unnatural_ ", even. The boys, one of blackish-blue and the other with hair of blonde, for example, had very good _hearing._

Even though they where across the room at this slightly busy cafe', they could hear _every last word_ that the other group was saying. They hung on to those words and stored them for use in the _very_ near future. No, these boys where simply _not_ ordinary. They where simply _not human_ , you see.

The younger-looking of the two wearing an eyepatch with hair of the most peculiar shade of bluish-black, was named Ciel Phantomhive. He worked for the her Majesty, the Queen of England, solving cases of a distressing nature, in addition to owning a toy company that has been in business for over a century. He was not human, he was a demon. A demon who owned another, much older demon as a servant. Ciel was difinately a force not to be trifled with.

Alois was the boy who sat across from the first in this small diner. He certainly was not " _normal"._ The blonde boy was a bit disturbed, perhaps a bit more so than the first, yet he had a peculiar innocence about him that could almost hide this fact. It was unknown what he was. Not even _he_ is sure. All that is known was that he was brought back from the beyond by the previous boy and his servant, and he was now living with them. He seems to have sensory and healing capabilities far beyond an ordinary human. Both where traits of demons, but he had numerous very _undemonlike_ qualities that seemed to keep him from being able to be placed in the category. For example, the boy needed _sleep._ Demons don't _require_ sleep, it's just a luxury to them. Alois also needed to _eat,_ in ways that demons do not. Demons may eat less often, and eat human souls, which the blonde boy did not. The boy was very peculiar, that he was not human, _nor was he demon._ He was just "Alois".

" Did you get all that?" he asked the boy who was previously mentioned.

"Of course I did. Did you?" the fallen angel replied and inquired to the boy across from him. Watching him blow on his hot cocoa before drinking it in a manner that he could only describe as " _cute"._

"Yeah," he finally said, "what are we going to do about this? We can't simply walk over there and arrest them for _talking_ about the killings."

Ciel sighed and said: "True..." his thought was interrupted when he heard a member of the group they where tailing speak up again.

It was the man in his late twenties/early thirties to speak. "Don't worry, I'll cover the bill this time." he said.

"Are you sure?" inquired the young woman, "Thanks, that's very kind of you."

Members of the groups across from the strange boys where preparing to leave. They got up and started to put on their coats, hats, scarves and gloves, as the man from before was walking up to the register to pay.

Just then, Ciel perked up while watching him. He noticed that the man's method of paying could be helpful to our petite detective.

"They're leaving," said the blonde, pulling the other boy from his thoughts, "What do we do? Are we going to follow them?"

The slate-haired lad looked to Alois to answer his question, "No," he said. "We're going to wait for them to leave."

"Why?!"

"I know how we can discover the identity of one of them." replied the sly Earl. "Just wait and watch."

Alois waited and he watched. He waited rather patiently by his standards, but that is neither here nor there. When the last of the other group had left, his companion got up and walked up to the register. The boy followed to discover the plan of his rather serious friend.

"How can I help you two boys?" asked the kind looking older woman behind the counter.

"I need you to show me the cheque the man who just left paid with, please."

The woman looked at the boy in front of her with a look of confusion for a moment, unable to wrap her head around the boy's strange request. Finally, she spoke. "Now, I'm sorry, love, but I can't do that." She said.

Ciel reached into his pocket and pulled out a badge and showed it to the woman. "Sir Ciel Phantomhive: Detective Constable in service to her Majesty, also known as 'The Queen's Guard-Dog.'"

Alois reached into his pocket and pulled out a _matchbox_ and showed it to the woman. "Alois Trancy: 'The Queen's Spider'; I'm with _him."_ he said pointing to his friend at his side.

The woman behind the counter inspected the Phantomhive boy's badge, mouth slightly agape in disbelief. _Children, working for her Majesty?_ What a concept. She adjusted her spectacles to get a better look. It looked like the real deal. Down to the royal seal on the badge. _This was no toy._ She finally gave in and handed Ciel the check, which he copied, down to tracing the signature.

He handed the check back to the woman. "Thank you for your cooperation."

"And have a nice day." added the blonde before following Ciel out of the restaurant.

They walked along the sidewalk in the cold for awhile on their way to meet Sebastian with the car. After much pondering, Alois gave up. "Alright, so how is that piece of paper going to help us?" he finally asked.

"It's called a ' _cheque_ '," Ciel began, "people use it to transfer money they owe from their bank accounts to business in order to pay for something." He explained.

"So you don't have to carry money around everywhere? _Clever_." replied the flaxen teen. "But how does copying that guy's check help us?"

"There's all sorts of information written on a cheque, including the person's name, the bank they use, and if it's filled out, their signature. We just go to the bank that man uses, I flash my badge again, and force them to give us information on him. They will know his address, phone number, and even occupation."

Alois was astounded by this. Such a small piece of paper and shiny object can get information that otherwise would be kept completely confidential? He was uncertain if this was a good thing or a bad thing, but it certainly was _useful._ "That's an impressive object, your badge."

"I guess it is." the shorter of the two replied before pausing for a moment and inquiring: "Come to think of it, what was that you showed the woman behind the counter, anyway?"

"A _matchbox."_

"Where on earth did you get a matchbox?"

The blonde thought for a moment and hesitated before answering. "I _found_ it." said he.

"Give it." Ciel held out his hand to the blonde, as he did not trust him with such a thing for understandable reasons.

Alois, in response, took his hand and curtsied. " _Charmed."_ he said jokingly.

_**"Just give me the bloody matches!"** _


	13. The Sudoku Killer

The sky was black and the night air freezing, and three figures neared an apartment complex just north of the Thames River. Three figures. There where five when they began, but their comrades simply could not escape the long arm of the law.

They where ready with their necessary tools for this task. The two young men and the young woman where ready. Ready to enter this house and perform the activity they came specifically to do. Ready to give the city their eighth victim. Ready to kill.

They had staked the place out for over a month, taking the key under the mat and making a copy for this purpose. They had made sure that their target was home alone on this night. They wanted to make sure the person in that small apartment on the ground floor was not a threat to them. The young woman in the apartment was completely unaware of the danger she was in. She had just finished her shower, and was preparing to retire for the night.

This however, wasn't the case. When she was fast asleep, the intruders simply unlocked the front door and waltzed inside. Quietly, as to not wake their unsuspecting victim. They trekked through the kitchen and into the living room. Suddenly to their surprise, the light came on.

"Good evening." said the sharply and darkly dressed boy wearing an eyepatch in a chair on the other side of the room.

"What the _crap?!"_ said the first of the figures, a young man in his mid twenties. "I thought you said she lived _alone?!"_

"But she _does!"_ said the second, a girl who appeared to be fresh out of high school. "I was sure of it! I've never seen this kid before _in my life!"_

"Calm down, everyone, we can handle this." said the third, a man who goes by the name _Beck Garrett._ "He's just a kid. Tie him up and he'll be _number nine."_

"But he's just a _kid,_ Beck!" said the girl.

 _"Do you want to take his place, then?"_ snapped the group's leader menacingly.

The girl shook her head and pulled some rope out of her bag. They all started to walk towards the boy, who seemed to not be threatened in the least.

"Oh?" he raised his brow questioningly, "What happens to number nine?"

"You're going to find out."

After the figure's bound the boy's arms and legs, the two men went into another room while the girl watched the bluenette boy.

Beck and his partner where trying to locate the bedroom where their target lay sleeping. They did this for a few moments when they heard the scream of the girl they left with their other victim. Quickly they rushed into the living room to see what was the matter.

She was gone, and so was the boy. But in the boy's place was another boy, this one with flaxen hair, dressed just as sharply as the last?

"Who are you?!" said Beck.

The blonde replied, "You tie me up, and _now_ ask for my name? Animals, the lot of you!"

After staring at the annoyed-sounding blonde before them for a moment, the voice of a woman called from the other room.

"W-whoever is out there, better leave! I'm on the phone with the police _right now!"_

" _Fuck!"_ Exclaimed the would-be chess-master. "Leonard, grab the kid, _we're out of here!"_

The other man, who was apparently know as "Leonard", did as he was instructed and threw the blonde boy over his shoulder. The two men and the boy dashed out of the house and to the awaiting get away vehicle, where the blonde was promptly tossed into the backseat.

"What about Vicky?" asked Leonard while strapping in.

" _Forget her."_ Beck said as he stomped on the gas pedal.

They left the girl behind and the car took off down the road. The boy tied up in the backseat was _not_ happy. "Where the bloody hell are you taking me?! Untie me and let me out of this car at once!"

_"Leonard."_

A gun was put in the blonde's face by the man. "You better shut the _fuck_ up, or I _will_ shoot you!" Leonard shouted.

Alois was scared. He was not too keen on the idea of dying _twice._ The man before him looked deathly serious, and all he knew is that this plan of Ciel's had better work.

The boy in question was of course, tailing the vehicle. He hopped from rooftop to rooftop just like _Spring-Heeled Jack._ His performance was shrouded by the black cloak of the night sky. _He would never let them escape._

Suddenly, the car screeched to a halt in front of an abandoned warehouse by the river. Beck exited the vehicle and slammed the door shut. He yanked Alois out of the backseat and dragged him to the building.

"Come on, Leonard, _we're skipping a number."_ he said.

The other now confused man could only look him and ask: "Why?"

Beck stopped for a moment and turned to his accomplice. " _Because I'm pissed off."_

He tossed the boy onto the floor, and then helped Leonard close the door. Beck then turned his attention back to Alois, and untied him. "Congratulations,"He said to the blonde, currently trapped in this building with a couple of maniacs. "You are going to get the _honour_ of being our _number nine!_ Do you know what that means?"

"That there's going to be a party with cake?"

Beck was now at his limit with the annoying teen before him. He had ruined his plans, _and_ blatantly mocked him. He picked up a metal baseball bat and handed another one to Leonard. " _Wrong,"_ he said "You are going to _die."_

The blonde immediately knew what was going to happen. They were going to _beat_ him to death. These men were sadists, and they wanted him to _suffer._ They only untied him so they'd have a little more of a _challenge._

_**BAM!** _

He was pulled from his thoughts by the feeling of the blunt object making contact with his face. _"Ugh!"_ he grunted as he hit the floor. Reaching up to touch his face, he discover that his nose was broken, and his face was bleeding. The bats struck his body again and again, and the entire time the only thing he could think was, _"Where's Ciel?"_

The boy in question had caught up to the villains and reached the warehouse. Upon further inspection, he realized the large door was locked from the inside. He could probably force it open, but that would have made lots of noise, alerting the two of his presence, and they would have ample time to vacate the premises due to it's weight. _He would have to find another way in._

Meanwhile, the beating had stopped momentarily so Beck and his associate could catch their breath. The blonde lay face down on the floor in a pool of blood mixed with a few tears, his skin riddled with bruises. In addition to this and his now broken nose, he now had a black eye, a cracked rib, a broken arm, a broken wrist,a concussion, a few bruised bones, and he was missing some teeth. He felt awful. He _looked_ awful. And he only knew it was going to get worse.

Beck looked over his handiwork, and was quite pleased. "How d'ya like that?!" He shouted tauntingly, "how d'ya feel, ya pathetic piece of _shit!?"_ The deranged man laughed at the blonde before him, enjoying his pain.

"...it...burns..." the boy mumbled.

"Wha?" Mr. Garrett stopped and stared, trying to decipher the meaning of that. He saw the boy lying on the ground. He saw his wounds start to _smoke._

 _"...It...BURNS..."_ Alois repeated.

The two men watched in awe and in fear as the boy on the ground tried to get up, and _caught fire._ Black flames emitted from the boy's wounds, consuming him. They were black as the night sky outside, yet still gave off light; Dancing as though they were _alive._

"ALOIS!" Ciel found his way into the building and desperately called to the blonde as he saw the scene before him. His friend, his best friend, his _only real_ friend was surrounded by a dark inferno. _**"ALOIS!"**_

Just asasuddenly as it had started, the flames died out, revealing the boy's frame. Those flames did not _harm_ Alois, they had _changed_ him.

The boy's injuries where completely healed. There wasn't a single blemish that even suggested there had been a wound of any sort. His clothes were now different, too. He wore a black sleeveless shirt that only reached down to the end of his ribcage, exposing his abdomen. He had on a pretty standard pair of black short-shorts with a belt that had the word "JUDAS" spelled out across the buckle, Black boots that reached up above his knees, and fingerless gloves that ended past his elbows.

Not only that, but his _physical appearance_ changed as well. His nails where now long and black, matching his new wardrobe, his ears where now pointed. Even stranger, he had _a tail like a monkey,_ just as blonde as the hair on his head, and dark horns sprouting from the sides of his head and twisted forward like those of a bull. His smile was just as twisted, with sharp teeth and his eyes where now glowing an ominous firey red, yet they also gave him a look of euphoria.

 _"Alois..."_ thought Ciel, " _you look just like a-"_

 _"OH MY GOD!"_ His thoughts where however, interrupted by the now screaming young man pointing at his blonde friend. "IT'S THE _DEVIL!"_

The flaxen-haired boy did not speak, but in a flash, appeared directly in front of Leonard. His arm was cocked back, his fist clenched, and in a slit-second, he released it. The impact of Alois' fist against the face of Leonard made the man fly backwards landing with a thud on the ground like a rag-doll. His nose was now broken, and the man, and a few of his teeth, where now knocked out.

The blonde devil now turned his attention to Beck, who was now reduced to a sniveling, cowering mess. He was about to give him the same treatment, when his friend called out to him again.

"ALOIS!"

The boy stopped. He turned to the boy with hair of a slightly awkward bluish-black hue. He looked directly into the visible eye of that boy. "C-ciel?" He relaxed his muscles as his friend rushed over to him.

"Are you alright?! Are you hurt?! Talk to me!" said the Phantomhive boy while searching his friend for any apparent injury.

"I'm fine..." said the blonde," I'm just... tired. I want to go home."

The boy of blue looked at Alois, shocked, if anything, before finally saying, "Alright. _Let's go home."_

The two boy's exited the building after immobilizing the two villains who where now awaiting to be taken to jail. They walked along the Thames, avoiding the swarm of police officers now in the area. With Alois current... _condition,_ it would be unfortunate for them to see.

Ciel inspected the blonde's appearance, finally noticing his attire. He blushed at the amount of skin Alois was showing. His shoulders, his abdomen, _the strip of pale skin of the blonde's legs between his shorts and his boots._ These things caused the boy's face to heat up, so he took off his coat and handed it to his companion.

" _Here."_ said Ciel, " _You'll freeze."_

The fair-haired boy took up the other's offer and put the coat around his shoulders. " _Thanks."_

The two gentlemen walked along the Thames, enjoying each other's company until Sebastian came with the car. But before they could greet the butler, something caught Alois' attention.

"Hey, Ciel, what's that?" he pointed across to the other side of the river.

Following his finger, Ciel located what the other boy was talking about. "It's a _Ferris Wheel."_ he said, "It's called, ' _The Eye Of London'._ You get in one of the passenger capsules and it takes you around and around and up really high. I'll take you to ride it sometime."

The blonde turned to his eyepatch-wearing companion and said"

_"I'd like that."_

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: So THAT'S how you make Author's Notes on this site. I had to edit the damn thing. I hate editing. I like to just close my eyes, hit "post" and never look back.
> 
> I'm used to FF, so it's a little different. I'm having trouble posting new chapters on there, so I thought I'd post old chapters on here. This entire fic is actually done and we're on to the sequel over there.
> 
> In other news, we're back to the unedited version, so this one will be the same as the one on FF from now on. Typos and errors and all. We don't do that so much anymore... I just can't edit 400+ chapters while still writing on a new 400+ chapter fic at the same time.
> 
> Until we're caught up, I could feasibly post several chapters a day on this... Maybe I will... I dunno. Whatever I feel like.
> 
> There was one alteration, however. I cut chapter 13 on the FF version, so this one is actually "chapter 14". The original chapter 13 was kind of pointless, I thought. I didn't like it. So I cut it out. No sense in it.
> 
> Still, if you want to see that chapter, it's still on FanFiction for y'all to look at. The rest of the fic is over there, too, unless this is your preferred site for reading fanfics. That's cool, too. That's actually why I started posting on here. Not sure if I'll ever reach the same success. It's hard to transfer to a different medium, after all! Then there's things like "timing" and other factors. Personally, I find it difficult to tell fics apart on here without the thumbnails. I'll get over it, though.
> 
> Thank you for reading this far! It's a long, long, road ahead...
> 
> Until the next chapter, my duckies~!


	14. Evil Eyes At Warwick

Time has past since then and everything resumed like usual. Alois was his normal self, his tail and horns now gone. The only thing that stayed was the black colour of his fingernails that all demons appeared to have. He still needed small amounts of food and sleep, but then again, _most baby demons did._

Ciel and Sebastian where glad to have that mystery solved. _Both of them._ The perpetrators of the _Sudoku thrill Killings_ where all apprehended after that night on the Thames, even the young woman who had disappeared at the potential crime scene. Ciel had detained her while the other two men weren't looking, while Alois took his place.

The boys where glad to be done with the case and where now spending their time trying to educate the blonder of the two. His reading had improved immensely and he could now find jolly old England on the map. Nevertheless, the fact remained that Alois would have to go to school sometime.

"Today's the day!" exclaimed the blonde entering the room. Yes, today was the day that he was going to go to school for the very first time.

"Today's the day, I get my way, I'm gonna play, at school today!" he chanted.

His slate-headed friend already had his uniform on. The boy wore a black blazer with dark blue trimming and a matching tie of the same hue. "Calm down, it's not that great of a place." he said.

"But Ciel, I want to find out what the place you go to everyday is like!" The blonde boy struggled to put on his own tie. His was dark purple, as was the trimming on the his blazer as well as his kneesocks. As opposed to the other boy's _pants,_ Alois chose to wear black shorts that stopped to about mid-thigh. It did not disobey the school's dress code. Students where permitted to wear shorts as long as they went down to at _least_ mid-thigh, however, this was intended for _girls_. Nothing said _boys_ couldn't. It was just assumed that they _wouldn't._

But then again, _Warwick Academy_ had never met _Alois Trancy._ It was a private school where most of the children of the rich went to receive an education. Almost everyone who attended was the son or daughter of someone important, from famous actors, to politicians.

Eventually, Alois gave up trying to tie his tie on his own and got Sebastian to do it for him. Ciel _refused_ to get him a clip-on. He would say that they are tasteless.

"Fine. Just don't whine when you find out how boring it really is." he said this even though he knew he would do so anyway. One does not simply tell Alois Trancy what to do. You can try, but that doesn't mean he'll listen.

Sebastian drove them to school, happy to finally have the house to himself again. He certainly wouldn't have to worry about Alois trashing the place during the day. At the same time, he was wondering when the school is going to call and about what. Would he take the hamster in the science room out of it's cage and loose it? Would he throw things at the other children? Would he push them down stairs or disrupt the class with rude jokes? There where so many possibilities, but it wasn't his problem.

The boy's exited the vehicle and the blonde was immediately spellbound. There where children everywhere, all dressed in the same uniform as he. The colour of the trimming and ties, however, varied, as the children where allowed to customize their uniforms this way. The school building was massive. It reminded him of the ridiculous size of _the mall,_ or perhaps a castle. "Wow!" was all he could really say, as he gawked at the structure.

_It was most impressive._

"Come on," said his rather serious friend, grabbing his shoulder to guide him in the direction he wanted him to go. "Let's go to the office and get your schedule."

The two walked across the lawn along side other students, some swarmed in circles in their designated "territories" to socialize. Some of the students where staring at the boys, partially due to the fact that the blonde was the new kid, and partially because they where confused on the subject of his gender. The slender boy looked rather effeminate, however had a slightly boyish walk. Ciel was effeminate-looking as well, so this led to much confusion around the schoolyard.

Alois received his schedule, and after Ciel had pulled some strings, ended up in many of the same classes as the Phantomhive boy. His first class was History, and the brothers in demonity walked into the classroom long before the bell had rang. Eyes where on the now spontaneously nervous blonde, and whispers filled the room. Ciel plopped down in his usual seat on the edge of the middle row.

"Sit here." he said, pointing at the seat next to him.

The flaxen-haired lad did as he was instructed, relieved that he would at least get to sit next to his friend. "Is it always this loud in the morning?"

" _Always."_ Ciel replied, his visible eye now focused on what was behind the blonde. He pointed at the trio across from his companion and he.

"See that bunch over there?"

"Yeah?" the blonde said, following the other boy's finger.

"The large one with the dark hair and the plain face is Travis. His mother runs a company that designs and sells jewelry, and his dad is a professional wrestler." he pointed out, now turning the blonde's attention to the Indian boy next to the first. "That's Preston. He's the heir to a big electronics and technology company. Your phone? They made it. See the plain looking kid to his right? He's the son of a politician who's currently running for office."

"Huh..." the blonde responded, obviously confused as to why he's being told this.

"You'll need to know them. They're pretty big around here. You be nice to them and they'll treat you well."

"Alright. Anybody else important?"

The shorter of the two smiled and pointed to a duo in the corner. "Those two. They aren't particularly popular or anything, it's just that they're _useful."_

 _"_ " _Useful',_ you say?" grinned the blonde. " _Go on."_

"The boy in the skull hat playing the PSP is Audrey, the son of a big medical supplier. He'll tell you anything you need to know if you give him a pixie stick."

"Why a pixie stick?"

"His parents don't want him to have _candy. 'It isn't healthy'."_ He crinkled his nose and furrowed his brow in disgust at that last part. Ciel being an advocate for candy, and all. Preventing people from eating sweets is a crime of a most disturbing nature.

"The girl next to him is called Sonya. Her mother is a teacher here." He looked at the blonde. "You'll see her in English class."

"How does that count as useful?"

"Be friendly with her, and English gets easier." Ciel said plainly.

Alois was hesitant for a moment, as if trying to summon the courage to say his next piece. " _I'm not so sure about this school thing anymore."_

Ciel blinked and looked at the usually enthusiastic boy in front of him. He was unused to seeing the blonde behave so shyly. He watched the boy fidget in his seat for a while, looking at his hands.

"You'll be fine." He said eventually. "After all, you're with _the_ Ciel Phantomhive." He smiled his usual small smile. If you didn't know the boy, you would easily miss such a slight reassuring gesture.

This was interrupted by the teacher entering the room. The man had an angular jaw, reddish-brown hair and a scowl, but that was just his face. Mr. Irons was a rather strict teacher, some say he once gave a kid detention for three days for coughing too loudly. Some say he could tell what you where afraid of just by looking at you, and _would_ use it to his advantage. Some say he is secretly related to _Severus Snape._ All that we know is that he's scary-looking, brash, his name is _Mr. Irons, and he's cold as steel._

"'Morning, class. Sit down, shut up and get ready." His voice was loud, and it was rough. Alois did not like this man already. "We have a new student. Everybody say 'hello' to Alois Trancy." he said, gesturing at the boy.

All eyes where on the blonde again. He felt like he should say something, but wasn't sure what. Suddenly, he remembered a character from _Little Britain,_ one of the sketch comedies he enjoys so much. With the most serious face he could muster, he exclaimed in his voice-pitched girly boy voice:

" _Don't be givin' me evils!"_

At that moment, the entire room erupted in laughter. Almost every student was now laughing their asses off at the flaxen boy's remark. At that moment, the teacher knew that he was going to have his hands full with this problem child. And it was that moment that Ciel's suspicions where confirmed.

_Alois was a class clown._


	15. Your Tie Is Stupid

In the Warwick commons area there are couches that the students would sit on, usually to socialize or to do school work, and vending machines dispensing various snacks. The Phantomhive boy was sitting on one of these couches with a pile of snacks in the seat next to him. The boy was working on his laptop, managing the _Funtom_ Toy Company's stocks and resources in the room decorated in school colours with the mascot, a gryphon on practically everything, when a certain blonde boy came up behind him, and covered his revealed eye.

"Guess who."

" _Alois,_ _quit it_." said Ciel, in his annoyed tone.

The blonde removed his hand, no longer obstructing the other's vision. "Oh, you're no _fun._ " he said, wrapping his arms around the other boy's neck and looking over his shoulder to get a better view of what he was doing.

Ciel knew that the blonde didn't mean anything by it, but Alois could be very... _touchy._ The Phantomhive was unused to physical contact, and was uncomfortable when Alois would do things like this. The boy didn't seem to understand the concept of " _personal space",_ but Ciel was not entirely sure how do deal with this as the blonde didn't seem to take much notice, even after being told not to do so.

"I know, I'm simply one _hell_ of a 'fun killer'." he said rolling his eye. In response, the blond simply giggled his usual girlish giggle at the obvious reference to _Sebastian._

"Oh, so it's true..." said a voice behind the blonde. "The new kid _is_ a complete _poof!_ Just look at those shorts!"

Alois turned his head to get a look at the bully. He saw another blonde boy who obviously not a natural blonde, judging by the brown peeking out of his roots, parted ever so meticulously perfectly down the middle. The other boy's uniform was primed and pressed almost without a single wrinkle.

He snorted as a reply. "And the boy in the _pink_ tie, checking out my arse _isn't_ a _poof?"_ Alois was now familiar with this term. It's apparently a rude way of referring to a homosexual, according to Google. And Alois had just forced the boy's taunt back on him.

Ciel held back his chuckle, (while Alois didn't bother,) as the faux-blonde's face turned as pink as his stupid tie. " _I was not! I am not!"_ he shrieked, his voice cracking a bit. "At least _I'm_ not the one hanging all over another man in public!"

Alois simply stood there and stroked the hair of the boy in question. " _Jealous?_ " the Trancy boy said. "You just want to pet Ciel too, don't you? He might let you if you ask _nicely_." Ciel just tied his best to ignore this, but the other boy's reactions where hilarious. One thing he and the Trancy boy had in common was the fact that they both enjoy messing with people and seeing them upset, so he was willing to endure the attention a bit longer.

The other boy was outraged that he would even _suggest_ such a thing! He blew up. " _My father will here about this!_ " Then he stormed off.

"He sounds like Draco Malfoy."

"Yes, he does." Ciel shooed the other male's hands off of his head. "His father's an actor and he thinks that makes him ' _special_ '."

 _"_ But he _is_ special. He's special just like everyone else here." said the _natural_ blonde, smirking at his own cleverness. Yes, the boy _could_ be clever. Apparently he just chose _not to_.

This fact confounded the bluenette, while he finds the blonde's goofy antics amusing at the same time. He moved his mountain of sweets over so his brilliant and idiotic friend could sit next to him. "I liked how you handled him. Nice moves."

"Yes, but it's hard to _fight in a battle of wits_ with someone who is completely _unarmed."_

"You stole that."

"So sue me." Alois sat down next to the Phantomhive. "He was wrong, you know. About me being gay?"

"Yeah, I know." Ciel lied. He had his suspicions from the beginning, what with all the bootyshorts and such. It was oddly disheartening to have the blond tell him wrong for some reason unbeknownst to him. Pondering this, he didn't even notice the fair-haired boy leaning in closer to his ear to whisper with a smirk:

"I'm really _bisexual."_

**"What?"**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is one of those chapters that if I had time and energy, I would want to redo some things. Particularly, Alois' understanding of his sexuality. I would like to see him coming to understand himself, rather than saying it all of a sudden seemingly out of nowhere. It wouldn't have been a particularly tumultuous endeavour. Just him figuring out "oh, hey, this is what I like. Huh." I don't want it to be dramatic. I would just have liked more from it. Or is it better that way? I'm not sure... At the time, it was. Now, I'm my worst critic...
> 
> This is why I don't like to look back on things hahaha...
> 
> Am I gonna change it, though? Nah. I'm busy trying to get FF to accept a document while writing the next one! Imagine if I could get paid for this? I'd be very good at my job by now.
> 
> Until the next chapter, my duckies~!


	16. Rotten Kids

Did not see that coming... Ciel thought about this for the remainder of the day. " _I'm actually bisexual",_ Alois had said. The bombshell had completely blindsided the Phantomhive boy. He had certainly _heard_ of such a thing in this modern world, but had never expected someone from " _the good old days"_ of Queen Victoria's reign to so openly admit to something otherwise sounding so _devious._

The blonde always had an effeminate air about him, why, even _Ciel_ had at first mistaken him for a female. His small frame, his skin, eyes, hair, voice, and even the subtle swish of his hips when he walked made him almost completely androgynous. Anyone upon discovering his true identity would automatically assume what his sexual preferences where, but apparently, even _Alois Trancy_ was susceptible to the hypnotic powers of _breasts._

All of these observations only toyed with the petite blunette's mind. It caused him to beg the question: _"Is it possible for someone to like both?"_ This inquiry resonated in his head, clawing at him. He had only caught bit and pieces of what the other boy was excitedly and incessantly chatting about in the car-seat next to him.

"Those ' _vending machine'_ things are bloody amazing! How do they get the snacks inside? Oh! Can they dispense other things than just snacks?! Hey, Ciel, are you listening?"

"Huh?"

The blonde boy looked at his friend and furrowed his brow. He put his hands in the air and said: " _"Vending Machines!"_

"Oh. I don't know, I've only seen them dispense food and drinks..."

"Why limit them to just food? You could make tons of money selling things with those machines!" The eccentric blonde was just so odd.

"Who knows? What would _you_ put in a vending machine?"

Alois paused, furrowing his brow in thought, and rubbed his chin with his index finger. This was his thinking position. He looked out the window. "Ducks."

 _"'Ducks'?"_ Ciel looked out the window on Alois' side of the car and saw a pond with ducks in it. Once again, Alois' attention had shifted. He knew this, but he asked anyway. "You would put _ducks_ in a vending machine?"

The blonde turned to look at Ciel, confused for a moment, as though the conversation from mere _seconds_ ago hadn't happened. "Oh." he finally said. " _Oh!_ Hahaha!" the blonde was tickled by the image of a vending machine with ducks in it. Even he knew this was ridiculous. " _Totally!_ Wouldn't that be _awesome?"_ he joked.

Ciel was also amused by this. "But why ducks?"

"Ducks are amazing, Ciel. The fly, they float, their waterproof, and they're tasty!"

"And they make good conversation, judging by the chatting coming from the bathroom I hear every time you bathe."

Trancy was a tad embarrassed that he had heard him. After all, there is almost nothing more intimate or honest as conversations between a person and their rubber ducky. "Bernard is very easy to talk to."

"' _Bernard'?_ What kind of name is that for a duck?" the blunette teased.

"A _damn_ good one."

As this was said, the car pulled up to the massive two boys got inside and Ciel immediately headed up to his room. "Hey Alois, I forgot to ask, did you get your homework assignments?"

"What." That was as good as a "no" for Alois. The blonde had no interest in doing homework. That was the worst part of school so far. It was a horrible concept. Whoever the debauched person was who came up with the idea needed slapped, if you ask Mr. Trancy.

"Do your homework!" called the shorter boy from the top of the stairs.

_"Make me!"_

"I'll take away the TV!"

"You _monster!"_

" _Demon_. Get your facts straight, _Jimmy."_ Oh, how he hated that. There is, for all practical purposes, no greater insult you could give the blond, than by calling _his name._ The eyepatch-wearing gentleman currently being followed upstairs by the blonde in question did not understand this. Someone who has appeared to have long since forgotten the concept of "shame" is affected by something so silly and trivial you'd wonder why it was worth mentioning it.

"It's _ALOIS,_ you _midget!"_ Yet Ciel was the same way. Always prideful and hardly ever embarrassed, the young earl was quite self-conscious about his height. He has softened over the past few centuries, and by requirement, "loosened up", but the fact remains that no matter how he matures mentally, _he will never grow taller._

He set his bag down near his desk to confront the offending blonde menace properly. "I am by no means a midget, _Trancy!_ You would do well to not cross me again!"

"Aye-aye, ' _Captain Undersized'_." the blonde menace taunted with a salute. He had thought he had gotten his revenge, but alas, it was not meant to be. He received a swift punch to the shoulder and as a result, things escalated quickly. Something happens in the minds of teenage boys when they get together where they feel as though they must fight for dominance, usually in playful spirits.

A certain butler walked by the room to hear shouting, and _much_ name-calling, but also _laughing_ coming from both boys.

_"Kids..."_

* * *


	17. Feelings Are Gross

"Ready for _round two, 'Prissy-Krissy'?"_

A storm was brewing within the halls of Warwick private school. It was blonde versus _faux blonde_ , this time they where arming themselves with fists rather than just wit. What could drive the Trancy boy to engage in fisticuffs? The boy in the silly pink tie had _insulted Ciel._

"My name is _Kristopherson!"_ the faux-blonde shrieked.

"Pardon me, it's hard to remember the names of worthless _pieces_ of shit like you!" Alois was vicious in a fight. He liked to humiliate his enemies while simultaneously backing them into a corner. And before he would strike them down, humiliate them some more.

But it was not yet time for that. Alois wasn't going to be the one to deliver the first blow. He was never one to do so, no sir. He was going to play the victim in case a teacher saw. If he can convince them the other boy threw the first punch, he can get away scot-free.

What he was waiting for finally occurred when his opponent initiated a mighty _shove._ This was not how men fought. What a weak move! It was insulting to have this happen to Mr. Trancy! Our blonde hero was about to lunge when he felt a hand on his shoulder and heard a rather familiar voice.

"Alois, he's not worth it." the voice said. It belonged to none other than Ciel Phantomhive, the very boy who's honour the blonde was defending!

"You heard what he called you! Not only that, he _pushed_ me! I cannot allow such foul play!"

The slate-haired gentleman got closer to whisper. "If you aren't careful, you could very well _kill_ him! Is it really worth that?"

"I'll hold back! Besides, that's how you win a duel! _By defeating your opponent!_ "

"Not these days."

Alois stopped to think about that. Defending your honour or the honour of a friend in a duel to the death was acceptable in the 1800s, however, not so much in the 2000s. If he _did_ kill the snobby little toad before him, there would very well be consequences, including the fact that the secrets of the Phantomhive Manor would be revealed. In a huff, the blonde reluctantly agreed. " _Fine."_

The two friends began to walk away, much to the delight of the third boy, _Kristopherson._ It made him feel big to have "defeated" not only the new boy and put him in his place, but also the powerful, and invincible _Ciel Phantomhive._ This feeling of accomplishment caused the proud boy gloat.

"I knew you where weak, Trancy! Stay in your place, and don't question the big boys!"

Everything stopped. It was as though time had stood still at that moment as those words circled in the air. Alois had stopped walking. His frustration grew and his restraint began to dissipate as the laughter of the boy in the pink tie and his companions echoed off the walls of the hallway. Then, slowly, time started moving again. Alois' legs tensed as he turned back in the direction of the mocking laugher. Ciel tried to stop the blonde once more, but to no avail. Alois was already in front of the bully once more. His arm cocked back and ready to release.

Once it did, the other boy fell to the ground. The blonde kept his promise of holding back and only knocked his foe unconscious. But the way the faux-blonde limply rebounded off the ground proved that his sleep was nearly instant.

Then he just walked away. The blonde just walked away. And why not? There was nothing he could say. Even if he did, it would fall on deaf ears since his adversary could currently not hear him. Gloating at this point was a waste.

He and his friend entered the classroom as though nothing had happened. There was not even a hint of apology in the way they went about their classwork. After all, they were both a bit disturbed. The Phantomhive boy, however, knew that at any moment, his companion's name would be called to the office to be confronted with the evidence of what he did. The other boy's associate's would surely tell the headmaster that the conflict was entirely the Alois' doing. That's how scum like that were. He wasn't going to make Alois fret about it, though. No, he isn't that cruel.

Just then his prophecy came true as a voice over the intercom beckoned his blonde friend.

_"Alois Trancy, please come to the headmaster's office. Alois Trancy to the Headmaster's office, please."_

There were whispers flooding the room about what it was the eccentric boy could have done. He didn't seem to mind. In fact, it was though he himself had no clue what he was being called for. He conducted himself as if he had done no wrong.

Ciel was asked to walk him to the office since he was new and probably didn't know where it is. They quietly walked the halls as not to disturb any classes in progress.

"Do you have a plan?"

"For what?"

"Getting out of trouble, of course." Ciel didn't imagine anything complicated or fancy from the other boy. He didn't even expect him to _have_ a plan. The silence from the blonde was just so foreign and unnatural that it had to stop.

"Mmm... Not really. Just play the victim and say 'oh, they where bullying me and threatening to beat me up,' I suppose." Alois said his lines with exaggerated melodrama, as is to parody himself. Certainly not his best work.

"Think that will work?"

_"Naturally!"_

The Phantomhive boy agreed to wait outside and wait for Trancy since he wasn't allowed inside. The Headmaster's office was huge, far to big for one person. Perhaps the size of a small, one room apartment, with bookcases covered with books that, judging by the dust, had never actually been read. In front of the headmaster's desk where two chairs, and behind it was a large, portly man with rosy cheeks and thinning hair. His kindly face would otherwise fool any unsuspecting student to lower their guard, but not _this_ boy. The blonde boy was distrusting of adults, especially _men_ , due to his past trauma. He had been hurt far too many times by the hands of a supposedly trustworthy and noble adult, and was not going to allow it again.

"Please, take a seat, mister Trancy." said the man, motioning to one of the chairs.

"I think I'll stand, thanks." Alois was rather uneasy being alone in a room with this man. He wanted to be able to run if he had to.

"No, I insist, this may take awhile."

_"No thanks."_

The headmaster shrugged. Obviously this was going to be difficult. He had never seen a student refuse such a simple request.

"I suppose you're wondering why I called you to my office today, Trancy."

"You could say that." The boy was rude, brash, and stubborn. _Headmaster Horton_ knows a troublesome student when he sees one, but he hasn't seen one quite so... _strange_.

"Are you familiar with a student by the name of Kristopherson Miles?"

"You mean that kid with the weird pink tie?" Each time the boy spoke, he came out with something rude. This boy was wearing short-shorts and he calls a _pink tie_ "weird"? Outrageous!

"Mister Trancy, let me cut to the chase. Did you punch mister Miles and knock him out?"

"In defense, yes."

Now we where getting somewhere. "Did Miles attack first?"

"Yes, he shoved me. I didn't mean to hit him so hard, Sir."

"Why'd he shove you?"

"Because he's a _prick."_

All trace of progress was lost after those four words. Headmaster Horton furrowed his brow and rubbed his forehead. "Mister Trancy, did you _provoke_ Kristopherson?"

"No, he provoked _me."_

"I'm afraid I don't understand..."

"Kristopherson came up to my good friend and I and started saying rude things to us..."

"Such as...?"

"'Poofs', 'Faggots', 'Wankers', etc. Don't interrupt, it's rude." Alois continued on, "At one point I felt he had gone too far, and told him to leave us alone, then he shoved me. I was going to hit him earlier on in the exchange, however Ciel had convinced me to walk away."

"Phantomhive?"

"The very same. Anyway, Kristopherson continued as we were walking, and I guess I simply lost my temper. Again, I didn't mean to harm Kristopherson, and I regret my actions." The last part was a lie, his only regret was no hitting the boy sooner.

Horton stopped and thought for a bit. "Do you know where Phantomhive is?"

"Yes, he's outside."

"Can you bring him in?"

This, the blonde did do. Ciel was a very respectable student, good grades, good behaviour, and not one to tell lies. So Horton wanted to hear his thoughts on what happened.

"Mister Phantomhive, Mister Trancy says he was provoked, and struck in defense, is this correct?"

"Yes. Kristopherson was harassing us, and then pushed Alois, sir."

"That is all. Although I recommend you see the school counselor about your temper, Trancy."

"Will do!" the blonde replied, eager to exit the uncomfortable room.

And with that, they were free to go back to class. They walked awhile, taking their time, their footsteps echoed through the empty hallway, making them want to step lightly to suppress the noise. The two mutually felt the eerie silence to be a bit unnerving. This time, it was Alois who was first to break it.

"The hell is a school counselor?"

"Like a therapist, only less so. They supposedly 'help' you by making you talk about your _feelings_."

That was another thing they could agree on: feelings are things that should be kept private. Talking about them will only make you _hurt_ and look _weak_ , therefore they must be _suppressed_ at all times. Some would say that this is a terrible thing, but it's how the boys had _survived_ the hell they each went through. It's what they know, and they refuse to change it.

"That's bloody _stupid_ ," said the blonde, "how on earth is that supposed to _work?"_

"Who knows? But it sounds like you're going to find out."

"Ugh, _feelings..."_ the thought of discussing the inner workings of his mind with a complete stranger irked Alois.

 _"Feelings..."_ the thought irked Ciel as well.

Nobody needs to know about everything. There is such a thing as boundaries, and Ciel was determined to keep it that way. As for his friend, he was probably going to be forced to talk about them. He doesn't want to talk about them. He would rather hide from them and live in ignorance for the rest of his life. The blonde obviously suffered from psychological trauma, as did the slate-haired gentleman, but they learned to live with it. If they hadn't, they would never have met, or even become _friends_.

" _Feelings... Feelings_ are _**gross**_ **."**

" _Aren't they, though?_ "

* * *


	18. Absolutely Pointless

Alois sat in the counselor's office waiting on his appointed visit bored out of his mind. He stared into space and found nothing interesting in the room. It was a boring room; with off-white walls and ugly couches. The most interesting thing in the room remained that way for only a little while. Those childish-looking posters on the wall telling him to "just believe in himself" where funny for the first minute, but they became increasingly annoying after awhile. He swung his legs back-and-forth in his chair waiting patiently. What the hell? He didn't even wanted to be there in the first place and his host dares to show up late? How insulting!

Finally, the door swung open and from behind it, a woman appeared. "Hi, you must be Alois! I'm miss Clarkson, it's good to meet you!"

The boy rolled his eyes at the overly-friendly woman before him. "Nice to meet you too." he said. His words dripping with disinterest.

Clarkson sat in a chair across from the boy and took out a clipboard and pen. "Let's get started then. Headmaster Horton tells me you're a very angry boy. Do _you_ think you feel angry?"

"Of course not."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah."

Not only was she _late_ , she's a waste of time. Alois could probably think of twenty-five more fun things to do on the spot, but he was forced to sit here with this _stupid_ woman. What was the purpose of this?

"Liar."

This surprised the blonde, pulling him from his thoughts. Why was she suddenly calling him a liar? "What?"

"You're a liar. I can see it on your face. Now, tell me why you're angry."

"I'm _not_ angry."

"Sorry, don't believe you."

Now he saw what she was doing. She was _playing_ with him, thinking somehow that doing this would make him angry and adimt he's wrong. He made sure not to fall for this, but instead of just choosing his words carefully to avoid her landmines, he simply called her bluff, just to prove to Miss Clarkson that she was a fool. "I know this game. It's this 'reverse psychology' nonsense, yes?" he smirked at his cleverness. Now he would watch as she stumbled over her error, and he would _laugh._

Clarkson adjusted her glasses "So you _do_ have a bit of an ego. Glad that this was cleared up. So why do you have to prove your superiority, hm?"

Alois couldn't believe it. Outwitted by a such a meek-looking woman. She wore glasses and dressed in a fashion similar to that of a hippie. The way she went about things gave off the impression that she was a bit of an airhead. There was no way.

"How did you-?"

"I talked to your teachers. You're quite famous around the staff-room."

_"Tch."_

This was true. He was. Teacher's often had conversations about " _The Trancy Boy."_ Him teasing other students, dissrupting class, breaking general rules, _wearing those shorts_.

"So why do you feel you need such attention? Do you know?" The woman was invading his privacy. He couldn't tell her.

"Nope."

"Relax, I'm not going to hurt you. Everything said here is completely confidential, I won't tell _a soul."_

His immediate thought was: _"If you did, I'd eat it before killing you."_ However, that would need some explaining, wich he wasn't going to do.

He _knows_ he's disturbed. He _knows_ why. It was obvious with a past like his. He wasn't going to throw that her way. How could he? For this _sunflower lady_ to hear the story of Jim Macken, the boy who would later become "Alois Trancy", a story of loneliness, fear, imprisonment, survival, and darkness, was inconceivable.

Still, the blonde felt solace in Ciel, the one person he could truly relate to, who knew of his past and accepted him for it. Perhaps having another person who knew would help him feel better. But then again, this woman seemed like she wanted to "help" him, and by "help", actually do the opposite. Hesitantly, he decided to test the waters.

"Fine. What do you want?"

"Tell me what's wrong."

 _"Well,_ I have Bipolar Disorder, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, I'm told I have Sadistic tenancies and am a bit of a Sociopath, you follow?" He listed off these things without missing a beat.

This surprised Clarkson. He knew had something wrong with him and had never seeked psychological help? "Why are you this way?" she asked. His next words shocked her even more.

"I was _made_ this way."

"By who?"

"Adults."

This was true. He had been wronged by most of the adults in his life. His birth parents, the people of his village, the previous Earl Trancy and his servants, and Claude had all wronged him. Nearly every adult that had played a major part in his life. He was made what he is, and nothing will ever change that.

The woman was growing increasingly concerned about this boy. He didn't smile, he said these things in complete seriousness. "Mister Trancy, can you explain _how?_

The boy smirked, "Are you sure you want to hear my story?"

"That's why I asked."

The boy's smile faded and his face became solemn. He took a deep breath. What he was about to say would shock this woman, and he wanted to make sure he phrased it _perfectly_.

 _"Bored!"_ he said, clapping his hands together and grabbing his book bag. "This is boring. I'm going to class."

"You can't just leave! You haven't even told me anything! Sit down!"

Alois had his hand on the doorknob, pausing with his back to the woman. He turned his head to face the woman and smirked. "Can you make me?"

She just sat there, her mouth open. The nerve of this kid! Maybe he _was_ a sociopath. But that's impossible. That couldn't happen at _this_ school. This was Warwick. Nothing bad is ever really amiss at this upstanding school. But here was this potentially estranged child, with no respect for authority. He knew she wouldn't make him. Any power this adult had over him was only an illusion, and would have no effect on his life.

"Yes? No? If you can't, then I'll just go. And thus, I bid thee farewell." He left and closed the door behind him. He strolled down the hallway on his way to class.

"G'afternoon!" he declared loudly after entering the classroom. The boy plopped down into his usual seat next to Ciel.

"That didn't take long." said the slate-haired boy, "Are you ' _rehabilitated'?"_

" _Yes,_ from now on, I'm going to become an upstanding member of society! In fact, one day, I'll become prime minister!"

"You're so full of shit."

_"I love you too, muffin."_

_**"** _ **Don't even joke like that!"**


	19. Clementine

Saturday afternoon came around and Ciel was very busy. Working? No. The petite Phantomhive boy was planning to take Alois out on the town. After all, he hasn't really _seen_ it yet in person, and simply driving through didn't really count to the boy's standards. Ciel was going to take his friend to the theater, maybe do some shopping, to eat, and then to ride The London Eye, as he said he would.

_"Wait, this is staring to sound like a..."_

"Young master," Sebastian's sudden appearance nearly made the poor boy jump out of his skin. "Shall I go wake Alois? If we don't get started soon, we won't have time for everything."

"I know. I'll go wake him." the boy said, attempting to rid himself of that earlier thought.

"Aren't you busy?"

Ciel paused for a moment while attempting to exit the room. "Not really. You should go get the car ready."

" _Yes, my lord."_

The slate-haired boy walked down the hallway to Alois' room, the former guest room. It was a large room, but certainly not more so than the master bedroom. It was adorned with various purples that the blonde oh-so loved. There was a desk for him to do his homework ( _if_ he did he homework, that is,) and on it was an old computer that Ciel was just going to throw away. In the room was a large bed with many fluffy pillows scattered about on top of it, and amoungst them was the sleeping blonde.

Alois was still asleep. Yes, he needed sleep unlike the other two demons in the house who would do so only as a luxury. He was not quite a full-fledged demon yet, but that is a story for another time.

The blonde lay in his night clothes, a purple t-shirt with a stain on it and a pair of boxers with the Batman logo across the rear, hugging one of his many pillows. He looked _cute_. Yes, " _cute_ ," there was no other word to describe the boy at this moment. Ciel often thought that Alois sometimes resembled a golden retriever puppy. He wasn't really sure _why._

"Alois, wake up." He said, lightly shaking the blonde.

In response, the flaxen-headed boy sleepily swatted at the other boy's hand, before cuddling back up against his pillow. This annoyed Ciel.

"Alois, _wake up."_ he said a little louder, but this was met with the blonde making a whiny noise and swatting the hand once more.

Ciel now had an idea. He walked over to the end of the bed, and grabbed the comforter. With a swift pull, the blanket came off, leaving the blonde bare and defenseless against the cold morning air.

"Nnnn.. Jerk..." he said, trying to cover himself with a pillow.

"That's what you get. Now get up and get dressed."

Alois rolled over towards one edge of the bed before sitting up, and leaving his precious sleeping spot. He drowsily walked over to the closet and picked out some clothes.

"Well?"

"'Well' _what?"_

 _"_ Are you getting out, or did you want a _show?"_

The slate-haired boy flushed at this and turned to exit the room. "I was just _leaving!"_ he declared and following, the door was slammed shut.

Alois giggled at his response and began to make himself decent _. "He's so cute."_ He thought to himself. He had chosen a short-sleeved, sort of punk rock dres-shirt and tie with skulls and safety pins on it, worn sloppily, with black skinny-jeans (as his shorts where too cold). And skipped out the door.

"So we meet again, Sir Phantomhive!"

"Stop being stupid, we're going to town."

" _Ooh_! For what?"

"To _play."_

Ciel using the word "play" was both exciting and scary, as he has only used in a sadistic sense, so Alois was expecting to see some dead bodies.

 _"Play_ how?" he asked, just to specify.

"Ever been to a movie theater?"

At this, the blonde began to dance. He frequently would when he was excited. Especially in public, where he would get scolded for embarrassing his rather serious friend. He couldn't see why this was so embarrassing. Maybe if Ciel himself knew how to dance, it would be less so, he would assume. Perhaps he would teach the other boy sometime. Alois was _quite_ the dancer, you know.

The smaller boy's palm met his forehead. This would happen just about as frequently as Alois danced, if not more so. "Just get your coat and scarf and get in the car."

"Aye-aye, Cap'n!"

Ours boys rode into town, Alois was mesmerized by the lights, and Ciel was looking out the window, as per usual. As they neared the movie theater, the blonde asked the question that's been bothering him for awhile, now.

"We aren't going to watch a... _scary_ movie are we?" he said with a hint of nervousness.

"I don't know, you're picking."

_"Really?!"_

Ciel turned his head to face his friend. "Yeah, and then _next_ time, _I'll_ pick. And you will have to watch the _entire time_." The boy put emphasis on key words, just to scare Alois. He was so fun to scare. The blonde's face was _priceless_ when he jumped and yelped at horror movies.

"You're... You're just messing with me!" declared the blonde, half unsure as to whether or not he was right.

"You're no _fun..."_ Ciel said.

The blonde boy posing dramatically, and coated his words with sarcasm. "I know, I'm simply _boring!_ If only I would subject myself willingly to terror! But alas, I am _dead."_

"You mean _un_ dead."

"I'm a _zombie?!"_

The car rolled to a stop in front of the theater. Ciel rolled his eye and got out of the car while his friend followed suit. "I'll call you when we're ready to go home, Sebastian."

"Very well, then. Have a good time, my young master." the man behind the wheel said before driving away. He was going to go to the pet store on his way home to play with kittens, but that is a different story _entirely._

"So what are we going to see, _blondie?"_

"Hmmm..." Alois had assumed his thinking pose, with him furrowing his brow, rubbing his chin with his index finger, and placing his free hand on his hip. " _Wreck It Ralph_ looked interesting."

Alois likes video-games. To the blonde, who always wanted to travel to strange lands and go on adventures, they were _fantastic._ You could save villages, fight monsters, and all sorts of things, right in your living room. He learned even more about games after learning how to use the internet, don't let me get started on the blonde and the _internet._

"Sounds fine to me." he turned to the lady in the booth, "two tickets for _Wreck It Ralph_ , please."

"Alright, would you like normal or in 3D?" At this, Ciel smiled, and glanced at the confused-looking blonde.

"3D."

"Alright, here are your tickets and glasses. Enjoy the show!"

Ciel and Alois entered that theater. It was a grand-looking place, almost like Ciel's mansion, except there where more people, and there was a snack bar, which the boys quickly raided. Alois pulled himself from his wonderment long enough to ask: "What's _3D?"_

The bluenette looked at the boy with a small smile. "When we get into the room with ' _the giant TV'_ , put on the glasses the lady gave you and you'll see." he made sure to praise it this way, in order for the technologically challenged blonde to understand, and to keep it a surprise. The way Alois' face lights up when he found something that "wowed" him was simply _cute._

The Phantomhive boy frowned. "' _Cute'? Why do I keep thinking 'cute'?"_ he thought.

His thoughts where broken off by his friend grabbing his shoulder. "Ciel! Isn't that where the movie's playing?" he asked, pointing at a door with a sign above it in lights, that read the title of the film there desired to see. _He had nearly walked right past it._

"Oh, yes. I didn't see it." he muttered.

His fair-haired friend covered his own eye and said, "Aargh! Shall we go see the movie, then? Yar..." mockingly in his best pirate voice.

"I can _too_ see with my eyepatch on!" the slate-haired teen snapped while shoving the other boy into the room.

"Then why are you taking it off?"

_"...The 3D glasses won't work with it on..."_

_**"Hah!"**_ the flaxen boy turned to see the giant screen before him. He was speechless before it's grandeur. It was like the biggest TV in the history of TVs! Alois had never seen anything like it. Ciel had to drag him to a seat and make him sit down, he was so mesmerized by the item.

"Glasses on." his companion instructed, and the teen quickly put on his 3D spectacles.

"Whoa..."

That was all the boy could say. Even the ads before the movie where in 3D. He took his glasses off, and put them back on, experimentally. He extended his arm to try to touch the images reaching out to him. Then, the movie actually started.

_**"WHOAH!"** _

_**"Sssssh!"**_ A bunch of older people shushed him, hissing like a bunch of snakes. Alois didn't care. He was too busy watching this wonderful other world appear before him. His eyes sparkled and his smile only grew wider. When a character or especially a bad guy would reach out to him all of a sudden, he would duck to try to avoid getting hit, and yelp. As a result the snakes would hiss again.

Ciel was amused, laughing at him more than the movie. The blonde was far more entertaining. Whenever tension would build up on the screen, he would look over to Alois, who would be hanging onto every word with a concerned-looking face. _Cute..._

 _"Dammit, there's that word again..."_ he caught himself once again. He shouldn't think that about Alois, they were both boys! But whenever he would see that face, that's the word that would pop into his mind. He couldn't seem to help it. The boy's thoughts wandered back to what Alois had told him at school earlier that week.

" _I'm not gay, I'm bisexual."_

Again he wondered about those words. Ciel has thought girls to be pretty, but maybe boys could be too? Does it really matter to demons? Wait, do demons even go through _puberty?_

 _"_ Ciel, are you okay? You're face is really red..."

Just like that, he snapped back to reality. He looked up and saw that the moive was over. Was it really that short?

"Is it?" he asked.

"Yeah. You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm _fine."_ This was embarrassing. Could he not think of the blonde that way? What does Alois think of _him?_ He didn't think he could live for eternity with someone who could never return this emotion, nor could he do so without this person. What a conundrum this was.

 _"Oh!_ Is it from the _kiss_ towards the end?" teased the blonde. He was grinning from ear-to-ear.

" _What?!_ **No!"**

"Aw, is little Cielykins still inexperienced when it comes to such intimacies?" he was now giggling his head off. "There, there. It's okay." he patted the smaller boy's head.

"Don't touch me!" said the flustered boy while putting his eyepatch back on. "If you don't stop this, I won't take you to the next spot!"

Alois immediately fell silent. His teasing stopped. His petting ceased. His giggling muted. " _Where?"_

A smirk formed on Ciel's face as he got up and stretched his legs. "I told you I'd take you there, didn't I?"

"The _Ferry-thingy?!"_ He had the blonde's attention. Alois quickly stood up and looked at the other demon with anticipation.

"You mean _'Ferris Wheel',_ and yes. _"_

The flaxen-headed teen squealed with delight over this declaration. He quickly grabbed his friend's hand, and tugged on it. "Well, what are we waiting for?! Let's go!"

Ciel averted his eye from the other's at this gesture. "Fine, let's go." he said with feigned disinterest.

Fortunately for the two, the boy knew this city like the back of his hand. They where in south London by nightfall. Ciel had hoped for this. They would be able to see all of the lights of London this way, including the illumination on the wheel itself. Located on the south-bank of the River Thames, the landmark stands about a hundred-thirty metres tall, and was in full swing, as lines to get tickets where long. Despite this, Ciel had foreseen it, and bought tickets in advance. Standing in such a long line with none other than the _notorious_ Alois Trancy could very well end badly if he got too bored.

They boarded the oviodial capsule that would take them into the sky. There where other people there, but the boys didn't mind. Alois got right up against the glass, and stared in amazement as they ascended high above the city. It glowed as if it where on fire, but it wasn't scary at all. This inferno was many different colours, with oranges and greens and blues. It was beautiful the way the streets glowed, and the many windows of the many buildings all looked like fireflies. All of this reflected off the river the Eye was located near, bouncing back the same image as if it where painted with watercolors. The illumination blended with the blackish blue of the night sky in a way that made it seem almost unreal. It all seemed so unreal.

The colour of the sky reminded him of the bluenette who had brought him there. His hair matched it so perfectly. It was then he realized he was still gripping the hand of said boy. He turned away from the beautiful scene to look at the boy, who was also enjoying himself. He didn't at all seem to mind the physical contact.

He tightened his grip on the other's hand for a moment, which was enough to snap the slate-haired boy back to his senses as well. The boy returned the blonde's gaze, curious as to why he was being stared at. The light from the safe inferno caressed his face and reflected off his visible eye.

Alois smiled. He felt like he should say something, yet he didn't want to ruin this moment. He wanted to save it in his mind forever.

They where like this city, now shrouded in night's dark cloak. Yet there was a warm light illuminating that they found in each other that only made them want to glow brighter together. No longer where they alone.

_"Ciel, your hand is warm."_


	20. It's A Deal

A boy sat in a corner of the schoolyard reading under a shady tree. The boy had short, straight black hair that had a strange sort of blue tint to it, but his most distinguishing feature had to be his eyepatch covering his right eye. No one knew why the boy had to wear the eyepatch. They didn't know if it was an injury or a fashion choice. When asked, he would simply say, "An accident".

 _"An accident."_ This was true, as he did not intend to summon a devil all those many years ago. He had this contract etched into his eye for the very purpose of survival, and for revenge.

But that was years ago. Now, the small boy was a sort of " _demon king."_ He tamed not one, but two demons, and became one himself. Together they roam the earth consuming souls for all eternity.

Yes, this mysterious boy at the edge of the schoolyard with a seemingly otherworldly air wasn't what he seemed. The boy's name is Ciel Phantomhive, and he is a _demon._

And as a creature such as this, the boy is able to be summoned and can grant wishes in exchange for the summoner's immortal soul. Fortunately, in a city as large as london, there where plenty people in peril, and he need not answer often. But today, the summoner was close. On campus, even, in the library, to be exact.

If his memory was correct, his friend was in the library today. Alois had to sort books today as punishment for disrupting class one time too many. Ciel knew that his blonde companion, being a new demon, was certain to answer the call.

Alois Trancy became a demon by being summoned back to the mortal plane from Limbo, and had never devoured a soul before. He cannot become a full-fledged demon before doing this, and it was certain that after feeling the summon, that his instincts would kick in and he would enter a contract.

The boy at the edge of the yard had mixed feelings about this. He was happy that the his _friend_ was going to obtain full demonhood, but he also felt a sort of _negative feeling_ that his _friend_ was going to enter a contract.

Jealousy? Hardly. Ciel Phantomhive does not feel jealousy. Regardless, he chose to vacate his precious reading spot to investigate.

Ciel walked to the school library, made sure that no one was looking, and jumped to the second-story window of the building. Warwick private school had a massive library, however it was almost always vacant of people.

Through that second-story window he was ever so carefully perched on, he could see the summoner, a girl that looked slightly older than he _appeared_ to be. She had on the standard Warwick uniform on, with a black tie and matching stockings. The girl had dark circles under her eyes, from either lack of sleep or _crying_. She looked pitiful. The slate-haired demon was hoping his friend would get a soul that wasn't so _pathetic._

His eyes scanned the inside of the building, and saw his blonde compliment round the corner and lean against the bookshelf the girl was hiding behind. As a feind, Ciel could easily hear their conversation quite clearly.

"You called?" the blonde said with a smirk, peering down at the girl who had summoned him sitting on the floor.

"N-no! I was just..." the weak-looking girl stood up, attempting to hide her summoning circle.

"Summoning a demon? I know, and here I am. What is so troublesome that you required the aide of someone so sinister?"

The girl looked at the odd blonde boy before her. "You? _You're_ a _demon?"_

"Duh. Out with it, already!" he said, his eyes glowing crimson, "I don't have all day!"

Startled, the meek girl stood there to take in what this boy was saying. Hesitantly, she told the boy why she required a demon. "I-I... need someone _dead_."

"Really? Who?"

_"My father."_

The young demon blinked at this wish. It sounded _familiar._ "That's a _heavy_ request, and having any wish granted by me comes with a _heavy_ price. Still, I will grant it. But in return, I will devour your immortal soul. While the fact that this meeting occurred will never be erased, it's still not too late to turn back." Alois smiled, "So, _what will it be?"_

The girl thought about this for awhile. A soul is a valuable thing, after all. Nevertheless, she made her decision quickly _. "Deal."_

 _"Like a professional."_ thought the demon in the window. Surely this would be interesting. It would most likely be breif since merely killing someone isn't that difficult. _"This is for the best. It would be annoying if he where bonded to that stupid girl for very long."_

And so it begins...

* * *


	21. That Lad, Thoroughly Embarrassed

Ciel was in full "stalker mode", as Alois went home with his contract-holder to murder the girl's father. Curious, the boy did some looking into this girl before following them. Other than her name being "Amy Nathans", there wasn't that much information he could come up with. He even went to his usual informant, _Audrey Baines_ , who would give out any information about anything or anyone in the school for a Pixie-stick, and not even _he_ knew much about her, other than her name and what her parents do for a living.

The slate-haired teen decided to follow, as he was (though not admittedly,) worried about his blonde friend. He stayed hidden in the trees, watching as they walked up to the house.

They split up, _Amy_ went into the house, and Alois went around the side of the building. Naturally, he followed the blonde, who was his initial target. The blonde snuck his way into an upstairs window, and hid himself in the room.

Ciel watched through the window undetected as the girl was dragged into the room by her hair by none other that a man who appeared to be her father. The boy listened.

"You're late! How many times have I told you to come home as soon as school's out?!" the man bellowed.

All the girl could do was yell "I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" again and again while trying to free herself. The man was abusive, that's why she wanted him gone. Was she willing to risk her life to kill this man? Did she know the consequences of losing a soul? Even with this level of abuse, it is possible to go on living.

Or at least that was what the boy thought, before the man started to beat her. His fists flying. Alois had seen enough.

"Oh, now that's not very nice." the blonde said as he stepped out of the shadows. "You should be more hospitable towards one another. You _are family_ , after all."

The man stopped for a moment. He stopped his fists long enough to look at the offender. "Who are you?! How did you get in here!?" The man's brow was furrowed in anger at this boy. "Do I need to call the cops?!"

"Don't worry, they'll come. But first, we need a _crime scene_." Alois was wasting no time to complete his task. The promise of a soul was an excellent motivator for any demon. He glided over to the man, smirking the entire time.

"What are you-?"

_**CRACK!** _

Alois didn't hold back. He wanted this over with. He punched this man so hard, his head spun around one hundred and eighty-degrees. His neck twisted like a pretzel before his body landed on the ground with a thud.

The girl was shocked. She sat on th ground, mouth open, staring at her father's now lifeless body. "Y-you... really did it..." was all she could make herself say.

"Of course. _A deal's a deal_ , after all." Alois said, walking over to the frightened girl. "I won't ask how bad it was. I won't ask if you thought it was worth it. All I ask is that you hold up your end of the bargain." his words where harsh, but his voice was gentle, disarming. It was not peculiar in the slightest for a demon to talk to his prey this way.

For the first time, the girl gave a confident answer. "I know. I will. I have nothing to live for, anyway." Her voice was unwavered, her face serious, she made eye contact with the devil as she said this.

Ciel was looking in as a bystander to all of this in his hiding place in the trees. Both his jaw, and his heart dropped, as he witnessed his friend, his... his... his _crush_ kiss this girl. This _random, stupid_ girl! Granted, it was only a _demon's kiss_ , meant only to retrieve a soul, but that doesn't mean it didn't still _hurt._ The slate-haired teen felt _anger_ building up inside him as he clenched his fists. He felt _embarrassment_ as his face flushed a bright red, much to his relief, hidden by the tree leaves, and by the black veil of nighttime. And most of all, he felt _defeated._ Defeated that this girl had Alois' lips at this moment. And even more so, defeated that he now _knew why he was feeling this way._

Alois stopped, and dropped the girl's body to the floor. His business was done. He got what he came for; A soul that promoted him the full demonhood. The blonde teen turned and climbed out the window, landing on the soft grass with his feet. He looked straight ahead, and said.

_"How long are you going to stay up there, Ciel?"_

_"Shit._ " the bluenette fiend thought. Alois could now _sense_ him. He jumped down from his hiding place to meet the other boy. There was a long silence before either of them spoke.

"I figured you'd follow me." the fair-haired teen said finally.

 _"Why's that?"_ asked the other in a rather grouchy tone, his brow furrowed.

The blonde shrugged his shoulders. "Dunno. It was just a hunch." He said, "Afraid I'd get into trouble, maybe?"

"That's _precisely_ why." Ciel began. He was relieved he was given a cover. "I leave you alone for a bit, and you _kill_ two people. Honestly, _why do I even bother?"_

"I don't know about that, but _I just wanted to be like you."_

His anger was suddenly cooled by those words. The demon swallowed. " _What?"_

"It means exactly as I said: _'I wanted to be like you'_." The blonde repeated. He walked towards his companion. "Why else would I go through with all of this? I wanted to become a full-fledged demon, _just like you_."

Ciel was completely speechless.

" _Are you mad at me?"_ Alois stood, guiltily fidgeting with the edges of his uniform.

"I'm not mad."

"But-"

"I said, _I'm not mad."_ How could he stay mad at that face? _That guilty, golden-retriever puppy-dog face._

Alois cut off this train of thought by teasing the boy. "Will you stop being mad if I give you a kiss too?" he said jokingly as he blew a kiss to his companion.

" _ **No."**_ The flustered Phantomhive boy lied before turning and beginning to walk off in the opposite direction. "Now, let's get out of here before someone finds the bodies."

The Trancy boy watched him for a moment before following the embarrassed teen. "No need to be _shy_ , Ciel. _I know you want to!"_

_**"Shut up before I leave you here!"** _


	22. You Are NOT Fit!

Alois and Ciel where "volunteered" (forced) into working on Warwick private school's Drama production. Today is the day that the title of the play will be announced to the public. The scene was the Warwick Auditorium. Mr. Bronze, the drama director, enters from stage left.

The man had long, slicked-back hair, wore outrageous suits and wore sunglasses everywhere at all times, even indoors and at night. "Welcome, welcome! Thank you all for volunteering to work on this years play. This year, we will be working on a production called ' _Into The Woods'._ It's a wonderful retelling of various tales from the brother's Grimm, that intertwines them in a magnificent hour-long musical!"

"Ooh! _Can I be Little Red Riding Hood?!"_

The attention of everyone in the room suddenly went to a blonde boy, raising his hand with a smile on his face.

"Mr. Trancy, the part of _Little Red Riding Hood_ is a _female_ role."

"Yeah, I know, but I look _bloody amazing in a dress!"_

All the children in the room irrupted in laughter. All of them, except _one._ The boy wearing an eyepatch sitting next to the blonde was not laughing. The palm of that boy's hand met his forehead. He is friends with Alois Trancy, and is often embarrassed by his friends outrageous remarks and shenanigans. Although, he had to admit, the blonde _did_ look good in a dress.

The boy's palm met his forehead once more. He's been catching his thoughts drifting off in that direction, lately...

"Mister Trancy, if you want to audition for a role, you'll have to audition for a male role." the instructor said with an exasperated sigh.

_"Bollocks!"_

It was at that moment, a script flew threw the air and became acquainted with the blonde's face. Mr. Bronze went on: "Now, everyone who is interested in a part, please come up and take a script. I already gave you yours, Alois, so you can remain seated."

"Mighty kind of ya, guv'..." said the boy in question while rubbing his face.

"Everyone take thirty minutes to look over the script to learn more about the musical and the character you want to play."

Ciel had no interest in performing. In fact, he had no interest in _participating_ , but he would settle for working backstage. Alois was far more suited for the limelight anyway. He would _love_ the attention. And, as a bonus, they would get out of class for a _few weeks._

Ciel looked over to the fair-haired boy who was currently flipping through the pages of his script, looking for a character the met his fancy. "So who are you going to audition for?"

"Dunno." Alois replied, "Maybe _the Wolf_ or one of _the princes."_

"Giving up on your dream of being _Little Red_ , are you?"

" _Hell no_. I'm gonna audition for her too."

The thought of Alois in a _Red Riding Hood costume_ was both ridiculous and appealing at the same time. The blunette shook his head disapprovingly, but chortled all the same.

When the blonde teen had decided he had enough of reading he got up. "I'm going for it." he said to his friend before running up the the stage to audition.

He read lines for _everybody._ If there was a scene they where reading, and nobody wanted to be a particular character, he would read it. He read for _Jack, The Baker, The Witch, Rupunzel, Rapunzel's Prince, Cinderella's Prince, Little Red's Grandmother,_ and _The Wolf._ He never did get to read for _Little Red_ , herself because that's the part all the girls seemed to want. Regardless of this, he was having one _hell_ of a time.

Personally, Ciel liked the blonde's rendition of _the Princes_ and especially _The Witch._ He was the only one capable of portraying the Motherly, and the Controlling and Dominating aspects of the character. Possibly because he could tie it into his past experiences somehow. The slate-haired gentleman liked the way he did the Princes too, simply because he would exaggerate _everything._ It was like he was performing a satire of all nobility, _including Ciel._

The one he disliked the most was _the Wolf._ Something about the blonde being the big bad wolf didn't sit well with the bluenette. Perhaps it was because of displacement between Alois' real self and the character, or the fact that _the girls_ in the class liked it.

"All right! Good work everyone! The cast list will be on the door tomorrow morning. We start rehearsal tomorrow so don't be late!" Bronze finally said.

"Wha'd ya think?" the blonde teen asked his friend excitedly as he rushed up to him. The poor boy was slightly sweaty from being under the stage lights, and was out of breath from all the reading.

"Not bad. _Grandmother_ was funny."

" _You dang dirty wolf! I'll skin ya!"_ he said in his best grandmotherly voice while shaking his fist. "I still say I'd be an awesome _Red Riding Hood_."

"Can't argue with that." The blunette didn't catch himself saying that out loud until he heard the other boy giggling.

" _You'd like to see that, huh?"_ the flaxen-headed boy teased. Ciel blushed.

"You in a dress was offensive when we first met, and it _still is!"_

"Whatever, you thought I was _fit."_

_**"I did not!"** _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I haven't even been rereading these chapters as I upload them. It hurts too bad. It's the same kind of cringe you get when you remember yourself when you were younger. In fact, that's exactly what I'm looking at! Scary. I remember that at the time this was being written, though, I performed the exact same play that they are here. That's why I used it. I had the script right next to me. I think I still have it somewhere?
> 
> I haven't been doing author's notes on anything lately. I miss these intimate little talks.
> 
> Until the next chapter, my duckies~!


	23. The Rehearsal, Scene One

The cast list was taped to the Warwick auditorium door on this morning, and a certain blonde was enthusiastic to see it. Alois nearly shoved people out of the way to get to the scrap of paper, and Ciel was trying hard to just keep up. After all, he had to stop and apologize to some of the students his friend had pushed. Finally, they reached their destination and saw the results.

" _Blah, blah, blah, not me, not me..._ _ **There I am!"**_ the flaxen boy shouted excitedly.

"' _Alois Trancy: Cinderella's Prince and... The Wolf?"_ the shorter boy read off, not too pleased with his companion being _the Wolf._

"I got _two parts!_ I. Am. A-MA-ZING!" Alois chanted, followed by some enthusiastic fist-pumps.

"So you'll have to do a costume-change during the performance." Ciel said. He also didn't want the other boy to be changing clothes backstage. _"He'd run around in his underwear if I'd let him..."_ the slate-haired boy thought to himself.

"Who cares? I can totally pull that off, no problem!" the blonde looked back to the list. "Ugh, ' _Kristopherson Miles as Rapunzel's Prince'"_ he said, making gagging noises.

"They probably mistook his pompous attitude for _acting_." suggested the blunette.

His comment made the other boy giggle. "Yeah, that's _totally_ it!"

They walked into the auditorium and Mr. Bronze was already up onstage. "Congratulations to everyone who got a part! If you didn't get a part, you are still valuable as the crew who makes the magic happen! Everyone, give yourselves a round of applause!" he said, and the massive room filled with applause and a few whistles.

"Now, rehearsal for _Into The Woods_ officially begins! Now, everyone in scene one of act one, come up on stage and let's get to work!"

Neither of our boys where in this scene, so they sat in the auditorium seats, and conversed about the play, about school, and just this, that, and the other. Then, out of nowhere, _he_ appeared.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't _'Alois Trampsy'._ " Said the snobbish boy now before him in his silly pink tie. "And you even got a part in the play! _Good for you._ Just don't slow me down and try to keep up."

"If this is your way of _hitting on me,_ you need to rethink your strategy, sir." said our blonde in a bored manner. He knew that the easiest way to deal with a supposed homophobe is to _suggest that they are hiding in the closet._

It worked _wonders_. "Why would _I_ ever hit on _you_ , ' _Trampsy'?!"_ Pink tie boy shrieked.

"Probably because you're secretly a _flaming homosexual_ , _'Shit-for-brains'."_ Alois was trying to keep as straight a face as possible, but both he, and the boy sitting next to him where laughing their asses off internally.

"That name wasn't even _clever!"_

 _"_ I wasn't _trying_ to be. I was pointing out, rather plainly, that you are more than just 'kind of' and idiot."

"We'll see about _that_ , Trancy! I'll see you onstage!" And thus, the boy with the silly tie stormed off...

Following that exchange, the blunette was the first to speak. "Huh, If _Lizzie_ where to be reincarnated, I think that may be her."

Alois snickered at bit. "Your _cousin?_ The one I danced with at my costume ball?"

"Yes. Why did you dance with her, anyway?"

The blonde paused for a moment. "I thought it would piss you off." he said in a matter-of-fact tone. "Did it?"

"Only a little."

"Whatever happened to her? Do you know?"

Ciel thought for a moment before answering. "Well I assume she married someone else." The boy stared into space, a behaviour uncommon for him.

Alois took this in before asking, hesitantly: "Did you _love_ her?"

This, Ciel pondered. He _did_ love Elizabeth. They where _family_ , after all. But not in the way he correctly assumed the blonde was referring to. He thought of how to answer this.

_"Sorry, you don't have to answer that."_

The bluenette boy looked over at the blonde seated next to him rather puzzledly. What was he sorry for? For asking this question? It didn't really _offend_ Ciel in anyway, although he was a bit sad that his cousin had passed. Why was the blonde apologizing to him? Similar questions circled around in the slate-headed boy's head before finally coming out with:

"No, it's alright. And I _did_ love her, but more like family. I could never really wrap my head around the fact that I was supposed to _marry_ her."

At this, the Trancy boy perked up a bit. "Oh, I see." and thus, he went back to reading his script.

" _The hell was with that?_ " Ciel thought.

Suddenly, his thoughts where shattered but the sound of Mr. Bronze's voice. " _Wolf,_ I need you and _Little Red_ on stage, let's go!"

Alois got up and walked to the stage, and so did another girl. _"Wait, who's playing Red Riding Hood?"_ Ciel asked himself.

"Alois, this is _Anastasia, Anastasia Miles, Alois Trancy."_

 _"Hello."_ said the girl.

"Hi." Alois replied.

Upon learning her name, Alois immediately didn't like her. _Anastasia Miles. Miles,_ as in, _Kristopherson Miles._ She was obviously his sister. She even had her hair bleached in the same way, but tied in a ponytail. Moreover, she didn't have a silly tie like her brother, she had a light blue one.

The natural blonde looked at his friend in the audience with a pained face. All Ciel could do was smile and wave in attempt to comfort him.

"I hope you listened to your song last night." said the instructor

"Yes."

"Yeah."

"Good, we can get started, then! _Audrey,_ play the track for Scene Two in three, two, one, _action!"_

The music started to play, and the two blondes began to do the routine as close to the script as possible. Each reciting their lines perfectly. Then, they had to _sing._

_"Hello, little girl,_

_what's your rush?_

_You're missing all the flowers,_

_the sun won't set for hours,_

_take your time!"_

Alois projected his voice to fill the room, but he added a creepy softness to it that made up for the fact that it wasn't entirely _masculine._ He danced around _Anastasia,_ with _Anastasia,_ and in turn, she did the same with him. He really acted like a _wolf._

Then, the scene was over. Alois was Alois once more, and he walked back to his seat to wait for his next scene. "How was I?" the blonde boy asked.

"Very good. You where rather _creepy_." This was true. Ciel was creeped-out by " _Wolf-Alois."_ But this was only part of it. At the same time, it made Ciel want to _crush_ him and assert himself. The reason for this, however, is a _completely different kind of story._

"Good. I was trying my best not to _puke_ on her." Alois made a disgusted face, and a gagging sound.

"Pink tie's sister?"

**"Pink tie's sister."**

* * *


	24. The Rehearsal, Scene Two

Over the next few days, the boys worked on this musical while simultaneously butting heads with Kristopherson and mocking his tie. They helped build sets, Alois rehearsed his scenes, and Ciel somehow became the stage manager. Rehearsal for the Warwick Private School production of _Into the Woods_ was still underway.

"Princes get ready to go on" Ciel said, looking up from his clipboard with the script.

"Copy that, over and out!" Alois replied, heading towards the stage right entrance.

Heading to the entrance opposite the blonde, _Kristopherson_ got ready to perform his role as _Rapunzel's Prince._ He was hardly "charming". The boy had an awful attitude and felt the need to relentlessly pick on and thwart our heroes for some reason. He had hid props, tripped Alois more than once, and tried to break Ciel's headset. The kid was a total _wanker._

Regardless, the boys pressed on. Ciel spoke into his headset microphone to contact the audio booth. "I need music for Scene three: ' _Agony'_ in three, two, one..."

The sound of fanfares played, filling the entire room. Alois ran out on stage, followed by the rotten Kristopherson. They meet and begin their scene.

Kristoperson, the faux-blonde was first to speak. "'Ah, there you are, good brother. Father and I had wandered where you had gone.'"

"'I have been looking all night...for _her.'"_ Alois recited his lines with clarity and with the nobility of the prince he was playing. Believe it or not, it was Ciel who was his main inspiration for the role. He would mimic the grace, poise, and dignity with which the blunette spoke, often using mannerisms and gestures of his as well. "'The beautiful one I danced the evening with.'"

The source of the blonde's inspiration watched from backstage. Ignoring the things he should be watching for in order for the run-through to be successful. He was supposed to be seeing if the props where in order, people were where they were supposed to be, appropriate costume changes where made, but the usually serious and dutiful boy ignored all this momentarily to watch his friend perform.

_"'Did I abuse her_

_or show her disdain?_

_Why does she run from me?_

_If I should lose her,_

_How shall I regain_

_The heart she has won from me?'"_

Alois even sang with the same finesse. He even went down an octave than usual, trying to make a more manly or "princely" voice.

"' _Agony!_

_Beyond power of speech,_

_When the one thing you want_

_Is the only thing out of your reach.'"_

His delicate sound was cut off by Kristopherson's more brash singing.

"' _High in her tower,_

_She sits by the hour,_

_Maintaining her hair._

_Blithe and becoming,_

_And frequently humming,_

_A light-hearted air."_

It was as though they where trying to best one another in the choral duel. Alois would sing, then the other boy would sing louder. When Kristopherson did this, Alois would sing even louder. Back and forth, this tug-of-war waged on until the song ended. Then all that was heard was Mr. Bronze freaking out.

"I love, love, _loved_ it! The way you tried to out-do each other was _genius!_ Comedy gold! You two have _great_ chemistry here!"

"Ew, don't associate me with _him._ " said Alois, pointing objectively at the faux-blonde.

" _Excuse me,_ but you are _lucky_ to be even _graced_ with my presence, _TRAMPSY!"_

"That, Kristopherson, is a blessing that I would throw back if _Jesus himself_ gave it to me _."_ A small rumble of giggles was heard throughout the backstage area. "I'd aim for _his head_ , too."

That small rumble erupted into full-on laughter at that. "Alright, alright, settle down, children." The instructor instructed.

" _Tch,_ fine." Alois went backstage to where his friend was standing. "So, how'd I do, mister _Stage Manager?_ " the boy poked his companion's face.

"Alright." the blunette stated, ignoring the contact. "Too bad you sound _like a girl."_

" _ **What?!"**_

"I'm _kidding,_ " Ciel paused, " _mostly."_

"You _arse!"_ said the blonde with a smile as he playfully patted Ciel's back.

"You where prince-like, at the very least."

"I was just copying you."

Ciel looked confused by this statement. "Me?"

"Yes. You're just so very rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrregal!" the blonde said rolling his "R", bowing his head.

"You're so weird.' That's all the bluenette could think of to say. He was very flattered by Alois' comments, but incredibly unsure how to respond to them. However, the blonde boy continued.

"It's true! If I were a princess, I'd let you rescue me _any day._ " he said poking the other boy's chest playfully with his index finger.

The blonde's words where embarrassing. They made an uncomfortable feeling appear in his stomach and a blush appear on his face. But the image of Alois in a tower wearing the stereotypical princess get-up was too funny, so the slate-haired boy had to laugh a bit.

"But I get your sorry arse out of trouble enough, anyway." he jested.

" _Ohmigawsh! Am I your princess?!"_ the blonde put his hands on his cheeks in mock astonishment.

" **No,** you are not _my_ , nor _anyone else's_ princess!"

"What if I _want_ to be your princess?"

"N- _no._.." Ciel looked away from the blonde, trying to hide his flushed face. However, this effort was in vain, as the blonde then leaned in closer to whisper softly in the boy's ear:

"... _And Happily Ever After."_

_"_ _**Piss off!"** _

* * *


	25. Into The Woods

It was the night of the school play. All of the participants where backstage busily getting ready. Alois Trancy, the boy who was to play both _The Wolf_ and _The Prince,_ as it was traditional for one actor to play both, was being swarmed by girls who were prepping his makeup.

The blonde boy's good friend, Ciel Phantomhive, was the stage manager, however, he did take time out of his prepping for the performance to watch his application. He wouldn't miss such a humourous display _for the world._ He watched as the other boy wiggled in his seat, making faces, and he had to tell the blonde, more than _once,_ I might add, to _not spit on the girls doing his makeup._

"Augh! Don't stick that _pencil_ in my _eye!"_ the Trancy boy protested.

"Calm down, it's just _eyeliner!_ Hold still, or I really will poke your eye!" The head applicant was trying to do his eye-makeup so they would appear under the harsh stage lights. "Stop making those faces! We'll mess up and have to start over!"

" _Pfft!"_ the Phantomhive boy did his absolute best to hide his amusement at the scene before him. He nearly lost it when they had to call in some more stage hands to hold his friend down.

" _Stop laughing at me!"_

"I'm not _laughing_ ," he said to the blonde, "I was... wait, no, I _was_ laughing. Just think, when it's time to become a prince, you'll have to do this _again."_ he taunted.

" _Noooooooooooo!"_

The blonde boy was wearing a suit jacket and a dress shirt with the sleeves torn off, black, fingerless gloves, and dark grey dress pants with tears in them. His hair was intentionally a mess, to make him look more _wild_ and _scruffy_. He had on wolf ears and a tail, both fashioned from grey faux-fur. His companion, who was disturbed by this form of Alois, was amused by the fact that this wolf was being tormented by a bunch of high-school girls, and "whining like a _bitch._ " about it.

With Alois' torment over, the bluenette could now focus on seeing to the rest of the performance. His job as a stage manager suited him perfectly, due to his natural ability to assume command in any situation and his organization. Ciel tended to the sets, and the props, and the sound, and seeing as everything was in order, decided to make sure the actors were where they were supposed to be.

The boy listed the parts he had saw to already, "Cinderella, _Lucinda, Florinda,_ _Wolf/Cinderella's Prince, Rapunzel's Prince,The Baker, The Baker's Wife, The Witch, The Narrator, Mysterious Man, Granny..."_ Ciel noticed one that was _not_ checked off. He scanned the backstage area in search of the actress playing _Little Red Riding Hood._

"Kristopherson, where is your sister?"

The boy, Kristopherson, played the role of _Rapunzel's Prince_ , and as such, was adorned in princely attire. His cape was pink, matching both his tie, and his princess's dress, and his shirt was decorated in gold in silver. The boy looked up, seeing it was Phantomhive, the best friend of his _nemisis,_ addressed the other boy in a bored and rather rude manner.

"Like I would know!" said the faux-blonde. "She might have gone to the bathroom or something! What do you want with her, anyway?"

"She is not at her post, she is in the _very first scene,_ and the performance starts in _ten minutes._ " replied the slate-headed boy in a rather peeved tone.

"Then go _get_ her."

"I can't go into the women's bathroom, Miles."

"Then I guess we're _screwed."_

Ciel gave up on interrogating the rude boy, and went in search of a female stage hand who could go get the tardy actress.

"Two minutes, before curtain, everyone!" called Mr. Bronze.

The bluenette was at this point, in a panic. There was no sign of _Little Red_ and the show was about to start. Even _worse_ , Sebastian was in the audience and _knew_ it was Ciel's job to have everything in order. If _Little Red_ was missing from the performance, he would have to withstand the butler's insesant teasing for _God_ knows how long!

Then, the curtain rose, and the opening song began. "I am _doomed._ " said the boy with his head in his hands.

Everything went smoothly, until it was time for _Red Riding Hood_ to appear. Ciel was dreading the audiances reaction, but then heard singing coming from the stage.

_"I wish..._

_It's not for me,_

_It's for my granny in the woods._

_Just a loaf of bread, Please-_

_To bring my poor old hungry granny in the woods..._

_Just a loaf of bread, please..."_

_Little Red?_ But how? The actress hasn't been found yet! But then, it hit the small bluenette boy. That was _not_ the actress. That was _Alois._

The blonde boy was wearing the actress' costume with the hood up, so no one could tell it was him. With his skinny legs, slender waist, and girlish voice, (girled up _to the maximum,_ ) you couldn't at all tell he was, in fact, male.

Ciel couldn't help but laugh at this. His friend had taken it upon himself to cover for the actress until she returned, saved Ciel's reputation, and most of all, _he got to be Little Red Riding Hood._

"Is that Anastasia?"

"No, she isn't here, yet."

"Then who is it?"

"Beat's me..."

Whispers questioning the identity of the mystery actress circled the backstage area. Nobody could guess that it was Alois. He did say he would play her, but _surely_ he wasn't _serious_ , right?

"Phantomhive! It's awful! Now the wolf is missing too!" said the panicking instructor, "Now we can't find mister Trancy! This play is _ruined!"_ the man continued, forcing back tears.

"No, Mr. Bronze, Alois is _right there."_ Ciel pointed to the "girl" onstage.

Following the boy's finger, the instructor came to a shocking realization. "The mystery actress?! The mystery actress is _Trancy?!"_ he said with both hands on the sides of his head.

"Ciel! Ciel! I found her, but we can't find her costume!" said the stage hand he had sent to track down the original _Little Red._

 _"Who is that?"_ asked the tardy actress.

The bluenette looked over to the girl with a smile, a bit unsual for the boy. "That, is none other than _the_ _Notorious Alois Trancy."_

No matter how he tried to deny it, the blonde _did_ look rather fetching in a dress.

" _...But into the woods,_

_Into the woods,_

_Into the woods_

_To grandmother's house,_

_And home before dark!"_

And with that, Alois' debut as _Little Red Riding Hood_ was over once he stepped backstage. The boy removed his hood, and everyone let out an audible _gasp._ Some where appalled by the fact that he would go onstage like that, some were immensely confused, others confused for thinking he was _hot_ , and rest congratulated the boy.

"Oh my god! That was Alois?!"

"What a weirdo!"

"Oh my god, _she's_ a _he..."_

"That has got to be, hands down, the _ballsiest_ thing I have ever seen in my life, Trancy."

"That was _badass."_

Alois eventually escaped from this to change into his own costume. Once properly dressed, he exited the boy's dressing room and returned the costume to it's rightful owner.

"Here. You need to be Red for the rest of the show."

" _Ew!_ I'm not wearing that after it's been on your _body!"_ Anastasia reacted with disgust.

"Pardon my ghetto, but _bitch please_. There are more important things going on right now than _your stupid germophobia_. I can't replace you the entire play because I have to be the wolf. You almost _ruined_ the performance by being late. You _owe_ the rest of us. Now put on the dress!" Alois was bold. It was amazing how he was able to pull the right words out of thin air. He was able to get everyone around them on his side, and convince the stubborn girl to dawn her costume.

"Fine."

The flaxen haired boy, barked in celebration, and got ready for his next scene. Now he was the wolf. A predator. He was going to eat the little girl on stage with him. The boy's personality turned a complete one hundred and eighty degrees as he put on this persona.

The girl entered stage right, and thus, the boy entered stage left. _"'Good day, young lady!"_

_"Good day, mister Wolf."_

"' _Wither away so hurriedly?'"_

_"To my grandmother's."_

The scene went on as the two sang and danced. Ciel hated this scene. It drove him mad to see his friend dancing with a girl, even if it was pretend. The boy knew the other didn't like the girl, in fact, _he detested_ her, but it was still revolting to watch. He went back to making sure things where in order. The props in check, the sets ready to move, the actors knew when to go on, the sound booth had their queues.

Everything was in order and now he had nothing to do. Upon discovering this, the lad went to go look for his blonde companion in order to converse with him between scenes. It didn't take long, as he heard arguing coming from the make-up room once more.

"Careful! Don't _burn my head_ with that _thing!"_

"How can you _not_ know what a _straightener_ is?!"

"We _know."_ one of the girls said, followed by the others giggling.

"Just _what_ exactly are you _insinuating?"_

The girl with the hot device answered. "Oh _please_. Don't think for a second he never noticed how you hang around-"

"and _on."_

 _"..._ Yes, _and on_ Phantomhive _all_ the time." she continued, adding in her friend's input.

The blonde boy blushed a dark scarlet. This was a first. Seeing the blonde, the _same blonde,_ who went out on stage earlier _in a dress_ , the _same blonde_ who had supposedly _forgotten_ the definition of _"shame_ ", actually _embarrassed,_ was quite a sight.

" _Cute..."_ the bluenette who was being discussed, hidden in shadows, thought. This was an image he wanted to remember.

The female tormentors continued, "There's nothing _wrong_ with being _gay,_ Alois. We were just teasing you."

"Who, dear? Me, dear? Gay, dear? No, dear. _I_ am not _gay. I_ am _bisexual_ , thank you very much!" Alois insisted.

 _ **"Oooooh!"**_ the girls cooed at once.

"Does that mean _we_ still have a chance?" one said, causing the rest of them to giggle. Alois just sank a bit in his chair and ignored the question. He couldn't wait to leave. He hoped this wasn't going to jeopardize his on-stage performance.

Ciel decided to walk in the room. He was done with stalking. "Alois, you're on in a few minutes." he said. His friend sat up suddenly, his eyes wide, his face redder. The blonde _knew_ there was _no way_ Ciel _did not_ hear all of that.

He wasn't the devil, here. It was those giggling girls.

Alois got up and fixed his Prince costume, giving the other boy a simple, "Okay" before leaving. He didn't know how to face his friend. He couldn't even look him in the eye. _The Notorious Alois Trancy, was humiliated._

He now had to go onstage and act like _that_ boy. _That boy,_ who had given him this new life. _That boy_ , who he respected more than any other person. _That boy,_ that he simply _adored._

The blonde just wanted to crawl into a hole and hide there for a few years. But no, he had to perform. He strode out onstage gallantly, as though nothing had happened, he recited his lines with character, and he sang his song with _Kristopherson._

Oh, how he wanted this night to be _over._

Ciel, on the other hand, was quite excited. He now knew he at _least_ had a _chance_ with the blonde. He mused on this further throughout the night, wondering about the various obstacles in his way.

On this night, the two had definitely gone _into the woods._

By this time, the performance was almost over. The conflict was resolved. The Princesses got their Prince, Little Red and her grandmother where safe, The Baker and his Wife had broken the curse on their house, and the Witch got what she deserved. Everyone's wishes came true, and they didn't even need a _demon_ to grant them. They did it all on their own.

_"you go into the woods, where nothing's clear, where witches, ghosts, and wolves appear. Into the woods, and through the fear, you have to take the journey!"_

The bluenette watched from the sidelines as his friend sang with the chorus as they performed their last song.

The blonde on stage thought he saw a familiar butler in the audience waving at him.

The butler in the audience had just sat through an hour of this.

_"...Into the woods, and out of the woods, and happily ever after!"_

* * *


	26. Gaga Tree Accidents

It was an ordinary day at Warwick, just like any other day at such a fine school. Mrs. Pierce was going through her usual fifth period maths class. Pierce was a quiet woman; very ordinary, actually, with a slightly nervous disposition. The instructor was going over how to set up algebraic equations, and solve them, with her class, since they apparently weren't paying attention the first time. This was not uncommon, since Msr. Pierce seemed to lack a spine, at times, and was thus walked all over by both students _and_ staff.

"Now, who wants to come up to the board and write down an equation for the class to solve?" said the woman.

The room went silent. Nobody wanted to do something so seemingly meaningless. So the students remained quiet, avoiding eye contact with the teacher so they wouldn't be called on. Their notes were very fascinating all of a sudden.

"Anyone? No?" said the meek lady at the front of the room.

A hand went up. "I'll do it." it's owner said. Everyone's head spun around in the direction of the voice. It was very peculiar for this particular boy to volunteer for a _math_ question.

Mrs. Pierce adjusted her glasses and looked at the boy questionably. " _Alois Trancy?_ Well, how odd. Come on up here, then. There's nothing I won't be able to solve, heheh." she laughed nervously while trying to joke with the boy.

Alois raised himself up out of his desk, and strode confidently to the front of the room. Normally he would shrink like the other children when it came to math. Yet Alois stood directly in front of the board and picked up the chalk. The blonde wrote:

" _Ra^2+Ah^3+Ra(Ma+Ma^2)+Ga^2+Ooh(La^2)=_"_

With a smirk, the flaxen-headed teen stepped to the side to display his work. He lifted his arm, gesturing to the problem and said only two words: "Solve it."

The teacher had no idea what to make of this problem. She shifted his glasses back to the bridge of her nose, and read the problem aloud in a hushed tone repeatedly in order to make sense of it. Eventually, she gave up. "Mister Trancy, that's not a real equation", she said.

"Yes it is!" retorted the boy, "It's perfectly good one, too!"

"How? You can't solve it! There's no answer, so you can't even find the numbers!"

"That's because you're supposed to _find_ the answer, _duh_! That's the whole point of a ' _problem',_ Mrs. P."

Mrs. Pierce was not happy with the boy. Not one bit. Still, it was in her nature to be gentle. "Then how do you solve it?"

Alois smiled wide and picked up the piece of chalk once more. "It's _easy_. You just have to read the problem _very carefully_." he began.

The boy reread his equation aloud to his class. " _Ra^2+Ah^3+Ra(Ma+Ma^2)+Ga^2+Ooh(La^2)=_ _Bad Romance._ _"_ he said with a grin.

The students erupted with laughter, getting the joke. However, Mrs. Pierce on the other hand, did _not._ "What's so funny?" she asked nervously. "How is that the answer?"

"' _Ra-ra, ah-ah-ah! Ra-ma, ra-ma-ma! Ga-ga, ooh-la-la! Want your_ _ **Bad Romance**_ _!_ It's called, ' _The Gagaian Law'_. _"_ the blonde sang, much to the amusement of the other children. He then took a bow and placed the chalk carefully back in it's place. The boy was a clown. He simply couldn't seem to help himself when it came to stealing the spotlight. Alois did things like this in many classes, and always seemed to get away with it. Today, however, was not a day he _would_.

 **"Stop it!"** Mrs. Pierce yelled, and the room went silent. The children were speechless. Never had they heard the woman _yell_ before. She was always so passive, and yet, she yelled in anger. Obviously, the poor woman was tired of being stepped on.

She wrote her _own_ problem on the board. Obviously nothing the blonde could actually _solve_. Not even in a _million_ years. There where symbols there that most of the children had never even _seen_ before.

"Now _solve it,_ mister Trancy." the disgruntled woman said in a harsh tone.

Alois blinked and analyzed the problem for a moment. The teen rubbed his chin and pointed at various points in the equation, as though trying to deceifer their secrets. Finally, he knew what he was going to do.

The blonde crudely drew a picture of a smiley face next to the equation, looked at the teacher, _**and jumped out the window.**_

Everyone in the room was shocked. This room was on the _fourth floor,_ and somebody just jumped out the window. It took several seconds for this to sink in, but once it did, all hell had broken loose.

Children where screaming, others ran over to the window to see where he had landed, the teacher was trying, (and failing) to calm both her, and her students down. What the hell just happened? Did Alois just commit _suicide?_

_No._

It would take much more than that to kill him. He wasn't _human_ , after all. Our blonde hero had simply landed in some nearby trees, and was nearly out of sight by all those looking down below. However, he was now regretting his impulsive decision, as he was now _stuck_ in this tree.

Ordinarily, this wouldn't be a problem. He'd just allow the tree to tear a hole in his jacket, and/or shirt, and climb down. Easy, right? Unfortunately, this tree had him by his _pants_. Not _just_ his pants, but both his pants _and_ his _underpants._ Now he was certainly in a pickle. He could force his way out, but that would mean potentially _exposing_ himself to his peers. And _streaking_ is something not even _this_ blonde would do. So, he had to swallow what little pride he had, and call for help. Alois reached into his coat pocket, and texted Ciel.

" _Hey, I'm stuck in a tree over by building four can you help me?_

_-AT"_

_Send._

And so, he waited. Alois stayed in that tree for several minutes, _attempting_ to endure the horrible wedgie nature was giving him before his phone vibrated.

" _WHAT. DID. YOU. DO._

_-CP"_

This was taking a turn for the worse. His poor judgement was now not only costing him his pants, but now, he was also going to get his arse kicked by Ciel. He had to choose his next words _very_ carefully. If he messes up, Ciel may very well leave him there until school ends.

_"Something_ _**really** _ _stupid. I jumped out a window. I can be such an idiot sometimes._

_-AT"_

_Send._

He waited. Anxious to see what his companion's reply would be. The blonde hoped admitting it was a bad decision would lessen his punishment. Time passed, and the bell rang, signifying that is was now time for the class change. Alois waited still. He saw other children pass him, unable to see him in his position up in the tree. He waited, and waited.

Finally, his prince charming arrived to save him. He looked rather annoyed, so Alois knew he was in for it, but still, was he glad to see the bluenette. The poor boy's rear was now asleep from the continuous wedgie.

"Alois! Can you hear me?" his friend called.

"Yeah! I'm up here!"

"I'll get you down, just hang on." Ciel said in a frustrated tone as he started to make his way up the tree."

"I don't really have a choice, do I?"

The bluenette made eventually reached the blonde. Upon seeing his companion, he _laughed._ Ciel Phantomhive _laughed._ " _Pffft!_ Ahhahaha-hahaha-ha-ha! _Oh my god_! Is this why you couldn't get down yourself?! Hahaha-hahaha! Oh, _my_ _sides_! Hahaha!"

The blonde's face heated up. " _ **It's not funny!"**_ he shrieked.

"Ha... Yes it is. Wait, wait!" the bluenette pulled out his cell phone. " _Smile, Alois_."

_Click!_

**"Stop taking pictures and help me down!"**

"Hang on, let me set this to my wallpaper..."

**"You better** _**not!"** _

Ciel looked up from his phone at the blonde. He paused and said: "Have you forgotten you are currently at my _mercy?"_

He was right. Alois _knew_ he was right. Had the bluenette felt like it, he could just _leave_ the blonde there. Then he'd be royally _screwed_.

They only other way down was to ditch his trousers, whether intentionally or not. Then he'd _really_ have a hard time facing the other boy. The blonde could hardly do so since knowing he overheard his conversation with the makeup crew backstage at the musical the other day.

 _God_ , he was embarrassed. Ciel hadn't said anything about it, but he _knew_ the slate-haired boy heard them. Where his feelings _that_ obvious? If so, did Ciel already know _before_ then? And if that was the case, was Alois in the _friend zone?_

These questions tugged at the blonde's chest since then. Lately he's had trouble even looking his friend in the eye. But for now, he tried to crush these thoughts down and focus on his current predicament.

"Fine..." he surrendered, "Just get me down..."

"That's _better_." Replied the bluenette.

Ciel, on the other hand, was exceptionally cheerful. After finding out his companion was _at least interested_ in him, some of his previously unsettling thoughts were set at ease. However he was also burdened with some question's of his own. What will Sebastian say? What would happen to his reputation? What if he was _wrong?_

However, he pushed these inquiries aside for the moment to come to the aide of the blonde in question. The slate-haired teen climbed to the branch that Alois was on and inspected the damage.

 _"Mother of God..."_ the words escaped the boy's lips and reached the ears of the other, further giving him increasing amounts of distress.

"What?! What is it?!" the blonde asked. He frantically tried to turn his head to see for himself, but failed.

Ciel paused for a moment before declaring: "It's a _half-moon.._."

" **Quit starin' at my ass!"**

The Phantomhive boy cleared his throat and attempted to hide his blush. "I wasn't _staring._ I was simply pointing out your current state of affairs. Do you want help or not?"

"...Yes, please."

With a heave, Ciel pulled up his friend and unhooked his trousers from the clutches of the _vile branch_. Alois was attempting to fix his pants, and rid himself of the infernal wedgie, when a most peculiar sound was heard.

_Crack!_

"What was that?"

In turn, the other boy answered the blonde. "I don't know."

_Crack, crack!_

"There is is again!"

"Wait, I think it's the-!"

_SNAP!_

The branch that the two were sitting on could no longer support their weight, and gave way. Phantomhive and Trancy fell, hitting a few other branches on their descent, breaking them as well. Down they fell, destroying bird's nests, being slapped by leaves, and letting out a few "oofs". Although it didn't seem like it, it wasn't long until the boys crashed into the earth with a gut wrenching _thud._

Their terror has ended, or so they thought until they examined the position they were in. As payment for rescuing him, Ciel had (unintentionally) used the other boy to cushion his fall, and was thus above him in a rather _curious_ way.

Quickly, they scrambled to untangle themselves before anyone saw. Each now had an apparent blush on their faces.

"What the bloody hell was _that?!"_ exclaimed the boy in the eyepatch, demanding an explanation to what just occured.

"How should _I_ know?! It was _you_ on top of _me!"_ declared the other while pointing at his companion accusingly.

"I didn't do it on _purpose!_ It was an _accident!"_

Both paused for a moment. An "accident". Well, that's what is was. It was really no one's fault. It was just an accident. And without even using words, they knew that's what they agreed upon.

The blonde got up , dusted himself off, and cleared his throat. " _Ahem._ Well, that's all there is too it, then." He extended a hand to help his friend up.

"Yes, _an accident._ Let's just pretend that didn't happen, shall we?" taking up the blonde's offered appendage.

"Agreed."

They walked to class, which they were now late for. They would have to give an explanation for their attire. They both had leaves, dirt, and other such things on their uniforms. _God, what conclusion's would the other students jump to?_ Nothing _appropriate_ , most likely.

But it was an _accident._ Both boys agreed. Just a _pleasant_ accident...

"Thanks for saving me again, _'Prince Charming'."_

_**"Shut up."** _


	27. Friends and Mischief

The Trancy boy returned to Warwick after he filled his sentence and everyone was asking him questions. Things such as, "Why'd you do it", "Are you okay", and "what happened". No matter how many times he assured them that everything was fine and he just didn't like math class, they simply wouldn't leave him alone. Not even Ciel could get them to leave. The bluenette had a hard time even getting _close_ to his friend because of the swarm. The blonde was starting to become irritated, and when he's irritated, _bad things happen._

His desk was surrounded by concerned classmates. Boys and girls alike were harassing the blonde incessantly. It took the input of one boy to get them to stop. That boy's name? No, it wasn't Ciel Phantomhive, if that's what you where wondering. His name was _Travis Sullivan_. Travis had dark, curly hair, a square-ish jaw, and an angry brow. He was a big boy, in fact, he was the tallest kid in the grade. Travis' father was a professional wrestler, but his mother owned a jewelry company, however, this was not known as broadly as the "pro-wrestler" bit. He was also considered "the toughest kid in the school", because of this. Our boys, however, knew that he wouldn't harm a _fly._

"That's _enough."_ he said in his booming voice. "You're bothering him."

That right there was enough to clear the area. The other children fled, leaving only the three boys to themselves. "Thanks, _Sully."_

The scary-looking boy smiled slightly. "Anytime." he said patting the blonde's head before walking back to his own seat.

Ciel rubbed his forehead and sighed in exasperation. "I'm _so_ glad that's over."

"At least for _this_ _class period,_ anyway." added Alois. He knew that he would be hounded until the weekend came.

"You brought it upon yourself, you know." replied the bluenette. " _Human boy,_ remember?" he whispered.

"What's the fun in being a demonic apparition if you can't _enjoy_ it?" Alois whispered back.

He yelped as he was slapped on the back by none other than _Daniel Westley_. His dad was a politician, and was friends with _everybody_ , even if he really wasn't. The plain-looking boy was loud, obnoxious, and worst of all, _overly friendly._ Ciel _especially_ found him annoying for this reason. Physically, his hair was brown, and parted towards the right. The trimming on his uniform was blue, while his tie was red. Either way, the kid was "nice".

"Alois Trancy! Ya crazy bastard! How's life treatin' you?" He said with a grin.

The blonde rubbed the spot where the boy had hit him. "Pretty good I guess."

"Good to hear!" he said a bit louder than necessary. "Hey, I wanted to ask you and Phantomhive something."

"What is it?" The bluenette finally chimed in, hearing his name.

"Well, Travis, Preston, Audrey, Kristopherson and I where going to go on a bit of an adventure this weekend, and were wondering if you guys would like to come!"

"' _Adventure?'"_

"Yeah! You know the old abandoned mansion?"

"The one that is supposedly 'haunted'?"

"The very same. We where going to go check it out Saturday night. So, you in?"

Before the blonde could object, Ciel declared. "We'll be there."

"Great! We'll be meeting outside it's gates at 9 o' clock! See ya there!" And like that, he left. Apparently somebody he was _"friends"_ with was feeling down about something. Probably just some stupid teenage pseudo-problems.

Alois finally had his chance to speak again. _"Eugh_! _Kristopherson?!_ I don't want to go anywhere with _Kristopherson!"_ he spat the faux-blonde's name out like it was a disease.

"I know. Neither do I. But there's been reports about people going _missing_ at the site over the years, and I thought we should investigate." said Ciel.

"Oh, so it's potential murder or kidnapping that interests you?"

"You have the _same interest_ , do you not?"

The blonde paused for a moment, pondering his next move. His friend was right, he had to admit that. In all honesty, he just simply _did not_ want to go. "I know, but still..."

"What are you, afraid of _ghosts?"_ the bluenette said with a smirk.

Bulls-eye. He didn't want to got for those two reasons: Kristopherson, and the fact that the place was supposedly "haunted". Alois just sat there, trying to think of an excuse. Something to prove that Ciel was wrong.

He wasn't. "Don't worry," the eyepatched boy began, "there are no ghosts there, but the _ghosts of the past._ "

"What do you mean?"

"This mansion we're going to; it's been abandoned so long that no one even remembers it's name, or who it belonged to. But _you_ know it, and _I_ know it."

"You don't mean..."

"Yes. _ **Trancy Manor**_ _."_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I cut another chapter because it just wasn't canon anymore. It didn't make sense. Besides, this bit's more interesting. Hopefully I can still keep track of what chapter we're on as I post them. Whatever I have, I just need to remember to subtract two and it'll match. 
> 
> Pretty easy. Nice that I don't have to upload a document, then post the chapter. Cuts out a step. I can just copy and paste and BAM! There it is.
> 
> Saying "Until the next chapter, my duckies" on here sounds weird, though. Doesn't have the history. That started back when I just had no clue how to end the author's notes, so I added that in. Now it feels silly and kinda "nyeh," but on FF, it's sort of a running gag. I've actually gotten messages asking what's wrong when I haven't said that after multiple chapters. It's become a catchphrase, so now I have to be sure I say it!
> 
> So, on that note...
> 
> Until the next chapter, my duckies~!


	28. The Haunted Painting

Saturday night came around, and the hour of nine drew ever closer. The boys had Sebastian drop them off near the deserted estate, and they walked the rest of the way. The reason for this, being that Ciel did not want to explain that Sebastian was _not_ his father. They brought flashlights and batteries, although they didn't really need them. Demons can see in the dark. Even Alois, who used to be afraid of the dark, was no longer after becoming a fully-fledged demon.

They met up with the other children outside the gates to the manor. The gates where rusted and falling off, and the mansion was in pretty poor shape as well. Windows where broken, weeds grew all around, graffiti was on the walls, the fountain was dry and crumbling, and that was just the _outside._

Alois had really mixed feelings about this. It was funny to him to see the place of his imprisonment in such disarray, but it was sad to see his former _home_ this way. No matter what happened here, it was still part of him. A big part. He remembered it being so grand, so beautiful, but now, it was in ruins.

He felt a hand on his shoulder. It was the Phantomhive boy. The gesture silently communicated that it was okay. Ciel could imagine what he was feeling at the moment, and understood. It was moments like this where the two really felt like they could confide in each other a bit.

Daniel elected himself the group leader. "Alright! Here's the deal! Whoever can make it out without crying for their mommies wins!"

"Wins _what?"_ asked Travis.

"Yes, games aren't any fun without a _prize_." Alois added.

"Right, uhm..." Daniel thought for awhile. He was never an especially creative thinker. He often felt that the _means_ were more important than the _ends_ , the complete opposite of what the son of a _politician_ should think.

"Losers have to be the winner's slaves for a day." interrupted Kristopherson. He looked over to Alois when he did. The faux-blonde was probably thinking of tormenting him if he won, which by the way, was highly _unlikely._

Alois saw this, and ignored it, looking over to Ciel. _"This'll be too easy!"_ he whispered to his friend.

 _"That's not what you'll be saying when I win."_ Ciel whispered back.

"That's _**it!**_ " Daniel shouted. _Loudly._ "We'll split up into teams of two, and will try to scare each other shitless! _Preston_! Give everybody their walkies!"

"Right." _Preston Omid_ was a shy boy of Indian descent. He was asked to get the walkies-talkies because his family own a technology and electronics company. The boy honestly didn't care who was in his group as long as it wasn't Kristopherson. The faux-blonde would often torment the boy about his lineage, often saying that he "wasn't really English", never mind the fact that he and most of his family up until the 1800s were born and raised here. Regardless, he did what he was told, and handed them out.

Everyone tuned into the same frequency and tested the devices, (Alois made sure to save his questions about the new technology for later) and settled on their teams. Daniel went in with Kristopherson, Preston with Travis, leaving our two demons together. They walked into the house, and the teams separated.

The floors were covered in dirt and grime, dust covered every surface, graffiti covered the inside walls, too, and spiderwebs. There where spiderwebs everywhere. Even after being abandoned, the Trancy estate's custom of letting the creatures live was still upheld, it seemed. Alois thought this and let out a small laugh.

"You okay?" the bluenette asked, giving the blonde a concerned look.

"Yeah..." the blonde said, kicking up a bit of dirt with his foot. "It feels so surreal. This place. It's like I'm in some sort of alternate reality or something." He brushed the dirt aside, revealing part of the Trancy crest on the foyer floor. "Look, it's still here."

"I know what you mean." The bluenette felt it too. He also spent time here, although at the time, he was trying to destroy the boy next to him, his then enemy, now friend. "Well, we should probably get to work."

"With what?"

"Scaring the others, of course. We both know this place, you knowing it the best, and we're demons. This shouldn't be difficult in the slightest." he gave a small smile and looked at the blonde. "It's still your house, that makes you the host. Let's give them some good old-fashioned _hospitality."_

A smile returned to the blonde's face. "Yeah! Let's give 'em a time they won't ever forget!" And so, the two planned their attack.

However, in another part of the manor, Kristopherson and Daniel where not having fun. You see, the two boys where now lost in a supposedly haunted, decaying mansion.

"I thought you said you knew where we where going!?" Kristopherson said angry, but in a hushed tone. It felt taboo to speak above a whisper in this house.

"How could I? I've never been here before." the other boy replied with a similar degree of a whisper.

"What?! S-so we're _lost?!"_

 _"_ We aren't _lost_ , we just don't know where we're going." Daniel continued walking, but then the other boy didn't reply. The sudden silence was discomforting to the boy. "Kristopherson? Are you still back there?" he turned around to face the other boy.

Kristopherson stood frozen. Mouth open, speechless. There wasn't a ghost or anything like that. No, what the boy was gawking at, was a _painting_. In the painting, there was a boy who looked about fourteen. He was wearing a dark purple coat that stopped just a bit past his buttocks, short black shorts and brown stockings. The boy in the picture had pale skin, ice blue eyes, and pale blonde hair, swept to his left, and an arrogant, evil little smirk.

Daniel examined the painting. "Whoa, that kid looks just like..."

He was cut off when he saw Kristopherson raise him arm to point. Following the boy's finger to the bottom of the dusty frame, he saw something most peculiar. A name, inscribed on the frame. That name was, none other than...

**_"Alois... Trancy..."_ **


	29. Ghosts Are Totally Real!

Daniel and Kristopherson summoned the other boys via walkies-talkies to see this. The boy in the painting beared a striking resemblance to Alois, from his facial features to his peculiar fashion sense.

"See? Looks just like him. Shorty-shorts and everything!" said Daniel.

"I wonder if he was ever arrested. Being dressed like that for the time period was highly frowned upon." Preston mused.

"What would you know about Victorian England? Your family was still in India!" Kristopherson said in an attempt to put the boy down.

The boy sighed in exasperation. "Piss off, Kris."

"It's _Kristopherson!"_

_"Whatever."_

Alois stared at the painting for a long time without saying anything. He looked at his reflection wondering about who he was. Was he really the rotten, evil-looking little boy in the picture? He looked to his bluenette companion with a questioning look.

In response, the other boy shrugged. He really didn't know what to say. He remembers Alois as being his nemesis, his arch-rival. He was so different now, that the eyepatched teen was at a loss for words.

That said, the picture gave him an idea. An idea on how they can win this silly competition. But, he would have to wait until the others where gone to convey it to his blonde friend.

"As fascinating as this has been, we should explore the mansion some more." he said.

"Yeah! We might be able to find out more about this kid! C'mon, Kris!"

"It's _Kristopherson!"_ the faux-blonde yelled while following the adventurous son of a politician.

"We should probably go to, Travis. I want to know more about this, too!" Preston had never been so excited in his life.

"Yeah."

Suddenly, the two demons where alone again. The other's went off to discover more about the mystery boy. Only, he wasn't one. It was no coincidence that there was a strong resemblance between he and the blonde standing here today.

"So, what now?" he asked.

The bluenette paused. "We can use this."

"What?"

"Now they know _this_ Alois Trancy existed. With just a bit of demonic power, we can use this to scare he living hell out of everyone."

Now this, the blonde pearked up at. "What's the plan?" he asked with a grin.

"We show them the memory."

"And like that, you've lost me."

Ciel shook his head. "It means what I said. We go to a room, and I can rig it to show a flashback when someone walks in."

Alois stood silent for a moment, letting this sink in. He wasn't sure if he liked this plan. Afterall, there where terrible memories hidden within this house.

"You don't have to do it." the bluenette said suddenly, pulling the blonde back to reality. "We can find another way, of course. It was just an idea."

The flaxen-haired boy looked at his friend for a moment. Thinking about what he just said. Ciel was harsh, cold, and disinterested on the outside, but on another level, _considerate._ Almost _sweet,_ even. Alois of course, couln't say no to this boy.

"Alright, but nothing... extreme, alright?"

"Naturally." replied the bluenette with his usual small, awkward smile. It was when he smiled like this, you knew he was sincere. "What's the nearest room you know they'll be compelled to walk into?"

"The Dining room. Start there?"

" _Of course_."

The boys then initiated their plan. They carefully laid out their diabolic circles at the entrances and exits to these rooms, and planted a memory. Ciel would draw the circle, Alois would provide a memory, Ciel would draw the circle, and Alois would provide a memory. They continued this while their friends searched the estate for details about the boy in the painting. Half an hour or so had passed, and and the group consisting of Daniel and Kristopherson neared the dining room.

"I can't beleive we've found absolutely _nothing!_ " Daniel whined.

"Shut up! I recomended going into what looked like the records room, but _no_ , 'books are too _boring!'_ Didn't it ever occur to you that maybe there was a diary or something in there that could tell us something?" Kristopherson was not happy. It's been hour and a half since they entered this mansion, and all they've found was dirt, dust, and _spiders_. Some adventure this was turning out to be.

"I was hoping for a ghost or something."

"Please! Ghosts aren't real!" After saying that, they entered the dining room. While walking up to it, they swore it looked as dirty and dingy as any other room, but now, standing inside of it, it looks _brand new._

 _"What in blazes is going on?!"_ Kristopherson whispered. The boy's voice contained more than just a trace of panic.

" _I don't know!"_ said Daniel in a similar hushed tone. " _Wait, what's that?"_

The boy pointed at a boy sitting at the end of the table, appearing to be eating breakfast. The boy was blonde with his hair brushed to his left, wearing a dress shirt, a green vest with a black collar and black stripes reaching either down or up, either way you looked at the vertical lines. The large bow around his neck was also black, as where his short-shorts and stockings. It was none other than _the boy in the painting._

However, there was another person in the room. A maid with long silver hair, and tan skin stood at the boy's side while he played with his food. The two explorers had no idea who she was, but agreed that she was beautiful.

Suddenly, the boy spoke. " _Hannah,"_ he appeared not to take notice to the visitors, " _Don't you think eggs are pitiable? It's shell is broken and it's forced to publicly show an indecorous appearance. Then it becomes an eyeball, internal organs, or a plume."_ he broke the eggs yolk with his utensil and it spread across his plate. " _And I rob it of any and all possibilities."_ the boy said, looking over to the woman, would it seem goes by the name, "Hannah".

She didn't return his gaze.

The phantom looked back to his spread, playing with his silverware. His touched his knife to the edge of his glass, enviably spilling it. The purplish-red liquid soild the tablecloth as well as the boy's clothes.

" _Hannah."_

The maid glanced over at the boy, and, seeing the mess, rushed over to clean it. Suddenly, the boy let out a yelp, followed by a scream. This grabbed the woman's attention. She looked up at the young master to see what was the matter, making eye contact with the boy.

His mouth warped into a smirk, and he let out a giggle. _"Yes, truly pathetic, indeed."_ The boy's face looked deranged as he extended his fingers to the woman's. He did not simply touch the woman's face. Oh, no. The boy dug his fingers into the woman's eye socket, gouging out the organ and robbing her of her sight on her left side.

Daniel and Kristopherson looked on in horror as the boy did this, while continuing to smile. Daniel tried running up to the boy in an attempt to stop him.

" **Stop it!"** he cried, reaching to grab the estranged child's shoulder to force him to cease his actions. To his surprise, his hand went right through the boy. He couldn't stop him. _He wasn't really there._

It would appear that the "spirit" took no notice, as it continued to act out the memory. " _Hasn't Claude taught you any better? A maid mustn't look directly at her master. It's rude!"_

The poor woman let out a whimper as the boy continued. " _Do forgive me,"_ the boy said, looking away with a face of feigned regret, almost as if he was sorry. _"Claude will be most upset if I don't punish you, so..."_ He removed his fingers and allowed the woman to fall to the ground. She did not scream, nor cry. She just crouched, clutching the source of her agony.

Then, everything faded. The boy and the maid disappeared and the blue room reverted to it's current state, with peeling wallpaper, dust and grime, and _spiders._ Oh, the _spiders._

Kristopherson and Daniel simply couldn't take it. They screamed in terror and ran for the exit. The ran as fast as their legs could carry them, occasionally tripping over rubble. Rounding the corner, Kristopherson fell backwards after colliding with a familiar face.

"Ow! Watch where you're going!" shouted the blonde boy, while he got up, rubbing his rear, now pained from reaching contact with the ground. He looked at the other boy, sitting where he landed, speechless, as was the boy behind him. "What? You look like you've seen a _ghost!"_ he said with a smirk.

At that, the other two's terror was rejuvenated as they scrambled to there feet and fled the mansion. They stopped at the gate to phone their comrades.

"A _ghost?"_ Ciel repeated, with his ear up to the walkie-talkie. "That's ridiculous, _ghosts don't exist."_

"But we _saw_ it!" yelled the panicked voice on the other end. "In the dining room! The kid in the picture gouged out a lady's _eye_!"

"You're imagining things." Ciel assured them while giving his blonde friend a look. "There's no way."

"But it _did_! It _was_ real!" Kristopherson insisted.

"Whatever. Just don't bitch on Monday when you have to be a slave." with that, he turned off the device and returned it to his pocket.

"What?" asked Alois, responding to the look Ciel was giving him.

"Your maid's eye, really?"

The blonde shrugged with a guilty face. "I admit it was wrong. I was a terrible person."

"Aren't we both?"

_"Always."_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In which I realise that I haven't been utilising all of the powers I had given these demonic assholes to the fullest. I forgot they could even do that. What the fuck? I need to start using this shit again...


	30. Memories and Imminent Danger

In the library of the old, abandonned Trancy manor, Alois and Ciel where planning their next attack. Daniel and Kristopherson were already vanquished, leaving only Travis and Preston in the way between them, and total victory.

"This is surprisingly fun. I don't even remember why I was so against coming here." the blonde said.

"Because you're a scaredy-demon?" said Ciel as he was finishing up this last diabolic circle.

"I am _not!"_

 _"'Oh no! A haunted mansion! Whatever shall I do?'"_ the bluenette teased, in his best "Alois-voice". Putting his hands on his face in mock-terror.

" _Hey_ , I've seen demons and grim reapers, so why wouldn't there be ghosts?"

"Whatever."

"And didn't you say kids were _disappearing_ around here? That's a pretty good reason to be frightened."

Ciel put the finishing touches on his circle, and stood up. "Yes, that's why I said we'd come, after all. These traps are also for whoever is responsible."

" _Bullshit,_ you just wanted to scare everyone."

"That too." The bluenette dusted himself off. The library was just as filthy as all the other rooms in the manor. However, it looked almost exactly as the boy remembered. (Minus the dirt, of course.) The suits of armour and decorative weaponry on the walls. Well, what hasn't been stolen or vandalized by local kids. It was in this room where the boys dueled.

He remembered the rush of adrenaline he got while fending off the blonde's attacks. How he felt while in turn, striking at the blonde. The memory of being pinned down and taunted by Alois seems as though it only happened yesterday. The stinging of catching the boy's blade in his hand, and the sensation of piercing the boy's abdomen with his own. He shuddered at the thought.

It appeared that Alois too, remembered all this. But he chose to hide it. At least for now. He walked around the room, taking it all in, and reliving that moment as it unfolded. The blonde spun around in a circle as he did this. He was about to turn to his friend, when he saw something strange. Something that wasn't there before.

In the corner, behind the staircase, was what appeared to be bedding.

"Hey, Ciel, what's that?" he asked.

The bluenette walked over to the other boy to investigate. "It looks like someone's been living here. " he said, walking over to the pile.

"Homeless?"

"Looks like it."

Alois thought about his time as a child. It wasn't particularly fun, but he had Luka. He also thought this person seemed to have found a really good place to stay, with the exception of the occasional hooligan popping in on a dare. He'd have preferred that a place like this too, when he was with Luca.

"Alois, I think we have a problem."

The blonde was pulled out of his thoughts by the sudden news. "What?"

Ciel moved a piece of the bedding off to the side. Underneath, many of the swords and knives previously on the wall were hidden. Some of them had _dried blood_ on them. Furthermore, there where pots and pans nearby, probably taken from the kitchen. The contents were appalling.

"Teeth?! Fingers?! What the hell?!" exclaimed the blonde. He could now smell it. _human remains._

 _"Cannibalism_. _Disgusting."_ The bluenette said. "Question is, where _are they now?"_

The boys suddenly looked at each other, realizing that the others where in danger. This lunatic was the reason this place was considered haunted. This lunatic was the reason for the disappearances of the local children. And this lunatic, was now somewhere in the mansion with two unsuspecting children.

But unfortunately for _this lunatic,_ he was also trapped in this mansion with two _demons._ The boys knew what they had to do.

"We have to get them out. _Now."_ said the blonde with an oddly determined face.

Ciel smiled at this. Such a face was uncommon for the boy, as was the sudden care for the well-being of others. He had to respect this. "As a bonus, I'll get to solve this series of disappearances." he said.

They boys each pulled a sword off the wall and set off in search of a cannibalistic boogeyman. Their rematch would have to wait.


	31. Gone Home

It was on this night at the old abandoned mansion, that another group of boys decided to test their bravery. Two boys made it outside and now wait for the four remaining. Two of the boys still inside where named Preston, and Travis.

The boy who went by Preston was getting tired. It was a little after midnight by this time, and this game was wearing on far too long for his tastes. It was at this time when the boy's tiredness was starting to affrct him. He would yelp at every creak the floorboard made and every odd shadow. All Preston wanted to do right now was go home.

_Creak!_

" _Eep! What was that?!"_ he said in a whisper.

Travis was a big, tough-looking boy who seldom spoke. He wore a mask of indifference that rivaled even sir Phantomhive's, hiding his own paranoia.

"Probably just the wind." he said plainly.

_Creak!_

_"There it is again!"_

It would appear the noises that where causing the boys distress where coming from behind them. They stopped and turned, shining the flashlight in the general area, trying to discover it's source. Nothing was there. Just the same mold and dirt and nasty peeling wallpaper, in the empty hallway.

"See? It was nothing." said Travis, turning around to move forward.

 _"AUGH!"_ the two boys screamed at once. There in front of them, was something that wasn't there before. A boy, similar to the one in the painting, and to that with which they arrived at the estate. But this boy, was different from either of them.

This boy had horns, for starters. A tail, too, like that of a monkey's. Long, black fingernails, and pointed ears. He too wore black short-shorts as his likenesses did, but he also had black thigh-high boots, black, fingerless gloves that reached slightly past the elbow, and a black shirt too, with no sleeves, that reached the end of his ribcage, exposing his abdomen. In his hand, he held a sword. No, this boy was _very different_. The other two similar looking boys, at least Preston and Travis thought, were _human._

 _"Good evening."_ he said, flashing his pointed canines as he smiled.

"H-hi..." Travis managed to choke out.

"So, what can I help you two with?"

The two human boys looked at each other, then back to the demon, questionably. "What?"

The demon played with the tip of the blade in a rather bored-looking manner. " _Surely you must know."_ he said, "After all, you came all this way to _my_ mansion, didn't you?"

Preston looked at the boys hands, then back at his face. He looked like he was _dying_ to use that sword on _someone._ "W-we don't know. W-we didn't k-know that this w-was _your_ mansion..." he said, his fear apparent.

The boy then frowned and stuck his sword in the wooden floorboard in a huff. "So you think it's fine to just barge into other people's houses willy-nilly?!" he eyes glowed as he roared.

_"We're sorry! We're sorry! We'll leave now! We'll leave_ _**now!"** _

" _Ten."_

_"Huh?"_

_"_ You have until I count to _ten._ After that, _I'll come and get you."_ He grabbed the handle of the blade once more. " _One..."_ he began, plucking the weapon out of the wooden floor.

In panic, the two boys screamed, and ran away. The demon didn't even make it to "two" before they were completely out of sight. The demon boy smiled.

"Hey, Ciel, how long do you think until they're completely out of the mansion?" he said.

Out of the shadows came another boy with hair of and awkward blueish-black and wearing an eyepatch. "Who knows? I'd give them a couple of minutes."

"Think they'll run into the cannibal?"

"Doubt it. I'm sensing he is in the opposite direction." he said, looking over his shoulder.

The demon boy smiled. "That's good."

" _Alois..._ "

"Yeah?"

_"Change back into your regular form."_

For the bluenette, the blonde's current appearance was too much to bear. Ciel could hardly look at him without gawking. _"How can anyone's demonic form be so... revealing?"_ he thought, hiding his blush and averting his gaze.

Alois stood there and observed the other boy's obvious discomfort, trying not to smile. He loved how he was able to evoke such a reaction from his companion. It's not like he _chose_ this form. It just sort of happened. "Why?" he asked, testing the limits of this.

Ciel snuck a peak at the blonde. " _Because_... Because it's shameful! A man holding such a ridiculous appearance is absurd! Not to mention, your tail! It is rude to show another demon your tail! It's ungentleman-like!" the slate-haired teen ranted a bit too loudly.

The blonde demon tried his best to contain his laughter. He felt like he was going to loose it at any second. "Whatever." he said, walking towards his friend. "We still have to catch a cannibalistic lunatic, _remember?"_ he said, walking past the other. He made sure his tail rubbed underneath the boy's chin as he did."

Ciel slapped it away a bit too late. Shivers had already gone down his spine. " _Just change back first!"_

With a sigh, the flaxen-haired demon complied, reverting back to Warwick private school's own class clown: _Alois Trancy_. "You're no fun. By the way, I haven't seen _your_ demon form yet." he said, glancing over his shoulder at the bluenette in a suggestive fashion.

"That's because unlike _you, I_ have a bit more _class."_ the boy stated, once again, desperately trying to conceal his blush.

 _"Pfft._ Okay, mister _stuffy britches_." and the blonde kept walking. "Let's go take care of the _bad, bad man_."

" _Arse_."

" _I love you too,_ _ **muffin**_ _."_

They ventured deeper into the mansion, stepping over broken furniture, and fighting off the urge to sneeze from all the dust in the air. The boys left no stone unturned in the hunt for this _freak._ They searched the records room, the servants quarters, the office, all leaving them with nothing. The two searched every room they came across, all empty, aside from the spiders and the occasional rodent. Eventually, they reached the Trancy kitchen. The room would seem silent to any normal person, but these boys, they heard _breathing._

The boys needed no flashlight to see through this darkness, being creatures of darkness themselves, so they could very well take this person by surprise. In the room, there was a dirty-looking man covered head to toe in dirt searching for usable resources. With a long beard, disgusting grimy, filthy, oily hair, grotesque fingernails, and a blind eye. However, none of these where the most _distinguishing_ feature the man had. No, this had to be the _necklace with human fingers as charms_ around his throat.

Quietly, the two predators closed in. Now, they weren't going to exactly _eat_ this man or his _soul._ No, at most they would just kill him. Plain and simple. And that's just what they did.

From both sides, they attacked, piercing the man's being with the blades they borrowed back from the house. Quietly, methodically, and coldly.

He didn't even know what happened. With a pained scream, he fell to the floor, and lay in a pool of his own blood. They made sure toe stab him in the head, so he wouldn't suffer long. It was sort of them showing "kindness" to this man.

From a realistic perspective, he would not be missed. Sad, but true. It was too much of a hassle to deal with getting him out of the house to arrest him with the other kids out front, waiting. Ciel and Alois knew all of this. It was a harsh reality, but these boy's knew of harsh realities, and expected no kindness from the world around them. However, they knew they could rely on each other, which was comforting.

So they left the building to rejoin the other children. All of them went their separate ways. Their parents where surely worried about them. Must be nice. The tow demon boys went home, back to Sebastian, back to Phantomhive manor, where there were no spiders no rats, nor cannibalistic homeless men. They won the game, and no children will disappear on those grounds again.


	32. Those Boys, Troublemaking

It was Monday morning once more at Warwick, and all six boys where still attempting to recover from the horror they had experienced the previous Saturday night. Well, four of them at least. Ciel Phantomhive and Alois Trancy where mysteriously unfazed. They blamed it on them "not seeing anything out of the ordinary", unlike the others. But this was not true. The two had in fact been the _cause_ of the four boy's horrifying expeiriance.

" _Agh!_ I _still_ have nightmares!" said a certain loudmouth who went by the name Daniel.

"That's because you're a coward." a faux-blonde called "Kristopherson" explained with a smug face.

" _Whatever, Kris._ We _saw_ you running out. You were screaming and crying your eyes out like a _bitch."_ Alois, the previously mentioned faux-blonde's " _arch-nemesis"_ , corrected. He rubbed his eyes and made "boo-hooeing" noises in order to taunt the boy, laughing as he did.

" _Piss off,_ Trancy."

"Ah, ah, ah!" Alois waved his finger in front of the boy's face. " _You_ lost, _remember?_ You can't talk to your _master_ that way." said the blonde, smiling.

Yes, the boys had a bet. The last group to leave the building won. Losers had to be the winner's slaves for a day, and Alois was _not_ wasting this opportunity. He was going to rub it in Kristopherson's face as much as possible. He used his won authority to mock Kristopherson, copy Prestron's homework, use Travis as a personal bodyguard, and finally, _get Daniel to shut up once and a while._

His bluenette friend, however, found no need for the authority. Ciel couldn't think of any way to _use_ it. All he wanted was to _win._ That's just his competitive nature. Even if he lost, (which would _never_ happen) he wouldn't obey any commands, because that would be stupid. Watching Alois taunt the others, however, was pretty entertaining. The way the blonde blatantly abuses it was just so _interesting_. He was creative like that, apparently. He once asked the bluenette: " _If you ordered Sebastian to punch himself in the face, he would have to follow your orders and do it, wouldn't he?"_ Ciel smiled to himself at this thought.

Suddenly, the voice of the politician's son pulled him from his thoughts. "Oh, hey! I was wondering if you guys wanted to see a movie after school today."

"A movie?" Alois asked, trying his hardest to mask his excitement. Last time he went to the movie theater was with Ciel. They saw _Wreck It Ralph_ in the " _3D"_ , and it was a _magical_ experience to the blonde.

"Yeah. ' _Devil Butler: 2'_ is out, and I've been dying to see it!"

"What's it about?"

"Well, ' _Devil Butler'_ is set in the 1800s and is about this kid named _Cecil Hauntington_ who owns this _candy company_ , and he looses his parents in an accident so he inherits the company. _Then_ , he summons a _demon_ named _Alfred_ , who becomes his _butler_ and he uses him to get _revenge on the people who killed his parents_. In _'Devil Butler: 2', Cecil_ _looses his memory of everything that happened in the first movie_ and then has to kill this other kid, _Alphonse Tracy,_ who _also_ has a _demon butler."_ the boy explained with much enthusiasm.

Ciel and Alois stared at him for a moment with bored looks on their faces. "That..." the bluenette began, "has got to be the most _idiotic_ premise for a movie I have _ever_ heard of _in my life._ " His blonde companion just nodded in agreement.

"Oh _come on!_ " Daniel whined. "Preston, you'll go, won't you?"

"Sorry, I have violin lessons after school." the boy replied.

"Kristopherson?"

**"No."**

_"Travis?"_

"I have club activities after school, so I can't." Travis said.

"You're in a club, Travis?" Alois asked the large boy, looking at him questioningly.

"Yes." the boy said with a slight smile. " _The gardening club."_

Daniel stood up, whining about not getting his way. "You guys _suck!"_

 _"_ Well, you _blow!"_

Alois' response was automatic. Ciel had said this to him many times before, and so, he perfected his counter-attack. Thus, the slate-haired boy learned not to ever say that to the blonde. It would _always_ backfire in ways that made the boy regret his choice of words, just as Daniel did now, as laughter filled the circle.

"Mister Trancy, you will _not_ shout such _obscene_ things in _my_ classroom." A dark figure loomed over the giggling blonde, silencing him as he heard the man's rough voice. It was Mr. Irons, the History teacher, and he was _not_ amused. "Do I make myself _clear?"_

 _"Yes, sir."_ the blonde said, lowering his head, as the other boys tried to keep from snickering.

" _Good."_ said the man, returning to his desk. He was now ready to begin class. "Now, continuing from where we left off yesterday, what can you tell me about _the 1800s,_ class?"

"People wore top-hats and rode in carriages." said one boy.

"Yes."

"The women had to cover their ankles and wear weird dresses." said one girl.

"That's correct."

"Jack the Ripper went around _killing hookers!"_ shouted a certain blonde, as the bluenette boy couldn't help but let out a laugh.

" _Trancy. Phantomhive. Headmaster's office._ _ **Now!"**_


	33. Flee From The Dreaded Harpies

The boys where in the headmaster's office once more, following Alois' _poor choice of words._ Ciel was only with him because the teacher assumed he was involved. It was now up to Headmaster Horton, to sort this problem child out.

"Well if it isn't Mister Trancy," the portly man began, "As often as I see you in here, perhaps we should just give you your own desk!"

The blonde was unusually silent. This was understandable, due to his past experiences. It seems to have left him with severe distrust of authoritative adults, men, especially. He sat there in the chair in the opposite side of the headmaster's desk, fidgeting.

Horton continued. "And Mister Phantomhive! It would seem as though he's dragged you into this as well! Perhaps it is time to rethink your choice in friends."

"I couldn't if I _tried_ , Sir. You see, Alois is my _adoptive brother._ I couldn't leave him alone." the bluenette replied. Yes, this was the lie that the school was fed. In order to get in, you must be related to a prominent family. And since the _Trancy's_ where no longer known, the _Phantomhives_ where the next bet. On paper, it says that _Sebastian_ is the adoptive father of both boys.

The headmaster leaned forward, intertwining his fingers. "Ah, now I remember." he said in a serious tone. "I'm sorry, it slipped my mind."

"In addition, you shouldn't be so harsh on Alois. He simply cannot control his behaviour." the boy leaned forward across the desk to whisper. _"In his previous home, he suffered some psychological trauma, you see. We don't like to talk about it. He's talked to many doctors, but there wasn't much they could do."_

"I see..." said Horton, feeling guilty for being rude to the poor boy. "It's fine, just go back to class. Both of you." He gestured them out.

"Thank you for your understanding."

The two took the man up on his offer, and vacated the room. They walked down the lonesome hallways on their way back to homeroom, mostly in silence, as it seemed taboo to speak.

"Thanks for covering for me, Ciel." said the blonde, finally.

"It's no big deal. It would be a hassle if you where constantly getting in trouble for this. There are perfectly normal children who go to school with special conditions like this. It's a shame we didn't think of that sooner!" Ciel replied. This wasn't the entire truth, however, as the boy just didn't like seeing his friend in the office. He wouldn't say this, due to the fact the he feels as though he should keep up his cool, and serious act.

"Do _you?"_

 _"_ No, I'm a high-functioning sociopath, so it would seem like I wouldn't need them."

"Well, at least it's comforting to know that you admit you are _disturbed_ like me." said the blonde, jokingly.

Ciel couldn't help but smile a bit at that as well. One of the things they liked about one another, is that they each understood the other's " _issues"_. Oh, if only they had got along sooner! It would've saved them both a lot of trouble, wouldn't it have?

Out of the corner of his eye, the boy noticed a group of girls putting up posters around the building. He avoided eye contact however, so hopefully they would be left alone. The bulenette seldom enjoyed the company of others, especially from a group of girls that seemed as giggly and annoying as those. They where definitely the type to go on about nothing but their "boy problems" to one another, and otherwise have nothing interesting to talk about.

" _Alois! Ciel!"_ Too late. They had been spotted. He glanced over in that direction, and surely enough, one of the girls was waving at them. Beckoning them to come over. Even worse, Alois _had_ made eye contact, now they _had_ to come over.

Reluctantly, the boys stretched their legs, bringing them ever closer to the _girly menace._ The girls where obviously cheerleaders, judging by their bags with pom-poms leaking out that said the word " _Cheer"_ in big, bright letters on the front. Ciel mentally prepared himself for the iminant barrage of stupid questions and attempts for conversation.

"Hey, _Sarah, Sammantha, Kate."_ the blonde beside him greeted. To his surprise, his friend knew their names. The blunette had been in this school far longer than Alois had, and yet he didn't know these girls. He chalked it up to the blonde's (fake) social personality. "What are you girls doing?" Alois asked.

"We're putting up poster's for the school dance! It's going to be _really_ fun!" one of the girls said, with a giggle. "Are you guys going?"

Before the bluenette could say "no", the blonde said "I dunno. I've never really _been_ to a dance before." only a _half_ lie, this time. Alois had only been to balls and parties of the elite during the Victorian era, which was certainly different than a _school dance._

The girls let out a simultaneous gasp at that. A different girl said. "We thought you'd be the type who'd love to go to a dance, Alois! There's dancing and music, and you can hang out and stuff!"

"I can't believe you've never been!" added the other.

"Really? That sounds fun!" the bluenette couldn't tell if the boy was serious, or just putting on airs. He did _not_ want to go. Surely if Alois did, he would be forced to go along. It didn't sound fun in _the slightest._ He hated the balls of the Victorian age, and he hated the dances of this one.

The girls let out a squeal so high pitched, that only dogs should be able to hear it.

"Do you have anyone in mind to go with?" one of them asked

"Ooh! You should go with me!" said another.

the last one interrupted, "No, me!"

Ciel felt his eye twitch. He _would not_ allow Alois to go with one of these _harpies_. Quickly, he grabbed the boys wrist and dragged him. "We have to get back to class. He'll get back to you on that, okay?" he shouted over his shoulder, leaving a confused looking flock of girls behind him.

Alois was also confused. Not only by his friends sudden action, but by the girls. Where you supposed to go with someone? Like a _date?_ He looked at the boy who had his wrist and flushed. _"No way would Ciel agree to that."_ the blonde thought.

"Hey, should you be doing that?" he asked, "Someone might see and get the wrong idea." he said, letting out a nervous laugh. He tried to joke about the situation he was in.

"I don't _care_." the bluenette stated, much to the surprise of them both. Suddenly, his face was turning red as well, like the other boy, whose face was getting an increasingly darker shade. He couldn't believe he said that out loud. He had to cover his tracks, quickly. " _I-I had to get you away from those annoying witches before they dragged to to that stupid dance!_ " The last thing he wanted anyone to know was that he had _feelings_.

For the first time, Alois got the impression that he had a chance with the other boy. He had gotten hints that the bluenette dropped unintentionally, but never one quite so blatant. Never had he thought that these feelings of his where mutual. Ciel was so proud, surely he wouldn't be caught _dead_ being interested in _a boy._ Alois knew this. Ciel thought this. But now, it was as though the mask was slipping, revealing the preferences underneath.

Alois would not act on this immediately, however. He was still much too afraid of ruining his friendship. The only _real_ friendship he's had in a long time. What if he was wrong and Ciel was disgusted with him and pushed him away? He couldn't bear the thought. Nor was he willing to open up completely, only to be hurt again by someone he trusts. Like Ciel, he too was afraid of _feelings_ , and hid them to protect himself.

But maybe, someday, they _could_ end up together. Is that entirely possible? The blonde thought as he was pulled through the hallway. Judging by the fact that Ciel still had his hand, current signs where pointing to a _yes._


	34. Gunfight At Phantomhive Manor

Phantomhive Manor. A mansion that has stood on the outskirts of London for over a hundred years, and home to the Phantomhive family. Many secrets lie within the confines of these walls. Dark secrets of murder, conspiracy, and the dark arts.

One of such secrets, is the true nature of the three gentlemen who live there. The young master of the household and his associates are in fact, demons. Creatures of darkness from the depths of hell, who devour the souls of weak humans. The oldest is the butler, Sebastian. He would never say _how_ old he was, but it is understood that he caused the Black Death that ravaged Europe in the middles ages. Ciel is the middle demon, if you go by how long the children have actually _been demons_ at the approximate age of one-hundred and twenty four. He's one hundred and thirty-seven if you count his human life. Alois is the youngest, at the age of one. However, when he was alive, he was fourteen, making him fifteen if you go by his living age. He's one-hundred and thirty-eight, older than the other boy if you go by _years existed._

It's all so very confusing.

All the same, the two "children" are still children, thus they act like it. Even Ciel, who previously has acted like an adult up until recently does this. While the butler is happy for his master's new found childish nature, he _doesn't_ like the mess.

By that, I mean the Nerf gun battle that happened on this day. The young master had brought home a movie by the name of _"KiLL BiLL"_ , and the boys had watched it together. They had no swords, so they decided to shoot out their differences.

"Did you eat the pudding I left in the fridge yesterday?" the bluenette boy demanded.

"That was _yours?"_ asked the blonde. He had committed a terrible sin for the Phantomhive household. Eating Ciel's sweets was like spitting in his face, and was often met with retribution.

"You. Me. _Nerf_ battle to the _death. Now."_

The blonde liked this game. It was always fun when his friend decided to act like the "kid" he was. It was seldom, but it happens. He jumped up off the couch and ran for a gun. He always kept one loaded in his room. However, the other boy had brought his with him.

This showed that the boys each had their own tactics. For example, Ciel would keep all of his ammunition with him, while Alois would keep his hidden in various locations throughout the mansion. He claimed that it was "too keep himself moving, and to discourage him from using all of his darts at once. A silly move.

Alois made a mad dash up the stairs to get his gun, dodging the bluenette's fire as he did. Fortunately, the other boy was conservative with his share of orange foam darts, and he made it up the to the second floor.

"No fair!" he said before narrowly escaping behind a wall.

He dashed into his room and locked the door, before grabbing his weapon and checking to see if it was loaded properly. One might think that all this is a bit much for a battle with toy guns, but when you're playing against Ciel Phantomhive, it's entirely necessary.

The bluenette was relentless when it came to winning. He'd even fire head-shots if he thought it would help him win. The boy would use any trick he could to lure you into his sights. To him, it wasn't just a game. It was a matter of pride.

Without missing a beat, the blonde exited his room quickly, but cautiously, in case he had been followed up the stairs. He turned the corner, expecting to see the bluenette standing there, gun at the ready, only to see no one. He continued through the hallway with care, reaching the stairs once more. He peeked out and saw him there, at the bottom.

He smiled at this. Ciel hadn't thought to follow him. The slate-haired boy must've thought he's have to come back down eventually, so he'd just wait. Alois however, knew that having the higher ground gave him the upper hand. He swung around the corner, and opened fire.

Ciel was taken by surprise by this attack. he dodged the darts, and hid behind a pillar, having no other cover, and returned fire. The blonde hid behind the corner for a moment before making a run for it. He grabbed a few of his foes darts that where fired earlier along the way. The blonde risked jumping over the railing. In order to avoid having to run down the stairs.

Time stood still in those few seconds between the time he jumped and the time he landed. Alois managed to land on his feet and fire a few more shots at his foe, before running into another room. The bluenette took this opportunity to reload. He had underestimated the blonde. He took off inpursuit, opening the door to the drawing room, and, seeing movement, opened fire. Unfortunately for him, it wasn't the blonde, but it was Sebastian instead.

The man caught the orange foam projectiles instead of getting hit by them. Without even turning around, even. "Playing this game again, young master? Could you two try not to make as big a mess as last time? I'm still finding foam darts around the manor." he said.

"Sorry, I thought you were Alois." the boy said, catching his breath. "Have you seen him?"

Sebastian turned around and gave the Earl a smile. "Yes, I have. In fact, he's right behind you my lord."

Ciel's eye went wide as he turned around, only to be staring down the barrel of the blonde's weapon. For a moment, everything seemed to stand still, even though it was really only a second before the blonde pulled the trigger and hit the other boy right in the forehead.

"Boom! Head-shot!" the blonde giggled before running away.

The fact that he said this only added insult to injury. The bluenette was infuriated at this point. He got hit by Alois Trancy! The blonde was going to pay, now.

"Sebastian! _You traitor!"_

"But my lord, I thought his presence was obvious. I would have definitely told you sooner had I not assumed that it was within your ability to sense him." the man said, with a small smile.

" _Whatever!"_ he boy shouted before taking off.

He chased the giggling boy throughout the manor. Through hallways, up stairs, down stairs, into rooms out of rooms. Each boy was able to get the other a number of times, but nothing really substantial. It would appear they where evenly matched.

Down the hallway they flew, nearing the stairs. It was thought that Alois was going to loose, now. He was out of ammunition and the railing grew ever nearer. It was game over. This was it. But then, the unthinkable happened. Once more, the blonde _flew._

He took a running jump over the railing. His arms and legs flailed about as though trying to reach out to something, but only grabbing air. Finally, he grabbed onto the chandilier, causing it to shake violently. He swung himself up like a monkey. He knew that his friend wouldn't dare to shoot down his grand light soucrce.

 _"Trancy!_ You _wanker!_ Get down from there right now!" Ciel shouted. He almost didn't stop himself from going over the rail as well.

"No way! If I do you'll shoot me!" the blonde shouted back.

"If you break that chandelier, so help me, I will _end_ you!"

" _I love you too muffin_!" the boy was feeling confident in his ability to keep from getting shot now. The only problem now was that the lights where hurting his eyes, and his hands were slipping.

_His hands were slipping._

" _OH SHI-!"_ was all the boy could say before he let go and fell to the floor.

Ciel quickly ran down the stairs to make sure his friend was alright. "Alois, you dead yet?"

"Nah, I'm fine, mate." said the blonde, rubbing his sore back. "Thanks for askin'."

"That's good." said the bluenette with a twisted smirk. Slowly, the barrel of his gun aimed toward the boy laying on the floor. " _Checkmate."_

"What're you-? Ow! OW! Stop! OW! QUIT IT! OW! THAT HURTS!"

Ciel continued to fire until he had hit the blonde with his last dart. Although the orange rounds were made of foam, with their rubber tips and being fired at a close range, they still stung. And that is why you should take all games played with a Phantomhive, _quite seriously._


	35. The Dance Debate and Continuous Laughter

The Warwick annual dance was a few weeks away, but still, it seemed like the entire school was buzzing about it. No matter the era, one thing that always remained apparent was the stupidity of teenagers. Don't they realize that there's more important things in life than these silly little gatherings? That there's more to life than any of that? Who cares if mommy won't buy you the dress you wanted, there's a girl down the street who would feel _blessed_ to acquire some _shoes_ of any sort. Our boys often wondered about this. Unlike the other children, _they_ knew that life doesn't _owe_ you anything. The world is a stage that is not always kind to it's players, you see. Whatever problem you are currently having, there is someone else who has it a thousand times worse than you. Who knows this better than Ciel Phantomhive and Alois Trancy?

"It's _disgusting_." the blonde said aloud. A girl in the class was sobbing while her friends cooed in her ears words they knew she wanted to hear. "She's crying because a boy doesn't want to go with her to a dance?"

"Yes." said the bluenette. "There are a many countless reasons why he would do that. Perhaps he doesn't fancy her. Perhaps he just doesn't plan on going."

"Yeah, what if his grandmother died or something? I bet she'd feel like a bitch, then."

"Probably not, since she's ' _daddy's little princess'."_ Ciel said satirically, causing the other boy to giggle.

"Uhm, excuse me..." their conversation was interrupted by another girl and her friends. "I was wondering, Ciel, if you'd..." the girl looked behind her at one of her friends, who motioned for her to continue. They where apparently there as backup in cause the plan went awry. She continued, restating her question. "I was wondering if you'd like to go to the dance with me, Ciel."

Before he could even open his mouth, the blonde spoke. "He can't!" he exclaimed.

"Huh? Why not?" she asked, looking at him questioningly. Ciel did the same, having no idea where the blonde was going with this.

"Because..." he began, not so sure of this himself. Suddenly his face lit up as he discovered the answer. "Because..." he said, walking over to his friend and put his arms around him in a good 'ol _christian side-hug,_ "...He's going with _me."_ he stated with a smirk.

A simultaneous "What?!" was uttered by both the group of girls, and the bluenette himself.

"Whatever! Get off of me!" the boy in question shouted, his facial hue entering into a slight crimson shade, as he tried to force the blonde off of him. "I don't even _want_ to go! Don't even _joke_ like that!"

 _"Do not denyyyyy our loooooove!"_ the blonde said in a sing-song voice, in the few seconds he wasn't laughing, whilst resiting the slate-haired boy's shoves.

The girls just looked on as if unsure what they were supposed to do, other bystanders laughed at the ridiculous scene. Ciel finally managed to kick the laughing boy off, and he landed in his own seat. The blonde shifted until he was now laying sideways, his head and legs hanging off the chair, and was dying with laughter.

 _"I'm going to_ _ **kill**_ _you..."_ the bluenette told him between clenched teeth. He was giving the blonde a death glare like no other.

"So... is that a 'no'?" one of the girl's friends asked after a long while of being speechless.

Ciel took a deep breath and tried to calm himself before looking over at the group. He put of his best mask of _giving a damn_ and said: "I'm sorry, but no. I don't plan on going at all, to tell you the truth. Social gatherings just really aren't _my thing."_ He tried his best to be convincing, but the embarrassment the blonde forced him through was slipping through various gaps in his armour (as did his utter annoyance).

"Oh... that's okay. I understand." the girl said sadly. The boy just hoped she didn't _cry._ If she did, he would immediately be painted the villain, regardless of circumstance. She and her friends walked away, them cooing as the friends of the girl from before did.

After he was sure they had moved on, he looked at the blonde still laying in his chair, but finally calming down. He punched the boy's leg.

"Ow! What was that for?!" Alois whined, sitting up.

 _"For being an_ _ **idiot**_ _!"_ Ciel shouted angrily. A faint blush was still visible on his cheeks.

From the back of the class, _Daniel Westly_ sat. He stood up and sang at the two, causing everyone in the room to roar in laughter. " _Caaaaaaan you feeeel the loooooove toniiiiight?"_

_**"Do you want to die?!"** _


	36. Dancing Devils

As the dance grew closer, the school classes changed as well. Well, study hall, at least. The children where instructed to move the desks to the edges of the room so the center of the room was clear. They where given no further instructions, so it was a surprise when the ballet instructor walked in.

Yes, Warwick offers a wide variety of extra-curricular activities, ballet being one of them. Therefore the school had such an instructor, obviously. Mrs. Bristow appeared to be in her late thirties. She wore a nice dress, and had an almost _eerily_ cheery disposition. The children whispered amongst themselves as to what she could be doing here, of all places.

"Alright, children, settle down." he said, clapping her hands to get their attention. "I suppose you're all wondering why I'm here. Well, as you all know, the Warwick annual dance is coming up," she spoke will great enthusiasm, as indicated by her not only voice, but her excessive use of gesticulation. The children, mostly boys, actually, let out a nearly simultaneous "aaaaw". Once more, she clapped her hands to get their attention.

"Children, I don't need your input while I'm trying to talk. Now, it is traditional for the first half of the dance to be formal, and requires that you know how to _dance_ formerly. The second half will be more loose, so in other words, _come late._ " an almost buzzing noise, caused by small amounts of laughter from the children was heard. The rest of them remained silent, dreading where this was going. "So, the school asks me every year to teach the students how to waltz for that first half."

 _"Shit."_ a petite boy with hair of the most awkward shade of blueish black muttered under his breath.

" _What is it?"_ a slightly taller boy with flaxen hair whispered to the first.

" _Do you even know when the last time I waltzed was? It was at your stupid costume party in the 1800s!"_

_"Yeah, and you sucked at it then, too."_

_"Piss off."_

"Now," the woman continued, "If I may have a volunteer to demonstrate?" The room went silent. "Anyone? Anyone at all?" Of course no one stepped forward. What kind of idiot would _volunteer_ to dance with a _teacher_ in front of the _entire class_? "Does _anyone_ here know how to waltz."

With a smirk, the bluenette shoved his blonde friend forward. He stumbled to balance himself. He turned to his friend. " _What was that for?!"_ he inquired in a hushed tone. Unfortunately, it was too late.

"Ah! Finally! A volunteer!" Alois looked at the woman questioningly before he realized where he was standing. Once more, the children laughed. Ciel even laughed, covering his mouth so no one could see. "And your name is?"

" _Alois Trancy,_ ma'am."

"Alois Trancy, do you know how to waltz?"

"Yeah."

"Well then, would you please take my waist?"

Now the class was roaring. That last sentence really set them off. Alois struggled to maintain his poker face, his face turned a very subtle shade of pink.

"Now, now! Settle down!" Mrs. Bristow clapped her hands once more. "Mister Trancy, if you would please?"

Swallowing whatever pride he had left, Alois took the standard position. Placing his left hand on the woman's waist, and taking her right. The class snickered, and in response, the blonde not-so-subtly mouthed the words, " _piss off_ " to the offenders.

"Audrey, could you start the music please?" the woman asked, looking over to a boy in the corner of the room next to a CD player.

"Yes, ma'am." and thus, music crept into the room.

"Begin, left foot first..." the woman began, but soon no longer required giving any further instruction. The blonde moved his left foot, followed by his right. His right foot moved outward, followed by his left. Next, his right moved backward, then his left moved out. These movements were repeated on loop around the room, much to the disbeleif of the students, including Sir Phantomhive.

"Where on earth did you learn this dance?"

"I had a tutor." the blonde answered without missing a beat. His answer shockingly honest to the Phantomhive. He expected some nonsense like, " _I taught myself",_ or, " _Google."_

 _"_ This is the Viennese Waltz, correct? Now _that's_ traditional dancing." the instructor replied.

"I think so? I don't really remember the name."

The class watched as the two danced. Alois even pulled of a rather ambitious twirl, much to the woman's delight. His bluenette friend, however, was getting a bit _creeped out_ by this.

Finally, Mrs. Bristow stopped laughing for a moment and parted from the boy, who even bowed, like a true Victorian Englishman would. She addressed the class. "And _that_ is how it's done!" she declared, applauding the boy.

Joining into the applause, the other students were starting to get a bit excited as well. They looked like they were having fun, so the others became curious to try it as well. Brstow began teaching another boy, and Alois was instructed to do the same with a girl, and when those students felt like they got it, they would in turn, teach another. Soon the waltz was spreading like a disease as everyone in the room began to dance. Everyone, except _Ciel._

Ciel was not keen on dancing. He did not like dances nor parties or any social event, for that matter. He just leaned against the wall and waited for the class to be over. That is, until a certain blonde walked up.

"Come on, then." he said.

 _"What?"_ the bluenette partially whined, yelled, and asked.

"You're the only one left, come on."

"Alois, in case you haven't noticed, neither of us are girls." Ciel crossed his arms to cement himself to the ground. He was _not_ dancing, and that was final. _Especially with a boy._

"Oh, _get off it_. In case you haven't noticed, _there are no girls left,_ and _you_ still need a refresher course." the blonde insisted, offering his hand.

Ciel felt his face start to heat up. Class was over in about ten minutes. If he could stall Alois for that long, he'd be free. "I don't even _want_ to go to the stupid dance."

" _Everyone_ has to take this class, Ciel."

"No."

"Don't be a baby. _Just take my waist."_

At that, the flush on the bluenette's face became visible. The thought of touching the other boy's _waist_ was just...

" _ **No!"**_ He was not going to budge.

"Want me to take _yours_ then?"

 _ **"Fine."**_ he caved in. The blonde was going to pester him relentlessly until class was over. In fact, there was no garuntee it would stop there. Ciel just couldn't stand it.

He knew he was going to face some severe ridicule for this, but for the moment, he didn't care. He placed his left hand on the blonde's waist, unsuccessfully hiding his blush, and took the other boy's right.

"Even though I'm being the female, I'll lead since you can't remember, m'kay?"

"Fine, _whatever."_

Alois moved his right foot back, urging the other to follow him with his left. The blonde moved his left foot outwards while the bluenette moved his right. They went through all the steps of the waltz, and repeated them. Ciel stepped on the blonde's foot on more than one occasion.

Eventually, the bluenette managed to calm down, however this was just as the bell rang. And as promised, Alois separated from him, giving him a joking curtsy as he did. He had more fun than he thought he would, the bluenette. It was almost a _shame_ they had to switch classes.

Before leaving, the instructor addressed the class one last time. "Remember, children: we'll be doing this on Tuesday's and Thursday from now until the dance!"

Alois looked to his friend with a patronizing smirk, letting his expression speak for him. Blushing at the fact that the boy knew about his secret enjoyment of the class period, all Ciel could do was instruct the blonde through clenched teeth.

" **Not. A. Word."**


	37. An Awkward Conversation

Days went by, and after the dance class, rumors were spreading throughout the campus about the two boys. Children would call Alois "Ciel's Wife", or "Mrs. Phantomhive" after that, as well as a plethora of other rude things. The same went for the bluenette, as people he _didn't even know_ called him things like, "homo", "poof", "woofter", and things related. It was embarrassing, but the boy did his best to ignore it.

He walked to his next class like he always did, except the blonde was not with him, as Alois had once again gotten into trouble, and was put back on library duty. Shocking, isn't it? The bluenette walked with purpose, trying to avoid anyone who would possibly stop him and cause him to be late. As you could possibly guess, his efforts were in vain as a certain, Daniel Westly walked up (more like jogged to catch up) beside the boy.

"Hey, Ciel! I haven't seen you today! Where you been?" he said, keeping pace with the other boy.

"In class, like always." Ciel replied. He didn't even bother to look at Daniel, and kept walking.

"Huh. I guess it's 'cause Trancy isn't around. You're so quiet without him."

"Am I?" the question was rhetorical. He didn't really care for an answer.

"Yeah." the taller boy said, pausing for a moment, "So is it true?"

"About what?"

"You and Trancy. Do you fancy him, I mean?"

" _No."_ his response was automatic. It was also a _lie._

Of course he had feelings for the blonde. To him, everything about the boy was just so, _**cute.**_ " _From his stupid girly giggle, to his stupid face."_ the bluenette often thought. He wasn't going to admit it, obviously, especially to a loudmouth like the one walking beside him.

"Oh." the brown-haired boy said. "It's okay, if you _did_ , y'know. I'm not judging."

Ciel chose to remain silent, and keep walking. He couldn't really think of anything to say to that. The two walked a short distance longer in silence before the other boy broke it again.

He asked: "Hey, did you know that _Kristopherson's_ a _gay?"_

The bluenette blinked, and finally turned to the other boy. " _Kristopherson?"_ he echoed. Surely that wasn't true. After all, he taunted Alois for supposedly being homosexual. Clearly he was against the lifestyle. Of course, the faux-blonde _did_ wear that _pink tie._

"Yeah." the other answered, "He's still in the closet, though."

"How do you know?"

"His _sister_ told me."

 _Anastasia Miles._ Of course she would know. The siblings were always close, after all. They even bleached their hair blonde similarly. The real question was, _why would she tell Daniel?_

The son-of-a-politician answered this with a smile, as though he were bragging. Apparently, he had asked her to the dance, and they've been going steady ever since. The daughter of an actor and a fashion designer with a politician's son? Even Ciel had to admit, that was a powerful combination, reputation-wise. However, he was doubtful the relationship would last.

"Kristopherson taunted Alois at the beginning of the year, though. Was that just a cover up, then?" he asked.

"Concerned about _your wife,_ huh, Phantomhive?" the other boy teased while elbowing the slate-haired teen.

"He's _not_ my _wife."_

"Yeah, yeah. A _likely story._ Anyways, to answer your question, _yeah._ Apparently he fancies Trancy, too, so watch out."

This stopped the bluenette in his tracks for a moment. There was that feeling again. What was it called? _Jealousy._ The green beast clawed at his stomach and heart regardless of the fact that there was no change _in hell_ that Alois would _ever_ pick the faux-blonde. Regardless, the feeling was there. It angered the boy to feel this. It was _stupid,_ it was _pointless,_ but it was simply not in the boy's control. He kept walking once more.

Noticing the boy's action's the brown-haired teen jested. "Oh? What's wrong? The thought of a little competition got you upset, there, Phantomhive?"

" _What competition?_ There is no _competition."_ Ciel stated plainly.

"Yeah, I guess you're right, we know Trancy only has eyes for you."

Ciel punched the boy in the shoulder in exasperation. " _Shut up."_

Daniel couldn't help but laugh. "Alright, don't get your knickers in a twist! Just don't tell anyone I told you about _Kris_. _Anna_ will kill me if she found out I told you."

"You deserve it, you loudmouth."

"Should I tell everyone about you and your ' _Trancy fancy'_?"

_**"Piss off."** _


	38. The Second Waltz

It was the night of the annual Warwick Private School's Formal Dance, and the event was in full swing. Children of the elite who were students at Warwick were privileged to attend, as dances like this are few. It supposedly replicates the balls of the Victorian era for the first half, then slips into a more casual setting. The Warwick ballroom was decorated elegantly, as were the guests in their snazzy suits, tuxedos and dresses and such. Even the refreshment table was classy, complete with an ice sculpture.

Yes, most of the Warwick students were there, having a good time. To the contrary, there where two students we know of, who were _not._ Ciel Phantomhive had not the slightest interest in going to such a silly event and as a result, his friend Alois Trancy, stayed home as well. The two spent their time as they would any other Friday evening. Ciel was in his room, reading, and Alois was... _Alois-ing._

However bluenette was having a hard time getting into his book. There was a faint noise of an unknown origin thwarting his attempts to enjoy his reading experience. He listened as closely as he could, but the sound was so delicate, he simply could not identify it.

In a huff, he put down his book and stood up. He proceeded to walk around the room to better place the sound, but to no avail. Finally he walked to the door and briskly turned the knob. Peeking his head out into the hallway, the sound could still be heard, albeit a little more clear.

The bluenette stepped out into the hallway and located the direction that the mystery sound was coming from, and started walking. As he got closer, the sound got clearer.

" _A song?"_ he thought, " _it sounds like I've heard it before somewhere."_

As he grew closer still, he realized that it was, in fact, a song. Even closer, he concluded that it was a woman's voice. Closer, it was Italian.

Ciel found himself if front of the blonde's room. The door was cracked open, and music seeped out. The blonde was on the bed was laying on the bed with his arm over his eyes. He didn't appear to be asleep, he looked as though he was just enjoying the sound. It was slightly melancholy with a unmistakeable romantic and powerful sound. Ciel listened and tried to make out the words.

" _O mio babbino caro,_

_mi piace, è bello bello,_

_vo'andare in Porta Rossa_

_a comperar l'anello!_

_Si, si, ci voglio andare!_

_E se l'amassi indarno,_

_andrei sul Ponte Vecchio_

_ma per buttarmi in Arno!"_

It was no use trying to deceiver the song's meaning. The bluenette simply did not know Italian. He opened the door and let himself in, immediately informing the other boy of his presence.

Alois lifted his arm slightly and peaked out. His icy-blue eyes were only slightly visible, as he looked at the intruder.

"Hullo, what can I do for you?" he chimed.

The bluenette walked a few more steps into the room. "That's really loud. I could hear it all the way down the hall." he said.

Springing himself up off the bed, Alois walked over to the CD player and adjusted the volume. "Sorry." he said smiling at his friend.

"It's fine. What song is that?"

Alois perked up at the question. "It's called, ' _O Mio Babbino Caro'."_ he said with a twirl.

"By who?"

He reached over to grab the CD case on his desk, and turned it over to view it's back. "It says 'Renée Fleming', but it's a cover, I think."

"I didn't know you liked _Opera_." The slate-haired teen walked over and grabbed the case, to inspect it. "The title just says ' _Classical Hits'."_

"Yeah, it's a mix tape of classical music. It was cheap."

" _Charlotte Church, Bond, John Williams, Sarah Brightman..."_ he listed off the names of the artists. "Still, it has some pretty big names on it." he continued, "What's your favourite one?"

"That would be ' _The Second Waltz'_ by André Rieu."

Ciel paused for a moment. "Oh yeah..." he began, "the dance was tonight, wasn't it? I'm surprised you didn't want to go, considering how much you like to dance."

The blonde giggled and flashed the bluenette a smile. "Well, if we went, you'd hate it. And I couldn't go by myself, it simply wouldn't be any fun without you!" he said.

A flush crept over Ciel's face at those words. " _...it simply wouldn't be any fun without you"?_ Stop it. And that _smile_ and _giggle?_ How can one person be so _cute?_

A long silence lingered in the air, aside from the soft music in the background. Wordlessly, the bluenette looked at the case once more before changing the track. He pressed the skip button until he reached a song oh so familiar to the blonde, _"The Second Waltz"._

He extended a hand to the blonde, who stood speechless by the boy's actions. It was so unlike Ciel to willingly offer _to dance_. Hesitantly, the blonde took his hand and curtsied, taking a moment to smile at his friend, and fight off his growing blush. Ordinarily, he would let loose a taunting remark such as, " _Oh, Ciel Phantomhive wants to dance? Have pigs learned to fly, yet?"_ but no. Not tonight. He was _not_ going to ruin this moment, as it may never have a repeat performance.

They assumed the standard position. Ciel put his left hand on Alois' hip, while the blonde put his right hand on the boy's shoulder. The bluentte's right and the blonde's left hand intertwined like they were supposed to. Then, both boy paused to look at the other, blushing, before they took the first step.

 _One, two, three, four_. Step after step they took, moving to the music. It was a slightly faster pace than the bluenette was used to, so he managed to step on the other boy's foot more than once. He would stutter a quick "sorry" and the blonde would just giggle and tell him it was alright. He didn't mind. Neither of them did.

They spun around and around until the the song came to a close, and the two realized how close they where to one another. Time stood still as they stared into the other's eyes. Suddenly, their eyelids became heavy and fluttered closed as they inched ever closer. Closer, closer, and closer, until their lips weren't even an inch apart...

_Knock, knock, knock!_

Their eyes snapped open and they scrambled to separate themselves as a knock on the door was heard. Quickly, _awkwardly,_ they straightened themselves, and cleared their throats. One nodded to the the other when they felt like they were settled.

" _Come in."_ Ciel called, trying to keep his voice easy.

The door eased open and a tall man clad in black appeared from behind it. "Pardon my intrusion, my lord, but I'd like to inform you that dinner is served." he said.

"Oh, thank you, Sebastian. We'll be down in a few moments."

"Very well, my lord." Sebastian bowed one and disappeared once more behind the door, closing it.

Once more, silence entered the room, leaving nothing but the sound of the CD playing in the background. Alois cleared his throat and shifted his gaze from the floor to the other boy in the room. "Shall we be off, then?" he asked.

" _Yeah, let's."_ Ciel replied, taking a few steps toward the door before motioning for the other to follow.

All was quiet at the dinner table that night. Both boys were too embarrassed to face the other right now. Likewise, both boys were thing the exact same thing:

" _Sebastian, you traitorous swine."_


	39. Uneasy Feelings

The weekend dragged on, and the boys hardly spoke. It seemed as though they were flat-out avoiding each other. Since the night of the dance, each boy couldn't even face the other. Small talk would be exchanged now and again, but they weren't spending nearly as much time together as they used to.

" _I fucked up."_ Alois thought, " _I fucked up real bad."_ The boy was laying face down on his bed, sulking. " _Did you see how he looked at you today? He's probably disgusted. Way to go, Alois..."_ He rolled over on his side.

His plan was to just wait until the event was no longer at the forefront of the other boy's thoughts, then make an attempt to patch things up and resume life as usual. If he lost this friendship he had with the bluenette, he didn't know what he'd do.

Similarly, in another part of the mansion, the other boy was engrossed in his own thoughts on the matter. The boy sat at his desk and stared into space. His head rested on his hand, and his elbow sat on the wooden surface. Ciel was embarrassed at his prior actions, but the events on that Friday night were playing on loop in his mind against his own will. With a sigh, the boy ran his fingers through his hair in an attempt to get it to stop.

The bluenette hadn't the slightest idea on how he could face the _stupid_ blonde. Never before had the Earl had a feeling even close to this for _anyone,_ but of _anyone_ in the world, it had to be _that_ blonde with behavioral problems and deep mental scarring. What if he the sudden action frightened him? Trauma stemming from the blonde's sexual abuse was still very evident in his fear and distrust of adults. What if the bluenette made it worse? What if Alois didn't _even feel_ the same way he did?

Everything was so complicated and awkward. Unbeknownst to the other, both boys longed for the days when they just had fun together and played. Was all of that gone now just because of _one_ little _almost-kiss?_

The slate-haired teen rubbed his temples in frustration. For once, Ciel Phantomhive had not the faintest clue of what on earth he was going to do. Maybe if he acted as though nothing happened, it would all just go away? Probably not, the damage was done. Maybe if he just owned up to his actions and confessed to the blonde, he would understand? No, Ciel just didn't have the courage for that. Not yet. He was still too afraid of his own thoughts and feelings.

He often thought throughout his life that if he really _didn't_ have any feelings or emotions, living would be so much easier. He had spent years building up a shell between the outside world and his own heart in order to protect himself for any attack, but now, someone had cracked that shell. That blonde boy had managed to sneak his way through it, and was now launching a full-scale invasion. Ciel now felt _vulnerable,_ and he didn't like it. _Not one single bit._

Alois had a comparable war waging onward inside of him as well. Since the betrayal of his former butler, _Claude Faustus,_ he had sworn to never be so familiar or trusting of anyone else ever again. Yet, here he was. He was angry at himself for allowing this to happen. He was angry at the fact that he could not fix this problem, too.

If only he had been born without a heart; without feeling. Then nothing would ever be able to truly hurt him. Physical wounds can heal, but mental, and wounds of the heart may sometimes never. But for a while, it seemed like they could. By opening up to the other boy, Alois felt as though maybe his past did not define him, and that the future could be bright. He had stumbled around in darkness for the entirety of his life up until reuniting with the demon. And it was by seeking solace in a creature of darkness, was he finally granted the ability to see through the blackness that enveloped his existence and find a path to happiness. Never before had he felt so light.

But all of this came crashing down when it became obvious once more that upon opening your heart to another, you make yourself susceptible to them. Yes, happiness comes at the price of pain. You cannot have the one without the other; that is absolute, as is the fact that knowing another person entirely is impossible.

He could not know what Ciel was thinking or feeling unless the bluenette told him in complete honesty, which was unlikely. He was just as guarded as the blonde. If only they could know the other's intentions. This story would be much simpler, yes? However, life does not work that way, nor will it ever.

Not knowing is always worse than knowing. The suspense feels like it's slowly killing you. Ciel and Alois where each trying to come up with a plan on how to gain knowledge of the other's true feelings and fix all of this.

After a while, the flaxen-haired teen started to feel claustrophobic, cooped up in his room. He felt trapped, and needed to leave in order to rid himself of his growing restlessness and be able to breathe again. Alois got up and walked to the door, turned the knob, and walked out into the hallway. Then, a door opened as he passed it. He froze as he saw who was behind it.

Ciel stood there frozen as well. He did not expect to see the blonde there. He had both hoped he would, and _wouldn't_ run into the other boy. He had both wanted to talk to the boy and wanted to see the him, and wanted to sulk in silence.

"Hey." he greeted, feeling as though he should say _something._

"Hey..." Alois said back. "Taking a break?"

"Yeah. I think if I spend one more moment in that room, I'll go _insane."_ he heard a small giggle come from the blonde before he caught himself and stopped. Ciel felt his heart flutter for a bit. "So, what are _you_ up to?"

"Going to watch a movie." Said the blonde.

"What one?"

" _Shaun of the Dead,_ I heard it was funny."

There was hesitation before the bluenette responded. "Mind if I join?" he asked. "I've nothing better to do."

The corners of the blonde's lips couldn't help but form a smile. _Maybe Ciel wasn't so disgusted with him after all._ "Why, I'd be insulted if you didn't!" he jested.

Over the next two hours, the boys sat and watched the film. Alois would laugh at a joke, only to jump at a zombie. Ciel would chortle at a joke, and laugh at _Alois_ jumping at the zombies. Reconciliation appeared to be easier than they had initially thought. All they needed to do was allow themselves to have fun together once again for even just a moment.

* * *


	40. That Boy, Nemesis

Monday morning came and it was life attending school as usual. The boys were their usual selves once more, and they attended the same classes with the same unsuspecting students, however there was something _unusual_ going on around here. Whispers spread once more throughout Warwick about something _peculiar_.

"What's everyone on about?" asked the blonde.

"I don't know. Whatever it is, it's got the entire school buzzing." the bluenette said, seated in his usual seat by the window and to the blonde's left. "Though I suppose we'll find out as soon as Daniel comes over he-"

He was cut off by the class loudmouth, Daniel Westly, who ran up to the two boys with purpose. "You guys! Did you hear about the new kid?!"

"New kid? No, what about him?" Ciel asked, adjusting his eyepatch.

"He's a scholarship winner. He studied his way in here, since his family couldn't afford it." Daniel said as though the kid had cheated the rules of society. "That's not all! Have you seen 'im? He's weird looking! Even weirder than blondie's shorts weird!"

"My shorts are _not weird!_ " Alois protested.

"Whatever stops the tears at night, Trancy." Daniel teased.

" _Sod off."_

The palm of Ciel's hand met his forehead in that moment. He ignored the boy's shorts to ask: "How is he weird looking?"

Daniel paused in order to gather his thoughts. "His _hair,_ and his _eyes_." he said. The boy however didn't get the chance to continue, as Mister Irons walked in the room, looking a tad bit angrier than usual.

"Alright, sit down and shut up, _espcially_ you, Westly." he said, and pointed at the boy, causing him to quickly dash to his seat. "Now listen up! There's been rumours going around that we have a new student here on a scholarship. Well, I'm just gonna tell you right here and now that this is true. So, shut up and stop bugging me about it!" He looked over to the door and paused. "Well what are you waiting for?! Get in here! I haven't got all day!" he shouted, motioning for the boy to enter.

The boy who walked into the room _was_ strange-looking, just as Daniel had said. He had silver slicked-back hair, without a single stray strand out of place. His eyes where amethyst, and calm. The newcomer had a pale skin, and a warm smile. This boy wore his uniform perfectly, without a wrinkle. It had white trimming and he wore it with a white tie that nearly blended in with his dress shirt. Around his throat was a gold chain with a cross pendant that rested on the knot of the tie. It was evident to the Phantomhive what this boy was. He had seen _his kind_ before many years ago, but for now, he would remain quiet until he had the chance to communicate with Sebastian. He didn't like it, but the man's advice could come in handy. Then, he would have to warn Alois. But now was not the time. Everyone watched in awe as the scholarship student entered.

"I'm sorry," he said, his voice sounded so gentle, "My shoe was untied." He turned his attention to the class. "Should I introduce myself? I'm _Maxwell Goddard,_ hello." He smiled.

"Got that? Try to be nice, and treat him like you would anybody else, you hear me?"

In unison, the class provided the answer of "Yes sir" in order to stop Mr. Irons from yelling at them for the next minute or so.

"Alright, now have a seat, Gaddard." and the instructor's attention shifted to the board in order to write down the class objective for the day. Maxwell sat down on the opposite side of the room from the two boys, and looked over at them, giving them a sweet smile and a wave.

In response, Ciel scoffed and looked away from him. Alois shrugged his shoulder's, puzzled by his friend's actions, which were entirely understandable. The blonde didn't know what the scholarship student was, but Ciel _did_. He knew. He knew the moment he walked into the room.

That student, that boy over there was going to cause a whole _mess_ of problems for the demons. His eyes, his voice, and his smile where all very disarming, but that's what they're supposed to do. Disarm. That boy sitting on the right side of the room was their natural enemy. That boy, was not a mere _boy._ That boy was, in fact, _an angel._


	41. The Death of Alois Trancy

Homeroom ended. The bell had rang. Ciel Phantomhive nearly jumped out of his seat brfore gathering his things. He looked over at his friend.

"Quickly." he said. "We need to leave."

"Why the hurry?" his blonde friend asked. "Class will still be there even if we don't."

"It's not the class I'm worried about. We need to leave so we can talk."

"What do you need?"

"I can't say, _he_ could be listening."

Alois gave up on getting a straight answer. Nevertheless, he did as he was told and gathered his belongings with haste and followed his friend out the door.

They entered the crowded hallway, nearly gagging on the smell of the teenagers around them, as always. Some kids simply did not understand the concept of deodorant. Others did and wore overpowering scents that felt like they where burning your nosehair. With haste, they walked through the hallway, dodging people left and right, and trying to get around slow walking couples holding hands who felt the need to take up the _entire_ walkway for some unknown reason.

Eventually, they made it to a secluded spot, and Ciel looked around to see if anyone else was around.

"What are we doing here?" the blonde asked, tilting his head a bit in confusion.

The bluenette took a moment to gather his thoughts, so he could explain things properly. "You saw the new kid, _Maxwell_ , right?"

"Yeah."

"He's an _angel_."

Alois arched his eyebrow. " _What?"_ He had absolutely no idea what Ciel meant by that, as the expression he wore made evident.

"Maxwell. He's an angel. You know, a _literal_ angel. Mortal enemies of demons, remember?"

"Oh! Yeah, I get it now." The blond nodded. " _Is he?_ I guess that explains the white hair and such. The plan?"

" _Stay away from him._ " Ciel said. "For now, that's all we _can_ do." He pulled out his cell phone. " I need to tell Sebastian. We're going to be late for class."

"I can go on ahead, if you need me to. People are starting to find it _odd_ how we're _always_ late to class together." There was an unintentional undertone to that. Unintentional, but still there.

Ciel's palm met his forehead and he sighed. "It doesn't matter." said the bluenette. "If Maxwell has that class, he could launch an attack while we're separated."

"In a crowded classroom?"

"There are ways to attack someone other than the use of fisticuffs."

"What, like, _talking?_ I think I can fight him off if he just calls me _names_ , Ciel." He said confidantly with his hands on his hips.

The bluenette dialed his phone. "Whatever." he said before placing the phone up to his ear.

Suddenly, the blonde's mouth warped into a grin, and he walked closer to the other boy. "Of _maybe_ you just wanted to be _alone_ with _me_?" he teased, nearly causing Ciel to drop his phone.

"I assure you, that certainly _not_ the case." He said, fighting away the red-ish hue threatening to spread across his face.

Sebastian picked up. " _Hello?"_

Alois leaned over to try to hear the man on the other end. "Sebastian, an angel has entered the school." Ciel began, wasting no time to even give a small " _hello"._ The bluenette swallowed his pride just this once."As much as I _hate_ to say this, I am at a nearly complete loss on how to handle this."

Sebastian was silent on the other line for a while. " _An angel? I'm afraid there is simply not much you can do, other than_ _ **kill it**_ _, my lord."_ he said. _"I, however,_ _prefer to not make the first move with angels. We should at_ _ **least**_ _try to find out what it wants first, correct?"_ Ciel could almost _hear_ the smirk on the butler's face.

"I suppose."

" _Very well, then. Is there anything else you require, my lord?"_

Just then, the blond boy snatched the cellular device from his friend's hand. " _Mmh, yes! Take me, master!"_ he said before quickly pressing the red "end call" button with his thumb. He was now in tears, doubled over, almost on the ground, dying of laughter at his amazing joke. The bluenette however, was _far less than amused._

 _"What the_ _ **fuck**_ _is_ _ **wrong**_ _with you?!"_ he roared, snatching back his phone and punching the other boy. His expression was angry and dyed a deep crimson.

Alois managed somehow between laughs and punches the reply: "Hahaha! Ha.. Many, many, things! Hahahahahah!"

_**"I AM GOING TO** _ _**KILL** _ _**YOU!"** _


	42. A Chat In The Library

It was another day at Warwick, where the children of the elite do their studying. However there were supernatural forces behind these walls. Forces of darkness and forces of light dwelled here against the knowledge of the students and staff. Two demons and an angel. Not very fair, is it?

Au contraire, my friends, angels can be every bit as crafty as a demon. They are birds of a similar feather, after all. How are they kin, you may ask? It should be well known that the first devil, _the_ devil, was in fact, an angel. In other legends it is said an angel is what you get when you cross an angel with a human. Yet those who hail from Paridiso despise those from Limbo and vice versa, due to one single solitary disagreement many millennium ago over the first man, Adam, after Lucifer refused to bow to a creature he believed to be weaker than he. Thus, he was cast from heaven, and shortly after, demons came to be. You see, demons look down on humanity and thus use them as food, while angels feel the need to protect them be it from devils, or even _themselves._ Yet this just further proves that they are similar. In a way, feeling the need to "protect" humans just instills that they too believe humanity to be weaker then they. While things that maybe different range from wing colour to fashion sense, it is this, the two beings _priorities_ that truly set them apart. To one, humans are food, to the other, defenseless children of God. Nevertheless, their bitter rivalry and hatred for each other exists, and there is nothing in this world that will _ever_ change that.

Today, at Warwick, there are two demons, former humans themselves, and an angel about which not much is known other than the fact that he is refereed to by his classmates and the staff as " _Maxwell Goddard."_ The divine being was eager to become acquainted with his "distant relatives" and as such, was searching for them. Whenever he thought he saw them, they'd vanish once he was spotted. It was unknown to the demons _why_ the angelic boy pursued them, but an encounter with an angel in such a public place could prove to be catastrophic, thus, they kept their distance for now.

Once more the blonde demon was put on library duty for acting up in class. Once more was he assigned to stack and sort the books before putting them back on the shelves. And it was once more, that there were strange forces at work in this large library as Alois did his task. He climbed down off the ladder that was propped up against the shelves in order to reach the high-placed books in order to get some more to place, when he felt this disturbance. Even he could feel this energy, the boy turned around to gaze upon it's source, seeing none other than _Maxwell Goddard._

" _Hello._ " said the angel, giving the blonde a kind smile. "You're in my History class, aren't you? I'm Maxwell, and you are?"

"I'm _Jesus H. Christ._ Cut the garbage, what do you want?" Alois snapped, remembering what Ciel and Sebastian told him. _Do not fight unless engaged, and try to avoid contact as best as you can._

The angel seemed taken aback for a moment. _"_ Oh, direct, aren't we?" he asked. "Isn't it a bit ironic for a _demon_ to claim to be the Lord?"

"Oh, so you were able to _understand_ my joke?" the blonde smirked.

Maxwell's face suddenly became serious. " _Don't even joke like that, demon."_

"I can say whatever I please. God has given us all free will, after all."

The angel was _clearly_ enraged by that remark. However, taking a deep breath, that anger subsided. "Let's talk, shall we?"

"About what, precisely?"

"You and your... _friend._ As you know, adolescence is a difficult time for human beings. It is a time in their life where they often feel vulnerable, or trapped, and as a result, their hearts waver."

"The _point_ , please?" Alois interrupted impatiently. He wanted away from this boy _now._

"My _point_ is, that having a bunch of demons around such _easy prey_ distresses the lord, and as such, I have been sent to purge the area of any and all _demon scum_ , wither peacefully, or _by force."_

" _Pfffahhahahaha hahaha!"_ laughter erupted from the blonde's throat. For some reason, the angel's words where just so _funny_ to the boy.

" _What's so funny?!"_ Maxwell demanded.

Slowly, Alois' giggling subsided and he was once more able to speak. " _You!"_ he said. " _You're_ funny!" he fought off the urge to laugh again. "You were _'sent by God'?_ That's ridiculous. I have long since known that there is no such thing as an all-powerful _'God'._ Everything that you need to survive must be fought for on your own, that includes life itself. If God exists and he's so powerful, why doesn't he smite me himself? Why does he need _you_ to do it for him? How can a deity so powerful, that he can create the universe in seven days, not be able to strike down _one single bug?_ " Alois smirked. " _God doesn't exist._ You're here on your own, and I am too. I stand here after fighting tooth and nail for my very existence. If God doesn't want me here, than that's too bad. I've earned my right to stay here, and both God, and _you_ , can _piss off."_

The angel at this point, was irate. "You _stand_ because _God_ wills it! The lord has blessed you with your own will, and you can't even be bothered to _move_ for him?!" he yelled.

" _Ssh!_ " Alois put his finger to his lips with a grin, "This is a _library, sir._ I'm going to have to ask you to _keep it down._ " he jested.

"You refuse to cooperate? _So be it._ However, I was also ordered to offer you _salvation_ if you so were to choose the path of _light."_

 _"Salvation?"_ Alois echoed. He didn't entirely buy it, but he was willing to at least _listen._

"Yes. ' _Salvation'."_ Maxwell elaborated, "If you where to abandon your demonity and become one of _us_ , you were to be granted access to Paradiso." he grinned.

The blonde was wary. He paused. "Why _me?"_

"Because you did not choose your fate." the angel said smoothly. "It was the _other_ who gave you demonity."

"I gave him _his."_

"...In order to thwart a _demon, Jim."_

Alois took a step back. "How did you..."

"...Know your real name?" Maxwell finished his sentence for him. He pulled a small book out of his pocket. " _This,"_ he said, "Is the record of your entire life, _Jim Macken._ I know all about you. How you've suffered because of demons and those around you. Surely you didn't _choose_ this fate?"

The blonde demon was truly frightened by this. A book that contained a record of his life? Everything he's done? Everything he had to do to survive? He wanted no part of that book. He wanted no part of that fate of his, written on those pages.

Finally, he spoke. " _Of course I didn't_..." he muttered. Suddenly, his eye widened as he came to a realization. Ciel had _told_ him that angels could fight with their words. He grinned at this.

" _Ciel told me about you._ " he said. "This must be why he told me to stay away from you! Because of your _lies."_

Against his expectations, Maxwell _smiled at this._ The angel walked closer. Alois stiffened, and prepared to either flee, or to fight. Calmly, the snow-haired boy walked closer until he stood right next to the boy. " _Ciel_ , hm? Is that your demon _friend?"_ he asked. "You were going on about how you had ' _free will_ ', and ' _you'll do as you please'."_ Maxwell leaned closer to whisper in the blonde's ear. " _Tell me, would a 'friend' control your thoughts? Is it truly_ _ **your**_ _choice to stay away from me, who offered you a_ _ **place in paradise?**_ _Or is it '_ _ **Ciel's**_ _' wish to keep you in chains?"_

And with that, the snow-haired boy simply walked away, leaving the blonde to dwell on this alone. Why exactly _did_ Ciel grant him this life?


	43. Mind Freak

Alois told his bluenette friend of the events that took place in the library that day. He told the boy what the angel wanted, what he threatened, and what he _offered._ The bluenette, of course, was disturbed by all of this. He wasn't going to move simply because a little angel told him to. He certainly wasn't afraid of any threat of violence the snow-haired boy made. _One_ angel against _three_ demons? _Ridiculous!_ However, one thing _did_ worry the boy a bit.

He paced back and forth in his office as he thought about it. _Why Alois?_ But more importantly: _Would the blonde take the offer?_ The promise of heaven is an offer anyone would have a hrad time refusing, and the bluenette just _didn't want his friend to leave_. The very thought saddened the boy. Ciel didn't want to be alone again with only Sebastian at his side. The butler was fine and all, but he wasn't the same as a friend. However, he would never confess this aloud.

The blonde too, kept a few secrets of his own. What the angel had said to him before leaving. " _Is it truly_ _ **your**_ _choice to stay away from me, who offered you a place in paradise? Or is it_ _ **'Ciel's'**_ _wish to keep you in chains?"_ The thought clawed at his mind relentlessly. If Ciel was able to grant him life, what else could he do? At what point did his grasp of control end with the blonde? Perhaps he could plant suggestions in the blonde's mind and convince him they where his own thoughts, or maybe the blonde was just gullible and naive enough to do as the bluenette demon said. The latter of the two infuriated him more, since it suggested he was no better than he was with Claude, an could still fall victim to _lies._ He also hated this new-found doubt in his friend. Surely it was the _Angel_ who was putting ideas in his head.

And this was true, but oh, was it a dreadful idea. In reality, Ciel had no control over the blonde's will, nor was the blonde even obligated to the boy in any way. The only thing he had done involving the blonde and his own power was resurrect him. Nothing more. Alois was his own person, and the bluenette valued him as such. If he wanted to control him, it would have been simpler to have made a copy of himself rather than dealing with the blonde menace. It didn't make any sense, but the idea still had caused damage to Alois' sense of trust in the other boy, although he hid it the best he could.

" _Alois!"_ the bluenette yelled, causing the blonde to jump. He had been trying to get the boy's attention for a while, now. However the blonde was trapped in his own thoughts and paranoia.

" _What?!"_

 _"Finally!"_ Ciel said, "What were you, _asleep?"_

The blonde shook his head. "Nah, I was thinking." he said.

"About what?"

"That bloody angel."

Ciel's face turned serious, even more so than his normal face. His pacing stopped, and he walked over to his friend. There was a pause before he asked: "Are you thinking about Gaddard's offer?" He was dignified in his inquiry, but there was a hint of sadness in his voice.

The blonde hesitated. " _Yeah."_ he said, "It's _odd,_ don't you think? That he would make such an offer?"

"You... aren't going to... take it, are you?" the bluenette asked, before turning to conceal his blush. _What was with his voice?_ He sat down at his desk, and looked to the blonde for an answer.

Alois paused to analyze the manner in which that question was asked. There was so much _hesitation._ So much _doubt._ Surely uncommon for the Phantomhive. He smiled before walking over to the desk and sitting on it. "And if I _did?_ What would _you_ do?"

"I'd kill the angel before killing _you._ " Ciel said hastily, and plainly at the same time.

"Aw, that's harsh. We're _best friends_ after all."

The bluenette looked away before muttering something. His eyes suddenly catching something of interest on the floor. Pink were his cheeks as he did this.

"What's that? I can't hear you." said the blonde.

The Phantomhive boy took a deep breath before repeating himself in the firmest voice he could muster at the moment. " _Then don't leave..."_ he said, pink turning into red.

Alois blinked at this before a grin plastered itself onto his face. "So does that mean you'd _miss me?"_ he asked, leaning closer.

_"No..."_

_"Liar._ You would, _too."_

Ciel paused for a moment. "Maybe a _little..."_

"See? Was that so hard?"

" _Absolutely painful."_ he teased back. A small smile appeared on his face.

"You're so mean! I'd miss _you_ a whole lot, you know!"

"Like I said, _don't leave, then."_

"Don't worry your pretty little head. I won't. But only because I know how much you _love_ me." Alois teased.

The bluenette demon's smile faded as his turned his head to confront the menace. "I-I do _**not!"**_ He stood up as he shouted this.

"Then stop _blushing_ and _stuttering."_

 _"I'm_ _ **not!**_ Anyone would get upset if some deranged blond kid claimed that you _l-l-lov..."_ the poor boy couldn't even say it.

Alois, however, erupted into a fit of giggles at the dark-headed boy's reaction. Maybe this _wasn't_ a control freak with mind control abilities. Maybe this was just a small boy trapped in eternal puberty. Whatever he was, he was _fun_ , and Alois surely wasn't going to abandon the poor thing.

" _ **STOP LAUGHING!"**_


	44. May I Have A Word With You?

It was morning once more. The warm sun shone over the prestigious Warwick Academy. Students filed into their classrooms and conversed amongst themselves. This included our two favourite students and a pesky angel. The demons talked about nothing in particular until said angel pranced up t o them and inturrupted their chat.

" _Good morning."_ he said.

"Oh, look, it's _the Vicar of Dibley!"_ Alois said to his bluenette friend in regards to the religious gentleman.

"It's good to see you too, _Alois."_

"Hey, don't be so, familiar with me. That's ' _Mister Trancy'_ or ' _The Blonde Menace'_ , to you, _Goddard."_

Maxwell rolled his eyes, before turning to the bluenette. "I don't think we've met. I'm _Maxwell Goddard,_ and you are?" he extended his arm for a handshake.

" _Phantomhive. Ciel Phantomhive._ " the boy answered plainly before taking up the snowy-haired boy's offer on the handshake.

"It's good to finally make your acquaintance." the other boy replied, offering a warm smile. "So _you're_ Ciel Phantomhive? I've been anxious to meet _you._ I've been needing to have a word with you sometime."

"Then say it." Ciel said.

"I'm afraid I can't right now. Perhaps in a more private setting? What I have to say isn't for _human_ ears."

"Very well, that can be arranged."

He looked over to his blonde companion, who was staring at him, hands on the sides of his head, mouthing the words, " _what are you doing"_ at him. Ciel wanted answers to all this, and he was going to get them. _One way or the other._ If he needed to resort to violence, he would, and it would be best not to involve too many innocent bystanders.

"How about after school then? My _parents_ can pick us up."

 _"Parents"?_ There's _more_ angels? This was _not_ good. Not good at all. He was going to need backup, after all. He would need both Alois _and_ Sebastian to follow, which could be difficult since angels have sensory as adept as demons. This was bad. _Really_ bad.

Nevertheless, Ciel agreed. "That will be fine." he turned to the blonde boy next to him. "You'll be riding with Sebastian on your own, today." he said.

"O-okay?" The blonde was uncertain about this. Ciel could hear it in his voice. He was uncertain as well, but he needed to feign security as best as he could for both of their sake. He _needed_ information from that stupid angel.

"So it's settled, then?" Maxwell finally asked. "I'll call them and tell them." he turn to walk away, but paused before doing so and looked over his shoulder at the boys. "It was nice to see you, _Jim."_

That was it. He _had_ to go down. _No one_ called Alois by that name. _Not even Ciel._ The bluenette was also rather peeved by that. _Who the hell does he think he is?_ All the same, he had to remain calm and keep Alois from trying to snap the boy in half on the spot.

Later that day, Ciel was able to convey his plan to both of his demonic housemates. Later that day, he would be entering the angel's nest.


	45. You Thought You Knew Someone

Another school day has ended at Warwick, and our bluenette demon has found himself waiting by the school gates in order to accept a ride from a bunch of complete strangers, not to mention also _potentially deadly, killer, demon-hating angels._ Seems legit. As much as he did not want to, he wanted to know more about this angel's motives. He knew Alois. Not only that, he wanted Alois to _join them._ This cannot be allowed to stand. Fortunately, he had his demonic housemates tailing them at a safe distance in case backup is required. Maxwell never said anything about not having them _follow._ He tried to hide his smirk at this.

Soon a car drove up. It wasn't anything fancy, just an ordinary car that was worthy of being owned by a middle-class family. It stopped and when it did, Maxwell got in, and much to Ciel's confusion, the woman driving was _human._

"Well, are you getting in?" the snowy-haired boy asked, pulling the bluenette from his thoughts.

He climbed in the vechicle and the woman spoke. "Is this the friend you told me about, Maxey?"

"Yeah, _mom,_ this is Ciel." Maxwell said.

"It's good to meet you! I'd offer to shake your hand, but I'm driving." she laighed at her own joke. "I'm glad Max was able to make some friends. I was worried when he won that schalorship, that he wouldn't fit in!"

 _Well, he certainly stand out in a crowd._ However the bluenette didn't say that, instead he exchanged some small talk with the woman. She seemed to have no knowledge of the boy's identity, nor her supposed " _son's"_ true nature. She was ordinary in every way. But if that's the case, how did this _angel_ get into her life?

Eventually, they drove up a street in a small suburban neighbourhood, and pulled into one of the driveways. The house was white, and looked exactly like all the others. Uniform, boring, and _ordinary._ This was getting weirder by the minute. He was led inside and up the stairs into Maxwell's room, which was equally ordinary. It looked like any other teenage boy's room. What was going on here?

The angel shut the door behind him and looked at the bluenette. "Impressive, isn't it? They don't suspect a thing. They even think I'm their son!" he said braggingly with a smile.

"You mean... your 'parents'?"

"Yes. Just your average middle-class couple in an average neighbourhood, and _humans._ The perfect cover, no?" he said, taking a seat on the bed.

"Let me guess, you broke into the Grim Reaper's Library, and rewrote yourself into their records, didn't you?"

Maxwell was genuinely surprised at the bluenette. "Oh? So you know?"

"I've dealt with your kind before. But what I want to know is, why would you compensate two innocent unknowing human souls for this? They will never be able to get into heaven now that their records have been tampered with."

This was true. Once the records have been tampered with, a soul cannot be judged by the reapers, nor can their records even be stored in the Library. The person's existence is lost forever.

The angel folded his arm and his smile lost it's gentleness. "Sacrifices must be made in order to protect the masses, Mister Phantomhive. I'm sure Saint Peter will let them pass the pearly gates for such a noble deed."

"You're a fool."

"I may be a fool, but at least I'm not some disgusting vermin like yourse-"

"You called me here for a _reason_ , did you not?" Ciel interrupted the boy. He didn't come here to be called names. "Get on with it."

Maxwell's smile faded. "Very well," he said, "I'm sure you're keen to know why I'm so interested in Alois Trancy, also known as Jim Macken, yes?"

"That would be correct."

"Well, let me start with this: Jim may not remember, but _I do._ We met shortly before _I died_ , in the _dungeon_ of the _Trancy Manor_." Maxwell's face warped into a smirk.

Ciel's eye widened for a moment. He was speechless. _They met? In that place, of all places?_

The bluenette was still at a loss for words, to the angel continued. " _Yes._ I fact, I was on the same cart that brought us there. I sat next to him, although he didn't say anything. None of us could. We knew what was going to happen to us, but there was nothing we _could_ do. I remember seeing that old man beat him with his cane during our first inspections. He didn't like Jim's _eyes._ The entire time, he never made a sound. In fact, none of us hardly spoke during our time there in hell."

Ciel held on to every word. He remembered that day too, from when he and the blonde's souls where in the same body. It made him shudder in disgust.

"Anyway, conditions down there weren't exactly _pleasant._ In fact, I died like most of the boys from infection." Maxwell said. "But I prayed. I always did. I prayed to be released from that hell and find _paradise_ , thus I became an _angel_."

"So what is it that you want with my _friend?_ Why not exterminate him as well? Because of your ties in the Trancy House?" Ciel asked.

The angel released a small patronizing chuckle. " _Yes."_ he said, "When I heard about him being _alive,_ I was _ecstatic._ But when I heard you had made him a demon, I knew I had to change him." Maxwell's smile became soft once more. " _I'm truly jealous of you, Ciel Phantomhive."_

"And that would be why?"

"You have a friend who _understands_ what it's like to go through hell itself. I don't. But I do understand what must be happening in Jim's head all the time." said the angel, "Every time he sees an older man, every time he feels that _fear,_ I know that feeling. Do you know what it's like to fear a major part of the population, Ciel? Do you know what it's like to be _afraid when the lights go out?"_

" _Shut up."_ Ciel said angrily. "You know _nothing_ about me. You know _nothing_ about _us."_

"But I know _Jim._ Do _you?"_

The bluenette paused. He knew _Alois,_ but not _Jim._ He _didn't_ know what it was like to be in that basement. He _didn't_ know what it was like to be in that man's room. Maybe he _didn't_ understand a major part of his friend. He knew the _story,_ but he wasn't _actually there._

Maxwell continued to speak. "That's what I _thought._ Aren't you _selfish?_ You want to keep him away from me, who _truly_ understands his _heart._ How _unsightly._ Don't you _care_ for your _friend's happiness?"_

Ciel clenched and unclenched his fist. " _Shut up."_ he commanded. What did this boy know about Alois' happiness? Alois _is_ happy here, right? The slate-haired demon refused to accept that _this_ boy could make his friend happy. He turned to the door. "I'm leaving." he said. He didn't want to retreat, but that's all he could do at this point.

"Fine, be stubborn. But consider your friend. Would Jim be happier here, in the would of mortals and chaos, or in paradise?"

There was a pause before the bluenette walked out the door, leaving the angel alone with a smirk on his face.

" _Think about it, Phantomhive, and know I'm right."_

* * *


	46. Ensnared

Everything was going according to Maxwell's plan. He had instilled as much doubt in the boys as he everything turned out the way he wanted them to, they would give up without a fight.

The angel did his best to contain his glee as he walked up to the blonde boy at the edge of the schoolyard. It was unusual for him to be without his bluenette friend, but this was because the of Maxwell's plan. The angel was trying to place a wedge between the two demons.

"Hello, _Jim_. You friend abandon you?" he smiled as though he was trying to be friendly.

" _Piss off, Vicar of Dibley."_ Alois replied, obviously peeved.

"That's not very nice. I was only trying to see what was the matter."

" _You_ are what's wrong. Ever since Ciel came back from your place, he barely even talks to me!"

"That's unfortunate..."

" _Fuck off!_ Whatever you said to him, you've ruined _everything!_ " The blonde stood up and shouted. His fists where clenched, and he wanted nothing more than to turn this angel into a _stain._

Maxwell paused for a moment. He looked at the ground, and made an apologetic face. "I'm _sorry."_ he said. It was a very convincing facade. "I only told him about my _past_ at Trancy Manor."

The blonde was caught off-gaurd by this. The Trancy Mansion? He swallowed. " _Trancy Manor?"_

He took the bait. "Yes, I was a slave there as well. _Just like you, Jim._ In fact, _I remember you there._ None of us hardly spoke, but..."

"Maxwell..." Alois was sinking deeper and deeper into this trap. These _were_ truths, but it was the _intent_ behind them that made them bad. If _angels_ can commit acts of trickery, then surely _lies_ can also be good.

"...But I remember it well." he said, looking back up at the blonde.

" _I'm sorry."_

 _"Don't be._ This is why I was hoping you'd at least think about my offer. I don't have any _friends_ who understand, you see."

"I _can't._ I can't just leave Ciel. He's my friend too."

"But he _abandoned you!_ You should've seen the look on his face when I told him what happened at the Trancy's. It was a look of utter _disgust."_ The angel sprinkled half-truths in with flat-out lies. Lies can be _good_ , but they can also be _bad_. It is the intent that matters here, and there was no goodwill coming from this angel.

" _That can't be true._ " Alois thought. Ciel _understood,_ didn't he? He would never abandon Alois because of his past. But the doubt that had ensnared the boy was clouding his knowledge of this.

"He _wouldn't..."_

Maxwell looked at the blonde with sympathetic, nearly tearful eyes. These were crocodile tears, of course, but Alois didn't know this. The angel said nothing as the blonde shook his head in disbelief.

" _No..."_

"I'm sorry." Maxwell said. "I'm sorry..." He just needed to play a few more cards and tug a few threads and he will have won. "If there's anything I can do..."

" _Heaven,_ huh?" Alois said suddenly. "That doesn't sound so bad." His voice cracked and shook as he spoke. He tried his best to hold back tears.

"Meet me at Trancy Manor tonight, then." Maxwell said in a soft voice. The blonde just nodded his head. _Got him._ "We can finally make all this pain go away."

Maxwell left the boy to his own devices. He left the crushed blonde to sit in silence with his head in his hands. Just a few more moves, and it was _checkmate._

* * *


	47. What Would Jesus Do?

The sun went down over the London area. Night seemed to come ever so quickly. Alois was careful when sneaking out of the house that night, not making a single sound nor was he seen. He made his way to the abandoned Trancy manor where the deceptive angel was waiting.

He wasn't entirely sure if he wanted to go through with this. Maybe he could patch things up with Ciel again? Unfortunately, when it came to the bluenette, the blonde boy lacked any and all confidence in himself. He didn't think he _could_ fix this. He hardly thought he was _worth_ Ciel's time, contrary to fact.

Alois walked up to the old rusted gate in front of the manor and, with a painful groan, it opened with a push. Walking further into the courtyard, he spotted his appointment, sitting on the steps of the estate.

"Oh, you're here! I honestly didn't thing you'd come." the snowy-haired boy said, standing up. "Were you seen?"

"I don't think so. Everyone was busy doing their own thing." the blonde replied.

"Shall we get started then?"

The blonde said nothing, but nodded hesitantly. Again, he didn't really _want_ to leave, but if he couldn't be with Ciel any longer, he didn't know what else to do. He was alone again. All alone...

Maxwell smiled. "Very well, then." Light encased the boy's image in radiant illumination as he transformed. He gained angelic wings with silver feathers as pale and white as his hair. Similarly, his attire was white, his jacket trimmed with gold, and his shorts, and gloves, with the exception of the priest uniform underneath his jacket. His face was gentle as the light waned. His form was, well, _angelic._

The snow-haired being spoke. "Do you give up your demonic form and embrace God, _Jim Macken?"_ Before the blonde could speak, he was interrupted by a third voice.

_**"Hell no, he doesn't!"** _

Alois whipped his head sound to find the origin of the oh-so familiar voice. It was none other than _Ciel Phantomhive_ who walked through the gates next. The boy was out of breath, as though he had been running, and he _had._ He saw Alois leave the house an d followed him. Good thing he did, too. Ciel looked completely _furious,_ yet the blonde was still happy to see him. It gave him butterflies to know that Ciel had took the time to come here to object to his decision. He _wanted_ it to be wrong. He didn't want to leave, and he needed that recognition from his friend in order to act on his own feelings.

However, Maxwell was certainly _not_ happy to see the bluenette. "Come here to see your friend off, Phantomhive?" He unconsciously flexed his wings to make himself appear bigger.

"Actually, no. I came here to _kill you,_ and kick Alois' _ass."_ Ciel replied.

In response to that, the blonde asked: " _What for?!"_ in a way that was somewhere in between a whine and a yell.

"For being an _idiot!"_ Ciel shouted, walking up to his friend. He lifted his hand, the palm of it making aggressive contact with the other's face. "You _promised!_ " he shouted. "You _promised_ you wouldn't leave!"

Alois just stood there, wide-eyed staring at the bluenette, clutching his now stinging cheek. The Phantomhive boy was truly upset with him. He had never seen the boy make such a pained face before, flushed and twitching while trying to maintain the appearance of indifference in vain. His eyes looked as though they were fighting of tears. _Ciel Phantomhive, crying?_ Now _that_ was a severely frightening thing. The boy hadn't cried since his parents died all those many years ago, yet here he was.

But the blonde _had_ promised the boy, didn't he? Thinking back, he remembered the conversation they had in the office right after the angel spoke to him the first time. He remembered how _distressed_ his friend seemed over the matter. It was now that he recalled that the bluenette would _never_ judge him for what had happened at the very manor they now stood in front of. He was relieved, happy, and upset all at the same time. Upset by the fact that he had caused his companion to worry, and _angry_ that he allowed this _bastard_ to fool him to stop believing and trusting in Ciel. He felt stupid. So, so _stupid._ Maybe he _did_ need his ass kicked for being an idiot.

"A _promise?_ " Maxwell interrupted the blonde's thoughts. "It's foolish to rely solely on a _promise_ , don't you think?"

Now it was the blonde who spoke. "It _isn't_." he said, "I promised my friend that I wouldn't leave him, and I intend to _keep_ that promise!"

" _ **IDIOT!**_ " the angel was enraged. "You would give up _paradise_ for a stupid _promise!?"_

"It's not stupid. It's perfectly logical." Ciel said with a small smile. He too felt lighter at his friend's words. He wasn't going to be alone again after all. "Unlike _you,_ Alois _does_ have a sense of honour, whether he knows it or not. He may cross-dress in public, and say rude and completely idiotic things, but when he makes a sincere promise, he keeps it."

"That does not apply to _insincere_ promises, of course." the blonde added.

"Yes, you also did promise you wouldn't _embarrass me in public_ , but that must have been an _insincere_ promise, hm?"

"Dammit! You caught on!" Alois joked, smiling wide.

Suddenly, the bluenette felt a sharp pain in his arm. His eye went wide as he inspected the damage to find a _feather_ protruding from the site of his ailment, causing it. Then his attention shifted from the arm to the angel, pulling out the offending object.

Maxwell's face was grim, all evidence of gentleness or kindness now gone. This was his true face. His wing was extended towards the boy, before launching more projectiles.

In a flash, Ciel grabbed his friend and dodged. He wasn't going to allow himself to get hit again so easily, nor was he going to allow the blonde to get hit on accident. When he stopped, he had his friend slung over his shoulder like a bag of flour. The boy screamed and whined in protest, while kicking and flailing his arms about, causing his inevitable fall to the ground.

" _Ow!_ Alright! Snowy has _got_ to go!" Alois said, rubbing his now pained scalp. "I'm gonna kill him."

" _No, you_ aregoing to stay put, and out of _my_ way." The bluenette corrected. He was serious. That angel _did_ have to go. He made a fool out of the Phantomhive boy, and said boy was not going to allow him to get away with that. Yes, the noble boy was going to resort to the only truly effective of dealing with these sort of things; violence.

"Oh, come on! Let me help!"

"No! I won't _let_ you!"

Their ongoing argument was cut short as they heard the sound of someone clapping slowly.

"Oh, that's _cute._ " Maxwell said. His smile had returned at last, but was now warped into a vile sort of expression. "You're going to protect your _little buddy?_ Why bother? You're just going to get bored of him and throw him awa-"

" _Shut. Up._ " Ciel ordered through clenched teeth.

His eye was glowing crimson. He removed his eyepatch and tossed it to the blond behind him, revealing that his contracted eye was glowing red as well but with a purple-ish hue. Just like they had with Alois, black flames slowly encased the boy's body, the only difference being that he didn't appear to feel any burning sensation as it did.

The bluenette was transforming. Soon, the flames died down leaving the boy himself. He had black horns that bent backwards as opposed to the blonde's forward ones, similarly, he had a monkey-like tail that was the same blue-ish black as the hair on his head. Ciel was clad in black, with a double-breasted military-style tailcoat, charcoal pants, and black boots.

All very practical, but not without trimmings and elegance that made up for the fact that it wasn't as, ahem, " _eye-catching_ " as his friend's. There where pentacles on each button, and trimming on the collar and cuffs. There was writing on the patches on his sleeves, chest, and shoulders, of what appeared to be latin or hebrew, along with the images on them. There was one patch that seemed out of place, just below his left pectoral. It appeared to have some symbol that looked like it had nothing to do with Christianity, or Judaism, it looked like something else. It looked like a serpent of some sort wrapped around a staff. It looked like the Rod of Asclepius, in fact, the symbol had been used in many Asclepian _cults..._

The word "cult" and the boy _do not_ mix. The symbol on his attire was also permanently burned into his skin. It was unknown why he would carry it over into his demon form, in fact, no one is really sure if _he himself_ knows. But seeing it sparked his fury even further, and right now it was an angel in his line of fire.

" _Impressive._ " the angel taunted. _"_ However, it's going to take more than a _costume change_ to kill _me."_ Although he smiled and taunted the angelic boy was quite distressed by all of this. He was afraid that he may in fact _not_ be able to take the boy on, especially if the blonde decides to disobey his orders. Speaking of which, it also occurred to Maxwell that the Phantomhive's appearance had ruined his plan. The boy really _did_ want to be the blonde's friend. He hoped the boy would be one to be able to share his painful memories and help him rid himself of the scars. He may have gone to heaven, he may have become an angel, but his scars where still there. Someday, he would forget from spending too much time in paradiso, as what happens with most of his kind. He had already forgotten what life was like _before_ his time spent at the manor which stands with them on this very soil. But alas, he had _forgotten._

Maxwell mused on this further, only to be snapped back into reality as the bluenette demon's fist made acquaintance with his face. He flew backward, crashing into one of the manor's exterior walls. However, this was rather unsurprising with the force with which the demon had hit him. Had Ciel punched a _human_ with such force, it would have made a great, grisly mess, with bits of skull fragments protruding from a once-head, now unrecognizable mess of flesh, and blood draining onto the ground. It was unfortunate that the angel's head was not brittle enough for this to happen.

That said, Maxwell hit the brick structure hard enough to _crack_ it. He fell to the ground, landing on his stomach with a thud. The white feathers on his wings where now _ruffled._

He got back up and rubbed his mouth with the back of his hand. "That wasn't fair. Whatever happened to ' _no foul play'_?"

"I _never_ play fair. I never have, and never will." Ciel said.

 _"It's true!"_ chimed in Alois, feeling left-out. He recalled the time they had dueled all those years ago, and Ciel had turned around on "five" instead of "ten". The bluenette did not know the meaning of "no foul play."

Maxwell ignored this as he prepared for another attack. The angel once more launched his projectile feathers at the demon, narrowly missing him. The boy was too quick. He jumped about, did flips, and spins avoiding those razor-sharp angelic daggers. From an outsider's perspective, they moved like lightening, being in one place one second and shifting to another one while you blinked. But to them, they moved in slow motion, even to the blonde's eyes they did so. It was almost as if they were dancing. Now _this_ was a dance Ciel could thoroughly enjoy.

At the first given opening, Ciel struck the snow-haired boy again, and once more before he could recover. It almost _hurt_ his fists when he hit Maxwell, almost. The demon continued this, and the angel was starting to get angry.

The angel's hair, usually slicked back ever-so neatly, was now hanging in his face, and had clumps of dirt and _blood_ in it, as did his clothes. His face itself was was covered in blood; his nose was bleeding and broken and his lips where cut on his own teeth. Obviously, he wasn't used to fighting. He was sweating and filthy, and he had only merely scratched his slightly out of breath opponent, aside from the wound he had inflicted on his arm at the beginning of the duel. Maxwell had to finish this, and finish it quickly.

Instead of launching his usual projectile attack, he hurled his entire being at Ciel, using his wings to make him faster. The angel extended his hands like talons and grabbed the boy's neck, carrying him high into the sky.

Ciel struggled to remove Maxwell's hands that were clenching increasingly tighter on his throat. He clawed them to ribbons but that only made him squeeze tighter. It wasn't the oxygen that Ciel needed, no. Demons don't need air. But if he continued, he would brake his neck, which would be difficult to recover from at his age. Sebastian could without much difficulty, but the butler is so much _older,_ and thus more _powerful_ than the boy. Ciel also didn't have the increased power a contract could give, so he couldn't simply summon flames out of nowhere. What the boy decided to do, was pull his foe _closer_ so he could reach his _wings._

When he did, the angel's flight was disturbed, causing them to start falling towards earth. As they did so, the demon remained attached to Maxwell by mainlining hold on his wing.

Maxwell screamed as the sound of the wing breaking was heard.

Now they didn't have what remained of their lift to gently lower them to the ground. Now they where descending at record speeds. Ciel saw as the manor was getting closer and closer and then, _they stopped._

All that was heard from Maxwell was a irksome cough and a gag. Ciel still was holding onto the wing, yet he was not touching the ground. He looked up to see Maxwell _impaled of a cross-shaped roof ornament._ Granted, the angel was still _alive._ It would take more than that to kill a divine being. The boy had a surprised expression on his face as blood dripped from his lips. He didn't appear to be in pain, he looked as though his body was in shock.

Ciel gently lowered himself onto the roof before letting go of the wing. When he did, the angel seemed to notice his presence. "What... happened?" he asked in wheezing voice.

"Look at your chest." the demon replied, pointing at Maxwell's injury.

The snow-haired boy did as he was instructed. He saw the large metal object protruding from his body. He saw the blood, oh, the blood as it dyed his suit crimson and dripped down the cross. He saw bits of his _own flesh_ torn.

" _God... dammit.._."

"Now, now..." Ciel mocked, "...you shouldn't take t _he lord's name in vain._ "

Maxwell looked over to his foe. "Help... me..."

"I'm sorry, I can't. I have to make sure Alois is alright."

"Help me!" his eyes widened. He seemed desperate. He _was_ desperate. If he could only get free, he could heal and live to see another day. But no, Ciel wasn't having that. "Help me! Please!" He pleaded with the demon. Tears where now streaming down his face.

" _HELP ME!_ _ **PLEASE!"**_

"I'm sorry, I can't help you. _Killing angels isn't my specialty. But don't worry, I'll have my butler 'take care of' you later."_ Ciel smiled sadistically at this. Maxwell was in tears, _begging_ him for help, but no, he wouldn't. That would be far too kind for Ciel's tastes.

Alois had mad his way to the roof to see what was happening. He saw the angel, and he saw _Ciel's grin_. He knew it was over. Maxwell would never receive the "help" he wanted. The blonde smiled as well at his terror. " _That's what you get."_ he thought.

Moreover, he took the opportunity to gaze upon his friend. How _handsome_ he looked. " _Did I just think 'handsome'? My_ _ **God,**_ _I'm such a_ _ **girl.**_ _"_ Fortunately for him, the bluenette couldn't hear his thoughts.

 _Unfortunately_ for him, however, Ciel had also promised to kick his ass, and immediately remembered this upon seeing the look on the boy's face. He braced himself as the demon walked towards him. He closed his eyes and prepared for his punishment.

However, it never came. Instead, he felt two arms wrap around him, much to his where warm, but slender. He opened his eyes to see the other boy. He was being _hugged_ by _Ciel Phantomhive?_ He'd only ever thought it would ever happen _in his dreams,_ and yet here they were, embracing.

" _Never_ brake your promise." the bluenette said, hiding his face in the blonde's shoulder.

Alois didn't know how to react. How could he? The boy had never been held like this before. He only actual "hugs" he had received were from his little brother, Luka, before he died. Any interactions with the previous Earl Trancy were unpleasant and were _not_ "hugs" at all. But _this_ , now this was different. _Welcomed_ , however. He returned the gesture by putting his arms around the other boy as well. His face felt hot, and the heat of Ciel's cheek against his wasn't helping this, but still, it was _welcomed._

"I _won't._ " he replied, finally. "I'll stay with you for as long as you want me to, and even when you _don't."_

A small laugh escaped the slightly shorter boy. "That's comforting. You're such a _girl_ , you know that?"

"You _wish."_

" _Not really."_

Afterward, they went home as the sun peeked over the horizon. They didn't need to sleep, but they stayed home from school that day anyway to make up for the time they spent apart due to Maxwell's trickery. As they walked through the gates and left the estate, the sound of said angel screaming, pleading, and begging for help could be heard of in the distance. It continued for hours, long after the demons had left. _It was only silenced after Sebastian left Phantomhive Manor on an errand._

 _"JESUS!"_ was the last sound the angel uttered.


	48. What's An Enrichment Class?

Weeks had passed, and rumors were spreading about Maxwell's sudden disappearance. His "parents" hadn't the slightest clue as to where their "son" had gone, and the teachers knew nothing either. He had just disappeared without a trace. The police had been investigating the matter and found nothing. Rumor has it that the boy was kidnapped by some psychopath, but there was no evidence to support nor disprove this.

Ciel Phantomhive and Alois Trancy knew the truth, however, as they were directly involved in his death, as you know. Regardless, they resumed life as though nothing had happened at all. It wasn't particularly difficult, due to the fact that the boys had seen more than their fair share of death in their time. They went about their activities as they normally would. Nothing had changed.

 _Almost,_ anyway. Afterwards, the blonde was much more _touchy_ with his friend, the bluenette. Poking him at any given chance, putting his arms around the boy's neck when reading ofter his shoulder, and as he was currently doing, _playing with his hair._

The two sat in the Warwick commons area, bored. Alois sat by his friend, braiding his hair with a bored expression, to grant him something to do while the other boy read a book. Ciel didn't seem to mind. It was weird at first, but now he really can't be bothered to ask for an explanation. He would occasionally ask why the blonde would do these things, only giving a small "whatever" when the other boy claimed that it was "because he was bored", then he'd return his attention to whatever it was he was doing. In this case, it was reading.

He absorbed the words on the pages while absentmindedly enjoying the blonde's touches, before the other boy spoke.

"There! So Pretty!" he exclaimed, clapping his hands together.

The bluenette reached up to the spot on his head that his friend was previously so focused on, to investigate what the boy was on about. "What did you do to my head?"

"Braided your hair."

"Just undo it before we have to go back to class."

" _Why?"_ the blonde half-asked, half-whined.

" _Because,_ I don't want to look like a complete idiot when I get there." Ciel said, mocking Alois' tone.

Before the blonde could pout, who was it to walk up to the boys? Why, it was none other than the faux-blonde with the silly pink tie, Kritopherson. "What are you doing?" he asked.

"Making Ciel's hair all pretty and stuff." Alois answered, busily undoing the braids so he didn't have to look at the boy.

Kristopherson snorted. "You're such a _poof,_ Trancy..." he muttered, this hit a chord with the true-blonde.

He took a deep breath, pointed at Kristopherson, and opened his mouth to speak; _loudly._ " _Oh my god! Are you_ _ **hitting**_ _on me?!"_

Ciel nearly choked on his own spit at that. He looked over at the quickly reddening faux-blonde in the pink tie. " _You aren't too far off on that"_ he thought to himself.

" _I am_ _ **not!"**_ Kristopherson shreiked, his voice cracked when he did. "I come over here to _help_ you, and you repay me by _making shit up?!"_

"'Help', _how,_ pinky?" Alois inquired.

"' _Pinky?!'"_

"Because of your tie (and face), now answer the question, knave!"

The boy coughed a bit before answering. "I was going to ask if you signed up for your enrichment classes yet."

"The bloody hell is an ' _enrichment class'?"_

"An enrichment class is like an elective you take during study hall." the bluenette butted in, much to Kristopherson's, a.k.a "Pinky's" annoyance.

"Why's it called an 'enrichment class'?"

"If I knew, I would defiantly tell you, Alois. I haven't signed up yet. I have no idea what to take."

Kristopherson felt the need to force himself back into the conversation. "And judging by the fact that you had no idea what it even _was,_ I take it you haven't signed up either, have you? Sign up sheet's over there." He pointed at a table on the edge of the commons that had a clipboard and a pen on it. "You'd better hurry before all the good classes get filled."

"Alois, _what do we say?"_

Rolling his eyes, the blonde said without a strand of sincerity: " _Thanks, Kristopherson."_

The faux-blonde put his nose up in the air. "Oh, it was no problem for me, hahaha. I know you're a complete failure who can't do anything himself, so of course I felt obliged to help!"

Alois reached into his bag and pulled out what appeared to be a sock full of spare change with a knot tied in the end. He swung it around over his head while "roaring", and charged towards the faux-blonde in the pink tie before shortly being stopped by Ciel.

Kristopherson ran away from the crazed blonde. He stopped for a moment to look back. " _You need to have that thing locked up, Phantomhive!"_ Then he disappeared into the hallway.

With his attack over, the blonde was now giggling insidiously holding his stomach at this. His laughter stopped when his sock full of coins was taken away by his friend.

" _Hey!_ Give that back!" he said reaching for the sock, but the bluenette kept it just out of reach.

"What _is this?"_ his friend asked confusedly.

"It's a _billy club."_ Alois said plainly, ceasing his groping for the weapon for a brief moment.

The slate-haired teen rolled his eye at the blonde's antics. He had made an improvised nightstick, or as they were called in his day, a " _billy club"_ by filling a sock without a match with his loose change.

"Weapons aren't allowed at school, Alois."

"A _weapon? Moi?_ No, sir! _That_ is simply were I keep my _lunch money!"_

"You just said it was a _billy club."_

_"Details."_

_"Confiscated."_ Ciel shoved the blonde off of himself and put the improvised baton in his bag, and pushed it away from the blonde with his foot.

"Oh, _come ooooon!_ It was a _joke!"_ the blonde whined.

"Do you _want_ to be expelled?"

"No..."

"Then _behave._ Come on, let's sign up for _enrichment_ before we forget."

"Then can I have my sock back?"

" _Haha,_ you're _funny."_ the bluenette jested, walking over to the table that Kristopherson had pointed out before.

The table was next to the _"Big Chair"_ in the commons, were the school's _eyes and ears_ , Audrey, usually sat. It was called such, due to the fact that it was, obviously, a big chair, and as for Audrey, he knew everything about the place. Give him a pixie stick and he'll tell you anything you wanted to know about anything or anyone within these walls. However, he was seldom spoken to do to his absurd obsession with _the paranormal._ (He, to this day, beleives that the old abandonned mansion everyone talks about is an "evil place".)

Audrey was very small, perhaps even more so than the bluenette, and had dark black hair that covered his eyes, (you'd wonder how he was able to see,) a turned up nose and freckles, and was often seen wearing his purple beenie with a skull on it. Teachers had given up on asking him to remove the thing, even if it was against dress code. They were equally as exasperated with the boy playing his PSP in class.

Today, the boy sat and watched the two demons with deep interest, and peeked through a gap in his bangs as they argued about what electives they were taking.

" _I'm not taking dance, Alois."_ the bluenette declared.

"Why not? You _know_ you secretly like dancing." Alois argued.

"You speak of that again, and I will _end_ you."

The quiet boy had often been asked for information on the boys but hadn't come up with anything _shocking._ He knew the were very... _"close",_ is how he would put it. He could neither confirm nor deny any relationship between the two. They were supposedly adoptive brothers, so maybe not. There was however, something _peculiar_ about them. A sort of unnatural air.

He secretly hoped that they were somehow linked to something, _anything,_ unnatural. How interesting would that be? He was tired of the usual gossip about this school, "who's cheating on who", and "who's secretly gay", and all that. No, he wanted something _different._ He was obsessed with the paranormal ever since he was a boy, and saw a man get hit by a car.

What he saw that day changed him. He saw a man in a suit wearing glasses cut the body with what looked like hedge trimmers, and then strands of film floated up into the air, waving in the breeze, glowing. The strangest thing was that no one else seemed to notice. Like it wasn't even there. His father thinks that the trauma of seeing a man die effected his mind.

No, he was determined to find proof out there that he wasn't completely mad, and these boys could help him. But before he could study them any longer, they walked away. The blonde one dragging the bluenette away. He glanced over at the sign up sheet.

" _Dance class?"_ he thought.

Okay, maybe their sexuality _was_ questionable...


	49. Flamenco

Ciel Phantomhive looked around the room he was currently forced into. Everywhere he looked, he was filled with a renewed sense of terror. He looked to his left, he looked to his right, and he looked straight ahead, his eye widening a bit each time. Even the _smell_ of this room was nauseating. Where could he be? What kind of unimaginable place of infinite horror was he in?

Why, he was in the Warwick Dance Hall, of course. The place was spatious and clean, and smelled like various perfumes intertwining to make an almost sickeningly sweet aroma. All the girls in the large room were fairly pretty, and kind, which was fine. They took up most of the roster for this class, which made sense. Other than the Phantomhive, there were other boys here as well. There was Alois, of course, and Kristopherson, and Travis, and Preston, and Daniel was also there for whatever reason. Yet the bluenette was filled with distress over this place, regardless.

He did not dance. He was forced to come here by Alois, who looked far more excited than entirely necessary. The blonde _could_ dance, and enjoyed doing so, which was why he was there. Kristopherson was there because A: he enjoyed the activity as well, and B: Alois was there. Travis liked to dance, too. Preston was there for the same reason as the bluenette. He was forced to sign up, and didn't want to be there as well. The distressed Indian boy was "persuaded" to join the class by none other than Daniel, who was there, _why, exactly_?

"To talk to girls." the brown haired boy said, answering the question.

"I thought you were dating Anastasia?" Ciel half-stated, half-asked.

Daniel shrugged his shoulders. "We broke up." he said as if it were nothing new, "But whatever, finding a girlfriend isn't hard."

He was apparently the type who dated for appearances. Don't be getting the wrong ideas, now. The boy _does_ like girls. He just didn't fully grasp the concept of a "relationship". Ciel rolled his eye and shook his head.

"So why are _you_ here, Phantomhive?" Daniel elbowed the petite boy jokingly. "Your _wife_ dragged you along, huh?" he said, grinning.

The slate-haired teen gently shoved the boy back, and did his best to conceal his blush. "He's _not_ my _wife!"_ he declared, looking over to the blonde. Alois looked away quickly and covered his mouth in an attempt to hide a giggle. He was never bothered by being called the boy's "wife". What he never could understand, however, was why _he_ was the " _wife"._

Chatter filled the enormous room with the six boys and the swarm of girls combined. The boys teased each other for being there in the first place while the girls just talked about the boys. All of this was silenced by the instructor clapping her hands in demand of their attention.

"Excuse me! Quiet down, children!" she said.

It was none other than the choir teacher, Mrs. Bristow, who spoke. She was the one who taught the students to dance the waltz before the school dance. Ciel glared at the blonde boy who, judging by the grin and the laughter in his eyes, was _never_ going to let the bluenette forget.

"Now, welcome to Dance Class." she continued, "I assume you are all here because you all appreciate the _art-form_ of dancing."

"I also appreciate pretty girls!" Oddly, it was Daniel who interrupted, gaining a rumble of giggles from the girls. Ordinarily this kind of outburst was to be expected of the our blonde demon, not the son of a politician. _Copycat._

"That is _enough_!" Mrs. Bristow said, clapping her hands once more. "Daniel, one more outburst like that, and you will perform _Swan Lake_ on your own, in front of the _entire_ class." There was not a single hint of falsehood in her voice.

"But I don't _know_ _Swan Lake!_ "

"Exactly. It's funnier that way." the teacher joked. This time the giggles were for her. "Now, I want all of you to answer for me this question: ' _why do we dance'?"_

There was a long silence. Many students looked down and avoided eye contact with the woman. A girl spoke without even raising her hand.

"Because it's _fun?"_

"True, dancing _is_ fun, but I was hoping for something a bit more..." She scanned the room, finding no one who could answer her question. With a sigh, she answered it herself. " _Dancing_ , is a form of _expression._ It is an _art."_

The rumbling sound of many youths whispering to the one another filled the room once more, saying God knows what. "Now," she said, "as a quick exercise, I'm going to turn on the music, and you all are going to move in the way that it makes you _feel."_

She activated the CD player. The peppy sounds of the music wafted through the air with such great energy, but no one was dancing. Even the people who _enjoyed_ dancing were too embarrassed to do so. What to do? What _can_ you do? Teenagers are so bothersome in their need to be "cool", so they tend to intentionally handicap themselves in order not to stand out. All of them had on their tap-shoes, but none of them danced. All was still. All was silent, with just the sound of the happy music in the air.

_Clack, clack, tappity-tap, clack, clack, tap!_

Heads turned in the direction of the tapping noise. The wearer of the lively tap-shoes was none other than our happy-dancing blonde, Alois Trancy. His legs moved quickly to the music, the clicks his feet made on the floor added his own percussion flair to it.

Granted, it was a bit clumsy for tap-dancing. He had never learned how. Alois was simply copying what he witnessed from his former butler, _Claude Faustus._ He had watched him _Flamenco_ dance on multiple occasions, and had secretly always wanted to try it himself.

He did this now, simply enjoying himself. He didn't care what he looked like in the eyes of his peers, so he did as he pleased, and so did his feet. The blonde kept his arms out to balance himself, but mostly focused on his feet. He looked over to his friends, grinning as he noticed the feet of Travis and Kristopherson start to move as well.

They started gradually, simply tapping to the beat, but then added more flair as time went on. Soon their were three dancing. Three turned to six, as some of the girls decided to join, and six turned to twelve, and so on.

Soon nearly the entire room was filled with the clicks and clacks of tap-shoes. As a result, the volume of the CD player was nearly maxed out in order for the music to be heard. Daniel and Preston joined in eventually, leaving only _one_ who wasn't dancing. One boy. Ciel Phantomhive.

Ciel was not one to _go with the flow_ for the sake of "fun". He was _not_ going to dance, and he _meant it, this time._ The boy refused to be persueded by the blonde this time. He was going to stand there, and be the only _reasonable_ person in the room. His brow furrowed as he caught his own foot start to tap to the beat, forcing himself to quit.

His frustration grew as Alois began to dance around him. The blonde was equally determined to get this boy to dance. He's done it twice before, and wanted to do it thrice. Dancing made him feel so much more lighter. It gave him a happy, bubbly feeling in his chest, as did the bluenette. Therefore combining the two made him feel so happy, he could just pass out. Alois also knew that it secretly made his friend happy, too.

He grabbed Ciel's hands playfully, and danced with them while the boy remained firmly planted in his starting spot. He could see the blush on his friend's face.

" _I'm not doing it."_ declared the bluenette. He was telling himself almost as much as he was telling the blonde.

"Why not? It's fun isn't it?"

"That's not the point..."

"What _is_ the point?"

"Someone will see us..." Ciel said, suddenly finding the floor extremely interesting.

"So?"

"There's already _enough_ rumors about us as it is." he looked up at the blonde, giving him a serious look.

"They're _just_ rumors, right? Why does it matter? I think you're too concerned about appearances."

The bluenette sighed in exasperation. This boy he was talking to simply had _no_ concept of shame. "So what if I do?"

"Then you make no sense." Alois began, stopping his dance. "You often say that you don't care about these people at all, and that they are ignorant, and beneath you. If that is the case, why is it that you value their opinion so much?" He maintained his hold of the other boy's hands. Ciel could feel his pulse. Why was his _heart_ beating so fast? _Surely_ it was because of all the _dancing._

 _Dammit._ Alois was _right._ The slate-haired teen hated it when he was right. He had the petite boy backed into a corner. "Alois... I... I just-"

_RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII IIIIING!_

The bell rang, indicating that class was over. Ciel quickly escaped the blonde boy's trap while he was distracted and grabbed his things. "C'mon! We'll be late!"

" _Liar. I know you don't care if we're late..."_


	50. Zombie Frogs From Outer Space

'Twas a lovely day at Warwick Academy. The sun was shining happily over the campus, the birds sang sweetly, and there wasn't a single cloud in the sky. It was a perfect day for outdoor recces, and as such our boys were enjoying it with their friends. They were all sitting in a circle on the grass, playing cards in the grass.

"So, how do we know who's the 'old maid', again?" the blonde asked, tilting his head in confusion.

"Look, _you stupid bastard_ , we've explained this to you _ten bloody times_ , already! We aren't explaining it again!" said a very peeved boy in a silly-looking pink tie.

Alois looked like he was about to get up, reaching for his pocket, before a third boy caught his eye. It was Ciel Phantomhive, and he was holding his hand out to the boy expectantly.

" _Give it."_ he said.

In a huff, the boy sat down and reached into his pocket, surrendering it's contents. What he retrieved from his pocket was a sock, filled with coins, judging by the small jingling noise it made, with a knot tied in the end. It was the boy's improvised nightstick, or, a new one he had made recently. He put it in the bluenette's hand obediently.

"You were gonna use _that_ on me?!" Kristopherson exclaimed.

" _No,_ he was _not."_ said Ciel, shooting his blonde friend a dirty look. This caused the boy to shrink a bit, defensively.

Upon further inspection, the sock in the palm of the bluenette's hand didn't _feel_ like it contained _coins._ He shook it a bit before untying the knot in the end and emptying it's contents into his free hand. The blonde got another cross look, immediately.

"Where did you _get_ these?" Ciel showed the source of the jingling noise and the weapon's weight to be _nuts and bolts_ of all things. He couldn't even begin to imagine where the blonde retreived them from.

"Well, I _may or may not have_ gotten them from _Kristopherson's bicycle..."_

 _"WHAT?!"_ The boy stood up upon hearing this. "You better not have!"

" _Wow,_ Trancy..." Daniel, one of the other boys in the circle, was struggling to contain his laughter. " _Pfft-!_ Kris, I'm sorry about your bike."

Kristopherson was furious. He _did_ have a slight crush on the blonde boy, but the boy was _insane._ Often was he at a loss for how to handle this. He knew very well that Alois could be joking, however, there was still a chance he was _not._ At that moment, he had to make a choice, and he chose to check on his bike. He scampered away, shouting every swear word he knew.

The circle was quiet for a while, that is, until Daniel spoke up. "Are those _really_ from his bike, Trancy?"

" _Pssh! No._ I _found_ them."

"And where exactly did you 'find' them?" the bluenette asked his friend. He knew that there was no way in _hell_ that the blonde menace had simply "found" them.

"You can find them on practically anything old and made of metal. From the bleachers in the gym, to various sports equipment..."

"Are you saying that _you're_ the reason that the basketball hoop fell off during the team's practice, yesterday?"

"I never _said_ that." stated the blonde, plainly.

He was odd. He did these things and felt no guilt for his actions. Now, the basketball hoop wasn't entirely _intentional_ , but he still found it amusing. Alois Trancy, "The Blonde Menace", loved to toy with people. He pulled pranks, big or small, as long as he found them funny.

That is why Ciel didn't know what to think of the blonde's actions the previous night. He had been kissed on the cheek by the boy, and couldn't tell if he was serious, or _just playing with him._ This is perhaps why he wasn't being lenient with Alois' antics lately. Normally, he probably would have let him threaten Kristopherson with the "killer sock", due to the fact that it would only be a _threat_. However, the game has changed, and the bluenette didn't find it as funny as he used to.

Now he was annoyed. Annoyed at the fact that the blonde _could_ have just been playing with him, and annoyed that he couldn't figure it out. He was also quite embarrassed that his inquiry that night could have tipped off Alois to his true feelings. _God,_ how he wish he didn't have _feelings._

The bell rang, ending their game of cards. The demons said "goodbye" to Daniel for the day, and headed to their next class.

"Hey, Ciel, what are we doing in Biology today? Do you know?"

"Yeah, I think Mr. Carver said something about _dissection_." The bluenette felt his lips twitch into a small smile. The thought of Alois having to dissect a frog was hilarious to him. Nevertheless, he forced himself to maintain his usual face of indifference until they reached the classroom.

"Alright, today we're going to cut things up. Now, doesn't that sound _fun?"_ the man behind the teacher's desk said, smiling.

Mr. Carver was a rather scary-looking man. Not in the same way as Mr. Irons, who was scary because he looked powerful, but Mr. Carver was scary as in _creepy._ He had beady eyes, and long, skinny, wrinkled fingers that seemed accustomed to holding scalpels, and he wore a lab-coat with mysterious dark-red stains on it. One of the many rumors circling about within the school-walls is the it was _he_ that is responsible for the disappearance of the student, _Maxwell Goddard,_ but the two boys, the butler, Sebastian, you, and I all know that this is not the case.

The students donned their lab-coats and latex gloves and went to their stations. They were allowed to choose their own partners, so our dynamic duo were able to work together, of course. This worked out perfectly for the bluenette, who would get to see Alois' response first hand.

He picked up the scalpel and made an vertical incision on the frogs stomach, looking at the blonde's face in the corner of his eye. Nothing yet. He made the next cut just below the frog's arms, and above it's legs. It was only when he separated the skin from the muscle that he got any sort of a reaction. Alois furrowed his brow, and made a disgusted face.

"Do you want to do the next part?" Ciel asked in feigned innocence.

"What do I need to do?"

"You need to pin the stomach flaps to the tray so we can see it's organs."

"O-okay..?"

Hesitantly, the blonde boy took the forceps and began this process. He was doing well until the frogs organs actually became _visible._ He gagged at the sight.

"Ugh, it _smells!"_

"Like guts and formaldehyde. Keep going, you're doing _fine._ See those green things? _Remove them."_

 _"_ What are they?"

" _Eggs."_

Now the blonde nearly trew up. He cut them out, picked at them, did what was necessary up to a point. Eventually though, he nearly _threw_ down the tools.

" _Nope."_ he said.

"Oh _come on_ , you almost had all of them." Ciel was in no way, even _trying_ to hide his smile at this point.

Alois put his hands in the air. "Nope, nope, nope, nope, nope, nope, _NOPE."_

He was not having this. For some reason, he just _couldn't_. It was bizarre, he had seen blood before, in fact, he himself had been _stabbed in the stomach._ The boy had no problems with impaled angels and such, but _cutting open dead preserved frogs_ was too much. He drew the line in a strange place, but it was drawn, and it will not budge.

" _Fine._ At least take this tag, and label _something_." the bluenette said, handing his friend a small paper tag with a string on it. "Just tie it around the organ."

Taking a deep breath, the blonde took the tag and wrote on it. He made an attempt to tie it to the amphibian's heart. His fingers worked trying to tie a knot around the slippery organ, before he made a small squeal and retreated.

" _Oh my god, it_ _ **moved!**_ "

Ciel laughed, actually _laughed_ at the boy. Head's turned to investigate the source of the squeal, to see this. No one at Warwick had _ever_ seen Ciel Phantomhive _laugh_ before.

"Ah-haha-ha! That noise! _Oh my God, Alois, you're such a_ _ **girl!**_ " He was clutching his stomach, he was laughing so hard.

The face of the blonde being laughed at turned a shade of pink. "I am _not!"_

" _'Oh no!_ _ **It moved!**_ '" The bluenette teased, using his best Alois impression.

"It _did!"_

 _"_ It's _dead!"_

 _"_ I know it moved! It did, I swear!"

" _The frog is not a zombie, Alois."_

_**"That's just what it** _ _**wants** _ _**you to think!"** _


	51. Auctions and Alois Logic

Warwick Academy. It is the finest private school in the United Kingdom, teaching the children of the upper class while preparing them for the real world. (Or as "real world" as being rich gets you, if you know what I mean.) At Warwick, children learn all the basics of high society from culture to proper business skills, and as such, they often discuss what their family's are doing, and relaying that information back and forth. As you know, having your children make friends with the children of powerful people can give any business owner a good edge.

Today, the students in Mr. Irons' first period History class a buzzing about an upcoming auction. Word has it, that the old abandoned mansion that if often visited by curious and brave (and stupid), thrill-seeking teenagers had many antique pieces just waiting to be restored. Some pieces are now worth _millions._

Alois Trancy, secretly the former owner of the manor, was _not_ happy about this. "That should be _my_ money!" he said.

"They weren't even your belongings to begin with, though." his friend, Ciel, reminded him.

"I stole them _fair and square!"_

 _"_ Yes, but how exactly do you plan to go about reclaiming them?"

The bluenette was met with silence. Alois had no idea how he could. Probably because it was impossible. Still, you would be quite peeved if someone was selling your stuff, keeping the money, and there was absolutely nothing you could do about it, wouldn't you? All he could so was sit there, crossing his arms and pout.

"Are you guys going to the auction?" A plain looking boy with brown hair, parted to the right, appeared before the boys. It was none other than their friend(?), Daniel Westly. " I no idea the things in that freaky house where worth so much! I would've taken a few things while I was there.

Ciel shot his blonde friend a look, preventing him from punching the unknowing boy in the face. "Are you sure that would be wise? What is you _made the ghosts angry,_ Daniel?"

"Ugh... Don't remind me!" The politician's son shuddered, remembering the horrible scene he saw at the mansion during his previous visit. "That kid might've taken _my_ eyes! I _still_ have nightmares about it..."

"Don't be stupid. _Ghosts aren't real."_

"I know what I saw, and you can't tell me I didn't see what I saw! I am _not_ a nutter! That house is _haunted."_ He pointed at the boy to make himself seem like he knew what he was saying. "Anyway, are you going or not? My dad will be there, and so will Kris' mom, and Travis' parents will also."

"Who knows? Depends on my mood."

"Ciel is just a _little ball of sunshine_ , you see." Alois added.

"Oh, _I know!_ Just look at that innocent, child-like smile, and rosy cheeks brimming with joy!" Daniel teased. Ciel simply folded his arms defensively in response.

"I don't really know. Is it really good for the image of a toy company to buy things from a 'haunted house'?" he asked.

"Probably not." said Daniel. "I wonder if they'll be selling that painting of that kid who looks like Alois."

"I will go to the auction dressed as that boy, and loudly ask why people are selling my shit." the blonde joked. Granted, he _would_ , he actually _is_ the boy, and those items really are _his._ However, in normal society, that is deemed "impossible", unfortunately.

Regardless, the brown-headed teen took it as a joke. "I would so _pay_ to see that." he said.

"Fifty-quid, please." The blonde held out his had.

"You nutter."

The conversation was cut off quite abruptly, as the boy's phone rang. It was one of those obnoxious ringtones where it is a song, and for this reason, he was slow to pick up because he'd "miss the good part".

"I have to take this, it's my dad."

" _Piss off,_ then!" Alois said jokingly. He smiled and waved at the boy as he exited the room to take his phone call. Then his smile faded and he turned to his bluenette friend.

" _What a fucking libertine."_

"What the-?! You were friend's with him not even a minute ago!" his friend said.

"He wants to buy all of my _shit!_ "

It was at this point that Ciel didn't know what to say. There simply was _no pleasing_ the blonde. All he could do was roll his eye and pull his hands in the air in exasperation.

"I wish I _could_ haunt him." the blonde declared.

"Alois, quit being ridiculous."

"How am _I_ being ridiculous?!"

The bluenette started counting off the things on his fingers as he named them. "One: If he buys them there is absolutely not a single thing you can do about it because you are "dead". Two: You are right here, therefore you cannot be a ghost. Three: Ghosts do not even _exist."_

"Now _that,_ sir is a ridiculous notion! Are you telling me, that things like _demons, angels, and grim reapers_ _**can**_ exist, but there is no feasible way that _ghosts can as well?!"_

"Well have _you_ seen one?"

"Ciel, it was only just recently that I saw an _angel_ for the first time, so I imagine that there are things that exist in this world that I _haven't_ seen before either. At this point, I wouldn't be surprised in the slightest if _el chupacabra_ showed up at the bus stop and asked me if I had change fo a fiver."

Once again, the blonde's un-logic seemed perfectly reasonable. Ciel hated that. It felt like he was losing to the boy, and if there was _one thing_ Ciel Phantomhive hated more than _being wrong,_ it was _losing._ He sat back in his chair in a huff. " _Whatever."_ he said. The blonde's mind was a _complete anomaly._

The bluenette often found himself vexed by this. From the short -shorts, to his conversations with rubber ducks, Ciel could not decode the boy's thought processes. Perhaps there was a sort of _Rosetta Stone_ at that auction that could help him _speak Alois._

"Hey, Ciel?" The blonde in question interrupted the bluenette's musings for a moment.

"What?"

"What is the plural form of ' _Platypus'?_ Is it ' _Platypusses'_ or ' _Platypi'?_ " he asked, before adding: "Personally, I like _'Platypi',_ 'cause ' _Platypusses_ ' sounds _dirty."_

_"What on earth is wrong with you, Alois?"_


	52. Bernard The Duck Is My Wingman

It had often been wondered amongst those living in the Phantomhive household _why_ the master of the house would ever summon a most troublesome blonde back from the dead. Why on earth would the bluenette do that? Was it that he felt lonely and wanted a companion? Was it out of whimsy? If so, why _Alois Trancy,_ of all people?

These thoughts often loomed over the boy's thoughts. While Ciel had difficulty deceiving Alois' thought processes, Alois had difficulty understanding _the bluenettes._ It wasn't often that he would ponder about this, but nights like this brought his mind back to that ominous night in autumn almost a year ago. One moment, he was in Ciel's mind, the next, he was with Hannah and Luka, and after that, he was in the boy's basement, stark naked, and was informed that over a hundred years had passed. It was all like a dream that he couldn't wake up from, not that he _wanted_ to.

Alois sat at his desk, staring at his bedroom ceiling as he thought. It was still difficult to wrap his head around all of this. For some reason or another, it was _he_ who the mysterious slate-haired teen decided to resurrect. He still wasn't entirely sure _how_ he did. According to Ciel, it was quite simple to create a human body using alchemy if you had all of the ingredients. Getting it to take the shape he wanted was as simple too, as he used his own memories of the boy to mold the shape to his will.

Yes, very skin he was wearing wasn't even _his own._ He would often look in the mirror and gawk at how accurate it was. Why did Ciel remember his face so well? The boy hadn't seen the blonde in over a hundred years, yet it was as though it hadn't been five minutes. Why was that? Did he have photographic memory or something? The blonde's questions didn't even cease there.

His original body was supposedly still buried in an old cemetery nearby. Now _that_ was a heavy thought to dwell on. Knowing that somewhere, your own corpse is rotting and being devoured by worms and bugs buried under six feet of dirt. Yet he is still comfortable the way he is now. He felt as though the stained body that irked him so was somehow cleansed. He rather liked that thought.

That explains the body, but what about the soul? Alois had asked the bluenette this as well. After all, his soul had been eaten by Hannah, and the maid was _dead_. How on _earth_ did the boy accomplish that? According to Ciel, all that was needed was a sinlge item. The ring that contained his soull all those years ago.

The ring was found in the clock tower behind the Trancy Manor were the blonde had left it. All Ciel had to do, was go get it. This way, there would be a way to tie an almost unattainable soul to the mortal world. It was at that point in the blonde's thought process that some thing hit him. A possible explanation to why _him._

 _Because it would be easy._ Let's say, for the sake of argument that the eyepatch-wearing Earl _had_ developed a sense of _whimsy._ Now how many of the boy's _other_ acquaintances had an item that contained their _soul?_ The answer is _none._

Alois really didn't know how to feel about that. He didn't know whether to feel sad, or angry, or happy, or lucky, or _thankful._ Because of this, this... _stroke of luck_ , he was able to get a complete second-chance at life. But still, he wasn't at all _special_ to the boy. That's all it was. He was bored and wanted to flaunt his power, and the blonde just _happened_ to fit the bill.

But what did the boy want with him after he was resurrected? He could have simply gotten rid of him, if he pleased. But Ciel, for whatever reason, decided to keep him as a _pet,_ and train him to live in modern society. Before long, he was promoted from "pet" to "friend", and here he was now, contemplating all of this. All he knew, is that at some point, be it minutes, months, or years, before he was summoned, or even directly _after_ , something _changed_ the the bluenette's mind.

The blonde had wondered what, and when, and even asked the boy directly, but all Ciel would say was, "I don't know", "That's none of your business", or "That's for me to know". Not knowing somehow ate at the blonde. It frustrated him to no end that he couldn't understand his friend's intentions. _Not knowing_ is always much worse than _knowing._ The bluenette's emotions were like a box filled with endless possibilities. A _Schrodinger's Earl_ , perhaps? The blonde had no way of knowing what the boy was thinking due to the simple fact that there was no way he could look inside. That's just the way people are, I suppose, whether human, or _demon._

Ciel had his reasons. He simply longed for the Victorian era he was born in. He held a certain sense of nostalgia for it. However, he could find nothing that could replicate the feeling of being there. TV dramas were inaccurate, and many things from that time have been "modernized", or simply vanished all together. Perhaps he simply wanted someone to confide in, unable to do so with the flexible older demon, Sebastian, who was very capable of adjusting to change. That is to be expected, I suppose. He is an immortal being, after all, and time is ever-changing, ever-evolving.

Maybe his softening over the years had made him more longing for these things. Maybe this new-found childishness made him susceptible to being lonely, as well. The boy couldn't get too close to other children "his age", due to the fact that he was a demon. Any friendships he made would have to be short-lived in order to maintain the illusion of his humanity. It would be rather odd for his friends to get older and die while he remained forever young. That was another thing. The death of his human friends was imminent. Wouldn't it be better to have a friend that wouldn't do this?

On a certain level, Ciel probably knows all of this. However his pride and sense of self would never allow him to acknowledge any of this. It was so out of character for the boy, yet _isn't_. After all, he _is only a child_.

It _was_ easiest to bring back Alois, but there was also the fact that he felt as though he really _knew_ the boy already. They _did_ share a body and memories, you know. In a way, he could really identify with the estranged blonde boy, and maybe this was a contributing factor as well.

Either way, he had no regrets on the matter. He had obtained his first true _friend_. Not a family member, not an acquaintance, not an associate, not some random nutter who followed him around, but a _friend._ He legitimately felt _happy_ when interacting with the blonde, even though they were such mirror opposites.

Alois had light-hair, he had dark, Alois was hyper, he was reserved, Alois liked _greasy fish 'n chips,_ he liked _cake._ These differences sometimes made it difficult to get along, with the blonde being "an idiot" and all. But still, they got along swimmingly.

A knock was heard at the bluenette's door. "Come in." he said.

" _Pppphhhhhbblghblghblghblghbl ghblgh..."_

_"Alois, stop using the door to make disgusting noises, and come in."_

The door opened, revealing the blonde boy. He walked right into the room like he owned the place. "What? Farts are funny!"

" _To an idiot like you, maybe."_

 _"_ Oh Ciel! You _wound_ me so!" the blonde cried melodramatically before falling face-first on the bluenette's bed. "I'm _bored."_ he spoke into the mattress.

"Then go _do_ something."

"Like what?"

"I don't know, _read a book."_

_"Fuck you."_

Ciel immediately had to curse himself for allowing his mind to wander directly into the gutter. He adjusted himself and turned around in his chair to look at the blonde. "Then what is it exactly that _you_ propose?"

"Plaaaaaaay wiiiiith meeeee!" the blonde whined as he rolled around across the bed.

"Nerf battle to the death?"

"Hahahaha, _hell no."_

"Go bother your _rubber duck,_ then."

Alois sat up and glared at the boy. "He _has_ a perfectly good _name,_ you know." He walked over and looked Ciel in the eye. "His name is _Bernard."_

_"I will be sure to notify you when I start to give a shit."_

And with that, the boy was bopped on the head. Not very hard, but enough to startle him. "How _dare_ you insult him, you swine!"

 _"He's a_ _ **fake**_ _duck!"_ The bluenette shouted, blocking most of the remainder of the blonde's attacks.

" _He_ doesn't know that!"

"Of course he doesn't! He isn't _alive_ , you _pillock!"_

Just as quickly as he had started, the blonde stopped. _"Yeah, I know."_ he said, smiling.

"You're a complete _lunatic,_ do you know _that?"_

 _"_ Yes, but you love me anyways."

"I _do_ _ **not!**_ _"_ The bluenette's face had turned completely red at that. How could someone be so _casual_ about this?

"Aw, now, now, that hurts my widdle _feelings!"_

" _Whatever."_ That's all the boy could say. He didn't know what else he _could_ say. The blonde was so erratic, that anything he could say could go any which way. The blonde could turn it to anything his heart desired, and _did._

 _"_ Well then, could I just ask you something, then?" the blonde asked.

"What?"

"Riddle me this: _Why_ exactly did you resurrect me?"

"What brings this up?"

"It's been weighing on my mind, lately." Alois' voice went soft, and was strangely sincere.

Ciel took a deep breath before looking directly at the blonde. "I've told you before. I really _don't_ know, Alois."

"That's a _lie!"_ the blonde shouted.

 _"It is_ _ **not!"**_ the bluenette shouted back, standing up. His chair fell over backwards.

Alois stood there, surprised. He couldn't tell if his friend was _angry,_ or just _defensive._ Either way, it legitimately startled him. Picking up on this, the slate-haired teen forced himself to relax his now tensed shoulders and adjust his tone.

" _Sorry."_ he said. "I just don't _know_ , though. I guess I... I just wanted something to be... familiar?" He didn't quite know what he was saying. He just said the first thing that came to mind, for once. Ciel felt foolish and just continued to look at the ground.

He wasn't the only one confused by his actions. The blonde was, too. But he still could somehow understand what he was saying.

"You mean... Like, someone who understood what it's like to be in a new time?"

"I think so... And... You were the only one who I even had a slim chance of resurrecting, and..." he wasn't sure were exactly he was going with this. "I can kind of... relate to you...?" He felt like a complete blabbering idiot. He didn't like being confronted with these thoughts and feelings. He liked _expressing_ them even _less._

All Alois could do was stare, which probably wasn't helping the other boy's discomfort, but he was _happy._ He didn't know how exactly to express this. He didn't want to ruin the moment by doing or saying something stupid. Regardless, he still wanted to get while the getting was good.

"So then, what exactly _am I to you_?"

Ciel could've had a heart-attack right there. "W-what do you mean?"

"Am I a rival, a friend, a brother, or maybe even a pet, such as a dog?" The blonde was nearly shaking, but still, he wanted to press ever onward, concealing his nerves with a mask, giving him the appearance that he knew what he was doing when he in fact, had no idea. "How do you think of me? I'm _dying_ to know... _muffin."_

 _"Muffin?"_ The word echoed in Ciel's mind. Why would he say that? The word was so out of place, _until he remembered it's usual context._

The blonde would often say, " _I love you too, muffin"_ tauntingly when he was insulted of brushed off by the bluenette. It was upon remembering this, that the bluenette realized what he meant by that. _The blonde was indirectly_ _ **confessing**_ _to him._

* * *


	53. Alois, You're Such A Girl

The bluenette's heart felt like it was going to leap out of his throat at any moment. His face was crimson at what the blonde was saying. Alois had basically _confessed that he had feelings_ for him. Now one could argue that the boy hadn't _exactly_ said this, but judging by the boy's peculiar behaviour, it was apparent that that was the direction he was leaning in.

The blonde's face was flushed, and his shoulders were defensively stiff, bracing himself for Ciel's answer. He fidgeted with the end of his T-shirt nervously, and his eyes darted around the room, not daring to remain on his friend's face for too long. He was terrified.

His heart was now exposed, and was at the mercy of the bluenette. He could crush it, cut it out, ignore it, or even _embrace_ it. All of these possibilities were very real, and each and every one had their disadvantages.

Even if Ciel _were_ to return his feelings, there would be a whole _new_ mess of obstacles to face. How would Sebastian react? What would the kids at school think? Their own limitations were also a factor, with both boys being so heavily emotionally scarred, it would even be difficult for they _themselves_ to accept this. In addition to this, they were both from the _Victorian era_ , were homosexuality wasn't really an _acceptable_ _thing._ Sure, it existed, it always has, but not to the _public eye_. Times have changed, but their own social values have hardly. The more they looked at it, the more unlikely it seemed.

But in spite of all of this, Ciel spoke. "W-well, I..." He had difficulty finding the words. Clearing his throat, he straightened himself and took a deep breath in an attempt to calm his nerves. "I might... maybe... _f-fancy_ you... a bit?" He couldn't look the other boy in the eye. The floor suddenly became very interesting to him and he looked down. Ciel was _not_ the type to wear his heart on his sleeve. He _did not_ like this. Not one bit. But it was now, or never, and like the "man" he was, he chose _now._ It took every once of courage he had, but he did it.

His companion was at a loss for words. Only in his _wildest dreams_ would this _ever_ happen, yet here they were, sharing their most _intimate_ of feelings. The blonde, for once, simply couldn't think of anything to say. The usually talkative boy couldn't bring himself to speak. He didn't trust his mouth to not completely mess this up. However, he could tell by looking at the bluenette that his silence was not helping his growing anxiety.

Since he couldn't use his voice, he forced his legs to move himself forward, and surprised the bluenette by putting his arms around the boy's neck and hiding his face in his shoulder. In response, Ciel put his own arms around the boy's waist. They stayed that way for what felt like much longer than it really was, listening to and feeling each other's unstable heart-beat.

_"Alois, you're such a_ _**girl** _ _..."_


	54. A Talk With The Butler

The young master believes I know nothing of his feelings for the Trancy boy. Now, now, if I were so insensitive to my lord, what kind of butler would I be? I've known for quite some time about this. I noticed every blush he made when it came to the other boy, every time he couldn't look him in the eye, or fidgeted at every slight touch. It's my duty after all. In fact, I believe I noticed it before even he himself did. He can be silly sometimes, can't he?

All that said, I am fully supportive of my master's decisions and preferences, although I myself am not to keen on the blonde boy. You do realize he is responsible for my eternal servitude, yes? That aside, I will not complain. I am actually quite happy for the young master. He has never quite been so found of anyone, before. It's a nice change.

What? Did you think I would be disproving of the fact that my lord fancies another male? Not in the slightest. It is not my place, after all. In fact, gender hardly matters to demons. The fact that we are able to transform eliminates this problem in finding a mate, obviously. Times have changed as well, making it more acceptable among humans. However, it is not _entirely_ accepted, but I am confident in my lord's ability to cope with those who are disapproving. He won't be alone, after all. Mister Trancy will be going through the same thing, no doubt.

It has also come to my attention that they now appear to be aware these feelings are mutual. I often catch them off-guard, holding hands, or even cuddling. When I am noticed, the scramble to untangle themselves. How silly. Do they really think I'm fooled? That's rather naive, if I may say so. That said, that same naivety is quite _amusing_ coming from my master. Although I have known him for many years, but have seldom seen such childishness coming from the boy.

Perhaps resurrecting the Trancy boy wasn't such a bad thing after all. At first I was confused as to why on earth my master would want to do such a thing, but now I come to realize that perhaps my lord simply desired someone he could relate to, and the former Earl was an easy bet. I understand that it is difficult to find friends who are able to comprehend his "condition." Similarly, he may have wanted someone around, _ahem,_ " _his age_ " to talk to. I am aware of this need in children, and am probably not best suited for this task.

Yes, things have certainly gotten much more lively around the manor in the past half a year. It's almost hard to imagine it's been this long. It feels like it was just yesterday I was having to explain _Hitler_ to that blonde. I also believe it would be safe to assume things are only going to so as time goes on!

I must say, it was nice having this chat with you, but I do believe I heard something shattering in the next room. (No doubt "the Blonde Menace" is responsible.) I must attend to my duties as butler. Until next time, friends.


	55. It's Funny 'Cause It Sounds Wrong

It was another day, and here, at Warwick Academy, things are normal. A Normal day, with normal weather, normal classes, normal staff, and normal students, who carried out their activities as usual. They did their schoolwork, socialized, and did all of the general things that students do. Everyone was none the wiser to the slight change in a certain pair of students.

The exact pair that Mr. Irons' first period history class was so itching to see together in a romantic sense, now were. And they, of course, will be the last ones to know. For you see, the petite bluenette boy was not quite comfortable with the idea of them knowing, yet. It was nothing against the blonde, oh no, not at all. In fact it was his own pride and Victorian-era social values that made him hesitant to make his current relationship status public.

His new _boyfriend_ understood this, and took no offense whatsoever. Even he would find it annoying to just be known as "that homo kid", so he agreed to not be so flirtatious in public, as difficult as it would be for him. And oh, would it be _difficult._ He had a hard time doing so _before_ he knew his feelings were mutual, so can you imagine how it would be after?

They limited themselves to simply holding hands, or other slight intimacies when no one was looking. Slowly they were progressing, taking time to carefully take each step. Both were unused to this sort of thing, so it's quite understandable, no?

But still, they did enjoy each other's company, even with discretion. Small smiles and returning glances during class time were enough for now. It was surprising that the class hadn't caught on yet. Usually they would have been all over these small details. However, I guess they were busy, caught up in their own d _ramatic_ teenage lives, missing everything.

"Hey Ciel, did you know that Platypi are _poisonous?"_ the blonde asked all of a sudden.

Ciel looked away from his book to reply. "Really, are they? Wait, ' _Platypi'?"_

"Yes. Male _platypi_ have spiky things one their hind legs that inject poison that is potent enough to kill small animals. Not humans, though. It _does,_ however cause excruciating pain that lasts several days and there is no anti-venom."

"Are you _sure_ that 'platypi' is the correct form of 'platypus'?"

"Well, _you_ try and say the word, ' _platypusses_ ' without feeling _dirty."_

"Point taken." the bluenette had no idea were Alois' new-found fascination with the egg-laying mammal came from, but it was there. The blonde boy was odd, but then again, so were " _platypi"._

"Go on, _say it!"_

"What? No!"

"Say it!"

"No, Alois."

_"Say it!"_

All the boy could do was role his eye and comply. The blonde showed no signs of giving up on this. " _'Platypusses.'"_

To the bluenette, it seemed like the blonde laughed a bit _too_ hard at that. Alois was clutching his stomach, his face was red, and tears welled up in the corners of his eyes. He sat in his seat letting loose the most evil, girlish giggle you ever heard. Something about the bluenette saying the word absolutely tickled him.

"Ahhahahahaha! Haha! Hah... It's funny... heheh... 'cause it sounds so _wrong!_ Hahaha! HaHAHA!" he managed to finally convey. The boy was absolutely throwing a fit.

"What? You mean ' _platypusses'?_ What's so wrong about that?" Ciel teased.

"Stop it! Ha! I'm gonna pee! Hahahaha!"

"Woah, T.M.I, Trancy!" a familiar voice said. "I _did not_ need to know that." A boy with bleached blonde hair in a silly pink tie appeared next to the boys. "What's got Trancy in a fit?"

" _Platypusses."_ the bluenette replied plainly, with a slight smile.

" _Pffffftt-!"_ Alois covered his mouth in a desperate attempt to get himself to stop laughing.

Kristopherson was confused. "What's so funny about _platypusses?"_

 _"Pfffffha-hahaha-ha!"_ Alois completely lost it. Tears were streaming down his face after the faux-blonde repeated the word.

Even Ciel was amused. Although maybe more so at the blonde than at the word. Only Alois could find such a silly thing so funny. "He says, ' _It's funny 'cause it sounds_ _ **wrong**_.'"

"...The _hell are you two talking about in the middle of class?!"_ Kristopherson shouted. His face was quickly heating up. Soon, it was a pink as his tie.

"We're talking about _platypusses,_ duh, Kristopherson."

"You're disgusting! And _you!"_ the faux-blonde turned his attention to Alois. "Why is that even funny to a _poof_ like you!?"

The Trancy boy quelled his laughter for a moment, and took a deep breath. When he felt like he could speak without erupting again, he said: "Because I'm not a poof. I'm _bisexual,_ thank you very much, _Pinky."_

"You _liar!_ Like hell, I'll believe that, you _manky uphill gardener!"_ the boy's face changed in hue, as it went from pink to red, while the bluenette could only roll his eye at the conversation.

The red-faced teen in front of him was in the closet, and the other boy recovering from a laughing fit was his boyfriend. This entire conversation struck the boy as silly.

"How _very_ dare you! Never before have I been so _insulted!_ " The blonde stood up. "I will not stand here, and take such abuse from some _airy-fairy_ like _you!"_

 _"Alois, sit down. Kristopherson, piss off."_ The bulenette had seen enough. He needed to stop this before things got out of hand.

"But he-!"

" _Sit down, Alois._ " He said, repeating himself. And the blonde obeyed, seating himself in a huff. He folded his arms and glared at his _nemesis._

" _Hah!_ " the boy in the silly pink tie taunted.

" _Kristopherson, piss off."_

"What!? You can't tell me what to do!"

"I can since I still have Alois' coin-sock." Ciel threatened, reaching into his bag. He did in fact, still have the sock full of coins, however, he was not like Alois, in that he wouldn't take it out and swing it around like a madman.

Oh, how Kristopherson was afraid of that sock. He took a few steps back. "You're... you're just messing with me!"

"You're right. I guess I'll just return it to Alois, then..."

And with that, the boy fled. He turned on his heel and marched to his own seat without even looking back. It would be wise of him to stop pursuing these two. They aren't "right" in the head, you see.

The bluenette watched him sit down before returning his attention to the blonde. "There is no way in _hell_ that you are _bisexual_." he said, giving the boy a skeptical look.

"Oh, but I am. You ever seen a woman naked? It's _mesmerizing."_ Alois said as he watched the other boy shake his head disapprovingly. " _However,_ I'm sure _you_ would look _better._ " he said with a grin, causing the bluenette's face to turn as bright and red as a tomato.

_**"We are at school, you twit!"** _


	56. The Mark of Asclepius

The sound of battle draws ever closer as two teams perpare to face off in Warwick's most exciting event. _Psychical Education class._ Now that may not sound exciting to most, (including but not limited to the participants themselves,) but at Warwick, they have _demons_ on their teams.

A whistles assaults the eardrums of the students in the gymnasium. "Alright! Everyone get in the changing rooms and get on the court before I get angry!" the literal whistle-blower was Mr. Alvey, the P.E. teacher. Although he threatened to get angry, he always looked that way. You could see veins popping out of his forehead at almost any given moment. It is wise to do what he says swiftly, or be met by harsh retribution.

The male students knew this, and quickly went into the changing room in order to exchange their uniforms for clothes better suited for physical activity. This was Ciel Phantomhives' _least_ favourite part of the class. He liked it even less than he did playing the actual sports.

And this wasn't due to his sexual preferences, not by a long shot. It was the simple fact that changing clothes in public _unnerved_ him. The Victorian-era was known for being a bit _prude_ , so it should be natural that he would feel out of place or _vulnerable._ The only people who had seen that much of his skin before where Sebastian, his tailor, his doctor, and perhaps _his mother_ , when he was young. This was _embarrassing_.

Moreover, he still had to somehow conceal his _enslavement brand_ on his left side from the others. It was still there, even after all these years, and if the other students saw it, there would be an endless flurry of questions. It was a nerve-wrecking task he must perform every P.E. class, and it was sometimes tricky. He would often wear an undershirt beneath his uniform, but this wouldn't work as the weather got warmer. Most of the time, he would be the last to exit in order to change in privacy. This was his favourite method, as he didn't have to show his undergarments to the other boys, or see _theirs_. Some hadn't seemed to wear the same pair for _weeks,_ and that was information Ciel was _better off not knowing._

However, he _didn't_ mind getting the chance to see Alois shirtless. He _may or may not have_ snuck a few very subtle glances in that direction, cursing himself the entire while.

His blonde friend, however, gave not the slightest care. He didn't care if Ciel stared at him, in fact, he welcomed it, not did he care if if the other boy's saw him. In fact, he usually was one of the first one's done changing, but he would always stay behind and wait for the bluenette. Alois didn't mind others seeing his skin and underwear. He was used to it from his days of slavery in the Trancy manor. In his eyes, the situation was far more pleasant. Even the filthy boys locker-room was cleaner than the Trancy basement. He quickly put on his athletic shorts, (which where obviously made for _women_ , judging by the length,) and his purple T-shirt, and waited for Ciel to finish being so _Ciel._

"Are you _done_ yet?" he whined. Any ounce of patience was slowly leaving him.

" _No."_ replied the bluenette, that one single word sounded as though it were coated in _poison._

Alois peeked around the corner at the boy, assessing the status of his completion. "You still don't even have your shirt off!" he shouted in disbelief. It had been about five minutes, and the boy still only had his blazer and tie off. _Unbelievable._

"I can't when you're _watching me!"_

_"Take it off!"_

_"Stop shouting! People will get the wrong idea!"_ Ciel shouted in response to the blonde's command. That could've been taken in _so many different ways._

_"I love you, muffin."_

_"Shut it!"_

Rolling his eyes, the blonde stepped closer to the boy. "C'mon! We don't have all day!"

"Then get out, and I'll follow you when I'm done!"

With great reluctance, Alois complied, once more stepping around the corner and out of sight, much to the relief of the bluenette boy. When he felt sure he was gone, he began unfastening the shirt's buttons, and slipped it off his shoulders. He immediately reached for his plain blue t-shirt, quickly, to cover himself in case of...

" _Ooh, la la~!"_

...That.

He whipped his head around to see the blonde standing behind him with a smile. Now, it wasn't his intention to humiliate or frighten his friend, the blonde just wanted to tease him a bit. All the same, the bluenette's eye widened, and he attempted to use the shirt in his hand as a barrier between him and the blonde's vision.

 _ **"Alois!"**_ he shouted threateningly between gritted teeth. Even the _thought_ of having Alois see him like this was more embarrassing than the entire class put together. Relationship status changed nothing when it came to this. His face heated up as he tried to stare the fair-haired boy down.

The boy on the receiving end of his death-glare raised his hands in defense. " _Relax,_ mate. I'm just messing with you. Also, it's a bit _unfair_ if _you_ are allowed to check me out, and not vice versa." He giggled at the boy's reaction.

That was, until he saw the mark below his friend's left pectoral. "What is _that?"_ he asked, pointing at the brand. The sly grin that was plastered on his visage faded.

Quickly Ciel covered it with his free hand, as though that would change the fact that it had been seen. His eye shifted it's focus elsewhere, anywhere _other_ than at the blonde. It's not as though he meant to keep the mark a _secret_. It's just that it was never important. The two seldom discussed their past, so it would be odd to just bring it up out of the blue.

" _It's nothing._ " he said.

"That doesn't _look_ like ' _nothing'_. Let me see it." The blonde's voice was firm, but very oddly, _gentle_ at the same time. He took a step forward, and the bluenette took a step back, defensively. " _Please?"_

Alois Trancy _never_ said "please". For him to use such a word meant that he was desperate. He didn't _want_ to know. He _had_ to know what the mark that he only got a slight glimpse of was. It would weigh on his mind for a long while if he didn't. The weight would only grow heavier as time passed.

The word rang in the other boy's ears for a few moments before he took a deep breath, and slowly, _hesitantly_ , uncovered the mark. He inhaled sharply in surprise when the blonde touched it. It was at this point he allowed himself to look at the blonde, so focused on the mark.

The bluentte noticed that his eyes were serious, empathetic, yet somehow detached from what was happening. His brow was furrowed in concentration, and even _anger_ at the nameless person who did this to his precious Ciel. He carefully brushed his fingers over the raised symbol made out of the soft, damaged skin of the boy, examining ever detail.

Somehow he sensed the bluenette's curious stare, and looked up, realizing what exactly it was he was doing. "S-sorry!" he said while his face flushed crimson. He swiftly removed his hand, his voice shook from embarrassment, and his eyes suddenly found the ground to be quite interesting.

"It's okay." Ciel said reassuringly. He too was embarrassed, and making a big deal out of circumstance would only make things worse. Pulling on his T-shirt, he continued. "I meant to tell you, but the subject never came up..."

"It's fine, it's fine! I understand completely! I'll wait outside while you finish up, alright?" He turned to leave before immediately turning back to face the other boy. "You _are_ pretty _fit_ though." he added with a smile.

Ciel sighed in exasperation, and didn't have the energy to attempt concealing his flushed face. " _Just get out..."_

It was going to be a long class-period...


	57. Dodging Balls

" _Phantomhive! What've you been doing?!"_

Ciel jumped a bit when he heard the instructors booming voice. He had taken more time than entirely necessary to change into a T-shirt and shorts, and the P.E. teacher was _not_ happy.

" _Sorry, sir."_

"Don't apologize! Just do what I say! I _said_ to get changed _quickly!_ I ought to make you do push-ups for this! Why, I even sent _Trancy_ back in to get you!"

The other students snicked at the thought of the two alone in the changing room, much to the annoyance of both boys and Mr. Alvey. "What's so funny 'bout that, eh?!" No one _dared_ to answer that question for a plethora of reasons that you could probably imagine.

"'Right, then! Today, we're gonna play _dodge-ball."_ Everyone let out a simultaneous "ugh". That was not anyone's idea of fun, here. "Shut up! You! Miles! Westly! You were out first, so you're team captains! Miles! Pick your first teammate!" The man always seemed to be yelling, for whatever reason. Regardless, Kristopherson repressed his fear of the man and chose first.

" _Trancy_." he said, pointing at the blonde. Everyone let out a " _ooh_ " at the same time. He knew that Alois would be ruthless on the court. Everyone did. That's why he was chosen first. Reluctantly, Alois moved to the side of the boy who usually wears a silly pink tie.

"No fair! _I_ wanted Trancy!" shouted Daniel, peeved that he didn't get his first choice. Turning back to the gathering of students, he chose his first recuit. "Alright, _Phantomhive_ , then!"

The simultaneous " _ooh"_ filled the room once more, if not more excitably than the last time. Ciel Phantomhive and Alois Trancy would being playing _against_ each other. That was an idea that wasn't feasible in the mind's of those who knew nothing of the boy's history together.

Kristopherson scoffed. " _Phantomhive?_ Why would you pick him? He skips out whenever he gets the chance! Have you ever _seen_ him play a sport?"

"No, but since you have _Trancy,_ _Phantomhive_ is the next logical solution! If I'm right, Blondie will go easier on us if we have him!"

Daniel was wrong. Alois _never_ goes easy on the bluenette. Going easy on the boy would mean a crushing, humiliating defeat. Ciel was not the kind who should be underestimated. He would do anything and everything in his power to _win,_ making him a most fearsome foe. The blonde knew _from experience_ that underestimating the lad would be your _downfall._

The captains, however, knew nothing of this, and continued choosing the remainder of their teams. When each side had equal members, they each took half of the court. The half-point marker separating them had their weapons lined up across it. Obtaining the first few chances to strike would be a _battle-royale._

The whistle sounded, and players rushed to get the balls, many were deemed "out" within the first few seconds. In a hail, balls came down from the sky hitting both teams. Focusing on the ones falling to earth was not wise, as they flew horizontally. The boys threw them across the room, nailing nearly every person they aimed for, missing some of them because it would be odd to make hits _all the time._ But the entire time, they were inherently focused on each other.

Each boy focused most of their fire on the other, while dodging enemy attacks. They dodged as though they were in _the Matrix_ , barely missing projectiles that seemed as though they could break the sound barrier. Children quickly learned not to stare at their the battle. Those who did were hit almost instantly.

Time passed, and each team only had two left, one of each pair was a demon. They knew if they took out the other's teammate, the battle would never end, so they _had_ to get their rival "out" fast. They pondered every dirty trick they could possibly think of, and then, _Alois_ thought of an _idea._ He made sure his teammate got the ball, then he moved his plan into action.

"Hey, _Ciel!"_ He shouted.

" _What?!"_

He quickly turned around and shook his rear end at the other boy. " _Like what you see?"_

_"What?! NO!"_

_**BAM!** _

The lightweight ball struck the bluenette clean upside the head. He was "out". He had _lost._

He stood there for a moment, wide-eyed at the now giggling blonde. He couldn't believe what just happened. He had just _lost!_ _Alois Trancy would pay for this dearly._ No one defeats Ciel Phantomhive and gets away with it. _Especially_ not in such a humiliating manner.

Laughter filled the room as the instructor blew his whistle to snap the bluenette back to reality. "Phantomhive! You're 'out'! Move!"

Ciel walked to the bleachers were all the other fallen competitors sat, and watched as Alois removed his final opponent. He crossed his arms and frowned at the blonde headed boy flashing him a not-so-subtle smirk. Yes, someday, _Alois Trancy would pay for this._

* * *


	58. Slender

The day ended with the bluenette meticulously plotting his revenge. He had to decide many things, such as the punishment, and when, and where it would be delivered. Some may think he was being a bit _obsessive_ about his loss, but you must understand the boy's competitive nature. No one defeats Ciel Phantomhive, _especially Alois Trancy._

Now the blonde was none the wiser to his plans. Alois knew he probably wanted some form of retribution, but in his arrogance, he figured the boy would soon forget about it and move on. Unfortunately for him, he had forgotten his own " _Number One Rule Of Playing With Ciel Phantomhive",_ and that rule is: "Ciel Phantomhive will stop at _nothing_ to _win_." Well, there were _some_ things he would never resort to, but that is beside the point. The point is: the bluenette took his games very seriously. Moreover, his concept of "winning" varied from most in a peculiar aspect. In his eye, he believed that "winning" didn't take place _only_ on a court. No, the "winner" was instead, _whoever had the last laugh_.

And that, he was going to get. Rather fortunately for him, in an odd sense, the time of his crushing defeat at the hands of the blonde menace occured on a _Friday,_ leaving the entire weekend for him to execute his attack. As such, it was announced upon returning home that the "family" of demons were going on a camping trip.

"That's rather unlike you, my lord." Sebastian said, "What brings on the sudden appreciation for the outdoors, if you don't mind my asking?"

Ciel furrowed his brow at the question. _Camping_ didn't sound like fun to the boy at all. In fact, it sounded like a major _hassle_. Yet his desire to torture Alois was stronger than his disrespect for mother nature. "I need to get back at Alois for something."

"Sexual harassment?"

"No, _not this time._ " said the bluenette. The fact that the raven-haired man would ask that was a bit unsettling. Sure, Alois _would_ and _has,_ but that was a very quick assumption. However comforting the thought of Sebastian knowing about their, ahem, _relationship,_ weighed on the boy's mind often, however he quickly dismissed the thought.

"He beat me in P.E." was all he said. The butler didn't need to know the details.

"Oh? And you plan on getting _'revenge_ ' on him during this little outing?" the butler said, finally turning away from his cleaning to smile at the boy. "What did you have in mind?"

"Have you ever heard of _Slenderman?"_

Yes, _Slenderman._ The creature that supposedly roam the forests and "takes away" any children that happened to be running around. For those of you who don't know, _Slenderman_ is a very tall, very thin, man in a black suit, with chalk white skin, and his most distinguishing feature, the fact that he has _no face._ It is also said that tentacles or extra long arms extend from his back according to his will. Yes, _that Slenderman._

Ciel knows that the blonde has been frightened by the very _idea_ of the creature ever since he first heard of it. To Alois, _Slenderman_ was so many things he feared all rolled into one. He did not like the forest, nor did he like the dark. He disliked _grown men_ , as well, and _Slenderman_ was a very scary-looking man. At least, that's what he's heard, of course. He had never actually _seen_ the faceless creature, but for some odd reason, the bluenette had the feeling that they would see him very _soon._

When Saturday morning came, and the car was filled with all of the essentials before taking off in search of their campsite. Alois became restless having to sit still for two hours, and began to bother the boy seated next to him in the backseat, poking him, trying to tickle him, saying rude, and crude things, and such. _God_ , was it going to be worth it to see him cower in terror. The bluenette almost smiled, just thinking about it.

At last, they reached their destination, much to the utter relief of the two older demons in the vehicle. If they hadn't made it soon, the blonde boy may not have made it _at all._ Speaking of the blonde, he was surprised by the fact that Ciel was so keen on setting up. Ordinarily, it would be thought that the slat-haired teen would simply sit back and _watch_ Sebastian do it himself. They pitched tents, they set up the grill and and gained the use of all their camping gear. Except, of course, _firewood._

This was intentional, of course. They needed a reason to go into the woods, after all. This was also the reason for Ciel helping out, earlier. So it wouldn't be odd for him to suddenly volunteer to go fetch the burnable materials. Dusk fell, and the demons "just now noticed".

"I'll go get some." the bluenette announced. "Alois, come help me."

"No way! Who knows what's out there! Have fun on your own."

"Don't be such a _scared little girl._ It's just a bunch of trees."

"Fine... But if we get attacked by a werewolf, I'm ditching you."

Sebastian was instructed previously to not make an appearance as the dreaded " _Slenderman"_ until the boys had been out for precisely one hour. No more, no less. And with that, they left the site. The plan was going _perfectly._

The deeper they seemed to go into the forest, the foggier, and the darker it got. Soon, they could no longer see the campsite behind them. The trees cast ominous shadows, and looked horrid in the newfound lack of light. They looked as though they would come to life, and tear you to bits at any moment. _Alois was not having fun._

_SNAP!_

_"What was that!?"_ Every sound the forest made caused the blonde to jump. The hairs on the back of his neck stood on end, and he held onto his companion's shoulder, keeping close.

 _"_ It was a _twig,_ Alois." The bluenette stated. This was going to be too easy.

"But what _broke_ the twig?!"

"Probably _you_ , when you _stepped on it._ Now pick it up so we can _burn_ it."

The atmosphere was really getting to the blonde behind him. With every twig that snapped, every owl that hooted, and whenever the wind whistled through the branches of the many surrounding trees, Alois would yelp, and tightened his grip on the slightly smaller boy's shirt. Ciel had to admit, it was _cute._ For some reason, he found the frightened blonde absolutely adorable. His revenge had come with many perks.

"WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT?!" the blonde shouted suddenly, pointing off into the distance while cowering behind the bluenette.

Ciel turned his head and followed the blonde's finger. "I don't see anything."

"I swear to _God_ that I saw something!" he said in a hushed tone. Speaking above a whisper seemed taboo, even though what ever had seen them had already seen them.

"Quit messing around and gather some firewood. You've hardly collected anything!"

Silence fell over the area as Alois complied. He stopped to pick up any loose branches on the ground, letting go of his friend for a moment. However, it was not long at all until he was once again latched onto the boy's arm.

"AGH! IT'S GETTING CLOSER!"

Once more, Ciel looked off into the distance. This time, he saw a shadowy figure standing several metres away. It looked humanoid in appearance, and seemed to be really tall. " _Sebastian."_ Ciel thought, smiling internally. But once more, he chose to ignore it.

"I still don't see anything. You're such a _baby._ " he taunted. His face twitched, holding back a smirk.

Alois stared at the boy in disbelief. "How the fuck can you _not_ see it! It's right...there?" The blonde looked back where the figure stood. Nothing. Nothing was there.

"See? Nothing. Now get back to work."

A few minutes passed before Alois saw the figure again. He squeeked and held on tightly to the other boy, cowering in fear. The figure was closer than it was before. Only a few yards away, now. It's features, or lack thereof, were now visible. The figure had pasty white skin and no hair. It's head was sunk in where the eye sockets where supposed to be, as revealed by the shadows on the surface. It was tall, about seven or eight feet, and wore a black suit that nearly bleded in with the dark surroundings. It was very _slender._ It was _Slenderman._

Alois hid his face in Ciel's shoulder, not wanting to look at the creature any longer. He dung his fingers into the fabric of the boy's T-shirt and was shaking. The blonde was _terrified._

"It's alright, Alois. I'm sure it's nothing." the bluenette said in a comforting voice. He was enjoying this. " It's probably just a _tree_ that's catching the light in a weird way." he lied. He _knew_ it was the butler in a mask, but he wasn't going to reveal that yet. He stroked the blonde's hair reassuringly, and looked over to were Sebastian was standing.

_Nothing. It was gone._

"I wanna go home." the blonde blubbered. "This isn't fun."

"We can't go home yet. The trip isn't over." the bluenette said. " _Everything is fine_."

The blonde looked up, and his legs immediately buckled. He couldn't even stand. The fear had robbed him of all feeling in his legs. _Slenderman_ stood only five feet away from them. Alois' eyes widened at the figure. Examining his featureless visage. He stood behind the bluenette, looking down at the boys, curiously and silently observing them, his head partially tilted to the side. At the blonde could do was whimper.

Eventually, he regained _some_ sense and covered his ears, while shutting his eyes tightly, tears pooled at the corners of them. He just wanted the creature to leave. He couldn't even _remember_ the last time he was this scared. (Maybe he could, but his past has nothing to do with this.) He rocked himself back and forth, quietly whimpering.

Ciel turned and saw the figure. He thought Sebastian's costume looked incredibly realistic. Even the "veins" of the creature where visible through it's pale "skin". Sebastian had really undone himself this time. He allowed himself to smile a bit towards his butler, before turning his attention to the cowering blonde, and crouched down on the ground beside him.

"Alois."

No response.

" _Alois."_ he said, shaking the boy's shoulder a bit.

Still nothing.

" _ **Alois!"**_

The blonde let go of his ears and put his arms around the boy's neck, startling him. Alois was shaking like a leaf, and tears rolled down his cheeks. _He was a mess._

Perhaps things have gone too far. As he now looked at the _absolutely terrified_ boy, trembling in his arms, he was now regretting his little prank.

He spoke in a soft voice. "I'm sorry." he said, every ounce of sincerity apparent. "I didn't mean for it to go this far. I'm _sorry._ The prank's over."

The blonde cracked open an eye to look at the boy, but couldn't see him through his own tears. "W-what?"

"I wanted to get you back fo P.E. yesterday, so I arranged this camping trip, and had Sebastian dress up like _Slenderman. I'm sorry."_

Alois hit the boy over the head. " _You git!"_ he screamed. " _I nearly pissed myself! What the fuck is wrong with you?!"_

There was hesitation before the bluenette answered. _"Similar things to you."_ he said. He held the boy tighter. "I _said_ I was _sorry..."_

"That still doesn't excuse you from being a total _prick."_ the blonde sniffed, trying not to get snot on his companion's shirt. He looked over to where _Slenderman_ stood. He was gone. Sebastian probably went back to camp.

They stayed like that for a long while, quietly, holding each other in the middle of a dark forest. It was getting late.

"We should probably get back." suggested Ciel, helping the other boy up.

" _Please_ tell me that was it for your joke?" the blonde whined. His face was red and his eyes were puffy from all the crying. Ciel was _never_ going to let him live this down.

" _Promise."_ the bluenette said, lightly pecking the slightly taller boy on the cheek. "Let's go."

They walked back to camp, hand in hand, carrying with them firewood with their free arms. Eventually, they wandered out of the brush, and into their campsite, where Sebastian was waiting for them, making sure to untangle their fingers upon entry.

"I must say, your performance was excellent, Sebastian." Ciel said to his servant with an ever so slight smile.

But the butler only met him with a confused look, putting down whatever it was he was working on. The boy's smiles faded upon seeing this.

"What is it?" asked the blonde.

"My lord," the raven-haired man began to address his master, "You instructed me to begin searching for you exactly _one hour,_ however, it has only been _fifty minutes._ " The faces of the two boys went pale at what he said next:

" _I never left the campsite, my lord."_


	59. Wibbly-Wobbly Timey-Wimey Machines

Kristopherson sat at his desk as usual, resting his chin in th palm of his hand with his nose more than slightly in the air. The boy in the silly pink tie was a tad more irritable than usual, and it showed. His face appeared to be stuck in a scowl, and his eyes shot daggers at anyone who would have the gawl to speak to him in his grouchy state. What was it that had his jimmies so rustled?

Well, as we all know, the wannabe-bully and adamant "homophobe" was in the closet, and harbored a secret crush on the blonde menace. Something about the boy's over-the-top personality was attractive to him. In fact, the boy was just attractive to him. Kristopherson had a thing for blondes, you see, (much like a certain bluenette,) and this went so far, that he even bleached his own beautiful light brown hair so it would rid it of all pigment. He hated this feeling. He had never really planned on being a homosexual. Yet, does anyone? It's not exactly within his control, now is it? He often tried to hide his own sexual preferances by openly shunning them. Making it obvious that he _wasn't_ gay, in his mind. He had no other ideas of how to deal with it. It wasn't exactly an easy thing for him to aceept. There is so much hate for the homosexual community, you know? While the majority of people really don't care, the few people who are really passionate in their fear make it hard to live with.

But this was nothing knew. Not at all. Kristopherson dealt with this as he usually did, poking at the blonde boy and the bluenette. In a way, it was his own way of _flirting_ with the blonde, if you can believe that. The boy was just immature, in that aspect. But if everything was normal on the surface, what changed?

He wrinkled his nose, glancing over at the two boys. They seemed to be having a rather heated argument over God knows what. Alois was probably just talking nonsense again. But this wasn't new either. It fact, it was quite normal of the two. But what had him so peeved was, that they seemed a little _closer_ than usual.

He couldn't quite put his finger on it, but they did. They seemed more _comfortable_ around each other than usual, subtly touching each other's arms familiarly as the talked, amoung other things. Why, each Mr. Grouchypants himself, Ciel Phatomhive, seemed more relaxed than usual. It simply pissed the boy in the pink tie off.

While he had respect for the boy in blue, he didn't especially like him so close to Alois. So he decided to get up and interrupt their _fascinating_ discussion. "What the _hell_ are you blabbering about so loudly?" he asked.

"None of your damn business, Pinky." the blonde replied plainly.

""I can hardly hear myself _think_ over you two, so that _makes_ it my business!"

"Well, if you _must_ know, we are discussing the deep complexities of _Doctor Who_."

"I never thought _you'd_ be a W _hovian_ , Trancy. I figured you'd be more into _Spongebob_ or something."

"He is." the bluenette spoke up, not wanting to be left out. "I'm actually trying to _explain Doctor Who_ to Alois, which is _much harder than it seems_..."

" _If you know what I mean."_ Alois said, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively.

The other two boys smacked their foreheads. _Of course_ the blonde would turn that into a joke. "Trancy, can you stop being a total _woofter_ for even _five minutes?"_ Kristopherson asked.

"What ever are you talking about? _I'm as straight as a ruler,_ my sexually confused friend."

"Yeah, one of those _bendy rulers_ made from cheap plastic you can sometimes find at office stores." the bluenette added nonchalantly.

" _Naturally."_ the blonde said, taking no offense whatsoever to the boy's joke, since he couldn't exactly _deny_ it at this point. "So, anyway, why does the TARDIS look like a telephone box? Of all the things it could be, why a _telephone box?"_ he continued.

"So the TARDIS has a cloaking device that allows it to blend into any time period of any place, right?" Ciel said, looking at the blonde to see if he was following him on this.

"Right.

"Okay. But it broke while he was in the 1960s, and it got stuck in the shape of a police telephone box." Ciel explained.

"Couldn't he fix it?"

"Yes, and he did, but he liked how it looked, so he just left it that way."

"I like this guy."

The faux-blonde rolled his eyes. It was odd seeing them have such an ordinary conversation. Occasionally, however, Alois would throw in a dirty joke, such as " _the Doctor never let's anyone play with his screwdriver... If you know what I mean..."_ But they where few, as he listened attentively to the bluenette passionately speak of the television series. The boy seldom spoke with such enthusiasm, so the blonde was going to listen to every word he said.

Kristopherson was annoyed by the blonde's new-found normality. Why did he act so behaved for _Phantomhive?_ Why _him?_ The boy in the pink tie was a third wheel in this conversation, and he didn't like it. Not one bit.

"Psh! _Who cares?_ Only _nerds_ watch _Doctor Who._ " This wasn't true, and he knew it. The show was popular, and even _he_ watched it. However, if insulting it would get the two to stop talking, he'd do it. The faux-blonde lifted his nose in the air, in his usual snobbish fashion, and waited for the other's response.

"Pinky, I know you're grouchy, but you need to get over it. Go home and play with _Senorita Mano_ to ease your frustration like you always do." the blonde said plainly, as the other two boys just looked at him in confusion. neither of them were familiar with that term.

" _Who?"_ Kristopherson asked.

" _Senorita Mano?"_

 _"_ I got that bit, but who is that?"

Alois simply leaned over and grabbed the faux-blonde's wrist. In one swift movement, he smacked the boy's face with his own hand.

" _This is her."_

_**"TRANCY!"** _


	60. Steven

The day was Thursday. The date was February fourteenth. You know what this means? That means it's _Valentine's day._ It was a day the Phantomhive boy only held disdain for. The closer it got, the more stupid people seemed to get. Everyone was rushing to get things for their sweethearts out of fear of upsetting or disappointing them.

That's the reason why? It was always his impression that you were supposed to do something out of _love_ or something, not because your girlfriend will get pissed if you don't. The day before, he had overheard several girls in class hassle their boyfriends over what they were getting. What a stupid holiday. On the plus side though, it will help to inform you if the person you're dating is a total asshole. He smiled at the thought. _Now that was a good reason for the holiday._

However that smile faded when it dawned on him that he hadn't anything planned for _his boyfriend,_ the blonde menace. The two had been dating in secret for about two months, now. Alois hadn't said anything, but they were at school, so he _couldn't_. The bluenette was at a loss for a way to avoid hearing the blonde cry.

He rubbed his forehead, trying to think of a solution, then it occurred to him that he had a butler who could go pick up whatever he wanted him to. Ah, but their relationship was a _secret,_ so that wouldn't do. What if he made up an excuse? No, no, Sebastian isn't stupid. He's bound to find that odd. The bluenette should have better paid attention to the date, and picked it up himself. He looked over at the blonde boy, sitting in his desk, busily doodling a picture of a platypus on his "notes" that he wasn't really going to write down. Why was he so obsessed with the strange Australian mammals?

Alois honestly didn't care either way. In fact, he didn't really care for the holiday at all for reasons similar to those of his companion. He was slightly frightened by the change in the female students. They seemed to turn into beasts when the date approached.

Neither he, nor Ciel were very _"romantic"_ by any means. This was unsurprising for the bluenette, but for the blonde, you never would've guessed. He never expected or felt obliged to receiving gifts at all, really. I suppose this was due to his rough childhood. All he really wanted was for the classroom to be rid of the tacky, cheap, heart-shaped decorations that seemed decades old, and for the girls to turn back into _human beings._

Regardless, the eye-patched gentleman did not know this. He sat there and thought fo a long while. His mind wandered back to asking Sebastian to help. Would the butler question it? Probably not. It wasn't his place, after all. However, he would be _suspicious._ But on another hand, Ciel would have to inform him of his relationship with the blonde _eventually_ , now wouldn't he? Sebastian would understand, wouldn't he? If he had a problem with it, he would probably just deal with it passive-aggressively until he gave up on it. Swallowing every ounce of pride and insecurity he had, the boy pulled out his cell phone and began to text with the phone hidden underneath his desk.

_"I need you to get something for me._

_-CP"_

He waited awhile after he pressed "send", half-listening to the teacher, while the rest of his mind wandered. He felt the phone vibrate in his blazer's inner pocket, and he pulled it out to read the message.

" _Of course. What is it that you require, my lord?_

_-SM"_

_"I need a stuffed platypus._

_-CP"_

There was a long pause between messages, as though Sebastian needed to process that.

" _A platypus?_

_-SM"_

Ciel hesitated a bit before writing. He knew he need to phrase this _carefully._

_"Yes. It would appear that the other students_

_are exchanging Valentine's gifts, and Alois..."_

He thought before writing the next part.

_"...has gotten avid. A platypus will keep him quiet._

_He's obsessed with them for whatever reason."_

_-CP"_

And that was his lie. He felt confident as he put the device back in his pocket, and waited for the butler's reply.

" _Yes, my lord._

_-SM"_

That was it. That was all it took. Relief washed over the boy in that moment. No longer did he have to worry about a whining Alois, of a judgmental Sebastian. He stared at the board, smiling slightly at the after-thought of how difficult it will be to find a _stuffed platypus._

The day went on, and more classes passed, each one filled with the horrid, dated adornments, and frightening beast-women. Soon, the day was over. Students packed up their belongings and exited their classrooms before piling into their vehicles, and going home. Our boys did the same, and upon arrival, they went about their usual routine. Ciel acted as though he wasn't up to anything. In fact, he almost _forgot._ Regardless, he went to his room upstairs, setting down his bookbag and removing his blazer, before switching on his computer to check his e-mail.

 _"SWEET MERCIFUL MOTHER MARY OF JESUS CHRIST ON A STICK!"_ he jumped when he heard the blonde yelling. He turned to his door, hearing the fast-paced thumping of footsteps grow closer. The door flew open and he was assaulted by the enthusiastic boy, nearly falling over.

" _I love yooooooooouuuuuu!"_ the blonde exclaimed, his arms around the neck of the slightly shorter boy, with a plush platypus in between them.

"I'm glad you like it..." said the shocked bluenette, recovering from the initial attack of the blonde menace. His arms found their way around the boy's waist, and his facial hue changed to a slight pinker shade. "What are you going to name it?" he asked, jokingly. Alois named his rubber duck " _Bernard",_ so he expected something along the lines of "Raul", or "Cornelius".

The blonde pulled back a bit, removing his face from the bluenette's shoulder. He cutely furrowed his brow in concentration. Finally, he looked as thought he had an idea.

"Steven."

" _Steven?"_ Ciel echoed.

"Yeah, he totally looks like a ' _Steven'_ , doesn't he?" Alois said, holding up the toy, making it "kiss" the other boy's nose.

Ciel sighed in exasperation, yet, in the end, smiled. "You're an odd one, you know that?"

"Well, so are _you,_ Mr. Grouchypants."

"Well, I'm sorry I cannot control the grouchiness of my _pants._ Oh, and my pants don't have a name, for your information."

Alois let out his usual girly giggle. "I still feel bad I didn't get anything for _you_ , though." he said.

"It's fine. I don't really want anything."

"Not even a little _kiss?"_

The bluenette's face immediately heated up when he heard the word "kiss". Surely Alois was just messing with him. The blonde was the type who would do such a thing. Still, the question did make the eyepatch-wearing boy a bit hopeful...

... _Wait, when did his face get so close?_

Alois could see the inner battle the slightly smaller boy was having with himself. It was written all over his face. He smiled when he saw this and moved his face closer, stopping just an inch or so away from the bluenette's.

From the other boy's perspective, he was actually _nervous._ His face was red, his palms felt sweaty, and his heartbeat was out of control. Although due to the close proximity, he could tell that the blonde was experiencing the same thing.

"We, Ciel?" the blonde's voice rang in the boy's ears. "Yes? No?"

He was giving the bluenette a choice, it occurred to him. He could either take it, or leave it. Tossing caution to the wind, he _took it,_ allowing his eyelids to flutter closed, and leaning closer. He ventured closer, closer, and closer still. The small gap between them seemed much larger than it truly was. It felt like an eternity before the boy's lips made contact with something soft.

The kiss was very chaste, but lacked no emotion. Their lips hesitantly moved in synch while their owners continuously tried to get used to the feeling. It was very brief, but felt like it lasted forever and a day. In those few seconds it lasted, the two were able to convey every emotion they had for the other with one gesture.

"Well, _look at you!"_ the blonde said in his usual sing-song voice after they parted. "Taking charge, huh?" he giggled.

"Of course," replied the bluenette, "I had to, because _you're such a girl."_ he said smiling.

"You _wish_."

"No, I _don't."_

"Happy Valentine's Day, Ciel."

_"Happy Valentine's Day."_


	61. A Blonde's Silly Game and a Favour

The next few weeks continued as usual. Ciel and Alois would go to school, sit through classes, converse with other students, go home, do homework, and then wait for the next day. All was ordinary, except for the fact that the blonde had come up with a new "game" and would play it should the opportunity arise.

After that first kiss with Ciel, he thought it would be fun to steal another whenever and wherever, given the opportunity. Anytime the bluenette wasn't especially paying attention, or whenever no one was looked, he'd go for the boy's lips, and the more daring he had to be, the more fun it was, much to the bluentte's annoyance.

No one is looking? _A kiss._ Friend's attention occupied elsewhere? _Kiss._ It didn't matter when or where to the blonde. But the bluenette was growing more uneasy with the increasing chances of _being seen._

The thought that such an intimate action, and _emotion_ could possibly laid bare for all to see was unnerving. Remember, this is the boy that does not like his _emotions._ In his mind, they make him weak, vulnerable, susceptible to others, and he did _not_ want anyone to know he had them.

 _Except of course, Alois._ Oddly, he didn't feel as afraid of his own thoughts and feelings with the blonde. For once, he felt _comfortable_ being himself. He saw in Alois, himself, in many ways, which could possibly contribute to this fact.

Although they were very different in personality, they seemed to suffer with similar, if not the same disorders and mental scarring, and that was comforting. Now, their own fears and problems were different, for example, Alois' fear of grown men, and the fact that Ciel still didn't know _how to swim,_ but these made them interesting to the other. Their similarities drew them in, and their differences drew them in further.

Now, on this day, Ciel was simply walking the empty halls, minding his own business, on his way back to class from making copies for the teacher, when a familiar voice called him out.

"Mister Phantomhive! Is that you?" it called.

The bluentte turned in the direction that the voice originated from, with a pretty good idea of who it was. When he did, his suspicions were confirmed when he saw a man with slicked-back, dark hair, wearing a very loud suit and sunglasses, even though he was inside the building. It was the drama director, Mr. Bronze.

"I was hoping to run into you!" Bronze said, walking up to the boy. His voice echoed in the empty hallway. "Listen, I need your help."

"What do you need?"

"Well, you see, I'm supposed to be organizing the talent show again theis year." he began, "But they always end up _a disaster_ because all of these _non-drama club kids_ stumbling around backstage, not paying attention to when they're going on! And the _school play_ ran _perfectly_ thanks to you being the stage manager, and I was hoping...?" he trailed off.

"...That I would do the same for the talent show, and keep the kids in line, right?" Ciel continued for the man.

"If you would _please?"_ Poor Mr. Bronze seemed desperate.

It apparently was pretty bad. The students who did the play, _generally_ wanted to be there because they legitimately _enjoyed_ performing. But the students who did the talent show, in general, were only there for the limelight, however fleeting, and had no regard for organization or even the artform that is stage performance. While in a play, you have scenes, queues, lines, and songs, if it is a musical that must be acted on within a certain order, as well as stage directions, but in a talent show, you have a small list of people that go in a certain order, and everything goes to hell if those people _aren't even paying attention._

This was the reason the man in the loud suit looked as though he was ready to hang himself. And if everything _did_ fall apart, his reputation amongst the staff, and even _his job_ , would be called into question. This is why he needed the Phantomhive boy, and since he asked so nicely, the boy obliged him.

"Alright, I'll do it." the bluentte said, feeling a bit sorry for the strangely dressed teacher, also he would get out of class for a bit during practice. "When do I need to be there?"

Mr. Bronze immediately perked up. "Right! So Auditions start in two days, so I'll probably need you in the auditorium during study hall that day. Can you make it?"

"Of course."

"You, Mister Phantomhive, are a _life saver!_ I'll see you then!" and with that, the man disappeared as quickly as he arrived.

Ciel simply ventured back to class, and gave an excuse as to why he took so long. After surrendering the copies that the teacher was ever so craving, he sat down in his seat and told his blonde companion what Mr. Bronze had said.

"That sounds fun!" _Of course_ the blonde would say that. He loved performing, and he loved attention. "Maybe I should audition too!"

"Go for it. Just don't expect me to be lenient on you. I'll make sure you're judged just like everyone else."

"You're no fun!"

And with that, the class ended. Students filed out into the hallways, filling it with the scent of _teenager_ , a combination of body Oder, strong perfume, and body spray, as any place would with so many adolescents gathered in one spot. The two boys went about their usual routine of dodging people, trying to weasel their way through the crowd while scrunching their noses at the smell. " _It's amazing, how much stench can stick to humans..."_ the bluenette thought, catching himself starting to sound like _Sebastian_.

Finally, they arrived to their destination, finding themselves to be the only ones in the room. They had become very good at arriving to class early, since they don't waste time in order to stop and chat.

Ciel found his thoughts interrupted, once again, by the feeling of the blonde's lips on his. " _Alois!"_ he warned.

" _Opportunity is not a lengthy visitor, Ciel."_

_What a stupid game the blonde had come up with._


	62. Parental Advice?

The Phantomhive boy sat alone in his room, contemplating the order in which students will perform at the talent show. He and Mr. Bronze had already narrowed down who will actually be _in_ the show, earlier that day. He sat debating the order, trying to group similar sounding songs together to give it some "flow", so to speak. However, the boy was not exactly musically minded.

He looked over the list again, and saw Alois' name. the blonde had chosen " _A Better Man Than He"_ by _Sivu_ , which seemed completely unlike the boy. Ciel figured he would pick one of _Lady Gaga's_ songs, or something, but no, Alois always had to do the unexpected. The bluenette wouldn't be at all surprised if he showed up on stage in drag again, and sang a completely different song. That's just how the blonde boy was. He smiled internally at this before his thoughts were interrupted by a sudden knocking at the door.

"Come in." he said.

In walked a tall man clad in black. "Pardon my intrusion, my lord, but dinner is served." he said.

"Alright, I'll be down in a moment." the bluenette turned back to his work for a moment before hearing a small chuckle. "What's so _funny?"_ he turned around to face the man, giving him a mean look.

"Oh, nothing. I was just thinking about Alois and that platypus." Sebastian said. "He carries it around everywhere. It's funny how much he loves that thing."

"Told you he was obsessed with them..."

"He's very proud of it."

The bluenette couldn't help but be suspicious. Sebastian seemed to be going somewhere with this. It was unlike the butler to start small talk so willy-nilly.

" _Whatever."_ he said. "It kept him from whining all day."

"I thought it was _sweet_ of you, my lord." said the man clad in black, causing the bluenette to jump and turn around.

" _W-what?!"_ He _knew_ Sebastian was up to something. He just didn't know what, _until now._ The boy tried his best to hide his flush, but it was all for naught. The butler knew _everything._

"I said it was _sweet_ of you. I would never had thought you had such a _romantic_ side, my lord." the man's smile never wavered, making the situation al the more unsettling.

"N-not _really._ I wasn't exactly _trying_ to be..."

"My lord, pardon me for prying, but I don't think there's anything wrong with getting _your boyfriend_ something for Valentine's Day."

Ciel's eye went wide at that. _He knew? For how long?_ "H-how did you-?!"

"If I couldn't pick up on these things about my lord, then what kind of butler would I be?"

In a huff, the boy crossed his arms and let out an exasperated sigh. He couldn't _believe_ that they were having this conversation right now. Nor could he, that Sebastian was being so casual about this. The demon butler's mind was an enigma. The boy remained quiet for a while, contemplating his next move.

"Do you... think it's weird?" he asked.

"Well, It is hardly my place to voice my opinion, but I have known you for over a hundred years, and you have shown no signs of having any sort of sexual preference, so I find it a bit odd in that sense." the raven-haired man said. "However, demons don't really _have_ a 'preference' when it comes to gender, in most cases. Demons can transform, completely eliminating the need. So it would appear that you're just being a demon, my lord."

Ciel sat in silence once more, however, relieved by the butler's words. _So there was nothing strange about it._ Although he would never admit it, that was comforting information to know. It felt as though a weight has been lifted from the boy's shoulders. However, he did wonder about how his feelings would be if he were still _human._

 _"Dinner is getting cold, you should probably come down soon."_ Sebastian said, forcibly pulling the boy from his thoughts, as if he knew what he is thinking about. It was probably best to not let the boy dwell on it.

" _Alright."_

"Alois should be there already. Remember, it's best not to keep your man waiting."

**"** _**Sebastian!"** _

"My apologies, my lord. I had forgotten that Alois is the _'girl'..."_

_**"OUT."** _


	63. Aliens

Warwick Academy's auditorium was huge, regal, almost, and was filled to the brim on this day, the day of the annual talent show. It isn't as though the students actually _cared_ about what was onstage. They were only there to get out of class, and if it cost them only a few pounds, they would surrender them in a heartbeat. That said, there were also those who were there to cheer on their friends. It's either/or, in this case, there is no third option. Realistically, do _you_ know of anyone who legitimately wants to see exactly what kind of "talent" your school has to offer?

No. No you don't. The supposed "talented" people backstage were getting ready to go on, and it was none other than Ciel Phantomhive who was organizing them. He ran through the list a countless number of times, and made sure everyone knew when they were supposed to go on, and that they were paying attention. But there was something on this list that struck the boy as "odd".

Alois Trancy, "The Blonde Menace", had changed his song at the last possible minute. There was no doubt in the bluenette's mind that the boy was up to something. Nothing good, anyway. The original song, " _Better Man Than He"_ by _Sivu_ was crossed out, and replaced by " _Cameron"_ by a _Jillette Johnson._ He had no idea what the song was about. He didn't even think he has _heard_ that song before. He had absolutely _no way_ of telling if it was even _school appropriate._ What's worse, _the blonde was no where to be seen._

He searched high and low for the boy, but Alois Trancy was nowhere to be found. Now _that_ was unsettling. Alois wouldn't miss this _for the world_ , therefore he had to be plotting something. But _what?_

His thoughts where interrupted by Mr. Bronze, who was addressing the audience from the stage. "Ladies and gentleman, _and Mr. Irons..."_ The crowd burst out into laughter at the joke. Mr. Irons just shot a death glare at the stage. "Welcome to the Warwick annual talent show! We have a wonderful assortment of talent for you this afternoon, and will begin right after this sentence. First up, let's give a round of applause for _Anastasia Miles,_ who will be singing ' _We Are Never Getting Back Together"_ by _Taylor Swift!"_

Although it wasn't audible, Ciel could _see_ the simultaneous groan on the audience's faces from the sidelines. He just put on his headset to filter out some of the noise, and went back to work, trying to find his companion. The show went on like this, basically. Teenage girls would sing what is popular at the time, occasionally you would see a boy play an electric guitar, or something similar, you may even see a group of them form a "band", and they would play. Mr. Bronze looked like he was in tears over how smoothly this was going. But the thing that bothered Ciel the _most,_ was that he _simply couldn't find Alois._

The blonde boy was supposed to go on soon, and the closer the time came, the more restless the bluenette became. He had several stage hands perform a search, but they came up with nothing as well. He stomach almost did a flip when the blonde boy was called onto the stage. Quickly, he rushed to the stage entrance to see if Alois would turn up expectantly. He did, and the bluenette was starting to notice a trend in the boy's stage performances.

Laughter erupted from the audience as the boy took the stage. He was wearing a _girl's_ _uniform and a long, blonde wig put up in pigtails._ Where did he even get those? Alois strode out with an almost admirable amount of confidence. Mr. Bronze looked like he was about to cry again, but this time, not out of _joy._

The dolled-up blonde queued the sound booth technician to play the song, and he grabbed the microphone.

" _Cameron's in drag,_

_Makes his father mad._

_Since he was a little boy,_

_He always felt more comfortable in lipstick."_

The song he was singing was about a _male cross-dresser_ , obviously, and the blonde's attire was just part of his performance. His voice was soft, and hardly sounded like it belonged to a boy. In fact, it was almost scary how well the blonde could impersonate a female. He also apparently just found it _fun_. Ciel forced himself not to oogle the blonde, and continued watching and listening from the sides, expecting some outrageous performance.

" _People call him 'fag'._

_Teachers turn their backs._

_Off the bus, he runs and runs,_

_to get home before anyone can catch him!"_

To his surprise, the outrageous, and comedic song about a cross-dresser never came. Instead, he was greeted by the blonde passionately singing something quite _serious._

_"These days the world is full of aliens!_

_The world is full of aliens,_

_but you are a_

_Real. Life. Human._

_Aren't you,_

_Cameron?"_

The audience, who before was so amused by the boy's antics where now rendered silent, in awe at the scene before them. Alois Trancy, "The Blonde Menace", a class clown, through and through, was being _serious_ in his mischief. The cross-dressing was in a sense, a tool to drive the point home.

" _Powder and a brush,_

_Can cover any cuts,_

_And quickly running cotton_

_Under cold water,_

_Rinses out the blood marks!"_

But what struck the Phantomhive boy as odd, was not the boy in drag on the stage, or his sudden seriousness, but it was the boy in the front row, wearing a _pink tie._

Kristopherson was there to see his sister perform, of course, but couldn't leave after she did, so he was forced to sit through the entire show, much to his annoyance. But when the blonde boy showed up on stage, he flushed at the sight. He couldn't believe how effeminate Alois looked, but that's no why he was so worked up right now. No, it was _the song itself_ that got him, being about a male cross-dresser. You see, Kristopherson is the son of a _fashion designer,_ and as such, he had a love of _clothes._

Particularly, _clothes that he would never be able to wear._ He _always_ felt _envy_ for the girls who where able to wear such cute clothes. In fact, it was _he_ who decided what his sister would wear when out on the town. He loved clothes, that was all their was to it, clothes he hadn't the courage to wear himself.

And here was the blonde menace, onstage, wearing a skirt and a wig. Oh, how the boy in the pink tie wished he had that kind of audacity, and that is perhaps one of the reasons why he liked the blonde so much. The only thing he had the courage to wear was the pink tie he always wore around his neck.

Granted, being a homosexual does _in no way_ make men want to wear dresses. I mean, look at _Ciel_. He wouldn't wear a dress unless it was _one-hundred percent, completely and absolutely necessary, and if lives were at stake._ He wasn't like the blonde, or the faux-blonde who did it for _enjoyment._

Regardless, the boy in the pink tie was genuinely _touched_ by the performance. It felt silly, being moved by a song heard at a _talent show_ , but he was. He was almost on the verge of tears. Kristopherson was not the kind who was accepting of even his _own_ preferences, but the song made him feel, _for the first time_ , at peace with himself. The faux-blonde was so relieved, and so happy, that for even a moment, this weight was lifted from his shoulders, that tears began to gather in his eyes.

It seemed that his friends, sitting next to him noticed this, and smiled to themselves. Ordinarily, they would've teased the boy, but this was far to serious for that. They just continued to pretend not to notice, and kept their eyes on the girl-ish boy on stage.

_"This is a world that's full of aliens!_

_The world is full of aliens,_

_but you are a human!_

_You're not an alien!_

_You are a_

_Real. Life. Human._

_Aren't you,_

_Cameron?"_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is one of those chapters that I really don't much care for anymore. If I were doing it now, I would have probably gone about this entirely differently. Skip the talent show and do something else entirely. I'm not much of a fan of song lyrics in fanfics anymore. I also forgot how much crossdressing there was in this...


	64. Gay Bar

Moments passed, and the show was over. Everyone left, including the participants, who quickly gathered their things and went to class, including the outrageaous blonde boy, who exchanged his skirt for his usual short-shorts. He and his bluenette friend walked to class, and upon entering the room, they were greeted with applause.

Everyone was apparently impressed by the blonde's daring performance. Alois dressed in drag, was truly the highlight of the event. It was far better than the usual teenage girls, singing songs by Taylor Swift, or One Direction, or some other nonsense. It was a welcome change.

"Yo, Trancy!" shouted a boy from across the room, "That was _brilliant!"_

The voice belonged to a familiar face to both boys. It was a mister _Daniel Westly_ who called for the blonde's attention. Seated next to him, was Travis, Preston, and of course, _Kristopherson._

 _"_ In'nt, though? I'm surprized they didn't give me the hook!"

"I'm afraid that Alois cross-dressing on stage may be becoming a t _rend."_ added the blonde's bluenette friend.

"That's a good idea, Ciel!"

_"Don't even think about it!"_

Kristopherson watched the two exchange insults, and banter, before he was swifty nudged in the ribs by a certain politician's son. The brown-haired boy silently motioned for him to say something,

"You were _alright,_ Trancy..."

" _Ahem!"_ he was jabbed again.

" _Brilliant, I mean..."_

"See, _Ciel_? Even _Kristopherson_ thought _I_ was _fit!"_

 _What the hell?_ The faux-blonde went out of his way to complement the boy, and was ignored for the Phantomhive boy?! Obviously, this rather peeved him, wouldn't it you? Seriously, what did the bluenette have, that Kristopherson _didn't?_

Many things, that will remain a secret to the human-students, of course. But the main reason, was simply because the bluenette had weaseled his way into the blonde's heart. That isn't an easy task, you know. That goes _especially_ for Kristopherson.

He sat there, fuming over this. He wanted nothing more, than to tell everyone, right there and then how he felt. He wanted to tell them everything, from the love of women's clothes, the the fact of his sexuality, to even his crush on the blonde, however, he simply lacked the courage. He felt like a complete, and utter _failure._

The boy in the pink tie wanted to just _be alone_ at that moment. He got up, and excused himself to use the restroom. He was noticeably melancholic, as he did.

"Alright, what's eating him?" the blonde said. Everyone in the circle just stared at him.

It would appear that Alois himself is the only one completely oblivious to Kristopherson's feelings. While it was inherently obvious to everyone else, the blonde was apparently just too thick-headed. Ciel was the first to speak.

"So, who wants to explain it to him? Not it!"

"Not it!"

"Not it!"

"Not-! Dammit!"

It was Preston who was "it" to explain the situation. The boy paused for a moment, before elaborating. "W-well, you see, Alois..." he began, "You _do_ know that Kris is _gay,_ right?"

"For real!?" At that point, almost everyone at the table felt a headache creeping into their skulls. How can _Alois Trancy_ , of _all people_ , have such a terrible _Gaydar_? Ciel especially felt this. Alois was his _boyfriend,_ after all.

"Well, he _is._ " Preston continued. "And he also seems to have a thing for _blondes,_ you see..."

" _Huh?"_

"What he's trying to say, Alois, is that Kristopherson has a bit of a crush on you." Daniel finally said after getting annoyed with the lack of progress in the conversation.

"Oh..." That was all he could say. What _could_ he have said? The guy who was constantly harassing him for his sexual preferences turned out to be a homosexual. "The tie should've tipped me off, huh?"

"That's not that point." Daniel said, "The point is, he's jealous of you and Phantomhive."

"Well, what do you want _me_ to do about it?"

"I don't know! Go _talk_ to him, or something!"

"And say what?! 'Sorry, Kris, I have a thing for Ciel, so go be gay somewhere else'?!"

"What the hell does that even _mean?!"_

"I don't _know!"_

The bluenette just crossed his arms and leaned back in his chair. He couldn't wait for all of this to be over. Soon, he stood up. "I'll go talk to him." he said.

"Whoa, you sure that's a good idea? I mean, you _are_ his rival and all..." said Preston

"Yeah, but do you honestly trust _Alois_ not to mess it up?"

"Point taken."

**"** _**You! I wanna take you to a gay bar!"** _

_"_ _**SHUT UP, ALOIS!"** _

* * *


	65. Pink

Down the hallway, just a little ways off from the classroom, was a men's restroom. In that restroom was a boy in a pink tie, with bleached hair, staring angrily at himself in the mirror.

" _You're such a coward."_ he thought to himself. " _Trancy can throw things out there easily, why can't you? Why are you so afraid? Coward!"_

He was always beating himself up like this. But now, the reason was different. Now, instead of thinking their was something deeply wrong with him, he was angry for not being able to express himself. Now, more than ever, he wanted that unyielding confidence in himself that Alois had.

That's probably what he admired most about the boy. He was able to do anything. He was comfortable in the skin he was in. He wasn't ashamed for who he is. Kristopherson _wanted that._

But he is Kristopherson Miles, not Alois Trancy. The boy in the pink tie didn't know what to do. Why is it that he can't seem to stand on his own two feet and just be himself? That's what he really wanted more than anything. He wanted the inner strength to exchange his dress-pants for booty-shorts, or even a _skirt._

But he was alone. He had no one to help him in his struggle. No guidance, no assistance. He has to take the first dreadful step towards his goal on his own.

The boy in the pink tie glared at his face in the mirror, getting increasingly annoyed at the person staring back. He snapped from his trance when he heard the bathroom door open behind him. The boy turned to find his rival standing there. Ciel Phantomhive.

"Hey." he said.

"Hey..."

"The guys are worried about you. Are you alright?"

Kristopherson turned back to the mirror, as if his reflection somehow held the answer. "Not really..."

They remained awkwardly silent for a long while. The bluenette joined the boy and stared into the mirror next to him. "Look... I know it isn't exactly 'easy', but you can talk to us, you know?"

"I know."

"Then why don't you?"

The faux-blonde looked at the boy like that was the dumbest thing he had ever heard. "Why?" he echoed. "You said it yourself, 'it isn't easy'." he said.

"It takes courage, I know." replied the bluenette. "But there are sometimes... when letting go of your insecurities for even a _moment_ can set you on the path you want to walk."

This was immensely uncomfortable for both boys. Neither ot them liked wearing their hearts on their sleeve, and they were "rivals in love", if that weren't enough. But, right now, they were trying their hardest to see eye-to-eye.

"How do you do that?"

"I don't know. It just _happens."_

At this, the faux-blonde perked up, and looked towards the shorter boy. "You know?"

"Sort of." Ciel was hesitant to tell the boy. Hesitant to tell him about his relationship with Alois, and how dropping that semi-impervious mask for a small moment got him there. However, he could see a bit of himself in this boy. They both liked their privacy, and they both had similar "problems" when it came to their adolescence.

"You _don't_ know, do you?"

"I do, and I don't. It was a 'heat of the moment' sort of thing."

"What are you even talking about?"

"I'm talking about _Alois._ " he said, putting his cards on the table. "Letting go of my mask to him was one of the most difficult things I had to do, but in the end, I _did_ get a _boyfriend_ out of it." The bluenette didn't even look at the boy. He just continued staring in the mirror in front of him. He was afraid that if he didn't, his embarrassment over the situation would return.

The boy in the pink tie blinked, taking in what the boy had just said. He felt his heart drop when they finally registered. "Oh, so I didn't have a chance to begin with... With _Alois_ , I mean..."

Following that, however, a second thought popped into his head. "Wait, you're...?"

"Yes." the bluenette said plainly.

"You don't _act_ it." Kristopherson paused. "So you and Trancy are...?"

"Yeah, but we haven't exactly made it public, yet."

"Why not?"

"Because we're cowards. _Just like you."_ Ciel said, finally allowing himself to glance over at the other boy, who now stood in shock.

Although Kristopherson was disheartened that his crush was taken, he did feel a lot better knowing that there were people who were going through a similar thing. He wasn't _alone_ , after all. "So... what should I do?" he asked. "I want to... you know... _Come out,_ but I have no idea how..."

"I don't know, either. After all, I'm in the same boat. But, I think if you just let go and do what pleases yourself, you'll be fine." the bluenette said, backing away from the mirror, followed by the faux-blonde.

Kristopherson fidgeted, thinking about what exactly that would entail. He still wasn't too keen on the idea. But still, at least he now knew that he could talk to his friends about it. That was a relief, not being so isolated.

"You're alright, Phantomhive." he said. "Ordinarily, I would think that you're some pompous know-it-all, but right now, you're pretty cool." He paused. _"...no homo_ , of course."

_"Of course."_

It would appear that the boys had both made a new friend. As for mister Trancy, he was busy cracking dirty jokes about _sonic screwdrivers._

" _When the Doctor whips out the sonic screwdriver, all the girls can't wait to play with it."_

Oh, Alois, what ever will we do with you?

* * *


	66. Life As Usual

He couldn't believe it. Ciel had told _Kristopherson_ , of all people, about his relationship with Alois. He didn't particularly think that the boy would tell everyone, but still, it was _awkward_ being around the boy now. They were, in a sense, rivals, you know. Now there were _three_ who knew of the secret. Ciel, Alois, and _Kristopherson._

He didn't particularly like that. He liked it being a secret only the two of them had, but now, there was a third wheel. There was another person in on it, intruding in the boy's space. Moreover, that boy in the silly pink tie wanted Alois. _His_ Alois. He couldn't have that.

At the same time, he was now obliged to help the faux-blonde. That, he didn't particularly mind. In fact, he was more than happy to help the poor boy. Maybe it could help him, too. Therefore, he was willing to help, just as long as he stayed away from Alois.

The bluenette frowned at the thought. Alois, and _Kristopherson?_ No way. That could never work. Not in a million years. Any evidence that leaned in the opposite direction was immediately shunned by the eye-patch-wearing teen. He would not be having that.

He was so engrossed in his own thoughts, that he hardly noticed the arms snaking their way around his neck. "What'cha doin'?" a voice called from behind him.

"Nothing, really." he said, looking in the general direction that the voice hailed from, seeing a grinning blonde boy.

"Well, you're no fun." said the boy. "I'm _bored!"_

 _"_ What do you want _me_ to do about it?"

"I dunno. Think of an activity, good sir."

"Well you could always re-"

"If you say ' _read a book,_ ' I will make an attempt to strangle you with my shorts." Alois said, plopping down on the bed. "So, how'd it go with Kris?"

"I think it went well. The only thing he seemed especially upset about was the fact that we're an _item."_

_"You told him?"_

"Yes, but he promised to keep it a secret, as long as we keep his homosexuality a secret."

"So does that mean I have to stop calling him gay?"

"Well, he _is_ gay, so I'm not sure if that's much of an insult in the first place."

"I guess you're right." the blonde said before pausing. "Even if I was human, and didn't have you, I don't think It really would work out between us, anyway."

The bluenette's ears perked up. "Why is that?"

"Because..." Alois said with a smirk, "...we're both _catchers_." He expected some over-the-top reaction from the other boy, but all he was met with was:

" _What?"_

Ciel was obviously not up on his terminology. The blonde simply rolled his eyes. " _Really, Ciel?"_

"What?" the bluenette said again, like a broken record. "What does that even _mean?"_

 _"It means..."_ the blonde began, standing up and walking over to the bluenette and putting his hand on the boy's cheek. "...that we are both the ' _submissive_ ' type." His grin only grew at the sight of the bluenette's face.

The boy's face changed to a more reddish hue, as he tried to maintain his composure. The corners of his lips twitched as he tried to keep frowning with "disinterest", and his brow furrowed. The blonde could not only _feel_ the boy's cheeks heating up in his hand, he could also _see_ it. The Phantomhive boy wasn't fooling anyone.

Just was quickly as he got up, Alois sat back down as though nothing had happened. He stared at the uncomfortable-looking boy across from him with a Cheshire-like grin plastered across his face.

"And now you know!" he said in a sing-song voice, almost as though he was _gloating._

_"Shut up."_

_"I love you, too."_

_"You're such a girl..."_

_"_ I'm _your_ girl, _Ciel_."

There was an unexpected knock at the door, startling both boys. "Come in." said the bluenette.

And who else was it to come in, but Sebastian? The man clad in black peeked his head in. "Pardon my intrusion, my lord, but you have a phone-call."

"Who is it?" asked Ciel.

" _It's detective Bailey."_

* * *


	67. A New Case

The London police department building looked exactly as it did the last time the boys had visited during the _Sudoku Killer_ case, with it's one-way windows, and massive stature and the multi-sided _Scotland Yard_ sign out front. It was Southwest of the London eye, the blonde remembered as he excitedly gazed out the car window while Sebastian tried to find a place to park amongst the many yellow and blue police cars. As for the bluenette boy, he was busily looking to see if the detective constable he had talked to on the phone was there, waiting.

Sure enough, the man was pacing back and forth near the building entrance, occasionally stopping to glance at his watch. He to, looked exactly as they remembered him, with his stern face, greying hair, and untidy appearance. Detective Bailey seemed to perk up upon noticing the group.

"Phantomhive, Michaelis, Trancy." he said nodding to each in greeting.

"Detective Bailey, It's good to see you again." said the bluenette.

"Evenin', 'guv!" he tried his best not to roll his eye at the blonde's silly greeting.

"What is the situation?"

Bailey gestured for the group to come inside, before answering. "It isn't good, I'm afraid." he said grimly. "Five kids are dead, and no one knows who did it, or _why_."

They walked the long hallway to the evidence room as they continued talking. "Do we have a body?"

" _No_. No bodies were left at _any_ of the crime scenes." the man in his forties said to the bluenette, unlocking the evidence room and gesturing for the demons to enter.

"Then how do we know it's _murder_ and not _kidnapping_?"

Silently, the detective walked over to a filing cabinet, and rummaged through it. Eventually, he pulled out a folder. "Because of _these."_ he finally said, handing the item to the eye-patch-wearing teen.

In the folder were photos of a _disturbing_ nature. They were of the victims, taken by _the killer_ before he fled. The children in the photos where _dead_ , killed in varying manners. Some appeared to be strangled, while most where stabbed. They had bruises and cuts on their faces, and large gashes on their necks and abdomens, along with the stab wounds. Those were just the injuries _that could be seen in the picture._

The other photos in the folder where taken at the scene of the crime by _the police_ , for evidence. In those photos, was a wall in each child's room, each had a message written on it in blood. A poem, actually. It read:

_"Every child of age knows the Boogeyman._

_He hides in closets and under the bed_

_'Till you fall asleep. Then he takes your head._

_In the most terrifying way he can._

_He plucks your eyes to eat like you eat bran,_

_But he really prefers your tongue instead,_

_Or perhaps some bloody brain soup and bread_

_With toes and fingers in a frying pan..."_

...And on, and so forth. The bluenette put the photo down, as he was unable to make out the rest of the words. He furrowed his brow and said to the detective. "Anything else? Did the victims have anything else in common?"

"No. They had nothing in common, other than the fact that they were children. They didn't go to the same school, they didn't live in one particular area, they _didn't even seem to know each other._ This guy doesn't seem to care what age they are, as long as they 're children." the man said in a disgusted tone, wrinkling his nose.

"I guess this will be it, then. We'll catch this _freak._ " the boy said, smiling a bit smugly. He looked at the man's worried face as he did. The detective had kids of his own, so naturally he'd be worried. It didn't seem like _anyone's_ kid's were safe at all, really. Still, that look the boy gave him seemed to calm the man's nerves a bit.

 _"Thanks."_ Bailey said, smiling. "You better catch this Boogeyman, Phantomhive."

"Now, if I couldn't do that much, _what kind of guard-dog would I be?"_ and with that, he left, taking his associates with him. He left the man in the room, with nothing but silence.

* * *


	68. I Told You Books Were Evil

The two continued their life as usual, but after school, Ciel would lock himself in his office and stare at the images sprawled out across his desk. All we knew so far, is that the killer broke into the children's rooms while they where sleeping, killed them, took pictures of the bodies, and left them at the crime-scene along with a poem written on the wall in the victim's blood about "the Boogeyman". This didn't make any sense at all. How was he supposed to figure out who did this based on this information?

A knock arrived at the door... Well, a ridiculous drumming sound, anyway. It was obviously the blonde menace on the other side.

"Little kid, little kid, let me come in!" he shouted.

"Not if you're going to call me _'little'!"_ Ciel shouted back. Oh, how the blonde knew how to annoy him.

"Fine! ' _Vertically challenged youth, open thine door so that I may enter thy domain! I wish to converse with thee!_ "

Reluctantly, the bluenette walked over to unlock the door. Alois could be so _odd_ at times. He appeared from beyond the wooden barrier with his beloved stuffed platypus in his arms. " _Alright?"_ he said.

 _"Alright_. Have a seat, or something." the bluenette said, gesturing to a nearby couch, before once again vanishing behind his desk.

"Much obliged, guv'." the blonde replied. He plopped down on the seat, and played with the platypus, who is often referred to as "Steven". He adjusted himself on the couch, until he was now sitting upside-down. He forgot how _uncomfortable_ these couches were. "So how's the case goin'?" he asked.

"Not very well. I can't figure out the point of this poem, or establish any connection between the children."

"Lemme see the poem." the blonde said, holding out his arm.

"Get up and come get it _yourself._ " said the Phantomhive boy. He had just sat down, and the idea of making Alois get up after _finally_ getting comfortable seemed funny to him.

In a huff, Alois did, plucking one of the photographs from the massive pile. He looked at it for awhile, trying to make out the smudged words on the wall. "Did you try Google-ing it?"

"What? The poem? Yes. It's _"The Boogeyman_ " by Don Morrison."

"Well, is it in _a book_ or something? Seriously, he had to get it _somewhere."_

Ciel humoured the blonde by firing up his computer and searching for a book with the poem. To his surprise, there was a result. The book was called, "The Mysterious Poems of a Dead Man". It was a poetry collection of sorts, and upon further investigation, there where a few stores in Lodon that sold it.

The bluenette just looked up at the other boy in amazement. The boy's off-handed comments seemed to give the slate-haired teen leads on murder cases. He was starting to think that Alois may be a _genius_ if he would just apply himself. The blonde had this _out-of-the-box_ type of thinking that was an absolute anomaly, but at the same time, was brilliant. The eye-patch-wearing boy wondered if he would always be so helpful when it came to solving murders.

"Alois, I think you might've given me a lead." he said, smiling.

" _Of course..._ wait, _what?"_

Ciel rolled his eye. Maybe the blonde _wasn't_ a "genius", after all. " _Look,_ the poem on the walls in this picture, is in a book that's sold in a few bookstores in the London area. If we go to those stores, and find out who _bought_ the book, we can get a list of possible suspects!"

"Oh... _Oh!_ That's what I _thought!"_

"No you didn't..."

"Hush, my crazy little love, and let me _pretend."_ the blonde said, putting his finger to the other boy's lips.

Nonchalantly, the slightly shorter of the two boys pushed it away. "Let's get on with this immediately." He printed a map with the bookstores they were looking for plotted on it, and folded it carefully before putting it in his pocket. The bluenette walked around his desk before heading to the door, quickly pecking the blonde on the cheek as he did. "Good job."

Imediately, Alois felt his face heat up and his heart flutter at the small gesture. It was uncommon for the other boy to initiate such contact so casually. He touched the spot on his cheek for a moment, taking in the moment.

He came back to reality and called after the bluenette before running after him. " _Hey! Wait for me!"_


	69. ADULTolescence

Night fell with a thud as the boys searched every bookstore on their list. They went to the East end, they went to the West end. They went downtown, they went every which way, combing the stores for a list of people who bought that book. It would be wise of them to wrap this up soon. Alois was starting to get _bored_ , the bluenette noticed. Still, they had a few more stops to make before they were done for the night.

With a small sigh, Ciel extended his arm to the door, opening it while ushering the troublesome blonde inside. He followed suit, as they casually entered the establishment. In the corner of his eye, he saw the blonde wander throughout the room, desperately trying to find something to hold his interest.

 _"Behave, Alois."_ he warned. He knew full-well that the blonde menace was bound to get into trouble. It was in the boy's nature. "This'll only take a few minutes."

The flaxen-headed teen turned around to address the boy. "But _Ciel!_ That's what you said _last_ time, and we were there for an _hour!"_ he whined, throwing in a pout for good measure.

"It couldn't be helped. The woman at the desk obviously had _no idea_ what she was doing." the bluenette replied. "If you're bored, I suggest you go find a _book to read."_

"How could you even _suggest_ something so _perverse?!_ I would rather eat my own shorts!"

"Then go _quietly_ stand over there, while I get the information we need."

And with that, the eye-patch-wearing gentleman nonchalantly walked up to the front desk. He played with his badge in his pocket, knowing that he would have to show it. He cleared his throat to get the attention of the clerk. The pizza-faced, obviously-part-time-working, older teen looked away from his computer for a moment to greet the boy.

"Hello. Did you find everything alright?"

"No. I'd like to speak to your manager." the boy said, plainly.

"What seems to be the matter?"

" _Nothing_ , as long I can speak with your superior." This was a constant problem in information gathering. The boy was _seldom_ taken seriously due to his appearance. He swore he could hear a snicker from the blonde's direction.

"Does your _mother_ know where you are, _young man?_ " the man behind the counter asked in a patronizing manner, much to the bluenette's increasing annoyance.

His eyebrow twitched at those words. Still, he had to keep his cool. In one swift movement, he pulled his badge open and held it in front of the irritating worker's face. "Ciel Phantomhive; _Senior Detective Constable_ and _'The Queen's Guard-dog'._ I need to have a word with the person in charge of this establishment."

Instead of the usual response, all the boy got was: "I don't have time for this. Go play somewhere else before I call the cops." And with that, the clerk went back to gazing at the mesmerizing computer screen, ignoring any further statements made by the bluenette.

 _Now_ Ciel was annoyed. If flashing his badge didn't work he would either have to fetch Sebastian or use _"Plan C"._ Neither option appealed to the boy. He didn't want to use Sebastian because his pride simply wouldn't allow it. He didn't want to go through hearing the bulter's teasing about being such a " _Little_ lord." As for _"Plan C"_ , the boy didn't want to waste the energy. The technique required took a lot of mastery and skill or pull off, and even if he did, _it was exhausting,_ without possessing a contract holder.

But what choice did he have? _Sebastian's taunting,_ or _being tired?_ Obviously, he chose the latter, motioning to the blonde to "stay put", as he turned, and exited the building.

Alois stared at the door, waiting for the boy to return. Several minutes passed, and he was starting to worry a bit. He looked over to the clerk, who was staring at him suspiciously. It was rather unsettling. Finally, the door opened, and the person who appeared from behind it made the blonde's eyes widen.

The man; _yes,_ the _man_ who walked into the building was clad in black, with and eye-patch that matched. His eyes were blue, as well were his earrings, and the tint of his dark hair. It was hard to tell exactly _what_ age he was, as he looked fairly young, and yet had a mature look about him. He made eye contact with the blonde boy and pressed his finger to his lips, silently telling the boy to remain quiet.

He strode right up to the front desk, and smiled at the teen behind the counter, startling him a bit. The clerk was shocked at how similar he looked to the boy who stood there previously. All the same, he greeted the man with hospitality.

"H-hello. Did you find everything alright?"

" _No._ " the bluenette man said. His voice was soft, with a sophisticated sound to it. _"I would like to speak to your manager."_

_"Oh, w-what seems to be the matter?"_

"I sent _my son_ in here earlier on an errand." he lied. "My name is _Ciel Phantomhive._ I'm a _Senior Detective Constable,_ and also known as ' _the Queen's Guard-dog.'_ I have an important case for which I will need the full cooperation of your manger." The teen stared at him with a severe case of _deja vu._ He couldn't help but stare at the man before him, mouth agape, while at the same time, unable to conjure words to emit from it.

" _If you would please?"_ the man said, snapping the clerk from his trance.

"Oh... Oh! O-of course! Please wait a moment..." thus the teen scurried to the back of the store, in search of his superior.

At the same time, the man felt eyes buring holes in the back of his head. He turned to see Alois staring at him, similarly to the way the teen from before did.

"Wha-wha-wha-whaaa?!" was all the blonde was able to say, waving his arms in the air, occasionally pointing at the man in front of him.

"What? Surely you knew that demons are able to _transform,_ yeah? Could you please stop doing _'The Dance of the Blathering Idiot'_? It's _unsightly."_ he said to the boy, immediately changing gears from they way he acted before.

After blinking a few times, and staring a bit longer, Alois finally came out of his hypnotic state to run up to the bluenette before him and hug him. " _Ciel!"_ he cried. His face only reached up to the man's chest.

"Yes, yes, _I'm Ciel._ Now could you stop that? We're in public!" Ciel said, trying in vain to push the blonde away. He glanced around, and fortunately, no one was watching them. The _last_ thing the bluenette wanted was to be accused of being a _pedophile_.

Something occurred to the demon at that thought. At the moment, Alois was showing no signs of fear. The fair-haired boy was ordinarily deeply afraid of grown men, yet the form the bluenette was taking didn't seem to bother him at all. _Why was that?_ Was it because he knew it was _Ciel?_

The clerk from before, returned with the store's manager, snatching the "man" away from his thoughts. The manager was a large, older, surly-looking man, with thinning hair and a mustache. Immediately, the blonde boy shifted his position to behind the bluenette at the sight of the man, as though he was trying to hide _. Maybe the bluenette's hunch was right._

 _"So what can I do for you, sir?"_ the man-in-charge said in his northern accent.

"I was hoping you could help me in an investigation I'm currently in the middle of." Ciel paused, reaching back into his pocket to retreive his badge. My name is _Ciel Phantomhive._ I'm a _Senior Detective Constable,_ and also known as ' _the Queen's Guard-dog'._ There has been evidence linked to a _certain case_ , involving a _certain book_ , and I was hoping that you could provide me with a list of people who had bought said book."

An hour or so passed, as Ciel continued to explain the situation to the manger, and retrieved what he had came for. Alois, however, wandered aimlessly throughout the store, occasionally picking up a book to look at. Eventually, he was summoned by the bluenette "man", and they vacated the premises.

They walked to the car, where Sebastian was waiting, and got in. Ciel immediately sunk into his seat and changed back.

"Shall we go home? You seem a bit _tired,_ my lord." the butler teased.

The bluenette scoffed, while Alois teased the (once again) boy as well. "You can lean on my shoulder, if you want!" he half-heartedly jested.

 _"Never_ , will I _ever_ reduce myself to your level of _girliness_ , Alois." said Ciel, leaning back in the seat. "I don't suppose you found a _book_ that tickled your fancy on this outing?"

"There was _one,_ actually."

This, the bluenette perked up at. "Really? What was it?"

"' _Fifty Shades of Grey'."_ the blonde said with a grin before being swiftly punched in the arm by the boy next to him.

_Of course Alois didn't really find a book to read._


	70. Patriotism At It's Finest

Surprisingly, it was the blonde who woke up first the next morning. Ciel was still asleep, recovering from his transfiguration from yesterday, and- well, Sebastian _doesn't_ sleep, actually. The butler was awake at all hours, making sure the manor was spotless, and attending to various errands that needed done. Narrowing down the people on the suspect list, for example. He was to disregard any suspects who had a good, solid alibi, or were otherwise deemed "incapable" of committing the murders.

Alois was thoroughly convinced that the raven-haired man needed a hobby, but that is not the point. The point is, that while Sebastian was out and about, _Alois_ was put in charge of taking care of the young master. While this didn't seem to be a very good idea in hindsight, the blonde was capable as a servant when given a specific task to focus on. He would clumsily complete his missions, only botching them up on occasion, which is more than what can be said of the household's _previous servants_.

Since it was past _noon,_ he decided that the bluenette had gotten enough sleep. Thus, upward he traveled to the manor's second floor, and down the lonely hallway to the you master's bedroom. He opened the door and stuck his head in the room. Doubt lingered in his mind that this was going to be easy.

Over on the bed, the boy saw his target, _Ciel_ _Phantomhive_ , the master of the house. The bluenette lay on his back, with his face turned away from the window, wearing a dressshirt as sleepwear. Why that amused the blonde, he'll never know. Alois walked up to the window, drawing back the curtains before looking back at the boy.

 _Nothing._ He didn't move an inch. The flaxen-haired teen at the very least expected a _flinch_ , but no, the young(?) Phantomhive was out like a light.

"Ciel, wake up. It's like, two in the afternoon." the blonde said.

Nothing.

"Ciiiieeeeellll... Wake uuuuup..." next, he poked the boy.

Nothing.

"Damn, you can really sleep, huh?" Alois walked around to the other side of the bed, crouching down so the boy's face was at eye-level. He noted that the bluenutte wasn't wearing his eye-patch, but disregarded it for the moment.

"Hey, Ciel, if you don't wake up, I'll _kiss_ you..." the blonde said. He got no response, so guess what he did?

He climbed on top of the bluenette and pressed his lips against the bother boys. _Now_ he got a response. The bluenette moved his lips with the blonde's, being a safe indicator that he was pretty much awake now. After staying like that for a few moments, his eyes finally fluttered open.

"Good morning, _darling."_ Alois said with a grin.

" _Get. Off. Me."_

"Nah, _I quite like this position_."

Ciel summoned his strength and flipped them over to where they were now reversed. He was now on top of the blonde. Now it was his turn to _smirk._

His companion blinked a few times from the surprise before smiling again. "Ooh! _This one's much better! Don't you agree?"_ he said, earned him a playful slap to the face. The slate-haired teen crawled off of him and rolled his eyes, fighting off a blush.

"Why? Is there _no other way_ you could've woken me up? Really?"

 _"That is correct."_ the blonde boy said, sitting up. Apparently, the bluenette was ignorant to Alois' earlier attempts.

It was after a moment that the blonde noticed what his companion was wearing, or rather, _not_ wearing. "So _Ciel Phanthomhive does not sleep in pants._ " he grinned, playfully before adding " _Union Jack boxers? Nice."_

" _OUT._ _ **NOW!"**_

_"Yes, my lord."_

The day carried on even after the bluenette was clothed. They spent it as they would any other weekend, playing games, watching TV, looking over the _pictures of the victim's dead bodies_.It was at this point that the blonde noticed something.

"Hey, why are these kids all _blonde?_ " he asked.

"What?"

"Look. Every one of 'em. Blonde. This some kind of _hate crime_ or something?"

Well, Alois had been helpful so far, so Ciel was willing to look over the images one more time. "They _are_ blonde..."

"Yeah, yeah! And look closer! It looks like their hair was hastily _cut_ in some places."

An idea came to the bluenette. It was obvious, and he felt stupid for not thinking of it sooner. "You know what this could mean, Alois?"

"That the killer has some _freaky fetish for collecting hair?"_

 _"No,_ well, _yeah._ But I mean _besides_ that. Tell me, exactly what kind of person collects hair?"

"A _complete nutter._ We already _knew_ the guy was crazy, so why is this extraordinary?"

"It isn't. But it gives me an idea of how we can narrow down our search even further." Ciel said, digging out his cell phone to text Sebastian. The boy enjoyed texting more than actually _calling_ people. It was less personal. The boy could be rather _antisocial_ sometimes.

_"Check to see if any of the suspects have any documented_

_mental illnesses. That should help narrow down_

_your search._

_-CP"_

Within seconds, he got his reply.

_"Yes, my lord._

_-SM"_

He smiled at this, now noticing that there was someone reading his messages over his shoulder. "What is it, Alois?" he asked.

The blonde blinked at the question. He wasn't sure how to answer, so he just said the first thing that popped into his head. " _Patriotic Underpants."_

He noticed the flush on the bluenette's face as he remembered the events from this morning. "You aren't _ever_ going to let that go, are you?" In response the the question, the blonde sang.

"' _God save our gracious Queen!_

_Long live our noble Queen!_

_God save the Queen!'"_

**"** _**SHUT UP!"** _


	71. Invitation To Disaster

The list was narrowed down to two people. The first had schizophrenia, and the second, a diagnosed sociopath. Naturally, these people would be suspects. However, upon further examination, it would appear that neither of these two were the killer.

While the first one had schizophrenia, she was fairly frail, and simply couldn't wrestle with the older victims into submission before killing them. Nor did she have anyone she was particularly close to, or hung out with, so she she couldn't have had help. Thus, she was eliminated.

The second was a fairly normal man. He was diagnosed with sociopath, however, when talked to by the boys, he showed no signs of this. They know a sociopath when they see one, being ones themselves, and discovered that he had been misdiagnosed.

He was ruled out, leaving them with nothing. The two boys were at a complete loss. After all of that, they had no suspects. None, nil, and zero. Back to square one, they went.

Apparently what Ciel had thought was a stroke of genius on the blonde's part, had ended up only leading him on a wild goose chase. Still, he couldn't blame the boy. After all, it was the _Phantomhive boy_ who was convinced his off-handed comment held some deep meaning to it, and tied it to the case. But that still didn't change the fact that they wasted all that time for nothing.

The bluenette sat at his office desk, rubbing his temples in frustration, while the blonde sat on the almost _unbearably uncomfortable_ couch and stared into space. Both seemed rather depressed on the matter. It had taken them days to come up with that lack of evidence. How where they going to catch " _the Boogeyman"_ now?

Sebastian knocked on the door, and entered, noticing the smog of cheerlessness hanging in the air. He cleared his throat as though he was trying to rid his lungs of the miasma. "My lord, you have a telephone call from a _Kristopherson Miles?"_

This was an odd occurrence. Never had the bluenette received a call from the faux-blonde before. He quickly got up and answered it, forgetting about murder for a moment.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Ciel?" asked the voice on the other end of the line. It was recognizably the boy in the pink tie. "It's me, Kris. Are you free this afternoon?"

He thought for a moment. He decided he should at _least_ see what the boy wanted. "Yeah, why?" he asked. He lied a bit, but the case could be on hold for an afternoon, right?

"I'm hosting a pool party this afternoon, and, I know it's short notice, but I was wondering if you'd like to come?"

" _Can I come too?!"_ the blonde menace said into the device, startling the boy on the other end. He had at some point, followed the bluenette, and was listening into the conversation. Ordinarily, he wouldn't have, but as soon as Sebastian mentioned it was Kristopherson, is interest was peaked.

It finally registered in the mind of the boy on the other end who it was, and he laughed. "Of course you can, Alois. I was going to invite you too, anyway."

_"Sweet."_

At this point, the bluenette couldn't refuse the faux-blonde's offer. Alois had just eliminated that option. He pushed the blonde away from the speaker so he could answer the boy's question.

"Alright. We'll be there." he said, holding the phone in one hand, and fending off the blonde with the other.

"See you then."

With that final utterance from Kristopherson, the conversation ended. The bluenette turned his attention back to the blonde.

"Could you honestly not wait until I was off the phone?" he asked.

"No. No I could not."

"You don't even have a swimsuit, do you?"

_"No. No I do not."_

The slightly shorter boy sighed in exasperation. Obviously, there was no way of winning, here. "Alright, we'll just pick one up on the way there. _Sebastian!_ Fire up the car, we're going out."

This was going to be a long afternoon...


	72. Having Fun and A New Lead

The gang arrived at Kristopherson's house after stopping to buy some swim trunks for Alois. Sebastian dropped the two boys off, and and drowve away. He would be back to pick them up later this evening.

On the outside, the house was very large, and very _modern_. It lacked the old aesthetics and grandeur of the Phantomhive estate. In fact, it was a tad _smaller_ than the Phantomhive estate. Still, Alois was impressed, having never seen such a building before, except perhaps on a science-fiction program on the TV.

The boy's were let in by one of the servants, and their eyes were greeted with an equally modern, equally _stylish_ interior. I suppose that would make sense, given that the faux-blonde's mother was a fashion designer. They were lead into the entertainment room, were the rest of the guests were playing ping-pong. They paused their game for a moment to greet the demons.

"Oh my God! It's a cyclops! _everybody run!"_ a familiar voice shouted jokingly. Daniel was there, as well as Preston and Travis, and a few others from their class, plus the hosts slightly younger sister, and some of her friends.

"You fool! It's not a cyclops! It's a _pirate_! Quick! _Hide your valuables!"_ Kristopherson teased, pointing at the bluenette. He had really lightened up since his chat with Ciel that one day in the boy's restroom. Noticeably so. Even the others had to agree.

" _Very funny."_ the bluenette said, his words dripping with sarcasm, "Tell me, was I only invited to be made fun of?" he jested.

"Nah, that's just a bonus!" said the brown-haired boy, earning giggles from others throughout the room.

"Glad I was able to help with the entertainment, but isn't this supposed to be a _pool party?_ "

"Yeah, but the pool isn't ready yet. We all apparently showed up much earlier than expected." What a silly mistake. Sebastian would have never allowed such a screwup. Still, at the guests didn't seem to mind.

"Hey, Trancy, you wanna play?" Daniel asked, holding up a ping-pong paddle.

"I would, but _I don't know how."_ the blonde said. In all seriousness, he did not. He didn't even know what the game was _called_. Still, he did his best to maintain the illusion of being a " _modern child_ ".

"You don't know how to play _ping-pong?"_ Preston echoed.

"Nope."

"C'mere, and let me show you. After that, you can play against Preston since he sucks so bad at this game." Daniel motioned for the blonde to come and take the paddle, while Preston attempted to agrue that he, in fact, did not _suck._

The bluenette took this opportunity to converse with Kristopherson, while his companion fumbled with the art of ping-pong. He had been slightly curious as to the boy's being, as of late.

"Alright?" he asked.

"Alright." was the boy's response. Kristopherson had been doing really well. He felt much better about himself, like part of a huge weight had been lifted from his shoulders. "Trancy talk you in to comming?"

"Yeah. I'm just not that big on parties." Ciel said, adding in a slight chuckle at the end.

"That's what I thought. You must really have your hands full, yeah?"

"You know it..." he trailed off, catching a glimpse of something- or rather, _someone_ in the corner of his eye.

The young man seemed so out of place in the room. He just stood against the wall, trying not to attract any attention. He was dress in a green polo shirt, and khakis. He looked about college-age, and was certainly too old to be hanging out with such teenagers. This sort of person was very suspicious.

"Who's that?" he asked the host.

Kristopherson followed the bluenette's finger to the man, and replied. "Oh, that's my _tutor._ "

"Really? What does he help you study?"

"Literacy, mostly. I'm really bad with _poetry_. Lately he's been having me read a book called ' _The something-or-other Poems of a Dead Man'._ It's full of creepy poems. He seems to like stuff like that."

That book. That book was the one they were looking at. This guy wasn't one of the two they had narrowed it down to earlier, but it could be worth looking into. "Really? Are you close? It's kind of odd to invite your tutor, otherwise, isn't it?"

"We _were_ , I guess. He's mad at me _because he found out a bleach my hair blonde_. I thought inviting him might help patch things up. We have that big test in a few weeks, after all."

 _Blonde?_ Weren't all the kids in the pictures blonde? Why would anyone be mad about that? The bluenette had to dig deeper.

"Oh, you're right. Is he any good? Alois will fail, if he doesn't straighten up soon." he lied. Still, he got what he was hoping for.

"You can't make Alois Trancy ' _straighten up'_!" the faux-blonde joked. "He's as _straight_ as a _bendy-straw_. But if he needs a tutor, I can give you his name and number, if you'd like."

"If you would? That would be a _great help."_

He got it. He got the man's information, and discreetly texted it to Sebastian. Just in the nick of time, too. The pool was now open, much to the boy's displeasure.

Everyone got dressed in their swimwear. Alois had on his new purple swim trunks, and Ciel had on his blue ones, in addition to a black t-shirt. The bluenette also wore swim-goggles with one of the lens tinted, and without a nose-piece since he couldn't wear his eye-patch. The other boys looked disappointing at this, since they kind of wanted to see what was underneath the patch. Instead, they busily tried to refrain from teasing him about wearing a shirt, since Kristopherson was wearing one too, for obvious reasons.

While the other boys were taunting each other and pushing each other into the pool, Ciel simply sat in one of the fold-up chairs, wanting to avoid the "fun". This was only _partially_ due to his antisocial attitude, but was mostly due to the fact that even after all of these years, _Ciel still could not swim._ He cursed himself for this lack of ability. Swimming for recreational purposes never really interested him, so he simply never learned, and that was that.

The others, however, had other plans. Daniel got out of the pool, and walked up to the bluenette.

"Aren't you gonna swim too, Phantomhive?" he asked.

"Nah, I'm fine just sitting here, thanks."

"That's no _fun_."

"Pardon me, but _it appears that I do not care_."

Daniel placed his hands on his hips, and just looked at the boy with a puzzled expression. Then he hatched a plan. Quickly, he motioned for the other boys to come over as well, and silently conveyed to them is devious plan.

Each boy grabbed one of the Bluenette's limbs, lifting him from his chair. They carried him closer, and closer to the edge of the pool, stopping near the edge. Ciel was _not_ happy.

 _"Put me_ _ **down**_ _!"_ he ordered. However, this was the wrong choice of words for this situation.

"You heard him, lads! On three! _One... Two... Three!"_

_SPLASH!_

After briefly flying through the air, the poor bluenette landed in the water, trying to remain calm as he became completely submerged. _Fortunately_ for him, he only landed in the shallow end, so at least he wouldn't have to explain why _he didn't need to come up for air._

After a few moment, his head came back up, and he shouted every swear word he knew, some of them being in _other languages._ He shouted, and the boys laughed at the now drenched bluenette. All of them _except Alois._

In fact, there was a moment were the blonde was nowhere to be _seen_. However, he was able to be _heard_.

" _THIS. IS._ _ **SPARTA!"**_

Now it was _Daniel's_ turn to fall into the drink. The bluenette, luckily, was able to move out of the way in time. As the Westly boy's head came back up, he was confronted with a triumphant-looking Alois Trancy, and a group of laughing teenagers.

Next, Trancy was pushed by Kristopherson, and Kristopherson was pushed by Preston, and Preston was pushed by Travis, who dove in on his own. Soon all six boys were in the pool, laughing at each other, and at themselves. Even _Ciel_ was having fun at this point.

"Oh my God! You guys are so _immature_!" shouted one of Anatsasia's freinds, followed by an eruption of girly giggles. They had completely ruined the moment for the group. That was, until _The Blonde Menace_ spoke up.

" _Shut up, and show us your tits!"_ he shouted before having his head shoved underwater by an angry bluenette.

The evening continued in this way until it was time to go home. Sebastian picked the boys up, and they drove home.

"Did you have a good time, my lord?" the butler asked.

"Yes, actually. Well, except for the part were Alois yelled _obscene_ things at a group of girls." the bluenette replied.

"Hey, _in my defense_ , anyone wearing such a _revealing_ swimsuit is probably wanting to show them off, anyway."

"That isn't the point, Alois!"

"I believe the young master is _jealous_ , Mister Trancy..."

"I am _not!"_ the bluenette declared. " _Sebastian,_ did you get the information I asked for?" he asked, changing the subject.

"Yes, sir. The information regarding a mister _John Wilson_ has been acquired, and is now in a folder on your desk. However, while he did not meet the conditions you did not speculate the other day, his medical records reveal that he _does_ have trauma to his frontal lobe as a result of a childhood injury."

"Meaning?" the blonde asked.

" _Meaning_ , he does not have a _'filter_ ' like most people do."

"So how do we catch him? We don't have a search warrant or anything to check him out!"

"We don't need one." Ciel said with a small smirk. " _He's going to be your tutor."_

* * *


	73. The Tutor's Abode

The blonde had acquired a tutor to help him study for a massive literacy exam at the end of the week. The car he was riding in pulled up to the home of a Mister John Wilson, and before he stepped out of it, he was reminded of his alternative agenda at the household.

"You are to look around the house for anything suspicious, you got it?" the bluenette asked the blonde, making sure he heard him. The blonde had trouble listening at important moments like this.

"Yeah, yeah. I got this. No worries, mate." he said. "I go in, pretend to be tutored, and find all the weird shit he's hiding. I got it."

That still didn't ease the bluenette's mind. Why was _he_ the nervous one here? He wasn't the one going into the home of a potential serial killer. That's what he had _Alois_ for! The blonde was very sturdy, and was incredibly difficult to kill, but still, the Phantomhive boy couldn't help but worry.

"...And one more thing. It's the most important thing you should keep in mind on this little 'adventure', and that is: _'don't get caught'."_ he warned his bubbly companion.

"Roger! I won't let you down!" the blonde said stepping out of the vehicle. "I'll get ya _dead bodies_ , no problem!" And with that, the door was closed, leaving only the bluenette and the butler in the car.

"Sebastian, do you think it was wrong to send him in on his own?"

The butler looked in the rear-view mirror, examining the boy's unusually worried face, and released a small chuckle at this. "It is not really my place to have an opinion, my lord. However, I don't think you need to worry. Alois _is_ a demon, after all. He is also wearing a wire. As he would say, ' _no worries, mate'!"_ the butler said in his best impression of the blonde.

The boy in the backseat shot the driver a look of disgust. "Don't _ever_ say that again..."

" _My apologies_."

Meanwhile, as those two were driving away, the blonde walked up to the ordinary-looking townhouse, and knocked on the front door. He was greeted by the supposed " _Boogeyman"_ , a college student who went by the name of John Wilson.

John wore rather large glasses that looked as though they would fall off of his face at any moment, and a _London Metropolitan University_ T-shirt covered his slender build. He had to down at the blonde, since he towered over him. Alois wondered for a moment if he was related to _Slenderman_ , with his stature _._ He shivered at the very thought.

"You must be Alois, then?" the man said, scratching his face. He looked as though he had just woken up, even though it was three in the afternoon.

"Sure am!" the blonde said in a friendly manner.

"Alright, why don't you come inside, then? It's so hot outside that it's _stupid."_ John walked back inside, and motioned for the blonde to follow. "Just set your stuff down anywhere, and have a seat."

"'Right." The blonde literally did just that. He tossed his book-bag on the floor, and immediately sat down right next to it. John just looked at him for a moment with a puzzled look on his face, before puzzlement turned into understanding.

"You're a right _smart-ass_ , aren't you?"

 _"You know it_."

"This'll be _fun._ " he mused. "So, what areas do you have trouble with, then?"

"Math, English, History, you know _, the works_." Alois listed off, as if he had this rehearsed. The man now sitting across from him sighed.

"Yep, this is going to be so much _fun."_

The two gentleman studied together for a long while, discussing English, primarily, due to the blonde having a test at the end of the week. Alois' eyes subtly wandered around the room, analyzing it ever-so carefully to the best of his ability. He came to the conclusion that it was, in a word, _boring._ It looked like the living room of any ordinary college student, if not a little bit cleaner. However, this was to be expected, since he was to tutor student here. Eventually, however, the blonde had decided he had seen enough of this room, and became set upon seeing the rest of the house.

"S'cuse me," he said, "Mind if I use your loo?" It was a believable lie.

"Go right ahead. It's through there." the other gentleman said, pointing to the general direction of the bathroom. "Shout if you need anything, then."

"Will do."

The flaxen-haired teen got up and straightened himself before walking in the direction indicated by the tutor. He passed several doors, glancing into the rooms, before finding the bathroom. However, he decided to save that for last, since if John heard a flushing noise, and the blonde didn't return soon after, he would become suspicious. Thus, the lad continued walking.

He stopped in front of a particular door at the end of the hall, feeling an unsettling feeling in his gut. It was locked, of course, but the boy couldn't help but smell something _foul_ coming from the other side.

 _It smelled like blood and rotten meat._ Now that was suspicious. However, since he felt that he was taking too long, he decided to retreat to the bathroom, like he said he was doing. He closed the door behind him, and took out his phone to text.

_"Room at the edge of hall reeks of death. Door's locked. Suspicious?_

_-AT"_

He sent the message to the bluenette before flushing the toilet and washing his hands. He had to make it seem like that was what he's been doing the entire time. As extra precautions, he turned his phone on vibrate and deleted the outgoing message, and formulated an excuse as to why he was so slow taking care of his "business".

The blonde walked back into the room, and sat down in front of the man once more. "Sorry, I had trouble finding it." he said.

"That's fine." the now oddly anxious-looking man replied. "Now, where were we?"

" _Poetry."_

"Oh, that's right."

The day ended, and Alois left the Wilson gentleman's house, and stepped into the black _Rolls Royce_ of the Phantomhive household. He took a seat in the backseat with his bluenette companion, ready to report his findings.

"Well? Did you find anything?" the eye-patch-wearing boy seated to his left said, turning his body to face the blonde. It rather annoyed him when Alois sat on the side he wore his eye-patch on. The bluenette couldn't see him when he did.

"Well, _other than that mysterious room at the end of the hallway that smelled like rotten flesh and was fastened with a deadbolt lock,"_ the blonde took a moment to _breathe_ , finally. "He was rather darty after I returned from my 'bathroom break'. However that's _perfectly normal._ Maybe he was afraid I found his _porn stash."_

Ciel rolled his eye at that. The blonde's ability to steer a topic into the gutter was astounding. He disregarded this to ask: "Anything else?"

The blonde thought for a moment. Nothing else seemed to stand out. "Well, almost all of his childhood photos that were on display had a _blonde girl_ , in it. Does that count as 'weird'? I mean, even Kristopherson as well as _yourself_ seem to have _a thing for blondes."_

The driver chuckled and the bluenette shot him another death-glare before composing himself once again. "Well, since the killer has been _targeting blonde children in particular_ , and _taking locks of their hair,_ that very well could be." he said, completely ignoring the other boy's previous comment. "If only we knew what was in that room..."

"Who knows? But judging by the fact that he gave me _this_ , we may very well _find out."_ the blonde said, pulling a copy of " _The Mysterious Poems of a Dead Man"_ out of his bag.

* * *

**A/N: Why, I do believe this arc shall be ending soon. Don't you?  
**

**Why does John end almost every other sentence with "then"? Dunno. That was unintentional, but I think I may leave it as a verbal tic. (Did you guys even notice? Well, whatever...)**

**Until next time, my duckies!**

* * *

**Chapter 77: The Boogeyman**

* * *

Weeks had passed and Alois continued to go to John's house for help with schoolwork and such, and the man would come over to the blonde's on occasion. He was pretty good at helping too. He explained things very clearly and in a way that was easy for even a blonde of Alois' magnitude to comprehend. He didn't even get frustrated with the blonde's excessive cracking of jokes, and instead, laughed at them. The blonde was actually glad to have the help. His grades were steadily improving, much to everyone's surprise. It was such a shame to see the same college student hanging around in the dark near a certain manor in the dead of night.

John paced back and forth down the street with his tools in his backpack, as though he was hesitant to go inside. He had very good reason to, since he wasn't invited to the household, and he had no intentions of even using the front door. He had never broken entry to a house of this size, before. The young man was now debating whether or not he could.

Finally, he mustered all of his courage and climbed the large wall separating the estate from the area around it. Stealthily, he stayed within the shadows of nearby trees as he made his way to the manor. He made his way around to the back of the house, and, naturally, none of the windows on the bottom floor where unlocked.

Fortunately for him, he had anticipated this, and was prepared. He took off his bag and unzipped it, pulling out what appear to be a grappling hook he had bought on the internet. With a mighty throw, it soared through the air before attaching to the roof. After giving the rope a few tugs to make sure it was sturdy, the young man began his ascent to the second floor of the building.

Much to his displeasure, the windows up there were locked as well. But there was a way around this, with the windows up top being in the Victorian style. John pulled his knife out of his bag and stuck it through the gap, thus he was able to undo the latch with ease while still maintaining hold of the rope.

Gently, he eased himself into the window, leading into the upstairs bathroom. He pressed his ear up against the door, and listened for any footsteps on the other side. Hearing nothing, he was sure that the hallway was empty. He slowly turned the knob and entered the hallway, with knife at the ready in case he was wrong.

He knew which way the blonde's room was because he had been to it before in order to instruct the boy on occasion. Stealthily, he crept closer to his destination and turned the knob, only to find it locked. He clicked his tongue in disapproval, and pulled out his next tool. A lock pick. These old skeleton keyholes were easy to pick, to his fancy, and he was in.

John walked into the room without a sound, closing the door behind him. He raised his weapon and walked towards the bed before bringing back down, stabbing again, and again into...

 _...pillows; just a large pile of pillows_. The blonde was nowhere to be found.

The man scratched his head and thought about what could be going on, when the lights came on. In the doorway stood the butler of the manor, accompanied by the two boys who lived there, all smiling cheerfully at the man.

"Hello, John." the blonde said.

"W-what's all this, then?!" the man demanded, hiding the knife behind his back.

"I believe it is _you_ who should be answering that, John. After all, you _did_ break into our house in the middle of the night." said the master of the house, a petite bluenette boy.

"W-well, I..." before the young man could even say anything, the house's butler was already beside him, and had somehow taken his weapon.

"Why don't we all discuss this downstairs? I know a group of fine gentlemen who are just dying to meet you, mister Wilson." he said with his usual devilish grin, waving the weapon tauntingly in front of the college student.

"Who?"

" _The London Metropolitan Police."_

After venturing downstairs, Wilson confessed that he had broken into the house to kill the blonde boy while in tears. Apparently the man's cerebral trauma was caused when a childhood friend, famous around the neighbourhood for her _flaxen hair_ , and the girl in the many pictures in his house, had accidentally pushed him out of a tree. Afterwards, he had developed a hatred for blondes.

This was all fine and dandy, but where were the children's bodies? This was where the seemingly ordinary man was _not so ordinary._ Following his confession, the police were granted a search warrant in order to search his house, and following the blonde's insight, checked the room at the end of the hallway that reeked of rotting meat. That is were things got _grisly._

In that room was the remains of the children- well, _some_ of them, anyway. The buckets of blood and the dismembered children were more than enough to make most of London's finest, vomit. But that was not all of it.

No, in addition to that, there were items fashioned from human remains found in that room. Lampshades, belts, and various other items where made from the victim's _skin. Knives, exactly like the one John had on his person on the night of his arrest,_ were found to be made from their _bones._ Bowls made from skulls, necklaces made from teeth and finger-bones, as well as other things were found in this room. Other bits and pieces, however, _were missing._

That is, until they checked the man's _kitchen._ In the fridge they found more, and various pots and pans on the stove and in the stink tested positive for human remains. This man, was in fact, _a cannibal._ He really was a real-life Boogeyman. Alois was just _relieved_ he never took up Wilson on his numerous polite offers to fix the boy _lunch._ The very _though_ t that he could have accidentally ingested a human being made the blonde, who had seen many, many _gruesome and unsettling_ things in his lifetime, gag and feel ill.

But on the bright side of all of this, Kristopherson was still alive, as was the infamous _blonde menace._ The case of " _The Boogeyman"_ finally came to a close, and in perhaps the most _unexpected_ turn of events, _Alois passed his literacy test with flying colours at the end of that week._

He beat Ciel by _one point_.


	74. Back To School and In The Friend Zone

Warwick Academy. This prestigious school is where the offspring of the social elite receive their education. Here, they study Mathematics, Literacy, History, as well as the fine arts. Yes, Warwick is such a fine school. Truly, it is worthy of praise, this wonderful example to academia!

That is, _most_ or the time. Yes, there are times when the children of Warwick act unruly. This day, just happened to be one of those times. You see, Warwick is just like any other school, in that it has cliques, and bullies, as well as other things. Today is one of those days where students such as those step out of the shadows to stalk what they believe to be easy prey.

Today also happens to be the day that a certain boy wearing a certain effeminately coloured tie, summoned all of his courage and decided to wear something he would ordinarily never wear. Today, he decided to don the legendary garment that no man or boy, for that matter has ever _dared_ walk the campus wearing, since "The Blonde Menace". Yes, you should know precisely what article I am referring to by this point. The legendary _short-shorts._

Kristopherson had a thing for effeminate clothes, and, with the moral support of the menace and his slate-haired companion, thought it was high-time he began to wear the kind of clothing he liked. He waited a long while before doing this due to the fact that he didn't want to be suspected of copying the _notorious Alois Trancy._

He was also very aware of the dangers of wearing the shorts. There would be those who disapproved, there would be those who mocked him. He would probably have to face a bully or two, but he felt as though he had to steel himself. The faux-blonde had to master the Trancy boy's technique of " _not giving a single fuck"_ , should he desire to fully step out of the closet.

He knew all of this, yet that didn't prepare him for the vicious onslaught he would face on this day. From the moment he set foot on the school lawn, he had been shoved, verbally abused, he had belongings taken, and he had been threatened. Apparently, the bullies at the school _couldn't pick on the blonde menace_ , therefore they focused all of their fire on the poor boy in the pink tie. He was having a hard time all over the place, lately. His tutor turned out to be a serial killer, and a cannibal, and now he was getting bullied. _It really just wasn't his week._

The faux-blonde was very well ready to go home, at this point. He didn't want to go to class. The boy hid in a stall of the boy's bathroom for several class periods. He couldn't bear to show his pitiful face to anyone.

Kristopherson's uniform was muddied from the many times he was shoved to the ground that day, his eyes were red and puffy from his tears, and his bag was torn from the many games of "keep away" he was forced to play with the his tormentors, most of them being older than him. He sat in the stall, just waiting for the day to end. He sniffled as he attempted to shove the memories of the past few hours to the back of his mind. Relentlessly, they didn't budge, stuck on replay in the boy's head.

_"Hellooooooo?"_

The voice startled him, causing him to jump. He looked at the bottom of the door to see feet wearing black dress shoes as part of the Warwick uniform, and part of what appeared to be purple knee-socks.

"Kris, you in there?" the intruder asked, knocking on the stall door. Kristopherson recognized that voice. The boy it belonged to was one of the _last_ people he wanted to see him like this.

"Go away!" he shouted. His attempts to keep his voice steady failed, as his voice cracked.

"No can do, mate. 'Can't let you skip any more classes. Being a delinquent is _my_ thing!" the blonde boy on the other side of the door said in an attempt to make a joke. "C'mon, open up!"

His plea was met with silence. The boy in the pink tie didn't just his voice. He was afraid that if he spoke, he'd just break down again. Alois, however, did not appreciate being _ignored._

"Kris, if you don't open this door, I'll break it!" he threatened.

The boy in the stall disregarded the threat. " _Like he could."_ he thought to himself, continuing to stare at the feet from the gap between the door and the floor. His thought processes were interrupted, as the feet walked away. For a moment, he believed the boy gave up, but oh, how very _wrong_ he was.

Fast footsteps were heard before a loud crash against the stall door. It moved a bit before bouncing back into it's original position. The boy's eyes widened as he looked at the barrier's hinges, observing that they wouldn't hold for long.

"Are you _mental?!"_ he shouted. It was more of an exclamation, that an inquiry.

"Kris, are you seriously _just now_ noticing this?!" The blonde's feet walked away once more, preparing to give the boy another running start before he rammed the door with his shoulder once more. He was holding back, of course. After all, there was absolutely no need to use _demonic_ strength to break open a flimsy bathroom door, is there?

The footsteps were heard again, and this time the door gave way with the final blow, nearly hitting the boy on the other side. Once the barrier was gone, they could at last meet again, face-to-face.

"Alright?" was all the blonde said.

Kristopherson was speechless. The boy honestly couldn't think of anything to say. His torment was forgotten for a moment while he stared at this _insane_ boy in front of him.

"Now, now, what seems to be the matter, Pinky?" the blonde asked him, casually leaning against the door frame as though nothing had happened. "You look like you've been having a very well _awful_ day. Care to share?"

_"How on earth, does Ciel put up with you?"_

"That's not the question I asked..."

The boy in the pink tie sighed in exasperation. "You're _unbelievable,_ you know that? No wonder nobody picks on _you_ for the shorts..."

"Oh, so you've been bullied, huh? They stopped teasing me after they realised I didn't give a shit what they thought. Also, my anti-bullying techniques are unstoppable!" the blonde menace said proudly.

"And those 'techniques' would be...?"

"Seriously? I've used them on _you_ before, remember? I forced your insults back on you, and acted like a total nutter until you were too afraid to even come near me."

Kristopherson felt a pang of guilt in his chest at that. He had completely forgotten how mean he was to Alois. He didn't do it with the intention of being mean. No, he did it only to get the boy's _attention_. Looking back, it was stupid of him, and it was wrong.

"Oh yeah..." he said, "I forgot..." He looked down, unable to even look the other boy in the eye. He was ashamed of his previous actions. "Look, I know it probably doesn't mean much now, but... I... I'm _sorry."_

Alois stood there, hanging onto every word the boy said. This was the first time someone who had wronged him in such a way apologized to him with such sincereity. It was now his turn to be speechless.

"I wasn't trying to be mean... In fact, I didn't even really know what I was doing was wrong. I must've made you feel awful... I'm sorry. I... I just... wanted you're attention, y'know?" Kristopherson swallowed hard, he figetted as he was about to drop a major bombshell on the blonde. "...Because... I... I think I _like_ you..."

He knew he was going to be rejected. Alois had Ciel, after all. Still, he didn't expect what the blonde was going to say next.

" _I know_." Alois said. "You're like Ciel. _You both aren't that good at hiding it_." he smiled at the boy. "You know, Kris, you're very... _sweet._ " He almost stumbled trying to find that word. Regardless, he continued. "That's why I'm gonna help you out."

The boy in the pink tie finally looked at the blonde. His face was completely red. "Uh... o-okay..." He was happy to finally get that off his chest, even more so that the blonde had called him "sweet". While he didn't get a boyfriend, he did get a _friend,_ and that is almost just as well. Now he had someone to help him combat his tormentors. Maybe he should rely on friends more often when he was in need of help.

"First off, we need to get you a _coin sock_."

" _What?"_

* * *


	75. Fair Punishment and The Purple Knight

A smog of discomfort hung in the air in Headmaster Horton's office that day. Alois had apparently gone too far this time. He had even called in _Sebastian_ to discuss the boy.

"Mister Michaelis, It's so good to finally meet you!" the portly man said, gesturing to a nearby chair.

"Don't mind if I do." Said the raven-haired man in a casual manner. It was as though he remained completely unbothered by the fact that he was called here so suddenly.

With an exasperated sigh, Horton spoke. "Let me get straight to the point, Mr. Michaelis. I need to talk to you about your _adoptive son, Mr Trancy._ It appears he's been caught in an act of violence on campus."

"Oh my," the butler said in feigned surprise. "what ever did he do?"

"He has, reportedly, been caught threatening a group of students by waving around _a sock full of change._ When asked _why_ he did this, he said ' _I had to return my friends honour to him'."_ he said, quoting the boy while frowning. He didn't seem the least bit amused.

The man clad in black, sitting on the opposite side of the desk refrained from chuckling at the thought. He could easily picture the blonde doing such a thing. "Who was the friend?"

"Kristopherson Miles." the headmaster said. "Mr. Trancy has actually been in here before for knocking the boy unconscious, but they are now apparently 'friends'. Why do you ask?"

"Well, lately the boys have been coming home, talking about how Miles was being bullied by a group of older boys."

"Do you think that could have been part of it?" Horton asked.

"I am nearly _positive_."

Silence fell over the room as the headmaster leaned forward in his chair and looked down at his hands, lying on the desk in front of him. He looked as though he might find an answer by doing so. Still, it was the man in black who spoke first.

"While _Alois_ has been known to commit acts of violence," he began. Somehow, calling the lad by his first name felt odd. "...As of late, his behaviour has improved immensely, to the point where he will only do so _if provoked._ "

"Trancy... He's got some sort of... _mental illness,_ doesn't he? Phantomhive said that the last time he was in here."

"Yes. Alois has developed a few... _complications_ due to his _troubled past,_ you see. He really can't help it, Mister Horton." Sebastian was pulling the strings as Ciel did last time, making the headmaster take pity on the boy and let him off the hook, however, there was _one_ minute detail in the way.

"He also reportedly _broke the door off of a bathroom stall_ , for some reason."

 _"We'll be sure to take responsibility and cover the damages."_ While it wasn't his place to make such promises, he was sure his young master wouldn't mind, and agree that it was only fair.

With another sigh, the headmaster had no choice but to let go. "Very well then. However, Mister Trancy is going to need punishment for the happenings today. Two weeks after school detention." he said.

"That sounds just."

"Thank you so much for your time today, Mr. Michaelis. I hope Alois improves."

Stepping out of the large office, Sebastian closed the door behind him and looked next to the door to see both "children" sitting in chairs, waiting on him.

"Well?" the bluenette lad asked. While the other one figetted guiltily. While the blonde was unable to see why what he did was _wrong,_ he was able to see that his actions had upset people, and gotten him in trouble which was pretty good for him.

"The headmaster said Alois must attend after-school detention for two weeks, _and that we need to pay to fix the bathroom stall door he broke."_ the butler replied.

Ciel looked over at the blonde boy next to him, half-angrily, half-questioningly, at that last part. " _You broke a door in the bathroom?"_

The blonde shrugged. "I couldn't get Kris to come out, otherwise..." he said quietly.

"Very well then. We should be able to manage that." The bluenette sighed. There simply was no helping it. There was no use getting mad at the blonde for what has already happened. " _Just don't do it again."_ he warned.

"Roger that!"

"Well, if there was one good thing that came out of this, it's that Mister Miles shouldn't have to worry about bullying for a while." Sebastian mused, chuckling slightly. "And it's all thanks to his _purple knight."_ He was given a mean look by his young master as the boy stood up.

" _Whatever."_ he said with just a tinge of jealousy.

" _Purple Knight?"_ What nonsense! The boy in the eye-patch simply couldn't see it- or rather, _didn't want to._ Alois was _his,_ and no one would change that. Ciel simply wouldn't allow it.

"If I'm _'the purple knight',_ what does that make _Ciel? 'The Blue Prince'?"_ the blonde in question joked, igniting a set of mixed feelings in the other boy.

" _Shut up."_ While the bluenette liked that Alois thought of him that way, and he liked the regality of the prince, a prince is just a male version of a "princess", right? He didn't like that idea _at all._ His competitive nature and pride would not allow him to be "whisked away on a white horse" by _anyone_ , even Alois. He was in charge here.

"Oh, Ciel, you're so _charming!_ Even if I'm a knight, I'd be your _princess any day!"_

_"Shut up!"_

_"Ooh..._ maybe you're a _dragon..."_

_"ALOIS!"_

* * *


	76. 1970

It was an ordinary Saturday, just like any other in the Phantomhive household. Things were running smoothly, everything was relaxed, and there was really nothing out of the ordinary at all for this house of demons, except for _one thing._ Ciel had just walked into his office and witnessed something _rather abnormal._ Something that he thought he'd _never see._

_Alois Trancy was reading a book out of his own free will._

Had the bluenette just set foot in the _Twilight Zone?_ That would never happen. Ever. Alois _hated_ reading. He would sooner wear _pants_ than read a _book_ , yet here he was, sitting on the almost _unbearably uncomfortable couch_ , reading. The Phantomhive boy stopped in his tracks and watched the blonde for a while, taking this in.

"What?" the blonde finally asked after noticing the stare he was getting.

"You're... _reading?_ Reading... a _book?"_ asked his rather confused companion.

"Psh, _no."_ Alois said, holding up the book. "I found it on your shelf. I found a _bunch_ of them, actually." What the boy held in his hand, was a rare item. That was no ordinary "book". What he possessed, was none other than _one of Ciel Phantomhive's school yearbooks._

I say "one of" for the simple fact that he had _many._ He had been around for a while, you see. He had gone to many different schools, posing as a "human being" in order to kill time. He was very _bored_. So bored, _that he eventually resorted to resurrecting one of his old enemies._

He gestured for the boy to scoot over so he could take a seat. Ciel sat down next to the blonde, and looked with him at the old albums. He always had mixed feelings, looking at them. He felt nostalgic, but at the same time, irritated. He hadn't changed in _any_ of the pictures. The only thing that ever changed was his uniform.

Admittedly, it was also a little embarrassing to be looking at them with Alois, but the blonde was deeply fascinated by the yearbooks. "Who's that?" the boy asked, pointing at some kid talking to Ciel in one of the pictures.

"An old classmate. We would talk occasionally. He was weird, though."

"How so?"

" _He liked to eat glue."_

That made the blonde laugh. "What happened to him?"

" _He's still alive_ , if that's what you're wondering. He has a wife and kids now, I think."

"Da'aw, _and you're still the same height_ , huh?" The bluenette just jabbed Alois in the ribs as a retort.

Rubbing his now pained ribcage, the blonde somehow came up with an afterthought. "Hey, Ciel. What's the _worst thing about living forever_?"

Ciel was completely taken off-guard by the odd question. Honestly, Alois' train of thought seemed to be not be riding on any tracks whatsoever. He sat and thought about it for a moment before giving his answer.

"Everything constantly changing." he began, "The scenery, the fashion, the technology,and worst of all, _the people._ "

"Hard to make friends when the day will come when you have to explain the reason why you don't age, huh?"

"Yeah..." he said sadly.

That was probably the most difficult thing. Even the antisocial Ciel needed someone to talk to, and that was impossible to maintain with his " _condition_ ". He had always felt so alienated and alone. Anyone would get sick of it eventually.

These melancholic thoughts circled in his mind for a bit before he felt the blonde's arms around his neck. " _You don't have to be alone anymore_." the blonde said cutely in an attempt to lift the bluenette's spirits.

A smile crept onto Ciel's face against his will. How could it not? This blonde, this _insane deliquent bent on wrecking as much havoc as he could,_ had snuck his way into the slate-haired teen's heart, and wouldn't leave, and he didn't want Alois to ever do so.

Looking at that face, he couldn't help but kiss it. He tilted the blonde's chin upwards and guided his lips to his own. Slowly, he was getting used to this sort of thing. Usually any form of intimacy was immediately shunned by the bluenette, but when they where alone like this, he felt as though it was perfectly acceptable, and _enjoyable._

Their lips parted, leaving only a small thread of saliva bridging the gap between them until it snapped. "And _that_ , my friend," the blonde said, "is how you _french kiss."_

Ciel touched his now slightly swollen lips and tried to hide his ever-darkening blush. The blonde just smiled at him. "I was surprised you went for it." he continued. " _Almost as surprised as I was when I found this picture."_

Holding up the yearbook they were looking at previously, Alois pointed to a photo of the Phantomhive boy wearing _shorts that stopped at mid-thigh_ taken at what appears to be some sporting event _._ Smirking triumphantly as the slightly shorter boy reached for the book, but failing to grasp it as it was held _just_ out of his reach.

" _Hey! Those were worn by everyone in the 1970s_!" he shouted.

" _You still wore them!_ I am _so_ making copies of this!"

" _Moron!_ I can't believe I _kissed_ you!"

"I love you too, darling!"

" _I WILL DESTROY YOU!"_


	77. Preston's Dilema

Warwick Academy: the creme de la creme of prestigious private schools. Here, the offspring of the social elite go to receive their education. The parents of the students here come from all sorts of business areas. Some are actors, some politicians, some specialize in various industries such as fashion, pharmaceuticals, technology, business, all the way to _toys_ , of all things. And as the children of these financial giants, they are expected to learn well in order to succeed their parents.

They begin to form connections now, so that they may gain from them in the future. Here, although it was unfortunate, friendships aren't always based on things such as mutual understanding, or compassion. Today, we see examples of this throughout the classroom.

"Did you study for that test today in science?" asked Kristopherson Miles, to his friend, Daniel Westly.

"Nope. Not a bit. I was just planning on copying off of _Preston_." the obnoxious boy replied, looking over to his ethnic friend, patting him on the back. "Alright?"

"Yeah... Alright..." Preston was a good example of friendship for the sake of profit. The boy of Indian descent was the son of the head of an electronics and technology company, and didn't really have actual "friends".

Daniel was the son of a major Politician, therefore possibly beneficial to befriend. Kristopherson was the son of an actor and a fashion tycoon, so being friends with him could be profitable. Preston was friends with Travis because Travis' mother, owner of a large jewelry manufacturer, bought _mining equipment_ from his, to dig for _diamonds_. Last by not least was the Phantomhive boy, the owner of a major toy company. The Funtom company would sometimes by electronic equipment in order to manufacture some of their more _modern toys_. Alois was only friends with him because he was friends with the bluenette. These were the reasons why Preston was even sitting at their table.

In all honesty, Preston didn't really like being around some of them. They could be bullies. Especially Kristopherson and Daniel. They were the worst. However, he wouldn't jeopardize his profit by standing up for himself.

"Are you sure you're okay with that, Preston?" the bluenette asked. He noticed the look on the boys face, and already knew the answer. Ciel knew about Preston's reasons, and understood them entirely, therefore seldom interfered.

"Huh? Oh, yeah, it's fine." _No it wasn't._ "I don't really mind..." the boy trailed of. He _did_ mind because if they were caught, he would be in a ton of trouble along with them.

"Oh! I just remembered! My parents are going to be gone for a few weeks and said I could have friends over whenever I wanted. You guys in?" The faux-blonde in the silly pink tie asked.

In response the blonde menace rose from his seat and shouted: "Hell yeah! I've been practicing in the art of _the ping-pong_ , and demand a rematch with Preston!" Alois was eager to try again, after losing last time. He wasn't going to loose.

"I'm in! I can't wait to see Trancy mop the floor with you, Preston!"

"What?! But this is such sudden notice..." The small-ish Indian boy's words were drowned out by the excited shouting of the others.

"What about you, Travis?" the sturdily-built boy just nodded in response. "Whoo! Travis is in! It's a party!"

"Out of curiosity," Ciel chimed in, "Where are your parents off to, Kristopherson?"

"Paris. My mum's got a fashion show."

 _"Hooray for fashion!_ Party at Pinky's place!"

"Don't call me 'Pinky' _Daniel!"_

"So only _Alois_ can call you that, huh?"

"I've long since given up on arguing with him about it..." the boy in the pink tie said, his face entering a shade worthy of his nickname.

"A broken heart is a terrible thing..."

" _Shut up!"_

 _"Ping-pong! Ping-Pong! Ping-Pong!_ _ **Pong-ping!"**_ chanted Alois, as he stood in his chair while his bluenette companion shouted at him.

_**"Alois, sit down!"** _

How on earth was poor Preston going to deal with all of this? He spent a long time thinking about it, but the scheduled day arrived, and before he knew it, he was standing outside of Kristopherson's house. He debated going in for a long while. So long, that his driver had already taken off. Town was quite the walk, had he reconsidered, and the driver wouldn't be back for several hours. While he didn't especially want to spend time with Kristopherson and Daniel, the others were tolerable. The boy paced back and forth outside the gate as a black Rolls Royce pulled up. Two boys exited the vehicle, one with dark hair, and the other flaxen.

"Preston!" the loud blonde shouted, nearly causing the boy to have a heart attack. He turned around and discovered it to be none other than Ciel Phantomhive, and Alois Trancy. "What are you doing out here?"

"Uh... _Nothing_. I was just about to go inside..." Preston lied. Now that he was seen by the two demons, he _had_ to go inside. _Perfect._

He began to walk through the gates, as the other two followed, the blonde one was nearly _skipping_. With a sigh, he knocked on the door, expecting one of the Miles family servants, but instead finding _Daniel Westly_ on the other side.

"You're here!" the obnoxious son of a politician said. "Now the main event can commence!"

_"Huh?"_

* * *


	78. And Then It Hit Him

Two boys were placed at each end of the table in the entertainment room of the Miles Household that day, seeking victory in the form of crushing the other. They didn't have much in common, other than the fact that they were both male, and in the same grade. The first was _Alois Trancy,_ a problem child from the 18th century who was murdered, resurrected, and became a demon. He had blonde hair, icey blue eyes, and pale skin, wore lots of purple, and was secretly dating another boy in the room. He smirked confidently at his certain victory.

The other boy went by the name of _Preston Omid._ He is a slightly shorter, shy, _human_ boy, of Indian descent, with dark hair and eyes, and tanned skin. While he wasn't especially competitive, something about how the way the blonde smirked, made him want to prove the boy _wrong_.

A third boy, Daniel spoke. "Alright! And now it is almost time to begin the rematch of the century, between two students of Warwick!" he said in his best "announcer" voice. "To my left, at one side of the table standing at about 5'5'', Warwick's own _'Blonde Menace'._ You know him! You love him! _Alois Trancy!"_

 _"Jesus Christ, Daniel, just get on with it!"_ shouted an annoyed Kristopherson, seated comfortably on the couch.

_"And on my right, Preston."_

Preston rolled his eyes at the lack of introduction. _"Daniel could be such a prick, sometimes."_ he would often think. While the brown-haired politician's son would often say otherwise, Preston was actually _the_ _best_ ping-pong player of the group. He smiled internally at the fact that he was going to _destroy_ the new-player. He threw the ball into the air and hit it, causing it to fly across the room at a ridiculous speed towards the other boy.

Now, Alois wasn't exactly playing _"fair"_ , so to speak, having the reflexes and hand-eye coordination of a _demonic apparition_. Once he understood the rules, the game was easy. The blonde swatted the ball, returning it to it's original attacker.

The other boy was a bit startled by the fact that he had actually _hit it_ , and stuck again, this time bouncing it off the table and high into the air. Alois jumped in order to hit it again, succeeding, much to Preston's frustration. He _could not loose._ If he lost, Daniel would _never_ let him hear the end of it. Now, he had to be _serious_.

Back and forth, the projectile went across the gap in between the two competitors. It flew at such speeds, most of the spectators lost track of it entirely, and were only able to see the two swing their paddles, and hear the sound the ball made against the table. The only one who could see it where the games participants, and Ciel, who possed sight similar to that as Alois', aside from his inferior _depth perception_ , caused by a certain contract on his right eye.

Neither male was allowing the other to score, leaving the tally at _nil_ -to- _nil`_ for a long while.

"Whoa, things are getting _intense!"_ Daniel said excitedly. "Alright, who'll win! Time to place bets! I say Preston will win! _Fifty quid on the Indian!"_

"Same here, I bet on Preston." Said Kristopherson.

"Preston." added in Travis.

"I disagree. I's be willing to place my bet on _Alois."_ Ciel said finally, with a smirk. "Double or nothing?"

"Oh, you are so on!" Daniel said, extending his hand to the bluenette. "Prepare to _lose_ , Phantomhive!" And thus, they shook on that bet.

Meanwhile, the two adversaries were locked in a heated battle, shooting the small, plastic ball across the room at each other. Preston now started to shoot the projectile a tad off course, in hopes that the blonde would eventually miss. But it was all for naught as his opponent caught every single hit and propelled it back at him, sometimes jumping to do so.

Preston had had enough. He summoned all of his strength and frustration into his right hand, hitting the ball with exceptional force with the hope that it would somehow make it past the blonde. It didn't.

The blonde anticipated this, and took a step back. He began to spin his entire body, as though he were dancing, and when the ball came, it met the paddle and rebounded with twice of the force the Indian boy had given.

The bluenette had seen this move once before, but not in a game of ping-pong. He saw it in a game of _cricket._ The spin uses centrifical force to create an absurdly powerful shot. The move was called " _The Crimson Tornado"_ , and was a specialty of _The Crimson Fox House_ at Weston College. How on earth the blond knew that move was beyond the bluenette, but he knew it, and had just used it _indoors._

His eye widened as the ball completely flew past Preston and ricocheted around the room. At the speed and force with which it was travelling, it could actually _hurt someone._

"Everyone! _Duck!"_ he shouted, and everyone obeyed, ducking under tables and covering their heads. Everyone, except Preston.

The boy apparently didn't know what was happening, as he could no longer see the sphere. He just stood there, wondering why everyone was cowering all of a sudden.

_And then it hit him._

The boy fell to the floor with a thud after having stopped the rouge ping-pong ball. He laid there, holding his forehead with absolutely no idea what just happened. It all happened so fast.

"Holy shit!" Kristopherson shouted. Everyone walked over to the boy to see that he was all right. When they finally pried the boy's hands from his head, it was revealed that a large bruise had already started to form.

"Oh man, his parents are going to be _so_ mad!"

" _His_ parents?! Forget _his_ parents, Kris! What about _ours?!"_ Daniel exclaimed. He had already been in trouble earlier that week for getting caught cheating on a science test, and he did not wan t his parents to scold him again.

"Will you two shut up for a few minutes?" Ciel asked, taking charge of the situation. "We have bigger things to worry about. Depending on how hard the ball hit him, he may or may not have a concussion." he informed the boys.

"Shit!"

In conclusion, Preston went to the hospital that day, and, other than the massive bruise on his forehead, turned out to be perfectly fine. He refuses to play ping-pong with Alois ever again. The boy still isn't too fond of either Daniel or Kristopherson, but wasn't hassled by the two for losing.

Kristopherson and Daniel where scolded by both their own parents, as well as Preston's. Kristopherson is no longer able to have people over when his parents are out. Travis however, received the least amount of discipline, due to the fact that he was barely involved.

Alois was declared the "Ping-Pong Champion", but overall, it was _Ciel_ who came out on top during this whole episode. Due to his little bet with the other boys, he walked away with one-hundred and fifty quid in his pocket. Yes, it is the Phantomhive boy who _always_ wins...


	79. From Warwick With Love

A sigh escaped the lips of a certain brown-haired boy, as he received his graded test on this day. Daniel Westly was exactly a "bright" boy, but he still knew when he was in seriously trouble. His grades needed serious improvement if he so much as _hoped_ to advance to the next grade.

"Prestooooon! Help meeee!" he whined to his friend.

"No!" Preston said. He was still rather peeved after the ping-pong incident. Even angrier that they _took bets_ during the match. "You're on your own this time. I'm not going to jepordize _my_ grade point average by getting caught helping _you_ cheat! Find someone else!"

While the bruise on his forehead hurt, Preston finally felt good about standing up for himself. Somehow competing seriously while holding nothing back had stuck a chord with the boy. Now he was speaking his mind much more often, and was noticeably happier. _Or maybe the pin-pong ball to the head rewired his brain._

"Ugh! Fine! Kris?"

"Hahaha, that's a good one."

"Travis?"

"No."

"You guys suck!" Daniel exclaimed. _"Help me Ciel Phantomhive, you are my only hope!"_

 _"My help is never free. Pay the price or do it yourself."_ The bluenette said.

"Fine, what do you want?"

"Your _soul_." Alois chimed in jokingly. While the joke was funny to the other children, it was even funnier to both he and the bluenette _for reasons you may already know_.

"Oh _come on!_ Not even just this once?!"

" _Nope_. I would say _'I'm sorry',_ but _I'm not_." Ciel said with a smirk. "Maybe _Alois_ will help."

"You are _hilarious,_ you know that?"

"Hey!" Alois may not appear to be the brightest of the group, but he wasn't exactly "stupid." He was smart enough to help solve murders and such, nor was he easily swindled (anymore). While he is, in a word, "blonde", he is certainly, not behind in his studies, and he hasn't even received that extensive of an education!

"No offense blondie, but what exactly did _you_ make on the test?" Westly asked.

"An eighty-six."

"Wow, Daniel... You were beaten by Alois by a mile..." Kristopherson teased, noting the boy's score of _forty-five_.

"Shut up! There is no way you got that without cheating, Trancy!"

"Me? Cheat? No, not I, good sir. I honestly couldn't be bothered." the blonde said wistfully while tapping his fingers briefly on the desk.

"Then how am I going to pass this next test?! I don't know anything about math!"

"What's two plus two, Daniel?" asked Ciel.

"Daniel, how many sides does a triangle have?" Alois asked.

"Do you know how many fingers you have?" inquired the faux-blonde.

"How many am I holding up, Daniel?" asked Preston.

All of the boys were mocking him. This, of course, did not tickle his fancy. "Shut up! I'm serious!" Daniel shouted.

" _Well,_ I'm sure I could come up with _something._ " said the Phantomhive boy once more. "However, my _insight_ isn't free, either."

"What'll it cost me?"

"Bring him some cake, and he'll be in the palm of your hand." Alois chimed in, earning him a jab to the ribcage.

" _Pass._ Ugh... But if I don't do _something_ , my old man will _kill_ me!"

Alois tuned out when he heard "Old", and "Man" in the same sentence, passing the baton to Ciel. Continuing the conversation was now in his hands.

"Maybe you should just start to pay attention in class, and stop doing things to frustrate him so often." he plainly suggested. It was obvious, but apparently, the brown-haired boy needed to be told.

"Well then _he_ should quit frustrating _me!_ He's always harping on me for 'not behaving the way a future politician should'." the boy said, wrinkling his nose in disgust.

"You don't want to be a politician?" asked Preston. The thought that someone wouldn't want to succeed their parents was almost _unheard_ of at this school. It was almost an unspoken rule that they would eventually do so, and for someone to even try to break that rule was preposterous!

"Ugh! No way! It sounds so _boring!_ I dunno what I want to be, but I don't want to be _that!"_

_"It's okay, Daniel. Society still needs people to work the corners!"_

The circle erupted into laugher. Even the Phantomhive boy chortled at the unexpected joke from the Indian boy. Daniel was the only one _not_ to laugh.

" _Hahaha, very funny!"_ he said sarcastically. "Laugh it up, but I'm not the only one not to know what they'll be doing! There's still Kris, and Travis, and Alois!" The boys went silent, except for Alois, who just giggled. "Right?" Daniel asked, his clever counter-argument fading away before his very eyes."

Shockingly, it was the always-quiet Travis to speak first. "I'm going to be taking over my mum's business." he said.

"Jewelry? Really? I thought you'd go for your dad's pro-wrestling."

"No, no, no. I'm no fighter. Besides, riding on the coat-tails of someone else's fame is kind of shady, in my opinion."

"Yeah, that's why I didn't take up acting." Kristopherson said. "I'm going to be taking over _my_ mum's fashion line."

"Pssh... _Gay!"_

 _"Maybe so, but both of my parents were p-perfectly fine with that!"_ the faux-blonde said, crossing his arms defensively. A slight blush stained his cheeks, as he forced out the words.

All eyes focused in on the boy in the pink tie at that moment. Even Alois, who had long since tuned out, tuned back in. They were all shocked at what the boy had said. Did he mean what they thought he meant? There was but one way to find out.

" _You came out to you're parents?"_ Ciel finally asked.

" _Yes, yes I did_."

"Way to go, Miles! It's about damn time you admitted to your _queer ways_!" Daniel said, slapping the boy on the back in a congratulatory manner.

The faux-blonde's eyes went wide at that last sentence. "Wait, you _knew!?_ Phantomhive! _Did you tell?!"_ he inquired in a nearly panicked tone, shifting his gaze to the bluenette.

"No. They figured it out all on their own." the eye-patch-wearing teen said with an oh-so-minute grin. "I may be a _liar_ , and a _cheater_ , but one thing I will never do, is _go back on my word."_ There was a dark regality in the manner with which he spoke that gave the other five boys _chills._

Silence hovered in the air after that as they tried to regain their senses. The boy's ever-lingering dark, almost _otherworldly_ presence was sometimes both frightening, but at the same time, _invigorating_.

"Wait, why'd you only tell _Phantomhive?"_ Daniel finally asked, shattering the silence to pieces. Ciel's grin faded, and the blonde menace leaned forward, resting his chin in the palm of his hand, as though he wanted to hear this.

"I'm sorry, but _I'm afraid what would happen to me for giving away such classified information_..." Kristopherson stated, trying his very best to ignore the figurative _ice-beam_ that the bluenette was apparently shooting at him with his visible eye.

He didn't even want to imagine his possible sentence. It would appear that _the smallest boy in the group_ was far scarier than _the brawny son of a professional wrestler._ Why is that? The boy owns a _toy company_ , for Christ's sake! Regardless, everyone knew better than to cross the boy. Come to think of it, _he rather loathed that Goddard boy that went missing awhile ago._ The faux-blonde shook away the thought...

"Fine! Be that way! What about _you Trancy?_ What do you plan to do with your life?" Daniel asked, turning his attention to the rather relaxed looking, flaxen-haired teen sitting next to the _ice-cyclops._

The boy seemed to enter deep thought for a moment, not very long though. "Dunno. Haven't thought about it, really." he said.

"Maybe become Phantomhive's _trophy wife?"_ The beam that was being directed at Kristopherson earlier reconfigured itself to fire at the brown-haired boy in an instant, chilling him to the bone.

"Why am I always the ' _wife'?"_

"Because Phantomhive has the _superior masculinity_ of the two of you." Kristopherson noted.

"How so?"

"Two words: ' _booty', 'shorts'."_

"But Kris, you're wearing the same shorts..."

"I am not, Preston! My shorts, are in fact, _longer,_ and _less revealing!"_

 _"Don't even pretend you don't like my legs."_ the blonde said, putting his feet on the table with a mischievous smirk. The ice-beam shifted it's attention to the blonde, causing him to plant his feet firmly to the ground once more.

"You are also 'gayer' than Ciel by quite a bit, as revealed by your previous statement, sir." Daniel added.

"Au contrare, mon ami. I am _bisexual_ , not _gay_."

"And who's to say Ciel _isn't?"_ At this point, the ice beam just changed the temperature of the entire room.

"I never said he was _anything_. I was just correcting you." Alois stated in an attempt to quell the cyclops's murderous aura.

"You? _Bisexual? Really?"_ Kristopherson asked patronizingly.

" _Really_. I have as much appreciation for the female figure as any other man." the room was getting colder, and colder with every word.

"Not convinced."

"Why not?"

"You? And _breasts?"_

 _"They are like heavenly pillows of such softness, that God himself, felt as though they where never meant for any mortal man to cherish."_ Why did that remind Ciel of someone? He knew that Alois and the Viscount Druitt weren't _actually_ related, but there where times when the blonde mocked him almost _too well._ He knew it was a parody, and yet the air became colder still.

"That's... quite frightening, actually." Daniel said.

"Yeah, but still, I think Ciel's chest is _way more interesting._ "

The temperature rose as the bluenette's face flushed. He stared daggers at the blonde boy, but they didn't seem to have any effect. The other five just stared at the boy questioningly before their attention turned to the eye-patched gentleman himself, and back again.

"You saw his chest?" Daniel asked.

"Why is that important? He's a _guy_." Preston questioned.

"That's not the point! Have you ever _seen_ Phantomhive's torso? He's always the last to leave the changing room during P.E, and he wore a shirt with his trunks during Kris' pool party!"

Ciel looked like he was going to kill someone at this point, if not all five of the other boys, _including Alois_ for starting this. His killing intent was clearly visible by all of them, but ignored by the blonde.

"There's a reason for this, you see. They're _**for my eyes only**_ _."_ he said.

"You are _too gay_ to be _**James Bond**_ _."_ Daniel stated

 _"So is_ _ **J. Micheal Tatum**_ _, but that never stopped him from playing a_ _ **British butler**_ _who many girls would gladly throw their panties at."_ The palm of Ciel's hand made contact with his forehead at the blonde's absurd statement. Where on earth was this conversation going?

Apparently Preston knew, since he was the only one of the bunch to even get Alois' _obscure reference._ "But Alois, he also played _**France**_ _."_

 _"So he's a cheese-eating surrender monkey?"_ Kristopherson asked.

"No, he's an _American."_

"Oh, would you look at the time? Class is over. _I'm leaving you idiots."_ Ciel said, quickly gathering his things.

"I won't let you escape, _Goldfinger!"_

_"Alois, unless you want pain inflicted on your entire being, I suggest you_ _**quietly** _ _do the same."_

_"...Yes, my lord..."_

...And that is why Alois came home with a large bump on his head.


	80. A Trial Worthy of Hercules

Today is a strange day in Phantomhive manor. It would appear that the entire garden has been turned into a garden/ _obstacle course_ two-in-one combination. For what purpose could the head of the household do such a thing?

The boy sat in a folding lounge-chair on the patio just admiring the view. His butler had certainly out-done himself in this attempt to fulfill such a strange request. The garden looked as it normally did, but was now rigged with various dangerous traps at every turn. The only safe place being the padio where the boy sat, with an evil little grin plastered across his face.

To his left, stood his blonde friend, dressed in unusually practical clothes, wearing a rather serious expression. This was due to the fact that _he_ was to cross this trechorous course, and thus explaining the bluenette's amused attitude today. The course was made in order to test the limits of his _demonic power_.

"Is it almost done, Sebastian?" the bluenette boy called to the butler via walkies-talkie. The bulter was somewhere in the maze, doing God-knows-what.

Alois was, understandably, a bit concerned about the fact that _Sebastian_ made the course. The blonde and the man clad in black weren't on the best of terms, you see. While they shared the common interest of teasing the Phantomhive boy, the butler was still a bit _peeved_ about the blonde forcing him into eternal servitude. He was occasionally passive-aggressive towards the boy, but overall, they got along fine. They wouldn't exactly seek each other out for conversation, but they could get along out of necessity. It was the boy's hope that they would eventually become more friendly towards one another, but today, his thoughts were honed in on this trial that the bluenette had arranged for him. It also was a bit unsettling how unusually bubbly Ciel was over this.

"It is completed. You may start when ready, my lord." the man's voice called over the communication device.

"Alright, then." Ciel grinned, bringing the silver whistle tied around his neck to his lips. "Ready? Go!"

At the sound of the whistle, Alois darted onto the course. It didn't take long for him to run across the first trap, a sink hole. His foot started to sink, causing him to reflexively jump into the air to avoid the hazard. However, upon becoming airbourne, he was promptly shot by several _paintballs,_ dyeing his shirt blue, and causing him to land in a _rose bush_.

The boy on the patio laughed at the ridiculous show out on by the _foul-mouthed_ blonde, and _reloaded his paintball gun_. Alois had quite the vocabulary when it came to dirty words and rude sayings. He screamed at the top of his lungs for several minutes before finally getting himself unstuck from the infernal plant. His cuts and bruises healed up almost instantly and he ventured on, ignoring the insidious cackling he heard from behind him.

Obviously his tactic of simply storming forward like a herd of stampeding wildebeests wasn't working at all, as he didn't get very far. He tripped on a wire, and fell face-first into the dirt, before rolling over and dodging a falling vat of tar. He immediately got up and started to run again as, judging by the previous trap, another trap was _waiting_. However, the blonde's habit of blindly charging forward only spring the next trap, as he stepped on another wire that triggered a small catapult, flinging pillows at him. The feathers flew as they fit him straight in the face.

It was at that point, that it clicked in the boy's mind what the tar was for. It was more of a _prank_ than a _trap_.

" _REALLY?!"_ he shouted to the heavens, coughing up a feather that had somehow made it's way into his mouth. Meanwhile, the boy on the patio was watching with a telescope. He was enjoying every moment of this.

At this point, Alois was finally begining to rethink his strategy. Now he was going to try utilizing all of his senses to anticipate the traps, and avoid them. He did this once before during his match of ping-pong with Preston, using his superior sensitivity to find a nearly invisible sphere, and his superior reflexes to hit it. Now he was certain that he could do this.

Upon changing his game plan, he was able to avoid various wires that would no doubt activate some humiliating prank, and progressed further into the garden with few problems. Confidently, he ran along, doding projectiles and triggers and other obstacles. He was doing well.

Then he heard it. There was a small " _click"_ as his foot made contact with the earth. The blonde's eyes widened as he readied himself on all sides. His front, his back, his left, and his right, were all prepared for an attack. However, none of those were the direction this attack was coming from. _It came from right underneath his feet_.

_**BOOM!** _

The explosion completely stunned the boy for a few moments as it launched him high into the air. He was snapped from his stupor as he felt the stinging sensation of being shot by paintballs return to him. His clothes were further dyed blue, now with a few _black_ spots appearing on his side _. Sebastian was close by_.

Mother earth greeted him harshly as he landed in another thorny rose bush. Upon further inspection, the garden was _full_ of rose bushes. Why, oh why did the Phantomhive boy have to have such fondness for such a prickly plant?

The burns on his leg healed before his very eyes, but that didn't change the fact that he was now missing both a _boot_ and a _pants leg._ How was he supposed to know they would resort to _mines_? Now they were just being flat-out _cruel!_ Still, the test was designed to test his limits as a demon, and as such, demons are far more durable than humans, therefore require trials that may be, in some cases, considered a bit _extreme._

Alois made his way out of the second bush and dusted himself off, wincing as he stepped on a small, sharp pebble with his naked foot. He couldn't continue like this. Summoning all his power, he burst into those familiar black flames, transforming into his demonic form. He now had two out of two boots, protecting his feet, but had nothing protecting his shoulders or _abdomen._ Ciel just watched from the sidelines, allowing himself to oogle the boy's form a bit, since _no one was looking_.

 _Now_ the blonde could keep going. Once his form changed, he noticed his senses were a bit sharper than before, including his _sixth sense._ The boy stopped before rounding another corner, feeling that charging around it would end in disaster. The boy cautiously peeked his head around the corner, and looked at the ground. Slowly, he crouched down and picked up a rock before proceeding to throw it down the path that troubled him.

As soon as that rock entered a certain point, he heard the sound of machinery activating. Then about ten different paint ball guns, concealed within the hedges, fired on both sides. _Motion sensors._

 _"Who do you think you are?! LEX LUTHOR?!"_ he shouted once more to the heavens, shaking his fists. however, the remark was most likely directed at _Ciel_ , who was immensely entertained by the boys outbursts.

" _'Lex Luthor'?_ " he quoted, lowering the telescope for a moment to rub his eye. "Now _that_ could be _fun."_ he mused with a smirk. The boy sat on the edge of his seat in anticipation of the blonde's next move.

Now, Alois was in a pickle. He had to find a way past the sensors, and not get hit by paintballs. If he simply jumped over the trap, he would be pelted by the fire of both the butler, and the boy on the patio, who apparently had " _secret sniper skills"_ or _something_ to be able to hit him at this distance. Just charging through it was no good either, for he would be bombarded by a merciless barrage of the hard, plastic, colour-containing spheres.

There _had_ to be _something_ he could do. He picked up another rock, and tossed it, and the machines activated again until the protective became stationary. After throwing a few more, _Alois Trancy_ came up with an _idea._

What he knew was: _One:_ The sensors only started at a certain point in the path. _Two:_ It took a few seconds for the weapons to warm up. And finally, _Three:_ He has _demonicly enhanced strength and speed._

He took a few steps back from the trap, and prepared to give himself a running start. The boys legs tensed up before running as fast as he could down the path, and with an additional burst of power, he launched himself parallel to the ground at the point were the rock had triggered the weapons wrath before. The boy dove to the other side, hearing the projectiles whizz by behind him. When he ran out of push, he tucked and rolled, giving him enough force to make it past the trap. Alois got up and dusted himself off before taking off once more.

Both Ciel, _and even Sebastian_ were a bit impressed at the blonde's feat. They thought for sure that they were going to get a spectacle. As such, the bluenette was a bit _disappointed_ that he didn't receive one. Still, he had a few more tricks up his sleeve, and Alois was about to run into one.

Once more the boy stopped before rounding another sharp corner, and threw a rock down the path. Nothing happened, so he proceeded. Little did he know, that like before, the bluenette had installed motion sensors. Alois just hadn't reached the actual trap yet.

The blonde continued down the path, certain that the goal was within his reach. Getting a bit cocky, he rounded the next corner without any caution in the slightest. That was a mistake. In doing so, he ran face first into "the trap", knocking the boy back on his rear.

Alois opened his eyes to see what exactly it was that had assaulted his face, rubbing his poor nose, and upon doing so, gazed upon what very obviously, was _a bear._

The motion sensor activated a mechanism that opened the animal's _cage._ Now, where on _earth_ the bluenette acquired _a bear_ , or why he even _had one_ , was irrelevant at this moment. What _was_ important, however, was the fact that this was no _Whinnie the Pooh_ kind of bear. Oh no, this animal was a _Godless killing machine._

The animal reared back on it's hind legs and roared at the boy, nearly scaring the life out of him. Alois scrambled to his feet, and tried to come up with a game plan, but unfortunately, coming face-to-face with _such a very large animal_ had completely robbed him of his senses.

Now it was either _fight_ , or _flight_ for the blonde, and with his path blocked, he was only left with one option: _fight._ He took a powerful stance, and dug his toes into the earth before charging the Ursa. Ciel, from the safety of the patio, furrowed his brow at the boy's _ridiculous_ action. The blonde had taken up the fighting style of your average _ram_ , and head-butted the creature's stomach, allowing his _horns_ to dig into it's flesh.

The beast yowled in pain and swatted at the boy, knocking him into _yet another bush,_ while simultaneously ridding his lungs of all oxygen. Quickly, the boy untangled himself from the trechorous vines, and dodged the bears own charging attack. Obviously, fighting a _bear_ was a lot more difficult than fighting a _human,_ since his punches seemed to only make the ursa _angry._

Granted, the bear took some considerable damage from the blows, but they weren't _killing, or at the very least, incapoaciating_ it. Obviously, Alois was going to need some more power. Then it hit the boy: _demons can use magic._

Ciel, of course, used the art of transfiguration in the bookstore to change his appearance to that of a grown man. But that seemed to wear him out. Apparently, there were some skills that required a contract in order to use effectively. Contracts make demons _stronger._ Skills such as transformation and _fire manipulation_ were examples of this.

Unfortunately, Alois knew _no magic at all_. How was he supposed to defeat this foul beast? Simply beating it to death would take forever, therefore he had to think of _something._ For some reason during his struggle, his thoughts drifted to a _certain_ demon from his past that helped him. One that showed him kindness. _Hannah Annafellows._

The maid helped the boy get revenge on _everyone_ by causing both his, and Ciel's butler to duel to the death, killing his servant, before granting the Phantomhive boy _demonity,_ thus forcing Sebastian into eternal servitude. He remembered the events that took place in his own garden at the Trancy manor, in his final hours of consciousness during the 1800s. _The garden_ that Hannah was able to manipulate. _Hannah did this without a contract_.

The rowdy blonde stunned the beast with another punch, before backing off towards the bushes that had caused him so much anguish this afternoon. He reached out and grabbed a vine, squeezing it tightly in his hand. The thorns stung, and he felt blood drip from his pam, but he ignored this to focus his energy towards the flower, just as he did previously in order to become his demonic self.

Disturbingly, the plant began to move, twisting, warping, growing, and bending to the boy's will. Both the butler, hidden in a nearby tree, and the young master, Ciel, sitting on the padio with his telescope, were absolutely flabbergasted at the sight. _It was as though Alois, after having merged with the demonic maid's soul and being torn from it once more, had stolen some of the woman's power._

Alois' eyes glowed an ominous crimson as the plant sprung forth, and wrapped it's vines around the bear. The creature's fur had protected it from most of the torns, but the pressure with which the flora had inflicted on the animal was starting to get to it, cutting off the bear's circulation, and it's intake of oxygen. It clenched the beast until it's body went completely limp. When Alois let go of the bush, it withered and died. He wasn't sorry, though. After all, the bluenette had just made him kill a bear out of requirement.

 _"Who's the_ _ **effeminate**_ _one now, Phantomhive?! When I get done here, I want to see that beastie turned into a_ _ **rug!"**_ he yelled at the top of his lungs. The bluenette had to admit, although not aloud, that _was_ quite 'manly'. _Except for the fact that he killed it with a flower._

The blonde trudged on, although tired from using so much energy on the bear. The sharpness of his senses waned accordingly, as he ran into traps similar to those from the beginning. He stepped in sink-holes and on mines. Obviously, it wasn't his day.

Nevertheless, a light at the end of the tunnel appeared as the boy saw the gazebo where he was to blow the air-horn, signifying his completion of the course. Upon setting his sights on the glorious end, he mustered a sudden burst of energy, running as fast as he could to the finish. He would not stop, for if he did, he knew he would most definately _keel over_.

He had to make this count. The flaxen-haired demon dashed towards the gazebo at record speeds. It neared him welcomely with open arms, and he felt at last that his victory was imminent.

 _But then it all came crashing down_ , or rather, _up_ as he was only a few feet away from the finish line. He had stumbled into the final, and _most obvious_ trap, as he stepped on a net, and upon doing so, he was hoisted into the air. The boy dangled in captivity for a few moments before he processed what exactly had happened.

" _What. The. FUCK?!"_ he practically screamed, thrashing around in the net like a _fish._ His anger only heightened when a certain butler jumped down from said tree that the net was now firmly attached to.

"Why, hello there, mister Trancy? Have you enjoyed the obstacle course?" he said with a sly grin.

" _OF COURSE I DIDN'T YOU BLOODY WANKER! LET ME DOWN FROM THIS FUCKING TREE!"_

 _"Language,_ mister Trancy." Sebastian said, scoldingly. "Please don't _gnaw_ on the ropes, it's _unsightly."_

 _"HOW ELSE AM I SUPPOSED TO GET OUT OF THIS BLOODY NET?!"_ Alois shouted. He didn't cease trying to gnaw away at the the net like a trapped rat. Eventually, this worked to the butler's surprise, _(and slight disgust,)_ and the boy fell to the ground, landing with a thud. He didn't look like he had the energy to get up anytime soon.

After a few minutes of watching the blonde lie there in a pile of himself, Sebastian took out his walkies-talkie. "Do you wish to give up?" he asked.

The blonde let out a small cough before answering with a simple "No." Much to the butler's amusement, Alois rolled himself onto his stomach and began to _crawl_ to the finish. Never, under any circumstances, does Alois Trancy simply "give up". AS much as the butler would like to thwart his last-ditch attempt, the boy's persistence was admirable. It was the kind of persistence that he found admirable in _human beings_.

Even in death, even in demonic _life_ , this quality in the boy never faltered. He hoisted himself into one of the chairs, and caught his breath before reaching across the table to the horn. At it's sound, the exercise was over.

Alois hd to be _carried_ back to the manor that day. But the trial was not a flop, but a huge success. Not only did the other two demons discover Alois' limits, Alois learned a new _skill._ Everyone in the Phantomhive household is exceptional. There are no _exceptions._

"Cieeeellll. You suuuuuuuck!" the blonde whined.

"What is it that you're blubbering about this time, Trancy?" the bluenette replied.

_**"I still want my bear-skin rug!"** _


	81. So It Was Decided

The year is coming to a close at Warwick Academy. As such, students are scrambling to arrange time during the summer break to spend with their friends. That is exactly what the sensational six are doing today, rather than schoolwork, like they should be.

"Who has plans for vacation?" Daniel asked the group, looking to butt in and invite himself along.

"Well, my family is planning on going to Switzerland over the break." said Preston.

"Switzerland? _Switzerland?!_ Why would you want to go to Switzerland in the _summer?!"_

"Probably because it's ridiculously hot outside?" quipped Kristopherson. He was having nothing to do with Daniel's silly shenanigans today.

"Yeah, but summer is for like, going to the beach, and stuff! If you get too hot, eat some ice cream!"

"You should probably calm down before your _brain overheats_ , Daniel." said Ciel. He hated the heat. He hated to sticky feeling of sweat. Even his eye-patch was starting to stick to his face, much to his annoyance. Thank _God_ for air-conditioning. That was one of the many technological advancements this century offered that the bluenette could actually appreciate.

As a matter of fact, all of the boys had long since switched to their summer uniforms. For a place known for being dreary, rainy, and freezing all of the time, London was showing no signs of any of this, and instead decided to torment it's residents with a heat wave.

"Oh _come on!_ Don't any of you like the beach?"

The blonde's ears perked up when he heard this. Honestly, the boy really could resemble a golden retriever sometimes. He had an especially excited look on his face. Alois had never seen the ocean before. To him, the suggestion sounded like a wonderful adventure.

Ciel saw that look. He knew that look. That was the look the blonde had whenever he was going to try to drag the bluenette into some nonsensical situation. The eye-patch-wearing teen didn't at all care for the beach, similarly to the fact that he didn't like the pool. _The boy couldn't swim._ He could hardly doggie paddle. If he had his way, he would just stay at inside in the marvelous air-conditioning and wait the entire season over, and have nothing to do with aquatics.

But then the blonde opened his mouth. "That sounds bloody brilliant! I've never seen the ocean before!"

The other boys just looked at him for a moment. "For real?" Preston asked.

"Yup. Never set foot on a beach in m'life. Oh! But I have been to lakes!"

Silence fell over the group as everyone looked at the blonde with pitying eyes. Here we go. Ciel was going to be caught up in another unwanted "field trip".

"Everyone! We need to get this poor child to a beach!" Daniel declared. Not surprisingly, everyone nodded. Everyone except Ciel, of course...

"We could all stay at my beach house. It's a private beach, so no one will bother us." Suggested Preston.

"I knew you were holding out on me, Omid!" The Westly boy shouted, pointing at the boy accusingly. "Then it's decided! We'll stay there!"

"It should be fine. My family's trip isn't 'til the end of summer, anyway." And thus, it was decided that the sensational six would be going to a beach.

" _Perfect_." thought the bluenette. He was not happy about this. Not one bit.

"I'm gonna punch a dolphin!" declared Alois, suddenly.

"Whoa! Wait, what? Why!?" asked Preston.

" _Those manky aquatic arsemongers have had it too good for too long..."_

_"What the hell is wrong with you?"_


	82. May You Dream of Platypi

'Twas the beginning of summer. School had let out, thus the sensational six had begun to plan their trip. They were going to spend two weeks at Preston's beach house, and enjoy themselves. Some went with great enthusiasm, such as _Daniel Westly_ , who had been looking forward to this trip since the boys had discussed it approximately half of a month ago. Others, mostly _Ciel Phantomhive_ , went with nothing but reluctance, and simply couldn't wait for the weeks of horrendous torture to be over as swiftly as possible.

All six packed their bags, and met up to go together. Sebastian drove, and would be acting as chaperone of this little adventure, while Preston provided the location. Everyone else didn't have much to add that was exactly _useful,_ but they were, at the very least, _entertaining._ On the entire ride there, the other boys, primarily Westly and Trancy, sung songs and waved their arms out the windows like idiots. They played games, bothered the other boys, and had a good time. Their laughter was almost infectious as it quickly spread to the other boys, filling the car with what Ciel would call "stupidity". However, even the bluenette had to smile at the antics of his blonde friend.

Soon the ride grew to be a bit _too_ long. Alois, who had never ridden in a vehicle for so long at a time, was getting restless. Not even halfway there, he started to complain that the seats were starting to feel like the "petrified couches" in Ciel's office. They had to stop more than once to relieve the boy of his new-found claustrophobia. He wasn't the only one, though. He was just the main offender. _At least he hadn't downed five water bottles, like Daniel did._

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity _plus a day_ , they arrived at their destination, _just as the sun was beginning to set._

 _"Aw man!"_ the brown-haired boy whined. "I wanted to play!"

"Calm down, we have two whole weeks. You'll be able to play in the big puddle." Ciel said, still grumpy from the car ride from hell. He saw a flash of movement in the corner of his eye. Following it, he whipped his head around to see that the blonde menace had already taken off down the hill, making a b-line for the water. _That bumbling idiot._

"ALOIS! _GET BACK HERE!"_ he shouted at the boy.

"Go for it, Trancy!"

_"Shut up, Daniel!"_

After finally rounding up the rascally blonde, Preston led the way to the beach house. First thing after unlocking the door, everyone who walked through it immediately collapsed into a pile on the floor. _Why was travel so exhausting?_

The three who didn't were of course, those from the Phantomhive house. As demons, they did not require sleep, so upon entering the building, they simply stacked all their things neatly in a pile to be dealt with when the room arrangements where made.

"Oh _hell_ no! We are _not_ going to sleep yet!" Daniel shouted as loudly as he could in his tired state.

" _Shut up, Daniel."_ said Kristopherson weakly, not caring at all about how close the floor was to his face.

"How can you even _think_ about staying up?" Preston asked, while Travis had already fallen asleep.

"We didn't get to go swimming, so we have to do other stuff!"

"Such as...?"

"Uh... _scary stories?"_

Everyone let out a moan at the boy's ridiculous suggestion, with a few rude names thrown in with the mix. _Even on his last legs_ , the brown-haired boy could be a complete pain in the rear. Where on earth did he keep that extra energy?

"Oh, get off it!" he said, "Just a few stories, is all I ask! Then, it's off to bed! Promise!"

"By all means, _you start_." Kristopherson said, rolling over on his side to ignore the boy.

"Uh... yeah... but... _I don't know any_."

Another chorus of moans escaped the other gentlemen, followed by even _ruder_ names than the last. Ciel had just begun to tune the others out, when he felt a soft nudge against his ribs. The blonde boy motioned for the bluenette to say something, knowing he had some terrifying tale stored somewhere in his brain.

" _Fine_." the boy said reluctantly. "I've got one." He took a breath and recited one of the many variations he had heard of the story.

" _One night, a young girl was getting ready for bed."_ he began, " _She went through her usual routine, getting dressed, brushing her teeth, and all that, before crawling into bed. The family dog would often sleep at the edge of the bed, so she waited for him to get situated before doing so herself, clicking off her bedside lamp and going to sleep."_ Ciel paused for a moment to look around the room, and gauge his audiences reactions.

Shockingly, it appeared as though none of them had heard this story before, as they were all immensely focused on what he was saying, hanging onto every single word. Satisfied with this, he continued.

" _After a while, she was woken up by a strange sound. 'Drip, drip, drip,' it went. The girl started to get frightened in the dark room, so she reached over the side of the bed, and the dog licked her hand to comfort her. It worked, and when she was finally at ease, she settled back down and fell asleep._

_However, after a while, she heard it again. The same 'drip, drip, dripping, noise' she had heard before. Without turning on the light, she reached back over the bed, and once again, the dog licked her hand. This happened several times throughout the night. She would wake up to the noise, the dog would comfort her, and she'd go back to sleep._

_Eventually, morning came, and when she opened her eyes, she screamed in horror as she saw her beloved dog, mangled, and hanging from the ceiling by a wire. The dripping noise was_ _**the sound of dog's blood dripping onto the floor.** _

_Scrawled on the wall was the most horrifying part. Written in the blood of her pet was a message that said,_ _**'Aren't you glad you didn't turn on the light?'** _ _The end."_

The bluenette gazed again into the audiences faces. All of them looked sick, and very, very much _awake_ now, aside from the chuckling butler _._ Surprisingly, the only one of the teens who _didn't_ look disturbed was _Alois._ The boy was weak against horror movies, but apparently scary stories were entirely ineffective. The boy was unfazed by sick and twisted things. He had seen enough of that in his time to desensitize him. It was _the things jumping out at the screen_ that scared him about horror movies. If the story had no jump-scare, the boy wouldn't respond, much to the petite, slate-haired teen's dissapointment.

"Uh, o-okay, I think that's enough stories..." Daniel said. The boy's face was pale.

"Aw, but that was so _interesting!"_ Alois whined. Apparently he was also the only one of the youths who actually _enjoyed_ the story. "Tell another one, Ciel!" he said, excitedly bouncing up and down where he was seated.

With a grin, the bluenette happily obliged. While he didn't frighten the blonde, he had everyone else, scared stiff. The sheltered rich kids hadn't heard many of the common urban legends, and were therefore quite easy to scare. His mouth warped into a grin, as the boys became more frightened. He and Alois laughed at them for being so frightened.

Eventually, the human inhabitants of the building had an increasingly difficult time keeping their eyelids open. It was decided that they should all turn in for the night.

"One problem: _There's only four bedrooms, you guys_." Preston said, fighting off a yawn.

" _Easy."_ Daniel declared. "The cyclops and blondie get one, Kristopherson gets one to himself _'cause he's a homo_..."

"Hey!" Kristopherson interjected.

"...Sebastian gets one to himself too, 'cause he's the chaperone, and that would be super-awkward." Daniel's brain was obviously starting to shut down. Whatever filter he had was gone at this point, and his words were starting to slur together.

"Travis gets to have the couch, _'caus I sure as hell ain't movin' 'im."_ The brawny boy has been asleep on the couch for several hours, completely missing the scary stories.

"I guess I'll just share the last room with you, Preston." the exhausted Westly boy concluded.

" _You're just too afraid to be by yourself in the dark, aren't you, Danny?"_ Alois teased. Daniel was probably the one who was frightened the most by the bluenette's aresenal of creepy stories, although he suggested the story-swap to begin with.

"Shaddap, Trancy! _I'm off to bedfordshire!_ " _he would have to plan his revenge later_. The dynamic demon duo had won both the Trancy Mansion test of courage _and_ the scary story telling. He couldn't let them get away with that. But for now, the frightened boy retreated to one of the rooms, being sure to follow behind the Indian boy.

Kristopherson lugged his suitcase upstairs to one of the remaining three rooms while Sebastian found a blanket to cover Travis with. While they didn't need it, it would be weird for them to stay up all night and then be perfectly fine in the morning, so they retired as well. They went through their usual routine, brushing their teeth and getting dressed. Ciel was sure to put on pajama pants before crawling into bed. He didn't need to encourage the blonde to crack any obscene jokes, moreover, _it was just embarrassing to him._

Alois however, didn't seem to mind all that much, putting on a pair of boxers and a crummy shirt that wasn't fit for wearing during the day. (It was one of Ciel's old shirts, with a hole in it and a mysterious stain on the collar; Probably cake.) Still, it was awkward sharing a room with the bluenette, so they each chose a side and retreated to it, not even looking at each other. Alois chose the right, and Ciel chose the left before removing his eye-patch and setting it on the nightstand, and retiring for the night.

At least that's what Ciel _wished_ happened. Due to the discomfort of sharing his bed with someone, _especially Alois,_ he couldn't get to sleep at all. He envied the blonde for being able to fall asleep so easily. He tossed and turned, trying to get comfortable. Eventually he settled on lying on his back, before feeling rustling coming from the other side of the bed.

Now, demon's have very good night vision, thus seeing in the dark is no problem for either boy, but since the blonde had chosen to sleep on Ciel's _right_ , the bluenette was having a hard time seeing him. Admittedly, his vision in his right eye wasn't at all that great. This was to be expected, of course, after having a _Faustian contract carved into it._

He turned his head to better see what the boy was up to, observing the blonde getting up, and walking over to his bag and rummaging around in it before walking back to bed.

"You brought _Steven?"_ Ciel asked. He wasn't very surprised at the boy for bringing the plush platypus on the trip, but still felt the need to ask.

"Hm? Yeah, _heheh_. Can't sleep without 'im." replied the blonde sheepishly. He rolled over on his side to face the other boy. It was embarrassing that he needed the odd plush mammal, but he figured his companion would understand.

"That's _silly_."

"How so? _Are you willing to take his place?"_ the blonde said teasingly. Even though it was pitch-black, he knew the other boy was blushing.

With a sigh, the bluenette extended his arm to Alois. Although he said nothing, the blonde knew what the boy meant, and snuggled up next to the slate-haired teen, cuddling him like a stuffed bear, or even a _platypus_ for that matter.

The soft glow of the bluenette's contract illuminated his face, slightly whenever his eye was open. It would flash when he blinked. The fair-haired teen couldn't help but stare at it. It never stayed fixed, darting around like eyes do, but this one was specifically trying to avoid his own icy-blue eyes. The purple glow vanished suddenly as the eye snapped shut.

 _"Could you please stop staring at me?"_ asked Ciel. His chest stopping it's soft breathing motions for a moment so he could speak. He didn't have to _see_ the boy to know that he was staring. He could _feel_ the blonde's gaze.

" _Sorry_."

Silence fell over the room at last. Ciel's body finally started to relax from it's tensed state brought on by the bed intruder. At last it seemed like he was going to drift into a state of glorious sleep. But that hope was dashed to pieces when he heard the blonde's voice.

"Hey, Ciel?" he asked.

"What?"

" _You're cuddlier than a platypus."_

Since he wasn't able to think of adequate response, he simply said: _"...Go to sleep..."_ and hoped that the blonde would say nothing about his increasing heart-rate.


	83. Mr. Phantomhive's Holiday

As soon as the sun rose, everyone quickly got up and hit the beach. Alois and Daniel were the first ones to reach the water, as they completely forgot about the others for a moment and simply ran towards the water. The rest of the sensational six (plus Sebastian) followed behind at their own pace.

"What happened? I thought you guys were behind us, but when I looked around, you weren't there!" Alois shouted when they finally did arrive. The bluenette simply responded to the blonde's inquiry by giving him a noogie.

All of the gentlemen had different swim-trunks than last time. They were in a way, less _stylish_ , aside from Kristopherson, who wore a black and pink surf suit. Ciel wore a blue t-shirt with his darkly coloured trunks, and his custom "eye-patch/goggle two-in-one" thing on his face, while the blonde wore a plain pair of purple swim-trunks. Even _Sebastian_ was dressed to kill in a pait of black swim-trunks. Ciel had never seen the butler show so much skin before. It was a bit unsettling.

The man practically _sparkled_ , causing Kristopherson to stare at him. While he was distracted, the others knocked him over before picking him up again and throwing him into the salty sea water. They quickly followed suit as the boy cursed and swore at them, splashing and crashing into the waves.

All of them aside from Ciel Phantomhive. Unlike the others, he chose to sit in the shade of a parasol and watch. Mostly he watched _Alois in his swimsuit,_ as the blonde splashed around and played with the other boys. He almost felt _jealous_ , and that was all he was willing to admit to himself. Secretly, he wanted to play too, however the boy's pride and lack of aquatic ability discouraged him. He wasn't the only one to know this.

"Aren't you going to play too, my lord?" asked Sebastian as he sat down next to the boy wearing that little playful grin of his.

That grin always somehow tugged at the bluenette's nerves. "No. Why would I want to do something so _childish?"_

The bulter wanted to say something along the line of "because you _are_ a child", but politely refrained, as it was out of his place to do so. Instead he answered based on an observation he made.

"But my lord, Alois is waving at you." he said, pointing out the blonde boy, excitedly waving at his bluenette companion. "It looks like he wants you to play too."

Ciel said nothing. Curse that butler, always poking at his weak points. Nothing made him feel more inferior than the butler's teasing. He instead tried his very best to maintain his serious and authoritative air, failing miserably by letting out a small " _pfft"_ upon seeing his companion get slapped with a pice of seaweed by the Westly boy.

Finally, he said, crossing his arms across his chest. "I'm sorry, but I don't understand how participating in a _'seaweed war'_ could be _'fun'."_

"Who knows? It could be more fun than sitting here by yourself."

This conversation was brought to a screeching halt when a drenched blonde boy came stampeding up to the two. "Ciel! Ciel! Ciel! Ciel!"

"Alois! Alois! Alois! Alois, what do you want?" the bluenette mocked.

"Real cute, Phantomhive... Real cute..." Alois said. "Anyways, I need you to help me make a sand castle!"

"Why me?"

"Because I want to play with you, and I doubt you would appreciate being tossed into the ocean."

The bluenette couldn't argue with that. Reluctantly, he got up, giving one last look to the butler, who just waved, and followed the blonde until the boy claimed that he "found the perfect spot."

"He build here!" he declared, stomping his foot. He looked over at the bluenette, who didn't look as though he was amused in the slightest. "What's the matter mister Grumpy -gills?"

"Nothing, why?"

"You're making a face."

"What face?"

" _That_ face." the flaxen-haired teen said, pointing at the bluenette's grouchy-looking visage.

"I'm _not_ making a face..."

"Please yourself, then." Alois crouched down on the ground and began piling sand. He became annoyed when it didn't stick. Now it was his turn to make a face.

His friend just rolled his eye. "You're supposed to get it wet first, stupid."

"...I knew that..."

"I'll go get some water, then..."

"You do that, and I shall continue to communicate with my element..." Alois trailed off before suddenly looking up with an astonished look on his face.

Curious as to what could possibly be causing the boy's spontaneous silence, the slate-haired teen followed his eyes to find quite the amazing sight. Apparently the idea of building a sand castle sounded fun to Sebastian as well, since he was in the middle of building a scale model of Phantomhive Manor out of sand. He had almost every detail of the exterior sculpted in the substance, and that was just what he had _finished._ The others had dropped what they were doing to watch him. Ciel looked back to the blonde, who returned his gaze.

"Forget the castle?" he asked.

"Forget the castle." the blonde said back, standing up. "I don't suppose you want to go swimming, then?"

" _No."_ Ciel said forcibly, without even thinking about it. He was _not_ going swimming. He would sink like a rock. The boy crossed his arms and dug his toes into the sand, as though making himself immovable.

"Oh come ooooooon!" his companion whined.

"No."

"Why not?"

_"Because I don't want to."_

Something about the way the boy spoke seemed off. There was something he wasn't telling his friend. You know, and I know, but Alois didn't. The blonde did observe the boy's suspicious behaviour, and wanted to get to the bottom of it.

He narrowed his eyes. "Is there something you aren't telling me?" he asked.

" _What?_ Of _course not!_ Don't be stupid..." Bingo. Ciel _was_ hiding something, it could be heard in his voice. Thus, the interrogation began.

"Are you afraid of the ocean?"

"No."

"Is it dirty? Do you not want to swim in _fish pee?"_

"No!" Now he _really_ didn't want to go into the water.

"Are you not able to swim?"

Time passed as the boy's inquiry echoed in Ciel's ears. _"How on earth did he figure it out?_ " he thought.

Rightfully so, the blonde menace took the boy's silence as a _"yes"._ A few more seconds passed without a word. The only thing that could be heard waves and the cheering of the other children off in the distance. Suddenly, the blonde took a step forward.

Ciel took a step back. The other boy would step forward, and he would step back. This process repeated until the bluenette saw the blonde's leg muscles tense. Before he could do anything else, the shorter of the two turned his body and ran, with his companion in full pursuit.

_"GET BACK HERE, YOU COWARD!"_

Ciel ran. He _really ran._ Ciel Phantomhive never _ran_ from anything. Had he still been human, he would've had an asthma attack and passed out by now. This was one of those times when he was truly glad to be a demon. It was all because the threat of a blonde boy throwing him into what he had called the other day, "a big puddle".

The bluenette was chased up and down that sandy beach for quite some time. The bystanders stopped and watched the chase with great interest. They were just glad that Ciel was finally having _fun_ today. However, this "fun" didn't last much longer.

It was all because of one fatal mistake. _One teeny-tiny, split-second decision_ caused the chase to end. What Ciel had done was turn his head around to see how close the blonde was behind him. Now, the boy lacking vision in one eye, had no way of seeing what was in front of him. No peripheral vision, _nothing._

He ran _straight into Sebastian's sand creation, knocking_ half of it down, _and partially burying himself in sand._ Sebastian sighed.

" _I guess not even the sand version of Phantomhive Manor is safe from utter destruction..."_ he said, remembering the many times the original house had been burned, blown up, or otherwise demolished.

As Ciel tried to dig himself up, the blonde caught up with him. "Aha! Got you!" he said happily while grabbing the smaller boy's ankle. Now matter how much the poor bluenette struggled, his was dragged along the beach, and ultimately thrown into the water. Alois followed suit, making sure he didn't sink so far that he'd find _sunken treasure_ or anything. He pulled the boy's head above the surface, causing him to gasp for air.

"You git! You could've _killed_ me!"

"I doubt it. You don't need to breathe! Besides, how else are you going to learn how to swim if you don't _get in the water?!"_ the blonde said before having his own head shoved underwater.

"Why would I need to know how to swim? _There's such a convenient flotation device right here?!"_

Using the other boy's body, Ciel was able to keep his own head above sea level. However, his companion got loose and pulled him down with him.

"Mister Michaelis? Shouldn't we _help_ them or something?" asked a concerned Preston, watching the two boys playfully take turns trying to drown each other.

"No," Sebastian said, putting his hand on his hip. _"I think they're just fine."_

* * *


	84. Arising Questions

"Alois! No! I don't want to!" shouted the bluenette boy as he struggled to escape his blonde companion's grasp.

"Don't worry! It'll be fine! _You can even hold onto me if you want!"_

"I said _ **'no'!"**_

The next day came, and Ciel was starting to make progress in his swimming. However, trying to get him in the water was exactly the same as trying to give a cat a bath. It could be done, but not without stubborn resistance and a few scratches, here and there.

"Ciel, quit being such a baby and get in the water!"

"I'm not being a baby, and don't want to swim!" The bluenette was determined to stand his ground this time. He wasn't going to give in to the blonde's barrage of nagging. But Alois had a plan, of course. Seeing that the other boy's determination, he decided it would be best to deploy it.

"Do I need to tell everyone about how _you felt me up_ the other day while we were splashing around?"

Ciel's eyes widened as his face turned red. He shouted something along the lines of "I did not!", give or take a few " _sentence enhancers"_ while quickly looking around to make sure none of the others had heard. Fortunately for him, the other boys were talking to Sebastian, asking him things like, "why do you paint your nails?" Satisfied with this, he turned his attention back to his companion.

The blonde's grin warped into a nefarious smirk. "Now, now, don't _lie_ Ciel!" he said, "I think I would know when someone grabs my _arse!"_

 _"You're_ the one who's _lying,_ you twat!" Ciel clenched his fists and tried to look menacing, however this was put off by his present blush. To think Alois would _dare_ say such a thing in public! Granted, the thought _had_ crossed the bluenette's mind, however his better sense said "nay". Once more he asserted his claim: " _I did no such thing!"_ he shouted.

"You know, Ciel, I _might_ have let you if you asked nicely..."

" _Alois!"_ his tone was scolding. He wasn't going to fall for the other boy's trap this time!

"What?"

"I know you're lying, and I won't get in the water! I don't want to play this _game!"_ he dug his toes into the sand, as thought that would cement himself to the ground.

"Tell, you what; Let's play a game. If _you loose_ , you get into the water."

"And if _I_ _win?"_

_"Anything you want."_

The bluenette rather liked this idea. His mind wandered to the many humiliating and _questionable_ things he could make the blonde do.

"Alright. What game is it?" He said, smirking confidently. This faded a bit when he heard the name of the game.

_"Tag."_

Now if memory serves, the boys had done something similar the other day while trying to get Ciel to do the very same thing. However, Alois had a trick up his sleeve. Ciel could see it written all over his face.

"You get a _ten second head-start."_ the flaxen-haired teen added.

This instilled confidence in the bluenette. Alois would be far behind him by then. With that knowledge, he took off running. True to his word, the blonde didn't chase him.

Instead, he walked in the other direction, sparking confusion in the designated "prey". He turned around and watched as the blonde ran over and talked to the rest of the sensational six. Terror sank in as he realized what the blonde's plan was. He began running once more as the others joined the fray.

The blonde was going to wear him down.

He cursed the boy for cheating like this. Now he was outnumbered, and couldn't use his demon speed without being suspicious. They were like a pack of wolves chasing an elk, and under Alois' command, they were just as effective, changing formation to form a "v" shape around the bluenette. They two at the top ran past him before attempting to close him in. Never before had he seen someone apply a battle strategy to a game of tag.

Once the boy was encircled, there was no escape. The blonde made sure of it. He locked arms with the two boys to his sides and said "red rover!" before they got the message. All of them locked arms so Ciel wouldn't be able to force his way out.

"Dog-pile on Phantomhive!" shouted the Westly boy, and they all lunged at their target, forcing him to the ground.

Obviously, Ciel didn't appreciate this much. The feeling of being crushed by five teenage boys, weighing over a hundred pounds each, was not at all appealing. This feeling he was experiencing could also be a metaphor for his crushing defeat at the hands of Alois Trancy.

"Get off me!" he shouted, more than just "a little" peeved. He forced himself free and stood up, brushing the grains of sand of of himself. There was _sand in places where there shouldn't be sand,_ but that would have to wait. "That wasn't _fair!_ You had help!"

"No, no, no, no, Ciel!" said the blonde boy, wagging his finger in the face of the irate teen. "I said, _'if you loose'_ , not _'if I win'._ Under those principles, it wouldn't matter _who_ struck you out _as long as you were struck out_. Need I remind you that it was _you_ who agreed to these terms?"

The blonde was perfectly right. He had lost. Did he do the honourable thing, and take his defeat in stride like a true gentleman would? No. He tried to run for it, before being grabbed by the other boys and thrown into the water.

 _"Give it up, Phantomhive! You need to learn how to swim eventually!"_ shouted Kristopherson as he watched the boy flail around.

 _"You have our support!"_ Preston called out to the boy as he heard the bluenette swear and curse with all of his might.

 _"It would be a better use of your oxygen if you stopped yelling!"_ Daniel yelled, as the boy sunk below sea-level, promptly making the blonde boy hop in and save him.

Alois swam out to Ciel's general location, and groped around in the water to find the boy, only to be pulled down with the bluenette. While on the surface, suspicion arose in the others.

"They've been down there for quite awhile, do you think they're alright?" asked Travis. He seemed worried.

 _"Hot, underwater snogging?"_ suggested Daniel.

"What the hell, Daniel?!"

"What? Y'know, like in _Romeo and Juliet_. The one with _Leonardo DiCaprio_ in it? Surely you've seen it, Preston..."

 _"That's not what I meant."_ the Indian boy said, disapprovingly. "We don't even know if they're _dating!"_

_"I dunno... Those two are obviously very close.. aren't they, Travis?."_

Travis nodded silently in agreement. Truly, he was a boy of few words.

"Daniel, not to be rude, but are you sure _you're not a gay, too?_ You seem a bit _too_ invested in this. Not to mention you just called a make-session between two _male_ friends _'hot'."_ Kristopherson jested, trying to throw him off the demon's trail.

" _Nah._ Girls are _way_ more attractive than you blokes. Speaking of which, _why haven't I seen any?_ We've been here for several days and haven't seen a _soul!_ I was hoping to see some bikinis... _"_

_"This is a private beach, dumbass..."_

_"DAMMIT!"_

While this went on, Alois and Ciel came up for some air. Both coughing up salty water and absolutely drenched. Ciel held on tight to the blonde boy, since he would sink like a rock, otherwise.

"Well, that was _different._ " the blonde said finally, while struggling to keep them both afloat. "Who do you think you are? _Leonardo DiCaprio?"_

 _"Quiet. You will not speak of this to the others, got it?"_ the bluenette warned.

 _"Yes, my lord."_ the blonde said, mocking the butler, who was sitting off to the side trying to keep his smile from turning into laughter.

Alois paused a bit before adding: " _Should I also keep quiet about you grabbing my arse?"_

_"That never happened!"_


	85. A Pirate's Revenge

At long last! After a few days of planning and staking out the area, Daniel had _finally_ concocted the perfect revenge plan! That Phantomhive and that Trancy boy may have won the little game they played at the Trancy manor. They might have also scared him witless with their scary stories, so much that he couldn't even _think_ about sleeping that night. That resulted in making him tired, and unable to enjoy the first day at the beach to the fullest. _For that, they must pay._

Of couse, the boy let the others in on it since his plan relied on their assistance. With all of them aware of his nefarious scheme, he decided to initiate phase one.

"Important anouncement! Important announcement!" the boy yelled loud enough to shake the entire building. That said, he now has everyone's attention, _including his targets._

 _"What is it, Daniel?"_ asked the bluenette. "Your yelling made Kristopherson _squeak_."

"I did not ' _squeak'!"_

"Who cares? I got something fun for us to do!" the Westly boy said, waving a flashlight around the room, practically blinding the others.

"If it has to do with haunting _anything,_ Daniel, you may kindly shove whatever it is that you are about to say, _up your arse."_ Ciel said forcibly. He wanted nothing to do with the boy's shenanigans.

 _"Fun killer!_ It's not just a 'haunted anything'! It's a haunted _cave_!"

"No. Not going."

It was predictable that the always-stubborn Phantomhive boy would react this way. Luckily for Daniel, he had anticipated this, and was prepared. The boy smiled.

"I _thought_ you might react this way, Phantomhive! That is why _there is an ice-cream cake in the freezer for whoever gets out without being scared!"_ His confident grin took up the majority of his face. He _had_ the bluenette now!

Upon hearing that sweets where involved, Ciel reconsidered. You could literally _see_ the change on his face. His eye-brows furrowed in concentration. Was an ice-cream cake really worth all of this hijinks? _Not really._ If he wanted it _that_ bad, surely he could just take it out of the fridge and eat it while the others are gone...

" _Pass."_ It was _Preston_ to declare his forfeit first. "Not worth it. I'd rather watch TV."

"Likewise." Travis nodded in agreement.

 _"Drat."_ the bluenette thought to himself. His plan was terminated. He _might_ have been able to bully Preston into allowing him to take the cake, but not _Travis._ The Sullivan boy had _morals_ and other _pesky things_ like that. There was no way he was going to be able to eat it without playing along.

With almost overwhelming reluctance, he agreed. Thus the adventure began. Ciel, Alois, Daniel, and Kristopherson all trekked to the cave that Daniel was talking about. It was just underneath a nearby cliff on the beach where they had played this entire week so far.

It was much different being on the beach after dark. The "fun in the sun" vibe was completely gone now, and all that remained were ghostly waters. It looked as though a ghost ship was going to appear along the horizon at any moment, pirates, and all. How odd it was, that as place could change so dramatically with just a simple change in lighting.

The place of their alleged "terror" came upon them. Ominously gaping at the moon on this night, was the cave. Daniel climbed on a rock, making himself tower over the other boy.

"Check it!" he said, getting their already obtained attention. He put the light of the flashlight under his chin, casting shadows on his face. The boy's smile too, lost it's childlike essence with just a change of light.

 _"Long ago, back in the days of pirates, there was a pirate captain who used to sail along these shores. He had many names. 'Captain Morse', 'The Greedy Man', 'The Sea Wolf', but the one people called him the most was **'Devil Eyed Jack'**."_ He paused for dramatic effect. _"Legend has it that underneath his eye-patch was the sign of the devil'." This little story was starting to make the Phantomhive boy uncomfortable. He zipped up his jacket in a subconscious attempt to shield himself._

_Daniel continued on with his story. "Devil-Eyed Jack supposedly hid gold all over, but this cave was special. Here, he hid gold that would never be shared with his crew. Instead, he left some of it to his son who lived in the area, and hid some even deeper into the cave for himself._

_The only other man to know of his secret other than his son, was his second-in-command, a man by the name of Peirce. Pierce was always at Jack's side. They were inseparable. Out of all the members of his crew, no one was more reliable than vice-captain Pierce._

_But Devil-Eyed Jack caught wind of the government wanting to take his gold, so he went to all of his hiding places and gathered up his treasure, leaving this place for last. He allowed no one near the cave but Pierce, so they wouldn't know of his disloyalty for hiding bounty from them. So he, and Pierce went into the cave alone do take back the treasure._

_Neither of them returned to the ship. The crew had wondered what had happened, and against orders, went inside the cave to search for the men, only to discover Devil-Eyed Jack dead in a pile of coins. He wasn't injured, he had great health, but here he was, dead. Pierce was nowhere to be found._

_Some say that Peirce killed him, and that Jack's ghost still haunts the cave, wanting revenge on his traitorous friend! MUA-HA-HAHAHAHA!" Daniel's silly laugh at the end ruined the entire thing._

"Whatever." the bluenette said, forcing a yawn to emphasize his lack of care.

"You dare question the story of Devil-Eyed Jack?!"

"I question _your sanity._... Wait, _did you write that entire story on your arm?"_

Daniel fixed his sleeve and quickly hid his arm behind his back. " _No."_ he said, causing Kristopherson to introduce the palm of his hand to his forehead. There was no way that the bluenette and the blonde weren't _suspicious._ Even if they weren't, they certainly were now.

Regardless, they ventured into the cave, climbing over rocks, jumping over puddles, and trying not to bump into things in the darkness, the sound of waves in the distance echoing throughout the structure. Kristopherson tripped and fell face-first into a puddle, much to the delight of the others. The entire time he kept complaining about how his designer jacket was now ruined, and blaming Daniel for this stupid outing.

"I said I was 'sorry', Kristopherson! Bloody hell..." the brown-haired boy said, aiming his flashlight at a large rock structure. Suddenly, he slowed down his pace, and let the others advance past him. He remembered that structure, and his plan.

Ciel noticed this, yet he walked on any way. Rather, he walked a little scarce of the structure, and stopped his blonde companion with his arm, allowing Kristopherson to trigger the trap. The boy in pink walked forward, still fuming about his jacket, yet blissfully ignorant that he was walking into an ambush.

From behind the rock suddenly came a tall figure dressed in pirate's garb. The figure seemed to glow in the nearly nonexistent light of the cave. He charged at the boys, yelling and swinging a sabre, startling Kristopherson, and causing Alois to jump and latch onto the arm of the unimpressed bluenette.

"Travis, what the hell are you doing?" Ciel asked flatly, calling the boy's bluff and putting an end to this charade.

The figure stopped dead in it's tracks before removing his hat and false beard. "How did you know it was me?" he asked.

"Wha?! What in blazes did you do that for?! Are you trying to give me a bloody heart attack?!" Alois yelled while pointing accusingly at the guilty-looking boy.

"It wasn't _his_ plan. It was _Daniel's_." said the slate-haired teen.

"How'd you know!?"Daniel shouted before turning his attention to the faux-blonde. "Kris, did you tell?!"

"How could I? You didn't even tell me where Travis was even hiding!"

Preston walked out from behind another rock formation, holding various lights and such. It was his task to give the "ghost" it's glow. Being the son of a technology tycoon, that wasn't very difficult.

"You were in on it too?! You guys are dicks!" Alois said loudly, letting go of the bluenette's sleeve. His voice reverberated off the walls of the cave. He was not happy. "What the hell is wrong with you!?"

"He wanted to get back at us for beating him in the 'haunted mansion test of courage', right?" Ciel asked, turning his attention to the brown-haired boy.

"Yeah... But you also scared the crap out of me the other night with those stories! I couldn't sleep!"

" _I know_ , you wouldn't stop _whimpering_." Preston said.

"I was not _whimpering!"_ Daniel shouted angrily.

"Could've fooled me!"

"I knew this whole adventure was pointless!" Kristopherson said, "Phantomhive knew from the start! This was a waste of time, and _a jacket!"_

The boys erupted into a fit of arguments. Each one's voice bounced back at them off the cave walls. The sound was _unbearable_. The bluenette demon tried to covering his ears, to keep himself from going _mad._ It seemed like the voices were getting louder and louder until...

" _QUIET!"_ he yelled. The others immediately went silent, picking up on the authority in the boy's voice. They all stared at him in shock.

Ciel was about to say something. Something about how this arguing is stupid, and they should just go back to the beach house. But no, his thoughts were interrupted by a new sound. A sound that was only revealed from the sudden silence of his friends. What was it? A look of worry came over his face when he realised what it was. _The sound of waves from before was much louder than it was when they began._

He looked over to Daniel. " _Do you know when high-tide comes in?"_ He asked. The look on his face shifted from worry to that of near-panic when he heard the boy's answer.

"High- _what?"_

_"We have to get out of here_ _**right now** _ _."_

The faces of the other boys became frightful as they immediately understood the danger they were now in. Quickly, they all scrambling in the direction of the cave's mouth, the water level rising as time passed. First, it was only a few inches, then it was up to their ankles, next, to their knees. Soon it was above waist level, but the mouth of the cave was visible, so hope was in sight. However, trouble arose when the water got higher. Now they could no longer wade through the water. They had to _swim._

Ciel was trying his absolute best to stay afloat, managing to doggy-paddle a bit, but the others where leaving him in the dust. Alois looked back at his companion.

"Ciel!" he called, realizing that the bluenette was falling behind. He swam over to him as quick as he could.

The bluenette was swallowing water. It's saltiness burned his throat and his eye, blurring his vision. What he could see, was the Alois' hand reaching out to him, and he took it. It guided him over to the blonde, putting the bluenette's hand on his shoulder.

"Hang onto me!" the blonde shouted over the now roaring waves. Once he was satisfied with the bluenette's grip on his purple shirt, he paddled toward the exit, where the others were already waiting.

Now back on land, the _soaked six_ gasped to catch their breath, coughing up water, and tried to get rid of the salty taste in their mouths.

"Daniel... I'm going to _kill_ you!" Kristopherson finally shouted, having finally regained his senses.

All of the boys had, and were now viciously glaring at the brown-haired, politician's son. Now that their fight or flight response was no longer activated, they were now able to use reason, and all of that extra adrenaline was now anger geared towards the poor boy. He didn't know that was going to happen. Daniel wasn't exactly " _smart",_ but he knew were to draw the line, when it came to fun. And nearly drowning in a cave, certainly was _not fun._

Everyone had regained their senses, that includes the two demons, who now realized that _they_ were never in any actual danger. Since demons don't need to _breathe,_ Ciel could've just walked along the bottom and be perfectly fine. He kicked himself internally for this. Why did his _human_ instinct have to get in the way all the time?

The bluenette was pulled from his thoughts when his blonde companion grabbed his hand. The boy was shaking slightly. He was scared too. Not just for himself, but also for the bluenette. His panic seemed to be just now catching up to him. He looked at the bluenette for a moment before wrapping his arms around the boy's neck and hiding his face in his shoulder.

"Alois, are you _crying?"_ Ciel asked. He wasn't sure if the wetness on his shoulder were tears, or just water, at this point.

"... _N-no I'm not..."_ the blonde blubbered. He felt Ciel wrap his arms around his waist and pat him on the back.

"We're _fine._ Everyone is alright." the bluenette cooed in his ear.

Eventually, the other boys stopped their own bickering amongst each other to stop and stare at the two. Ciel didn't have to look over at them, he could _feel_ their stares. They made his skin crawl.

Finally, it became unbearable. He had to say _something_. "What?"

"Oh, don't mind us. We see that you two are having _a moment_." Daniel said.

" _Shut up."_


	86. That Crustacean, Traitorous

The very next day, it appeared that the bluenette was starting to make progress in his swimming. He was now able to say afloat and play with the other boys in the water. This usually consisted of playfully trying to drown each other and splash water in their faces. Occasionally they'll find a piece of seaweed and slap each other with it. Today, however, it would appear that they have made a new "friend".

"Daniel, _put the crab down."_ said Ciel. He was not amused in the slightest at the boy's antics. He knew that this was going to end badly.

"Don't be such a wet blanket, Phantomhive" said the Westly boy, trying to keep the rather frightened crustacean from wriggling out of his grasp. "Preston! _Give me your hand!"_

 _"That thing is going nowhere near my hand."_ the Indian boy wisely responded.

_"You pansy! Kristopherson, then!"_

_"Piss off."_ While the faux-blonde's reply was rude, it was hardly unjustified.

" _Trancy?"_

Alois stood in the waves with a serious face. Shockingly, he extended his hand to the other boy, being the bravest of the group. "Give it." he commanded.

The boy felt the weight of the crustacean grace his palm as he now held in within his grasp. He looked at it for awhile, holding it just so it's claws would'nt latch onto his flesh. His eyes gleamed. Ciel knew that look. He's seen it far too many times before.

"Alois, _do not throw the crab."_ the bluenette said, dashing the blonde boy's current dream of seeing a flying crab to pieces.

"What do you want me to do with it? _Set it down gently?"_ Alois asked.

"Yes. Put it down, and leave it alone."

"Ooh~! Phantomhive's got you _whipped!"_ the politician's son teased, earning a glare from the Trancy boy.

"Alois, _do not throw the crab at Daniel."_

 _"DAMMIT!"_ Following the blonde's outburst, the crustacean went free.

"Like I said, _whipped."_ the Westly boy's laughing eyes gleamed at the word.

He was obviously amused this. The notorious "Blonde Menace" yielded for no man, regardless of their ranking or authority, yet here he was, being bossed around by a slightly shorter boy who went swimming in a T-shirt. That was a ridiculous notion to all who knew of his great exploits. The time he told a teacher to " _piss off_ " because she told him that he was going to be a failure if he kept up his rude behaviour, the time he punched a much older boy square in the jaw for calling him vicious names, or perhaps the time he wrote the word " _fuck_ " in big, bold lettering on the wall in the gymnasium because he " _thought it would be funny_ ". Good times, good times. All of these events specified the boy's blatant disregard fo authority. In his eyes, the authority the school held over him didn't really exist, and following the mold that was expected of him, being a male high-school student, was only a _suggestion_ , not an actual _requirement_. From his "booty shorts", to his attitude, the boy did everything and anything to break that mold, and gain attention. And that's precisely what he did.

Until, of course, Ciel Phantomhive told him otherwise. All the bluenette had to do was say the word, and while the blonde would whine or argue, he inevitably would heed the shorter boy's request. That was a powerful thing. Teachers often asked how the bluenette pulled something off.

Authority was an inherent skill in the bluenette. It was unknown whether it was the sense of command in his voice, or his noble prescence, but whatever it was, he had it. The boy was a mystery, and the source of that power remains unknown to this day.

"Please don't provoke him..." the boy said to Daniel, rolling his visible eye. Daniel had been so caught up on his musings that he didn't even notice the blonde being ready to pounce until now.

"Why? It's fun! And besides, it's _true._ " the Westly boy said finally. "You have excellent control over _your woman,_ Phantomhive."

Ciel felt his face heat up a bit at the suggestion, and, while he was busy pondering this, the blonde opened his mouth.

"I am _not_ a _woman!"_ he shouted, splashing up enough water to drown _a whale_. "I am 100% _male!"_

_"But you were so girly, the way you were hanging all over Phantomhive last night, crying your eyes out."_

_"_ Those were _manly_ tears!"

"Bullshit! You were _bawling!"_

 _"Both of you shut up!"_ it was Kristopherson who intervened. His was growing rather cross at the noise. He was rather upset recalling last night. His jacket was ruined, he nearly drowned, and perhaps worst of all, _he saw Ciel and Alois embracing_. He felt a pang in his heart, remembering the scene, and while the other boys teased the two about it and brushed it off, it was different for Kristopherson.

He still can't quite get over the fact that the two are dating. While Daniel is using it as a joke, it was unknown whether or not he actually knows anything. Travis, however, seems to have figured it out, and has remained silent as per usual, and Preston's _gaydar_ was obviously _broken_ , or something. It sometimes _hurt_ to be around those _idiots_.

The two stood there, staring at him for a moment, before turning back to each other. Kristopherson was a bit shocked at himself for his outburst.

"Clearly, Daniel, you must be _blind_ , for as most of us can _see,_ I do not have _breasts."_ said the blonde, pointing at his bare chest, attracting the bluenette's attention. Ciel was trying his best to _not_ stare at the boy, but Alois was simply making it far too difficult.

"Fine, you're his _man_ , then." the brown-haired boy said, catching the blonde off-guard. Alois had no idea how to answer that without bringing the bluenette's and his relationship into light.

Just when it seemed like the blonde was trapped, as if by some _divine retribution for staring too long at the blonde's body,_ the poor bluenette felt a piercing pain in his foot.

" _OW! BLOODY HELL! WHAT IN BLAZES IS THAT?!"_ he shouted, gaining the undivided attention of the others. He put his hand on Alois' shoulder and used him for support while he stood on one leg and brought his foot up to inspect the damage.

" _WHAT THE FUCK, CRAB?!"_ the bluenette yelled, eying the crustacean that has firmly clasped onto his toe. " _I SAVED YOU FROM BEING THROWN ACROSS THE BLOODY ATLANTIC, AND THIS HIS WHAT YOU DO, YOU LITTLE PIECE OF SHIT?!"_

 _"_ Ciel, you're yelling _at a crab..."_ said Alois, keeping the foul-mouthed boy upright. He was amazed at Ciel's behaviour. He can't remember a time when he's heard the boy use such colourful language before. It was quite amusing.

" _SHUT UP AND_ _ **GET IT OFF!"**_


	87. Somewhere On Mars

After an exhausting two weeks of playing at the beach, the sensational six packed up and piled into the car to head home. They said "goodbye" to the sandy beach, the house, the haunted cave with dead pirates, and that rather ungrateful crab that had assaulted the bluenette, and the ocean where the boys had played and splashed about in, whilst simultaneously attempting the teach Ciel to swim. Perhaps they would come back another day.

The ride home had started pleasantly, as the ride to the beach had, but as time progressed, everyone was starting to feel claustrophobic, and worst of all, _bored_. Growing ever restless, the Daniel broke the persistent silence to comment on an observation.

"Hey, Ciel," he said, "is there a reason why you, Alois and Sebastian paint your nails?" The boys had asked Sebastian during the break when they noticed initially noticed it, but the man would simply dodge the question. "I knew you and Alois painted your fingernails, but at the beach, I saw that your toenails are painted too. Sebastian's as well. Why is that?"

Ciel nearly jumped when he heard the question. How could he explain that? Demons just have black finger and toenails, that is a fact. However, telling the others that would not be wise. Even if he did, they would probably think of it as a joke, and ask, "Okay, but seriously, why do you?" The bluenette needed to think of an excuse, and _fast._

Before the lad could even open his mouth, Alois was all over the question. "I thought it would be funny to paint my nails..." the blonde began, lying with ease. Both he, and the bluenette were _excellent_ at _lying,_ but then again, so are most _sociopaths._

"...And I asked Ciel if he would let me paint his too. He said 'no' at first, but eventually he said he would let me if Sebastian did it too." he continued.

What a stupid notion. Anyone who thought about it for at _least_ a little bit would know that Ciel's fingernails had been that colour since he enrolled at Warwick, _long_ before the blonde did. That story couldn't make sense, because the boys _supposedly_ did not know each other until the blonde enrolled in the school. _No one_ was going to buy that.

"Hahaha! I can _totally_ see that happening!" said the Westly boy. The others agreed, much to the bluenette's disbelief. How could anyone be so _stupid?_ Ciel rubbed his temples, fighting off a headache from the idiocy that sometimes radiated from this group.

The next few hours were filled with these kind of shenanigans, and games. Worst of all was the _singing._ Ciel pressed the side of his head against the window, as though trying to disassociate himself from the group as they sang.

" _Let me tell you how it will be,_

_There's one for you, nineteen for me,_

_'Cause I'm the Taxman,_

_Yeah, I'm the Taxman!_

_Should five per cent appear too small,_

_Be thankful I don't take it all!_

_'CauseI'm the Taxman,_

_Yeah, I'm the Taxman!"_ the boys sang.

Ciel of course, was around when the Beatles first came out with that song. It was quite odd to hear those who weren't enjoy it so much. Especially Alois, who still couldn't understand much of the modern world as it currently was. He also found the irony of a bunch of _rich kids_ singing about _taxes._ Most of their parents do everything in their power to _avoid_ them.

" _If you drive a car..."_ Alois sang.

"... _I'll tax the street!"_ the others would fill in.

" _If you try to sit..."_ the blonde sang again.

 _"...I'll tax your seat!"_ sang the others. They had apparently assigned the blonde a part.

_"If you get too cold..."_

_"...I'll tax the heat!"_

_"If you take a walk..."_

_"...I'll tax your feet!_

And they just kept singing while the bluenette would try to ignore them. He would never involve himself in something something so _stupid_.

"Ciel! You need to sing too!" Daniel shouted, earning a distinct chuckle from the driver's seat.

The bluenette gave the butler a glare, which was _felt_ , but went unseen, do to the fact that Sebastian's eyes were fixed on the road. What a _waste._

 _ **"No."**_ the slate-haired boy said plainly, rejecting the request immediately. He didn't even leave any time to think about it.

"Oh, _come on!_ Have some _fun!"_ Daniel whined as a reply.

"I think Ciel's a bit _worn out_ from fun, mate." the blonde intervened. He knew that this was the case. The bluenette was more quiet then usual, it that is at all possible. Normally he would add his input into the conversation every once and a while, at the very least. But today he was uninvolved and downright _lethargic_.

This is how these introvert types are, you see. Being around people for too long wears them out. Alois has noted this, as he was very observant of the boy. The first time he noticed this was after the play when they got home. Ciel had simply passed out on the couch, and nearly scared the blonde to death because he _wasn't breathing_. At the time he was unaware of the fact that demons do not require oxygen. He knew they didn't need _sleep,_ so the fact that the boy was out cold really meant something.

"How can fun wear you out?" asked Daniel. Being an _extrovert,_ he couldn't understand this, just as the Phantomhive boy couldn't quite understand how the politician's son was even _still standing._

" _It just does_." said Alois, "Do not question me, child!"

"Who are _you_ calling a _'child',_ blondie _?!"_

 _"You,_ since you obviously _are_ one, ya _anklebiter!"_

"You! You..." Daniel had to pause in order to think for a moment, " _...Airy-fairy!"_

 _"_ How _very_ dare you?!"

"I'm sorry to interrupt you're little disagreement, _ladies_ , but it appears we have a problem." Ciel said finally.

"Hey! I'm not a lady! Alois. yes, but me, _no!"_ shouted Daniel.

"And that would be?" the blonde asked in regard to his bluenette companion's speculation, completely ignoring the whole "lady" thing (as he's heard it before).

" _Preston has to go."_ said Travis.

"Why didn't he go when we left?"

"I _did_ , but that was _hours ago!"_ said the boy with the distressed bladder.

"Oh..."

"There should be a petrol station up ahead, but it will be a few minutes." the driver said, glancing in the rearview mirror at the youths. Kristopherson was to his left in the passenger seat, completely ignoring everything with his headphones in. He was apparently tired of people as well.

"A chance to get out of this car for a few moments sounds _lovely."_ the bluenette said.

"You don't like being next to _me?"_ the blonde asked teasingly, leaning against the boy just to annoy him, forcing him against the door. Alois momentarily forgot about the " _introvert condition"_ , due to the knowledge being overshadowed by his burning desire to tease the boy.

"If you're going to be like that, then _yes!"_ the bluenette nearly growled.

"Oh, Ciel! You _wound_ me so!"

"That station better be _damn_ close..." Ciel really did love the blonde, but when he has had two weeks with hardly any time to himself, _everyone and everything_ was irritating. This was especially true about the chuckling man clad in all black in the driver's seat, causing the boy to impulsively kick it.

When they stopped, everyone got out to stretch, Sebastian refueled the vehicle, _Preston went pee_ , and the children practically _raided_ the station's snack supply. The store owners couldn't complain, however, since the boy's had the money to _pay_ for it all.

"Hey, hey, Ciel, look here!" the blonde called to his companion.

"Mmm?" was all the bluenette could say with his mouth full. He currently had half a candy bar hanging out of his mouth. The boy's appitite for sweets was really something.

He looked over and saw the other boys (minus Kristiopherson) posing in Union Jack top-hats and sunglasses, pointing their fingers like they where guns. While Ciel wasn't sure what the boys were doing, he was sure that they didn't know either. He also knew they looked _ridiculous._

"Aha! _An opening!"_ the blonde shouted as he lunged at the boy like some sort of predatory cat. He then proceeded to bite the end off the candy bar that was hanging out of the boy's mouth. The others let out a simultaneous "ooh~!" as the bluenette finished the treat for the specific purpose of yelling at the boy.

" _ALOIS!"_

 _"Yes?_ If you're angry about losing a small fraction of a _Mars bar_ , then may I remind you that you purchased around a _bajillion_ more?"

"'A _bajillion'_ isn't even a number!"

_"How would you know?! Have you ever counted past at least a trillion!? Numbers are infinite, Ciel!"_

_"That's not the point!"_ the bluenette said, motioning over to the snickering group of boys watching them argue.

"What? It's not like I _kissed_ you, or anything."

"You, you-!" Ciel began, trying to find the words. Finally, he let out a sigh, and calmed himself. "Oh, what is the use? I give up..." he said, mostly to himself.

" _Like a married couple..."_ Daniel teased.

_"SHUT IT."_


	88. A New Year At Warwick

With the end of Summer vacation, came another glorious school year at Warwick academy. However, the students didn't quite see it that way. Most of the students missed their days of lying around and doing nothing, or going and hanging out with friends upon walking through the front door. Alas, this is a place for academics, not "fun".

Be that as it may, there was still fun to be had, as we all know, at Warwick. This is due to the many interesting people of Warwick. Some students parents were politicians, others owners of famous brands and manufacturers. Some students own companies themselves, or were members of a secret government agency, or rank, such as _Ciel Phantomhive_ , CEO of _Funtom toys_ , and " _The Queen's Guard Dog_ ".

Yes, students such as these returned to walk the grounds of Warwick in order to receive an education (or kill boredom, if they're demons). However, a new school year also means new students of Warwick, wither by entering their freshman year, or by transfer. Either way, it is now their task to adjust to the Warwick lifestyle.

"Did you see the new kids?!" asked Daniel Westly, a politician's son. The boy seemed even more excited than usual, if that was at all possible.

"No, why?" asked a certain Alois Trancy, turning is attention away from his bluenette companion for a moment.

"'Why?' ' _Why?'!_ Only because they're famous! It's _Cecil Hauntington,_ and _Alphonse Tracy!"_

_"Who?"_

_"_ Are you talking about that _stupid movie_ you tried to get us to see?" Ciel asked, remembering the movie that the brown-haired boy had tried to convince his friends to go see with him. The movie sounded _comfortingly_ similar to his own life, therefore he wanted to distance himself from anything involved with it.

"It's not _stupid."_

 _"'Idiotic'? 'Ridiculous'?"_ The blonde suggested.

"Laugh all you want, but that movie grossed over one-point-two-million quid!"

"You act as though that's a _significant amount_ , Daniel." said Ciel.

"How much money do your toys even make?" the brown-haired boy asked. He shuddered upon seeing the Phantomhive boy's evil smirk. "Uh... Forget I asked..."

At that moment, two faces unfamiliar to the demonic pair walked through the doorway. They didn't get a very good look at them, since a bunch of girls flocked to them and crowded around them.

"Bloody hell! It's them! Dammit! those girls are in the way! _Now I'll never get an autograph!"_ Daniel complained, earning a blank stare from the other lads.

"What is the significance of a _piece of paper with a name on it?_ Unless it's a contract that's actually _worth something,_ it might as well be _toilet paper!"_ Alois joked. He didn't understand the worship of film actors at all.

There where very few films in his day, and those were all _silent_. While he did think that that the invention of "talkies" was significant, regarding them as a wonderful art-form, the characters on the screen were just that. _Characters_. The actors themselves could not do the things that the characters they played could do. They couldn't save the word, use magic, or survive high-speed car-chases. They were just _people_. Boring, ordinary people. Therefore it was an absolute mystery to the blonde as to why they are downright _worshiped_. It was a silly notion, indeed, but his bluenette friend had to agree. Actors are just people. They aren't heroes, villains, or anything but _people_. Daniel's desire to obtain a _piece of paper with a name on it_ was ridiculous.

"It's _not_ _toilet paper!_ It has sentimental value! It's so you can prove you met them!" the son of a politician said defensively.

"Daniel. _They're in your class..."_ pointed out the bluenette.

"That's _different."_

Ciel introduced the palm of his hand to his forehead. This boy was unbelievable. Alois was ' _normal'_ compared to this boy. Talking to Daniel sometimes physically hurt him. It mostly gave him headaches, but sometimes in made him _question humanity_.

Suddenly, the sea of girls parted, revealing a very cross Mr. Irons. Yes, _Mr. Irons_. The teacher had apparently switched grades, so he was teaching history to this class once again, much to the students' displeasure. The man was tall, with an angry brow, an angled face, and dirty-looking, reddish-brown hair. Mr. Irons is appropriately named, for his iron-grip on the classroom. His authority was absolute, his rules were strict, and he was also not a _patient_ man. When he walked into the classroom, children fled, and were quiet until the bell rang.

Even Alois Trancy, The Blonde Menace was weak against him. He was on his best behaviour in Mr. Iron's classroom, because in all honesty, _he was very afraid of the man._ He was afraid of grown men in general, aside from Sebastian, and Ciel in his "grown-up" form, but Mr. Irons filled him with _absolute terror_. From the man's _face_ , to his brash, loud voice, to his downright _ominous_ presence.

As such, the girls who were so anxious to converse with the new students rushed to their seats, fleeing from the man who the students' purple knight was unable to fight against. They left the two newbies to fend for themselves. The two boys at the front of the classroom were unsure what had just happened, but they were about to find out.

" _Quiet!"_ the man roared. He pointed his finger at the stragglers and yelled at them too. "You two! Sit down!" hurriedly, the startled child-actors did as they were told.

The first boy was a charming-looking boy with dark hair that held a green tint to it. He wore a green sweater-vest underneath his blazer, trimmed in red, but no tie. According to Daniel, his name was _Lawrence Rose,_ who played the character _Cecil Hauntington_ in the movie " _Devil Butler"._ The boy took a seat on the side of the classroom opposite to the boys.

The second was a brutish-looking boy, or, one who _tried_ to appear that way. He was slightly shorter than Lawrence, with pierced ears and dark brown hair with pink highlights in it. His blazer had patches of the logos for many famous rock bands, and looked as though it was _intentionally_ torn, lacking sleeves, as did his dress shirt underneath. His tie was red and had the end cut off, and was starting to fray. He looked as though he was trying to pull of a punk rock sort of look. According to Daniel, his name was _Walter Hackett,_ and played the character _Alphonse Tracy_ in the movie " _Devil Butler"._ He was stopped in his tracks by Irons before he could even take one step towards an open desk.

" _You."_ the man said, pointing his finger at the boy with a glare. "That uniform is against the school dress code. Get out. Get changed. _Now_."

After a few moments, the boy unfroze himself and feigned his best look of "not giving a damn". He said to the man: "And if I _don't_? What are _you_ going to do about it? I'll dress how I _want."_

The oxygen from the room disappeared when all the students simultaneously gasped. No one talks to Mr. Irons, and gets away with it. Anger came over the man's face and he stormed over to the boy, towering over him, making sure to look _down_ on him.

"'What will I do'?" he echoed in a calm voice before taking up the volume. " _'WHAT WILL I DO', HUH?!"_ The Hackett boy lost all of that confidence he had given himself. His face turned pale as he sunk down, as though trying to escape into the floor.

"I'll _tell_ you what I'd do!" Irons continued, mercilessly. "I'd grab you by your _stupid_ hair, and _drag_ you to the headmaster's office kicking and screaming! THAT'S WHAT I'D DO! Now march your sorry, _pathetic_ self down to the front office, and change your uniform, ya pillock!"

Slowly, _Walter_ regained enough sense to comply, and forced his legs to walk himself out the door. For whatever reason, Mr. Irons turned to face the direction of Warwick's own "Blonde Menace", who was practically beaming to himself.

 _"Wipe that grin of your face, Trancy!_ Right! Welcome to World History!" thus class began without any other interruptions.

Now, _why was Alois grinning_ , you may ask? The answer is simple. He knew a poser when he saw one. The kid _wanted_ to be the _devil_ that he was, and he knew it. Without a doubt, this school year was bound to be _interesting_.

* * *


	89. You'll Rue This Day!

Once again, the blonde menace had gotten himself into trouble, and once again he had been put on library duty. While he didn't like books, he liked the time to just _think_ about things, so he never particularly mind the punishment. What he _did_ mind, however, were the people who were _also_ on library duty.

Naturally, these are all the "delinquent kids" who always misbehave without any _grace_ or _wit_ at all, and Alois rather didn't like that kind. The blonde had it down to an _art-form,_ and here these snotty brats were, with their tiny, _pea-sized_ brains just flinging around random, unthought-out mischief. Granted, the blonde was more than just a bit _impulsive,_ but at least he was _witty, and bold_. These kids where amateurs, at best. They acted though, but lacked any finesse in the art of devilry.

And on this day, who was it to be added to the bunch, but a Mr. _Walter Hackett,_ his supposed _movie rip-off_. HE knew that boy was a poser when he first laid eyes on him. " _Look at him, he even changed his uniform like the teacher said to! Disgraceful!"_ Alois thought, noting the fact that the boy now had on a full blazer as opposed to his torn-sleeve atroucity he wore earlier.

The boy talked to the others, and just hung out rather than working. The librarian would catch them slacking off eventually, but it still peeved the blonde a bit. He put another book in it's rightful place, at the top of the shelf. It was up so high that he needed a step-stool to reach the thing.

"Watch this." Walter said to his new "friends", and walked over to Alois. The others snickered, not about what the boy was about to do, but what the blonde was going to do to _him._ You see, all of them had quarreled with the Trancy boy at some point, and all of them were utterly, and humiliatingly, defeated.

The Hackett boy, however, knew nothing of this, and thought the snickering was directed towards Alois. He walked over to where the boy was, and cocked his leg back in preparation to kick the stool right out from underneath the blonde. Alois smiled.

He sensed the Hackett boy. He put the last book on the shelf before promtly _round-housing the boy in the face._ His foe flew, and he made a small noise in surprise. Fortunately for him, Alois held back immensely. He the blonde been serious, _Walter would be missing his head._

The boy landed on his rear with a thud, only to be greeted by the blonde. "Afternoon." Alois said with a smile. "Do you need something?"

Walter rubbed his cheek ."Did you just-?"

" _Kick you in the face?_ Yeah, I did. I _would_ say 'I'm sorry', but I for one, _don't like lies."_ the blonde hopped down from his stool, making a graceful landing. "Anything else?"

"What the hell?! You can't just kick me!"

"But you can knock over my stool, causing me to fall? _That makes complete sense!"_ the flaxen-haired teen's words dripped with sarcasm. He knew he wasn't going to like this boy.

"Shut up!"

"Nah, don't feel like it. Perhaps you could _make me?"_

Walter stood up and clenched his fists. "Who do you think you are?! _I'm_ the villain of last year's most grossing film! Who are _you?!"_

To this, the blonde smirked, that evil little smirk of his. He loved this question. He loved putting self-entitled brats like these in their place.

"Why, around here, I'm known as ' _The Blonde Menace', Alois Trancy._ And I don't give a damn how well your stupid movie sold! That information isn't useful in the slightest." He took a step closer to the other boy. "Listen, I don't know if you are aware of this, but here at Warwick, _everyone_ is just as _'special'_ as you are. Everyone has money, and everyone has power. Being an actor doesn't make you 'special' at Warwick. Get used to it."

Alois is what could be called, a " _cannibal bully"_. He likes only likes to bully _bullies_. It simply tickled him to crush these supposedly "powerful" people like bugs underneath his foot. His was a bit sadistic, in this sense, just like his bluenette companion, Ciel Phantomhive. The blonde was ruthless when it came to these people, and he got a kick out of it.

"I'm not special, huh?" Walter asked, "Then why do all of these girls flock to me when I walk into a classroom, huh?! I get asked for autographs everywhere I go! How it that not special?"

" _Dunno. Don't care."_ was all the blonde said. For whatever reason, this struck a chord with the other boy, sending him over the edge.

"Who cares what a stupid _poof_ like you thinks?!" Alois just smirked at how funny the whole thing was to him.

"Stop that! _Stop smiling!"_ the Hatchett boy ordered, but the smirk remained on Alois' face, taunting him. It viciously ate at Walter. He was used to everyone doing as he said, but here this boy was, mocking him!

" _Piss off."_ Alois said to the boy, delivering the final blow. That was all it took to get the boy to lash out.

He cocked his arm back and sprung it forth, hitting the boy in the jaw. _But the blonde didn't flinch._ It didn't hurt him. Walter _couldn't_ hurt him.

The boy stormed out of the library after that, abandoning his duties. "I'll get you, Trancy! You'll see!" and with that he slammed the door.

While the blonde smiled, and got back to work, he hadn't the faintest idea that he had made an enemy that day. But then again, what kind of damage could one weak bully cause?


	90. Prepare For Trouble Without The Double

By the next morning, nasty rumours started spreading about the Blonde Menace. When he walked through the door, he was assaulted by stares and glares, yet he paid no mind. He was curious, however, and perked his ears to find out what everyone was so disturbed by.

_"I heard that Trancy whored his way into this school."_

_"Yeah, and he never gets in trouble because he has a 'special deal' with the headmaster."_

_"Disgusting!"_

_"What do his parents even do? Obviously he didn't get in on a scholarship."_

His went pale at these rumours. The blonde felt auspicious at the memories they brought up. " _Why was this happening? That couldn't be further from the truth!"_ he thought. Still, he was haunted by all of this. Sometimes certain words, phrases, or situations triggered flashbacks to appear before the boy's eyes, a common symptom of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, and this is what he was experiencing now as he stopped walking in the middle of the hallway. Everything around him seemed to be moving at a mile a minute, while he remained frozen.

He was pulled from his trance by a hand on his shoulder. Looking over, he saw Ciel and remembered where he was.

 _"Ignore it."_ the bluenette said. His face was serious, in an unusual way. Right now, he had a certain amount of sincerity and understanding on his face. Then it occurred to the blonde that Ciel's hearing was just as good as his, thus he too, heard to horrible things being said.

" _I'm trying_." the blonde said back in a hushed tone so that his voice may not crack.

 _"Did you hear about Trancy?"_ a nearby girl asked her friends before receiving the Phantomhive's "ice-beam" turned on at full-blast. They were frozen immediately.

Ciel turned his attention back to the blonde. "Let's go." he said, directing the boy by pushing on his shoulder a bit. He kept his hand there, and shot ice-beams the entire way to class, where he expected the worst. He didn't say this to the blonde, however. Judging by Alois' face, he had already thought of that.

They walked through the doorway, and were surprised at what they saw. All of the children looked at the blonde with sad and pitying eyes, not at all how the children i the hallways had looked at him. Daniel stood up and walked over to the boy.

"I don't believe it!" he said. "Not one word! _That's not Alois Trancy!"_

He was followed by several "yeahs" and nods from the remainder of the students. They didn't believe the lies at all.

"You wouldn't do any of that, Alois." Kristopherson said reassuringly.

"Somebody's been talking shit!" Preston said, surprising himself by swearing.

"Whenever I find out who started this..." Travis began, cracking his knuckles. "...things are going to get _ugly."_ The class gulped at what that might entail.

"Leave it to me, I'll find out who did this." Ciel said, giving a smirk. His dark aura was emitting from his being at an alarming rate. "When I do, they will pay _dearly_." Everyone was more afraid of Ciel than the were of the son of a pro-wrestler. Now _that_ was scary.

He stopped smirking for a moment and turned to the blonde, replacing the evil face with a warm smile. "So don't worry about it." he said, patting the boy on the back.

That did it. Alois cried. However, these were not tears of despair or sadness. No, for the first time in his miserable life, Alois cried out of _joy_. These people _cared_ about him. The blonde's sudden tears made everyone jump, including Ciel.

"Stop it, Ciel! _You're scaring him!"_ shouted Daniel.

"I am _not!"_ the bluenette shouted back. "Alois, what's wrong?"

" _Nothing_. Nothing at all!" the blonde said with a grin. Tears streamed down his face, but he didn't care. "I love you guys!"

With that, the Phantomhive boy smiled before directing his attention to the class. "Right! First thing's first. We need to start damage control! Everyone Do their part to get rid of these rumours, and if you don't, you'll have to answer to me! Got it?" he said in his signature administrative manner, gaining the side of the room's inhabitants.

"Yes sir!"

"Aye aye, Captain Short-stuff!"

"Got it."

Where some of the many answers the students gave him. Alois was an important person to the class, and they weren't going to let such a blatant act of bullying continue.

"That's all fine and dandy, Phantomhive," Kristopherson said, straightening his pink tie. "But how exactly do you plan at discovering the source of the rumours? If you don't stop them there, they'll just come back."

Ciel smirked at the question and answered it with certainty. "Let's just say ' _I know someone.'_ All it will cost me is a _Pixie Stick_."

Somewhere in the classroom sat a mister _Walter Hackett,_ who sunk down in his desk and tried to distance himself from the classes activity. Next to him sat a mister _Lawrence Rose,_ a friend and former co-star.

"Wally, you wouldn't have anything to do with this, now would you?" Lawrence whispered to his friend discreetly.

Walter scrunched his nose and looked at the boy before whispering back. If he spoke any louder he would be dealt with on the spot. "And if I _did?"_

The boy with the green tinted hair was taken aback by this. He leaned over to his friend once more. "Then you won't be getting any help from _me_. You've been acting weird, Wally. Why would you do something like that?" his inquiry was met with silence. "It doesn't matter anymore, I guess. What's done is done. I won't tell anyone it was you, but I won't _help_ you either. You got us kicked out of school before, and I won't let myself be pulled into this mess again!"

"Oh c'mon! You know I didn't do that on purpose!" Walter finally objected.

"But it was still your fault!" Lawrence said back. "I can't be around you if you're going to keep acting this way! This is a nice school, and I don't want to be kicked out of it because of something stupid that _you_ did!" He leaned back into his seat and watched the others try and get the Trancy boy to stop crying, smiling at how good friends the bunch were. He had to admit, the actor kind of felt a little envious of them.

Walter just sat in his desk, staring at the other boy. He was flabbergasted that Lawrence would just cut off their friendship like that. When they had first met on the set, they were inseparable. They would hang out, joke together, go to gigs together, and now that was over because of a little _revenge?_

He looked ahead at the sensational six. Now his desire to mess with them burned far more strongly than before.

" _You lot better prepare yourselves."_ he thought to himself _. "'Cause I'm going to make this year a living hell for you."_


	91. The Boy In The Big Chair

The Warwick common's room was exactly the same as the last time we were here. The room was decorated in school colours with images of Griffons all over the place, since that was their mascot. It had couches, and snack machines, and chairs to sit in, but the one that the bluenette walked up to was known as "the big chair", which was now the place famous for being able to find _Audrey Baines._

Audrey, as you may already know, was a small boy, almost smaller than the bluenette himself, he had darkly coloured hair, that peeked out from underneath his skull beanie, with his bangs hiding his eyes. The lad had a thing for the paranormal, and is known as sort of a nutter for claiming to see what Ciel knew to be a grim reaper, according to the lad's description. This was why Ciel tried not to get too close to the boy. If there was one person who would bother to snoop around enough to find out his true identity, it was Audrey.

Nevertheless, today he was forced into contact with the boy in the large chair. For Audrey was famous for another reason. _He would provide any information about anyone or anything on this campus._ However, the boy didn't work for free. Audrey did not ask for money, nor favors, not even a _laugh_ , unlike a _certain_ old informant. No, what the boy desired was nothing more than a candy sold by the _Wonka_ company known as the _Pixie Stick._

The lad's family was in medicine and health, therefore his sugar intake was strictly monitored; a horrible crime against all that is good, if you ask the Phantomhive boy. While the bluenette didn't particularly care for surrendering candy, he wanted the information bad enough that he was willing to do so, if not only just this once. He had someone he cared about more than sweets, now.

It could be argued that the boy could just _force_ the information out of Audrey, however the lad was known to give _false_ information to those who tried. He used his information control like a weapon, and that, Ciel respected. Audrey once besmirched the name of the school's rugby team captain so badly, that he had to transfer schools. He did it because the tougher boy unwisely bullied him.

The lad was a cannibal-bully, much like Alois was. While, the Baines boy _could_ have spread the rumors about the blonde, it was unlikely. Audrey was a "cannibal-bully", too. He didn't bully people he had no quarrel with. That made no sense to the boy. He didn't like it, so why would anyone else? He saved it for when it was necessary.

Ciel walked up to the quiet boy sitting cross legged in his designated seat, playing his _PSP_. " _Baines."_ the bluenette said simply as greeting.

" _Phantomhive."_ the boy said back, informing the boy that he was aware of his presence. He looked up at the boy through his bangs. "I think I have a pretty good idea why _you're_ here. How's Trancy doing?"

"He's fine now. He get's called names, occasionally, but he combats them the same way as usual." the bluenette _half-lied._ Occasionally an insult or two would strike a chord with the blonde, and give him another shocking flashback. However, Ciel supported him to the best of his ability, which worked wonders on the boy's psyche.

"That's good to hear." Baines said, tilting his head up to make sure the other boy knew he had his full attention. "Do you have _payment?"_

 _"Naturally."_ said the eye-patched gentleman, reaching into his book bag and pulling out a small package of _pixie sticks_.

"You must want to know pretty bad then, judging by the quantity. But hey, _I'm not complaining_. So," said the boy in the chair, taking the package and opening it. "my guess is that you'd like to know where these rumors about Trancy are coming from, yes?"

" _If you'd be so kind."_

The seated boy smiled. "It would appear that a few days ago, Trancy had a little falling out with one of the members of Mr. Irons' first period class."

This news surprised the bluenette. Everyone in that particular class had been so supportive. He patiently waited for the other boy to continue. He really did like to beat around the bush, but upsetting him could mean wrong information.

"In the Library, while Alois was serving a sentence, there were others there at the scene of the crime who were doing the very same thing. One of them, being a _new_ student. Now who does that narrow it down to?"

"Those two actors, of course. Did they both do it? Why?"

"No, it appears that the once known as 'Lawrence Rose' has distanced himself from the other due to some ' _personal disagreement'."_ Audrey said, making air quotations with his fingers. "So that rules him out, leaving the one known as 'Walter Hackett'. It appeared that he was a victim of Alois' own 'bully defense'."

"Is that so?" said the bluenette. His questions were all answered, except one, that tugged at his mind. "Out of curiosity, how exactly did you come across this information, if you don't mind my asking?"

"I don't mind at all, but if I told you, it would cost you extra." Audrey said jokingly.

" _Right._ Thanks for the information." the Phantomhive boy said before turning to leave. But before he could do so, the boy in the chair called out to him.

"If you'd like, I'd be happy to perform some damage control." he said.

"If you'd please? I'll bring you payment tomorrow..."

"No, no. _It's on me_." the boy said with a smile. If there was one thing Audrey couldn't stand, it was bullying.

"Thanks, Audrey." Ciel said, flashing the boy a smile. Now it was time for him to plan how to put a stop to all of this nonsense.

"No problem." the other boy said, downing the contents of one of the paper tubes. "I'm just glad it's not _me_ you're after."


	92. I Got You

True to his word, the Hackett boy began his torment of the Sensational Six. He gathered up everyone who had a grudge with any of the boys, and united them all under this cause. By themselves, none of the delinquents were a threat, but together with organization, now _that was problematic._

First, he began with Preston, the weakest-looking of the bunch. Walter wasn't entirely sure how to mess with him, so he just menaced him as much as possible. Whenever he was spotted alone, he would be harassed. They would call the boy names, mostly racial slurs, and things about his height. They would play keep away with his bag, steal his possessions, and threatened to beat him up if he told any one. The boy was a mess.

Next, they tormented Kristopherson similarly to how he was tormented before when he first started wearing his short-shorts. He had Preston's treatment, substituting the racial slurs with homophobic names and comments. In addition, he was actually beaten. He was worse off than the Indian boy.

Then it was Daniel's turn, they boy was chased around the school yard until he tripped and fell, landing in mud. Somehow he would have to get his uniform cleaned. The children's laughter didn't help his self-esteem any.

Travis was last to be picked on, as his was brawny, and few thugs felt as though they had a chance crushing him. Since they couldn't threaten him physically, they did so with blackmail. Somehow, they had obtained photos of him punching another boy, and threatened to use them to get kicked out of the gardening club because of violence. What the pictures didn't capture, was that the other boy had been beating a stray cat with a stick. Travis was only trying to save it. Still, assumptions would be made.

Four of the six suffered terrible harassment, excluding Alois, who's reputation had been cleared thanks to a certain boy who was partial to _Pixie Sticks._ None of the six had any idea who was behind all of this, or why. All of them, but _one._

Ciel had been pondering a punishment suitable for the Hackett boy. He would need to suffer dearly for what he's done. However, the bluenette wasn't exactly the " _creative"_ type, so he required the assistance of a so-called "Master of Mayhem".

"Dunno." said a certain blonde boy as he sat in his usual seat in the classroom. "I'd go for ' _public humiliation and suspension',_ but as to the _how,_ I've got nothin'."

" _You're helpful_." said the bluenette back. "It needs to be something that will haunt him for the rest of his life..."

Alois opened his mouth to speak, before being interrupted by Ciel. "We are _not 'pantsing'_ him, Alois."

"Yep, I got nothin'..."

"There's got to be _something_..."

Apparently, neither boy was especially creative when it came to finding ways to punish someone without causing them disfigurement, dismemberment, psychological scarring, or _death._ They thought, and they thought, and they thought.

"We could always just kick his ass." said the blonde.

The bluenette scratched his head. "No, we can't be brought down to his level. What is something quick, cruel, unusual..."

"and _legal."_

 _"_ Yes, 'and _legal'_ that we can do to him?"

Suddenly, a light-bulb went off in the lads' heads. They looked at each other, and immediately knew they had the same idea.

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" asked Ciel.

_"We should stuff a bunch of rabid weasels in his locker?!"_

_"_ No... not even close... _Wait, why weasels?"_

 _"On second thought, let's hear your idea."_ the flaxen-haired teen said, realizing that his plan was a little bit more than "ridiculous".

"Think about it. Who is someone who's _job_ it is to protect children, who gives them nightmares? Who on this campus does even 'The Blonde Menace' _fear?"_

"Other than _you,_ I'd have to say..." the blonde trailed off, rubbing his pale gold locks in thought. Then it hit him. " _Mr. Irons!"_

 _Of course._ Mister Irons, the scariest teacher on the entire campus. He would think of a cruel, and legal punishment fit for the Hackett-boy _for_ them. But he wasn't the kind to act solely on what was reported to him, because "Kids can be bloody liars". As such, they would need to get Mr. Irons to _see_ the abuse.

That was where the problem was. Bullies _always_ make sure a teacher isn't around before attacking. That's why getting Mr. Irons to intervene was going to be tricky. It was up to Ciel to come up with a plan. As the gears turned in his head, he looked over to his friend with a grin, before it quickly faded.

"Wait, you think I'm _scary?"_ he asked.

"Scary, but _sexy."_ Alois replied, trying to stifle his giggle as he watched the blushing boy sitting across from him roll his visible eye.

It was the a few days later that they had all the information ready to be able to put the wheels of their scheme into motion. Ciel was inside the building at point "A", while Alois waited outside at point "B". It is known that Mr. Irons takes a specific route to lunch every single day, as does Hackett and his crew. It is also known that at a certain point, those paths intersect.

Now, often Mr. Irons walks a little faster on his own, than the Hackett gang does, making them not cross paths at the same time. Thus, it is Ciel's part to _stall_ the teacher just enough so that he runs into Hackett.

"You sure this will work?" said the blonde on his cellphone to the bluenette.

 _"About ninety-eight percent sure_." the shorter male replied watching his accomplice from a window. "There's about ten seconds before Hackett rounds the corner. Are you ready?"

 _"You're just lucky I do all of my own stunts_." the blonde said before hanging up. He had signed up for this role because it was the most _fun._ He had his sights set on his target. Now, it was show time.

It wouldn't be hard to get the boys' attention. Well, not if you're Alois Trancy. He had _a way with people_ \- way with getting them angry. He walked over until he was only a few yards away. He let out a loud whistle, getting the attention of most of the yard, yet he remained focused on his target.

"Oi! You lot!" he said before holding up his middle finger to them. " _Suck it, you airy-faeries!"_

That's it. That's all it took for him to get their attention. Immediately, they all ran after him, sprinting as fast as they could in order to catch the boy. Alois kept it slow enough to keep them on his tail, but fast enough to stay out of reach, while he ran about the yard running through other groups of children, jumping over things, making it ridiculous.

On Ciel's end, he saw Mr. Irons exit his classroom before locking the door behind him. Briskly, he walked along the corridor with his mind on food. It wasn't long before Ciel left his spot by the window and walked up along beside him, keeping pace.

"Excuse me, sir. But I have a question about this upcoming test." the boy lied.

"What? _You? You_ have a question about a test? Have you gone mental, Or is too much studying finally gettin' to ya?" the man asked. He knew the Phantomhive boy wasn't the kind to ask for help, or have a question about something regarding academics.

"I guess." the boy said, faking a small chuckle. "Will they're be any review the day before, or are we on our own?" he asked, glancing out the window at the blonde boy below.

"Nae, nae review." Irons replied. "I don't think you should worry about it. Try helpin' that Trancy kid, or somethin'. He could use it."

"Are his grades really _that_ bad?"

"He thought the _Roman Colosseum_ was in _Greece."_

"Oh..." was all the bluenette could say, being able to imagine that perfectly. Alois had to learn not only the things he _missed_ while being dead, but he also had to learn things he didn't know to begin with. Obviously, _Claude_ never told him better.

"He's a smart lad, but he's such a clown! Always screwin' around, wantin' to play durin' class!" the man said, venting. "Sorry for chewin' ya ear off, boy. I'm just at a loss for that one."

`"That bad, huh? I just try and tune him out, sometimes." _Fact._ While he found the boys antics amusing most of the time, there are times when he pretends not to know him during class. It was the boy's way of shunning his embarrassment.

They were on the first floor now. He looked over and saw the blonde starting to loose his assailants. He needed to speed this along, now.

"Speaking of the little 'Blonde Menace', I need to go find him for lunch. Thanks for the help, sir." he said, before departing.

Mr. Irons bid the boy a small "goodbye", and exited the building. Now all he had to do was round one last corner before ending up in the location it was desired that he be in. And not too soon.

Alois' attackers stopped to catch their breath. Luckily for the demonic duo, they were also _stubborn_. They weren't going to let the blonde get away, that easily. Walter spotted a small pile of rocks, and walked over to them, grabbing one before hurling it the blonde's way...

...And hitting Mr. Irons.

It wasn't a mere _pebble,_ either. No, this was a pretty good size stone that had just struck the man upon his noggin. Mr. Irons clasped the spot were he had been hit, and stepped back a bit, trying to regain his senses. Obviously, Walter wasn't going to bowl for the school cricket team anytime soon.

" _RIGHT, WHO THREW THAT?!"_ the man bellowed. The entire yard went silent in that moment. The man laid eyes on the Hackett boy, knowing that by the trajectory, it _had_ to be him.

" _YOU_." he said, pointing his finger at the boy before marching right up to him. " _What d'ya think you're doin', throwin' shit like that?!"_

"Uh, well, I... uh" was all the cowering boy could manage to utter.

" _WELL?!"_

_"I, but... T-Trancy, he..."_

_"'Trancy?!' Trancy ain't got nuthin' to do with it! I'm askin'_ _**you** _ _why you did it you stupid pillock!"_

The boy couldn't say a word. He was too scared. This man looked like he was going to crush the boy given the first opportunity. This made the man's nearly nonexistent patience grow even thinner.

"Right!" he said, grabbing the boy by the collar of his shirt. "You're commin' with me! We'll have us a little chat with the headmaster! Maybe even give you the ruler, _if you're lucky!"_

As soon as the two disappeared into the building, the children erupted into cheers. Apparently, the Sensational Six weren't the only ones being harassed. Almost everyone had been tormented by Walter at this point. Alois smiled, and gave a bow at the applause, before catching a glimpse of a certain someone in the corner of his eye.

"Ciel!" he said, running up to the boy. He stopped himself from hugging the boy in public, as difficult as it was for him. "We did it!"

"Not yet." the bluenette said. "We don't know for sure what's going to happen in the headmaster's office."

_"Must you always be so cynical?"_

" _Naturally."_ he said to the blonde, who in turn gave him a pout. Ciel took a step forward and pecked the other boy on the lips. _"Got you."_

Alois stood there for a few moments before realizing what Ciel had just done. He had just beaten the blonde at his favourite "game". Suddenly his cheeks flushed red.

"What did you do that for?! What if somebody _saw_?!" he asked.

"I felt like it, and _let them_." the bluenette replied plainly.

"What happened to _'Mister Prude'?"_ Alois muttered.

 _"_ I don't really know... _It just doesn't seem to matter anymore_."

If Ciel was going to protect Alois from these things, he might as well do it _properly, 'like a man'._ To do this, he was willing to step out of the shadows just this once. Besides, _he just couldn't resist that blonde's pouting face._


	93. Oh My

Over the next few hours, each one of the Sensational Six was called one by one to the principal's office, each shedding more light on Walter's crimes against the student body than the last. After compiling an immense bounty of evidence against him, the school made the decision to expel mister Walter Hackett. This was news for the population of Warwick. Even more so for a certain Lawrence Rose.

The boy had hair with an odd green tint to it that stopped just before his shoulders, green eyes of an ever darker hue and pale skin. The colour that he chose for the trimming on his blazer was red, and while he wore no tie, he wore a green sweater vest that distracted any eagle-eye teachers who might bust him for it from that fact.

Lawrence was the Hackett boy's co-star, and the protagonist of the film "Devil Butler," thus he had gotten to know the boy a bit. They were good friends until the other lad decided he wanted to be a delinquent for whatever reason, getting them both expelled from their previous school. The green gent didn't appreciate that very muchly, which is utterly understandable.

Still, he was a bit sad that Walter had to go, since he himself hadn't made any actual "friends" yet. He had fans, but those aren't' the same, now are they? He rather liked the idea of hanging out with somebody without being begged for an autograph, or asked when the sequel is coming out, or if he's single.

Oh, how he envied the Sensational Six for their wonderful friendship. He longed to be around people who just genuinely enjoy each other's company like that. He wanted to go over and talk to them, but alas, the large group intimidated him somewhat, making him unable to take a single step forward. Thus, he settled with simply listening in on their conversation.

"That is well shameful!" said the boy with brown hair, otherwise known as "Daniel". "How can you not know who Lady Gaga is? You're the one who wrote 'The Gagaian Law' on the board in math last year!"

"Yeah, then you jumped out a window." said a brawny boy named "Travis". Another boy spoke up, this one being an Idian boy who went by the name "Preston".

"I thought for sure you'd be a Lady Gaga fan, Alois." he said.

"Piss off! If I don't know, then I don't know. It doesn't matter how. I just heard the song. I didn't know who it was by." a third boy said, a blonde named "Alois", objectively while crossing his arms.

"Alright, you have to listen to her now." a fourth chimed in. He was a boy with bleached hair and a pink tie who went by the name of "Kristopherson". The boy handed the natural blonde his headphones, attached to an iPod that matched his tie. Reluctantly, Alois dawned the electronics and tuned in, sitting still.

Fow a few moments, all of the six sat in their seats and stared at the boy, awaiting his response. The blonde boy sat perfectly still as the song started, paying as much attention to it as he could. Before long, he was tapping his foot, then he nodded his head to the beat that only he could hear. Soon he was full-out dancing while seated in his chair. He shook and wiggled in the seat, letting the others know that the artist had the "Trancy-Approval".

"Uh-oh, Kris." A bluenette boy wearing an eye-patch said, shifting his eyes from the boy excitedly dancing in his chair to the faux-blonde, whilst wearing an ever-so small, amused expression on his face.. "Alois has broken out his dance. You might not get your iPod back now."

"He better give it back! Do you know what I went through to get this thing in this colour? I had to tell the clerk I was picking it up for my sister." said Kristopherson. It wasn't doubtful in the slightest that his story was true.

"Why an iPod? Why didn't you get a Zune?" Preston asked.

"I have no idea what that is..."

"Nevermind."

Suddenly, the blonde stopped moving and scrunched his eyebrows in confusion, tilting his head slightly.

"What is it, Alois?" asked the bluenette.

"What's this One Direction crap?" the blonde asked.

"Don't listen to that!" shouted Kristopherson as he reached for the device, only to have it dangled just out of his reach.

"Hey, these guys are pretty cute. Which one's your favourite, Kris?" Alois asked teasingly, looking at the cover-art the device displayed to him. He giggled as he saw the faux-blonde's face flush as pink as his silly tie.

"Alois, don't torment Kristopherson." Ciel scolded. He wasn't very energetic in doing so, but with Alois, he didn't really have to be.

"Yes, dear." the blonde boy said while returning the MP3 player to it's rightful owner. Now it was the bluenette's turn to flush. The others just looked at him and grinned.

Soon the feeling of having all eyes on him became too much to bear. The bluenette cleared his throat and uttered a simple "What?"

"Just waiting for you to say something like, 'What the hell?', "Stop saying shit like that!', or something." Daniel said.

"I don't really care." Ciel replied, suddenly finding the window extremely fascinating.

It was Alois who spoke next, flashing a big grin. "I love you too, precious."

There was hesitation before Ciel answered. "Was the 'precious' really necessary?"

"Naturally." The single word that the blonde uttered was met with the rolling of the other boy's single visible eye.

"Ah-hah! A confession!" The bluenette was in turn, greeted by the Westly boy's finger being pointed in his direction in an accusing manner.

"I hardly think that qualifies as a 'confession', Daniel." said the boy in the pink tie.

"It's a confession of what, exactly?" the bluenette inquired, trying to escape the blonde boy's mischievous grin.

"A confession of your undying love for Alois!" Daniel declared.

"No it isn't." Ciel said plainly. He showed no hint of being flustered aside from the slight pink hue of his cheeks.

"Oh come on! Are you blind?!" the politician's son asked, exasperated at how stubborn this boy was.

"No, but you are." the bluenette said, taking a deep breath. "Alois and I have been 'an item' for quite some time, now." His blush deepened a bit, but his expression remained the same. Of course he was a bit unsettled by putting this out in the open.

Having your heart exposed for all to see does make one a bit vulnerable, but the fact of the matter was, part of him wanted them to know. He wanted it to be known that Alois was his, and his alone. He had grown tired of watching as random girls and boys flirted with the blonde at every given opportunity. The green beast simply wasn't his friend, nor did he want it to be.

Ciel also thought about how the blonde felt, and how he obviously was pained by the fact that he couldn't openly flirt with the bluenette in public, being only limited to these small "jokes" every now and then. But they weren't "jokes". Alois was perfectly serious when he said these things.

Three of the six went silent and stared in shock, for they had no idea. They knew the two had feelings for each other, but they didn't know that they were actually "together", apart from Kristopherson, that is. The faux-blonde's emotions were mixed at the declaration. He was happy for his friends, but at the same time, sad that even the slightest chance that the two would split up was gone.

It was evident on his face, sparking a reaction from Daniel. The Westly boy pat him on the back and said: "Ts'alright, mate. There's other fish in the big gay sea."

"Shut up."

"For how long?" Preston asked, turning his attention to the blonde and the bluenette.

"A while." said the bluenette nonchalantly. It was his policy not to make a big deal of these things. He kept up this farce until the moment when a certain mischievous, blonde teenager sat in his lap. "G-get off!"

"But I want a hug! What's the point of being public if we can't even hug?" Alois said with mock innocence.

"This is not a 'hug', Alois!" the bluenette's face was on fire at this point. Never had he been so embarrassed in his life.

"And to think," Daniel began, "we let those two share a room at the beach..."

Alois giggled before Ciel could start yelling again. "You make it sound dirty! Nothing happened at all! Not while Steven was watching!"

"Who's 'Steven'?"

"My stuffed Platypus."

Daniel's eyes wandered over to the bluenette boy who was struggling under the blonde's weight. "Wow, Phantomhive..." the brown-haired boy said, "cock-blocked by a platypus... That's really something... Sorry, man..." His fake sympathy and teasing made The Queen's Gaurd-Dog bark.

"SHUT UP!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did y'all know that I have a tumblr? The handle is "hateweasel," same on here and on FF. There's spoilers on there, though. Lot's of 'em That might not be a good idea if you want to know everything as you progress in the story. 
> 
> I do post drawings of characters sometimes, but a lot of characters that haven't shown up yet in the story. Some that are random and will never be used. I have a habit of designing characters and being just like "Somebody take them from me! They're not doing anything!" 
> 
> Eh, follow, or don't. It doesn't hurt my feelings if you don't want spoilers. I respect that. Just a heads' up, though.
> 
> Until the next chapter, my duckies~!


	94. Evil Girls and Evil Bushes

Warwick Academy: where the children of the upper class of great country of Great Britain go to receive their education. Here are the son and daughter's of important people, as such, Warwick Academy has produced important people of Britain. Here are future actors, bankers, politicians, CEOs of companies, et _cetera_. Some truly gifted students get a head start on their careers, such as the child actor, _Lawrence Rose,_ or the CEO of the _Funtom Toy Company_ , _Ciel Phantomhive._ Yes, every day at Warwick is extraordinary. The children are always up to something at Warwick. Take this day for example, while it was extraordinary, it wasn't so in a sense that was _good._

A dark cloud hung over the school as a new menace lurked within the hallways. This new threat was in the form of a girl named _Cassandra Bates,_ who was just starting her academic career at the school that day. Like the previously mentioned boys, this girl had a head-start on her career, as well, being the owner of a large investment company.

Cassandra had reddish hair that reached slightly past her shoulders, and always seemed to harbor a scowl across her face. The young lady's most striking physical aspect, however, was her _left eye_.

That eye had a pentacle design and it was said that the insignia was merely a _contact lens._ Other student thought that the idea was brilliant, and began purchasing their own coloured contacts with intricate designs on them. _But we know better_.

At her side was her loyal maid (more like, "indentured servant"), who was granted admission into the school on the condition that her tuition be fully paid. The lass had long, straight black hair that reached past the middle of her back, and eyes that were an odd shade of garnet. Her name was _August Remy._ She walked along the hallways with her mistress, carrying her bag for her, silently, until spoken to.

"August, was the Clifton deal ever dealt with?" Cassandra asked suddenly.

" _Yes, mistress_. The deal was sealed during lunch." replied the maid, answering the question quickly.

"It's about time. I thought for sure that they would back out again." and thus, they returned to walking to their World History class in silence.

They walked into the classroom- well, Cassandra did. August froze the moment that the door was opened. She stared straight ahead, as her mistress turned around.

" _August!_ What are you doing?" the young mistress asked impatiently, snapping the other girl out of her trance. August blinked and looked over to her mistress, who was currently planting her hand on her hip, and tapping her foot.

"Nothing." said the maid as she followed Cassandra to a nearby seat and sat down next to her.

August, of course, _lied_ to her mistress. There was _something._ Her eyes wandered to a certain corner of the room, and focused on a group of boys. Two boys in particular, a blonde boy and another boy wearing an eye-patch with hair of on awkward shade of blue.

The bluenette noticed her, and nudged his companion in the ribs, thus she gained his attention as well. She looked away as the two did this. Staring is quite _rude_ , you see. She knew of course that the boys were able to sense her presence as well, if not just as quickly as she noticed theirs. After all, _they were the same kind._

Meanwhile, the group of boys at the other end of the room conversed, while the two boys conversed amongst themselves.

"What is she? Human? Demon? Something else?" _asked_ the blonde boy to the other in a hushed tone so the rest of the six couldn't hear.

"Definately a _demon_. The girl next to her seems to have a contract with her, so she _might_ not be any trouble." replied the bluenette.

"' _Might'?_ There is no _'might'_. These things _always_ lead to _trouble,_ Ciel."

" _True."_ said Ciel, just as it was noticed that they weren't including themselves in the other boys' conversation.

"Hey," said Daniel, shaking the bluenette's shoulder to get his attention. "What're you two talkin' about over here by yourselves?" The lad wiggled his eyebrows suggestively at that last part.

" _Nothing_." the bluenette said, obviously not convincing the Westly boy.

Just as Daniel was about to call his bluff, Alois opened his mouth to speak. " _The bushes outside the front of the school look like dicks."_ he said, immediately getting everyone's attention, and successfully changing the topic.

"What?!" asked Kristopherson, only hearing that fragment of the conversation. "What about _bushes and dicks?"_

 _"The bushes outside the front of the school look like dicks!"_ the blonde repeated. "Haven't you noticed how they're cut? I assume it's supposed to be ' _artistic'_ , but it makes them look like _dick-sculptures."_

Ciel couldn't deny the urge to spontaneously smack his own forehead at the observation. But then again, remembering those bushes. _Alois was one-hundred percent correct._ A blush formed on the bluenette's cheeks.

 _"Only you could notice a thing like that, Trancy..."_ Kristopherson said, concealing his own blush a bit more effectively than Ciel was.

"Henceforth, _all of you will look of those bushes, and only think of dicks_." the blonde said, crossing his arms. He looked almost _proud_ of himself.

" _Alright,_ to the next person to say the word 'dick', I wish to inform you that upon doing so, you will be inciting my wrath, and I will have to punish you for doing so in a cruel and unusual manner _."_ Ciel warned the group. The bluenette was now thoroughly tired of the word. His words inspired the other boys to remain silent, all of them, but _the Blonde Menace._

"Ooh! _Kinky."_ he said with a smirk. He said it while looking the boy _straight in the eye,_ much to the lad's annoyance.

Soon the bluenette boy had the source of his burning annoyance and _embarrassment_ in a headlock, and mashed his knuckles against the boy's scalp, effectively giving Alois his _second_ recorded _noogie._

"Now, now, you two!" Daniel began, trying to stifle his laughter. " _Save that for after school!"_ The blonde and the bluenette both went red at the implication, causing the others to laugh.

"What _idiots_." Cassandra muttered, witnessing the exchange.

August looked back at the group of boys. Where those two " _idiots"_ really demons? They certainly didn't _seem_ like it. She turned her focus to the front of the room when the teacher walked in.

"Right! Sit, sit, sit! And for God's sake, _shut up!"_ the man at the front of the room bellowed. "I'm starting class now, so quit pissing around!"

As class droned on, both the boys and the two girls couldn't get one thing out of their heads. _The bushes at the front of the school really did look like genitals._


	95. Know Thy Neighbour

The day wore on, slowly, but surely. The two boys walked into their Chemistry class as they usually did, and took their seats. Sure enough, _it just so happened_ that Cassandra and her loyal servant had the very same class.

"I wonder if they're stalking us..." the blonde said jokingly to his companion.

"I doubt it. For what purpose would they have to do that?" Ciel asked the other boy, tilting his head slightly.

The blonde looked at the boy with a condescending look on his face. " _Seriously?_ I could think of about _ten."_ he said, listing off the reasons.

What if she had a grudge against the Funtom Company, somehow? What if Ciel had got her father locked up for laundering money? There were so many "what if's" that occurred to the blonde, and all of them made him want to _hide the kids, hide his platypus, and hide his "husband", because he knew the lass was going to cause something out there._

In response to Alois' ridiculous claims, ranging from the semi-realistic to the _absolutely absurd_ , all the bluenette could do was roll his eye. "Something makes me _doubt_ that _she is a pawn of Satan's to finally claim my soul_ , Alois."

 _"It could happen_." the blonde said plainly as the teacher walked in.

" _Afternoon,_ class." the instructor said, carrying a stack of papers. "Today, we'll be working with chemicals! Doesn't that sound _fun?"_ The class let out a simultaneous moan. Anytime that question was asked, everything turned out to be overwhelmingly boring. "Now, I'm passing out the instructions now. _Don't stray from them if you want to keep your eyebrows."_ the woman instructed, handing a sheet from the pile that she was barely containing in her arms to each student.

After that was done, the instructor put the extras on her desk before turning back to the class. "Now, I've been noticing that everyone always pick the same people to pair off with, so today, we're going to try something a little _different_." Another moan escaped the children's throats. "Now, in this hat, I have the names of everyone in the class, I want you to draw _one_ , and that is who your partner will be. Got it?"

She came around to all of the tables before stopping in front of the demonic duo. The bluenette was the first to draw, pulling out the folded piece of paper, and the blonde did the same.

" _August Remy."_ the bluenette read off, looking up and making eye contact with the female demon, who just smiled and waved at him.

Alois stuck out his tongue in disgust. " _Cassandra Bates..."_ he wrinkled his nose.

"Be _nice."_ the bluenette said to the blonde standing up and gathering his things.

"I'm not _'nice'."_ the blonde informed, doing the same. "I never was ' _nice'._ However, since it was you who requested it, I will try my hardest to be _sweet."_

_"You stole that from KiLL BiLL."_

_"Sue me."_

The two parted ways, joining their designated partner. Ciel gave a simple nod to August as greeting, while Alois just slammed his things down on the table without any sort of "hello" at all.

"You must be Ciel." the bluenette's partner said. " _I'm August."_

"Hey." he said simply.

"Everyone said you were the quiet type. Guess it's true." the girl said, flashing the boy a smile, which was just shrugged off. "They didn't, however, mention that you are a _demon."_

 _"_ That's because they don't _know_." the boy said, finally looking away from his paper and at August. "And I believe it's safe to assume that you are one as well?"

" _It is._ Don't worry, your secret is safe with me."

"Naturally." The boy replied, his eye wandering to the boy across the room that was staring at him.

Alois put his fingers up to his head like they were "horns", and mouthed to him the word, "Satan". Ciel rolled his eye at the boy's antics. August followed the bluenette's line of vision to the blonde boy, who upon noticing that she was watching him, promptly stuck out his tongue at her.

"Is he your familiar?" she asked.

"Something like that, I guess." Ciel replied. He had already started mixing the chemicals according to the instructions. "Sometimes, he has the maturity of an _eight-year-old."_

"I can see that." The girl giggled. She watched the blonde boy interact with the Bates girl. Cassandra was yelling at him, and he was "guesstimating" the measurements of chemicals and dumping them all into a single beaker. "He seems to be giving my mistress a hard time..."

"Alois gives _everyone_ a hard time."

"Even you?"

" _Especially_ me." Ciel could almost _hear_ the Blonde Menace add _"If you know what I mean_ " to the end of that sentence. Luckily for him, Alois was too busy calling Cassandra rude names. "Is _she_ aware of our 'condition'?"

"No, I haven't told her yet. I didn't think it was important for her to know at the moment."

"Is it?" the boy said, continuing to measure and mix chemicals, taking time to do so. "What was her 'wish', if you don't mind my asking?"

" _Revenge._ " August said as though it were nothing new. "Her parents were murdered after one of her father's clients found out he was laundering money into Switzerland, or something. _You know how humans are_."

"Yeah..." he said, subconsciously touching his eye-patch. He knows _exactly_ what humans are like. Strangely, it somehow peeved him to hear this girl talk about humans that way.

August tilted her head and stared at the boy with curiosity. Before she could open her mouth to speak, a loud _"BOOM"_ was heard from elsewhere in the room, causing both demons to whip their heads around to discover it's source.

There, Alois stood behind a smoking beaker, his face covered in black, as were his safety goggles and uniform. Calmly, he removed said goggles so he could see again, revealing the area around his eyes to be perfectly untouched, giving the boy what appeared to be a "mask" of cleanliness. He coughed and black smoke escaped his lips. Cassandra had fortunately turned her back to the explosion, so it was only her back covered in the mysterious and burnt-smelling black substance.

"You _idiot!"_ the girl shouted. "I _told_ you not to mix everything like that! _We were told to follow the instructions!"_

"You're no fun at all." the blonde replied while trying to wipe the goggles cleaned with his now ruined, formerly purple necktie. "What's the fun in life if you're forced to follow a blueprint?"

"It's _chemistry!_ It's not _supposed_ to be _fun!"_ the girl said before looking at her clothes. " _WHAT DID YOU DO TO MY UNIFORM?!"_ It was less of a question, and more of a shriek.

"I _**enhanced**_ it" Alois said, a smirk tugging at his lips. " _You're welcome_."

August looked away from the scene to her own lab-partner, who currently had one hand over his mouth, and the other on his stomach. He was almost _shaking_ while holding in his laughter. Alois grinned as he noticed it.

"YOU MORON!"

"BITCH, I'M _ALOIS TRANCY!"_

 _"_ Mister Trancy. Headmaster's Office. _Now."_ the teacher said, folding her arms with a rather cross-looking expression on her face.

"See what you did _woman?!_ You got me in trouble!"

"I did _nothing_ to _pillock!_ It's your own damn fault!"

"Miss Bates, you go too." this time the instructor meant it. " _We do not use such rude language in my classroom."_

"Yeah, _Bates!"_

_"Alois, you're no better off. Office. Now. Both of you. Go."_

And thus, Alois gained another afternoon of straightening bookshelves, while August got to know her fellow demons better. Ciel got a good laugh, but Cassandra, however, _received a dry-cleaning bill._


	96. Girls Converse While Boys Perverse

Over the next few days, the demonic duo and August and Cassandra tried their best to ignore the other group's existence. That said, Cassandra occasionally would complain about how that "blonde idiot" was so stupid, thus being a bit redundant. It was a a chance mishap that changed this.

The Phantomhive boy was sitting at his desk one day, waiting for class to start, as he usually would. He sat and listened to Alois go on about how the American version of _Top Gear_ was a failure, and that the British version was superior in every possible aspect (right down to the hosts) after viewing an episode of the foreign version on _Youtube_. He listened as the blonde boy passionately described his loathing of _Top Gear U.S._ for besmirching the name of one of his favourite television programes, occasionally giving some input of his oen on the matter, and chuckling at the boy's antics. But then, _everything changed when Daniel Westly attacked._

While Ciel was distracted, the brown-haired boy grabbed onto one of the strings in the bow that fastened the boy's eye-patch before giving it a swift yank.

"Yoink!" he shouted, gaining custody of the patch with a grin, laughing at his accomplishment. Both demon's eyes went wide upon discovering that the contract seal on the bluenette's eye would be seen. Quickly, he snapped his right eye shut before covering it with his hand. He stood up to confront the boy while at the same time, _watching to see if anyone had seen._

To his relief _, it appeared no one had_. He then proceeded to turn his attention to the adamant prankster. " _Daniel! Give it back right now!"_ he shouted. He was furious. His glare held no _ice,_ but only _fiery anger_.

In response, Daniel dangled the object tauntingly in front of him. "C'mon, mate. Can't you take a _joke?"_ the boy replied, his triumphant grin slowly fading.

 _"No_. Now _give. It. Back_." Ciel extended his free hand to the boy, demanding that the eye-patch be returned to it's rightful owner.

Reluctantly, the boy complied, carefully placing the object into the other lad's hand. "I'm sorry! _Jesus_..."

The bluenette took back what was his and placed it over his right eye before tying the string in the back, making sure to double-knot it. He looked around the room once more.

More students were now watching. Apparently, the boy had made a bit of a scene. However, it appeared that most of the children were on his side, agreeing that the Westly boy had gone too far. While they didn't know _how_ the bluenette had acquired his "injury", the boy had told them on more than one occasion that he had received it in "an accident", and that _he preferred not to talk about it_. Everyone was sympathetic due to this lie- everyone, _except_ one girl.

 _Cassandra Bates_ noticed it. Just a flash of purple before the boy's eye snapped shut. She knew what that was. That, without a doubt in her mind, was a _faustian contract_.

She never imagined seeing another person with one. It never occurred to her, that's all. She knew that there were _special qualifications_ that had to be met in order to summon a demon. _Number one_ : The human must have a lack of faith in God. _Number two_ : The human must be _desperate_ for a way out.

If that boy meets those requirements, and _does have_ a demon, then where is it? Her attention turned to the blonde menace. After all, the boy _was_ able to take a small _chemical explosion to the face_ without so much as blinking, thus allowing this to be a probable conclusion.

This, however, would have to wait, as another question arose in her mind. _"Does August know?"_ she wondered. August was another demon, so wouldn't it make sense that she could be able to sense the presence of another of her kind? Cassandra remembered when August was oddly hesitant before entering the classroom for the first time. Could it be that she _did_ know, and just wasn't telling her mistress?

Immediately after the bell rang, she led her servant to a secluded location under the awning of a nearby building to interrogate the girl-demon.

 _"Yes, I was aware of this, mistress_." August said, answering the redhead's question. "I didn't think that the information was relevant to you, so I simply disregarded it."

Cassandra felt her eyelid twitch in irritation. _"Of course_ it's _relevant_ _information!"_ the girl said loudly. "Honestly, how can you be so _useless?!"_

The other girl bowed politely. "My apologies, mistress." August felt her own irritation swelling, but quickly shook the feeling.

The young lady folded her arms and began to pace back and forth. She had to find a way to deal with this. "What am I going to do? What if this completely blows a hole in _our plan?!"_

 _"About the plan, mistress..."_ The she-demon began, lifting her head. "...Have we any more clues as to the whereabouts of your parents' murderer?" she asked.

" _No._ That's what _you_ are for!" the other lass said, turning to face the demon. " _You_ just want to _speed this along_ so you can have my _soul,_ aren't you?!" she questioned, pointing her finger accusingly.

The black-haired girl's eyes widened for a moment in surprise, before giving her mistress a deep bow. " _Even if it takes your entire life, until the day comes that the contract is fulfilled, I will_ _ **always**_ _be loyal to my mistress."_

Cassandra paused to look at the demon. " _Good_. Now come, we have to figure out what to do about the Phantomhive boy and his stupid blonde _flunkie_." the lass said, beginning to walk out from under the awning and and motioning for her servant to follow.

As she stepped into the sunlight, August paused for a moment before turning and looking at the awning one last time. Seeing nothing, she continued to follow behind the other girl, staying a few steps behind her as she always did.

Meanwhile on the roof of the building, two lads crouched, as not to be spotted from the ground.

"I'm your _flunkie?"_ the blonde one asked the other, somewhat bothered by the statement.

"No, of course not. She's absolutely wrong." shad the bluenette to the blonde. "You're my _girlfriend."_

"Yeah! Wait..." Alois said, pausing before standing up. " _I AM NOT A GIRL!"_

 _"Then why did you hesitate?"_ the other boy teased, standing as well. "And no, _I don't need you to show me."_

" _Don't deny it!"_

"I _will_ deny it _._ What really concerns me at the moment is whether or not this _'Cassandra'_ girl will be a problem or not."

"I _told_ you these things always end up being _problematic_ , but did you listen? _No! I totally called that shit!"_

"Oh, _be quiet_. We have bigger problems than whether or not you're right." the bluenette said, folding his arms.

" _Problems that I called, and I am."_ the blonde replied.

"Didn't I tell you to _'be quiet'?"_

_"Didn't I tell you that 'I called that shit'?"_

Ciel uncrossed his arms and walked over to the other boy, getting _almost uncomfortably close_ to the blonde's face, surprising the boy, and causing a flush to form on his cheeks. "I don't care if you 'called it'." the bluenette said, "Like I said, right now, we have other things to worry about."

"Like whether or not you're going to _make me?"_ the blonde said, smirking. With that question, he was sure that he had the upper hand.

Soon, however, his mouth was covered by the other boy's, rendering him completely incapable of speaking. While the blonde didn't expect the boy to actually "make him" be quiet, especially in a manner such as this, the gesture wasn't exactly "unwelcome", as his arms eventually snaked their way around the bluenette's neck.

Oh, how this boy made his heart flutter. It was seldom that it was _the bluenette_ who initiated such intimacies, allowing the blonde to steal kisses at any given opportunity, but when he _did,_ the blonde felt as though electricity was coursing through him.

"Oi! Phantomhive! Trancy!" called a voice from the ground. Quickly the boy's untangled themselves, failing miserably at concealing the redness of their faces, and investigated the source of the sound.

 _Of course it was the rest of the six._ There was Daniel, Travis, Preston, and Kristopherson, all grinning like a bunch of idiots.

 _"What are you doing on the roof?"_ asked the boy in the pink tie, _completely ignoring the elephant in the room._ Daniel, however, _pointed it out_ and danced around it while practically screaming to the very heavens about it's existence.

"Yeah! _Other than snogging!"_ he shouted

"That is _strictly classified information!"_ the blonde shouted back. He looked to the bluenette apologetically, before leaping down from the _fortunately one-story_ building to meet the four on the ground. Had it been taller, there may have been some suspicions. It was for this reason that the bluenette hesitated before jumping, but he soon joined them.

"I'm pretty sure that breaks _several_ rules in the school handbook." Said Preston. The lad had the handbook _practically memorized_ for whatever reason.

"I' be sure to alert you when I start to give a damn about the school rules, Preston." the blonde said. How he could be so calm about this, the bluenette couldn't even _begin_ to fathom. This was obvious to the six, due to his silence and his avoiding eye contact with the others _like the plague_.

"Alois, I think you _broke_ the cyclops." Kristopherson said jokingly, not even bothering to try and _hide_ his smirk.

"Nah, that's just how he is! _He's cute like that_. However..." the blonde said, arching an eyebrow and facing the blushing bluenette with a smirk of his own, "...he's pretty fun when he's _aggressive_ , too."

Five of the six laughed and teased the sixth, throwing the occasional " _Oh My_ " while trying to imitate the voice of _George Takei_ to the best of that which their teenage voices would allow them. Ciel furrowed his brow in irritation.

" _Do you really_ _ **have**_ _to make it sound way worse than it_ _ **is**_ _?!"_ he asked the blonde.

Alois stopped laughing for a moment and looked the boy in the eye. With the straightest face he could muster, he simply said: "Why, yes. _Yes I do."_

Elsewhere at Warwick, a certain girl and her demon servant were concocting their plan as to how to deal with the demonic duo. Alas, _that is a passage for another day._


	97. He Be Jelly

* * *

'Twas another fine day at Warwick. At this time, most of the children in the demonic duo's grade were having a study hall, and they were no exception. However, like the other children, they never actually used the study all period to actually "study". Instead they would often converse either amongst friends, or amongst themselves about this, that, and the other, or nothing in particular at all. They would also take this opportunity to play various games of the board variety. Today, the boys found themselves locked in a riveting game of chess, one of the young Phantomhive boy's favourite games, and one of the Trancys _least favourite._ Yet Alois was determined to win _this time_ , just as he was the last, and the time before that.

Here they were, locked in combat, the bluentte boy playing with the black pieces, and the blonde played with the white. Each boy strategically moved their pieces to try to counter the other's moves with the eventual goal of seizing their opponent's "king". Once again, Alois moved seemingly at random, recklessly placing the small figures to block his opponent. That is all he was doing: _blocking._

The blonde seemed to not give the slightest care as to whether he ever reached the king or not, it seemed like he was only focusing on diminishing the other lad's troops to naught. This perplexed the bluenette to no end. The blonde always insists that he is going to defeat him, and yet never goes on the offensive.

 _"Perhaps playing chess was the only time the Alois was 'unoffensive'."_ Ciel internally mused, while moving one of his pawns. Just a little bit further, and he would reach the end of the board and be able to exchange the pawn for his fallen Queen. Then it would be child's play to take the blonde's king.

Alois sat on the end of the board opposite to the eye-patched gentleman, arms crossed, simply observing for a moment. He picked up the white bishop and moved it across the board, effectively taking out the other lad's knight.

" _Check."_ he said, grinning proudly.

In response, Ciel rolled his eye, and moved his kind _out of "check_ ", landing on a space that the bishop could not reach him. It was his turn to smirk as he watched the frustrated blonde mouth the word, "dammit".

He amusement was interrupted, however, by the appearance of a familiar face. It was the face of the she-devil. She walked straight up to the pair with a serious face, as opposed to her regular "overly friendly" mask she usually wore. Now _this_ could not be good.

"Hello." she said causally enough, with just a strand of reluctance.

"Hello." said the Phantomhive boy, keeping the blonde in his peripheral vision so the lad wouldn't cheat. "Is there something you need?"

August's eyes darted to the blonde boy, whose icy blue eyes were fixated on her. She sensed some hostility from the boy for whatever reason, but continued the speak to the bluentte regardless. "My mistress wishes to speak with you sometime. She demands that it be today, after school, actually."

" _Sounds troublesome."_ the bluenette replied plainly. "But _I_ don't necessarily have anything planned. What about you, Alois?"

"Whatever pleases thee, _O blue cyclops_." the blond said to his friend, yet not allowing his eyes to stray from the she-demon.

"Today after school is fine, then. Does your mistress have a specific place in mind?"

"Yes, she insists upon _Phantomhive Manor,_ but I'm sure I may be able to convince her otherwise." August replied, knowing that the likelihood of the lad agreeing was slim.

Ciel, however, quite liked the idea of confronting the girls on his home turf. The ground is familiar, and should things turn ugly, Sebastian could step in and provide backup if necessary.

"That sounds fine." he said, watching the girl blink in surprise.

"Very well. I will inform my mistress. Have a good afternoon." With a polite bow, she was gone, leaving the lads to themselves. She was a strange one, indeed.

Alois looked to his companion with a displeased face. "Why'd you go and do that for? You're letting _the enemy_ right into our home!"

"So they would be easier to combat, stupid." the bluenette said, turning his attention to the blonde boy.

" _She is an agent of evil straight from Satan's anus!_ You're going to seriously put up with that?!"

"First of all: _Alois, that is one of the most disturbing things I have ever heard come out of your mouth._ Secondly: yes. It shouldn't be much of a problem. Sebastian will be there as well, should things take a turn for the worse."

"I guess you're right..." the blonde said, resting his chin in his palm and turning his attention back to the pieces on the chessboard.

It was unusual for him to admit defeat in verbal combat like this. Ciel thought so as well, staring at the boy. His thoughts wandered from the game of chess, to why the blonde was so against the girls coming over. Why did that matter to him? Sure, they were a potential enemy, but did that really warrant the lad calling the she-demon and " _agent of evil straight from Satan's anus"?_ Sure, Alois is a bit "odd", but the behaviour was unusual for him. Ordinarily, he wouldn't be one to care in the slightest, perhaps saying something like " _bring it on!"_ or something to that extent. The bluenette watched his blonde companion move one of his chess pieces, suddenly reaching a possible answer to his inquiry.

When the blonde looked up at him to indicate that he was done with his move, and that it was the other boy's turn, Ciel spoke. "Alois, are you _jealous_ of August?"

The Trancy boy suddenly went from disinterested, to fully alert, perking up and nearly kicking the table. A slight pink hue was visible across his face.

"I am _not!"_ he said defensively.

Bingo. The bluenette had hit the nail directly on the head. Thinking about it, it did sort of make sense. _A female demon arrives, who suddenly talks to the bluenette, even when Alois himself isn't present?_ The blonde also knew that Ciel too found women to be attractive as well as men, so why wouldn't he be a bit jealous? In a society where romantic homosexual relationships were still not fully recognized as "sociably acceptable", if one's sexual preferences also allow for women, wouldn't it be logical to choose the woman? Moreover, August is a demon as well, so they had one major secret in common. The more Alois thought about it, the more frustrated with himself he became.

Ciel grinned a bit at the blonde's response, resting his own his in his palm, and his elbow on the table. " _You are, aren't you?"_

Frowning, the blonde sat back in his chair and crossed his arms across his chest. " _So?"_ he said, refusing to answer directly.

 _"It's cute_." the Phantomhive boy said, moving his pawn to the edge of the chessboard and exchanging it for his previously lost Queen. "You're in _'check'."_

Alois pouted at being called "cute", furrowing his brow and flushing scarlet. He could hardly _think_ about chess right now. He stared at the chessboard, with no strategies coming to mind. All that echoed in his head were the other boy's words. He didn't need to look up to know that Ciel was smirking at him, he could _feel_ it. Soon the board started to look like nothing at all, just smudges of black and white as his brain started to _forget_ he was playing chess.

It was hearing the other boy chuckle at him that snapped him back to his senses. He promised to win, hadn't he? Now he really felt like he needed to defeat this boy, and the black and white colours started to transform back into the game-board.

As requirement of being in "check", his next move has to be him getting _out_ of "check". In his mind, he plotted the possible directions he could move the king, all of them leading to eventual defeat by the black queen. Soon, he just moved his rook to stand in front of the king, temporarily blocking his opponent's path.

Ciel then proceeded to take out that rook, leaving the queen right next to the white king. In response, Alois used his king to take out the queen.

"BOOM! _That just happened_." he said mockingly.

"That doesn't change the fact that _you're still such a girl_." the bluenette said mockingly, watching the blonde pout again. " _Boom. That just happened."_


	98. Purpose

Phantomhive Manor, which stands on the outskirts of London, has been standing since , at the very least, the Victorian era of Britain. Even being burned, blown up, and being left to rot in disrepair, it still stands in all of it's original grandeur. This massive estate has seen many a dark secret in it's time, but none so great as this: Phantomhive Manor is home to not one, but _three_ demons.

Yes, the vary same kind of evil apparitions who so dare defy God and walk the Earth in pursuit of human souls to consume, thus further sustaining their own wicked existence. Lou, that these three abominable beings are not the _only_ demons in the London area. There is indeed a _fourth_ devil, whom goes by the name of " _August"._ Fortunate is the population, that this she-demon is kept on a leash held in the hands of a posh, pampered, and yet somewhat corrupt teenage girl.

Her name is "Cassandra Bates", and on this day she and her demon-servant will meet with the residents of the Phantomhive household. She showed up at the front door sometime after school let out, confirming that this was the address that the bluenette boy had hastily scribbled on a torn piece of paper for her. While the paper was trashy, and gave her the impression that the boy was paltry, upon seeing the grand building, she changed her mind.

It was far more grand than her modern home in both size and regality. While her home was both large and fancy, nor was it anything to sneeze at, it paled in comparison. Perhaps the boy who was the head of this household held more, even greater secrets that she could never even imagine.

The young lady's demon, August, raised her hand to knock on the old wooden door, only for it to be opened before her knuckles could even brush against the surface by a tall man clad in black. He smiled with hospitality.

"Welcome to Phantomhive Manor. We have been expecting you, Miss Bates." he said, holding the door open for the young lady and her demon.

August's eye's widened in surprise. _"Just how many demons did the Phantomhive boy have under his control?!"_ she thought, and rightfully so.

Ciel Phantomhive had _not_ one, but _two_ demons at his disposal, and judging by the ominous power the man was emitting, this man was the strongest. The bluenette boy was now obviously nothing to sneeze at. While it is not uncommon for demons to have _familiars,_ it is, however, for the demon to possess full-fledged demons, capable of making contracts with humans, in their possession. Cassandra, of course, being an ordinary human, was unable to sense any of this, maintained ignorance in the matter and paid the man hardly any mind. The she-demon chose to _keep it_ that way, but was now ever-alert. The man lead them into the drawing room where the two boys sat, one was _reading,_ the other was _building a castle out of couch-cushions_. I will leave it up to _you_ to decide _which boy was doing what_.

"Cassandra Bates and her maid, August Remy, my lord." the man said to the bluenette, bowing politely.

"Thank you, Sebastian." the boy said in response. "Please, have a seat."

The young mistress seated herself in a chair, as the man clad in black was busily placing the cushions on the couch back in their appropriate locations, while her demon stood behind her like a shadow. Alois plopped down on the couch right after Sebastian was done fixing it, while Ciel sat in his own chair, patiently waiting for Cassandra to get situated before speaking.

"I understand there is something you wish to discuss with me, Miss Bates." he said finally. "What is it that I can do for you?"

"First of all, you can cut the formalities, Phantomhive. Secondly, _I understand you have a demon too."_ the young lady said, playing with her hair.

The bluenette smiled. " _Yes, that is correct._ Was it August who told you, or did you find out on your own?"

"So you knew about August, huh? To answer your question: I found out on my own, when that Westly kid took your eye-patch the other day. _August has been keeping secrets from me."_ the girl said, looking at her demon with mean look. August kept staring straight ahead, seemingly taking no notice, so Cassandra turned her attention back to the bluenette. "Well, let's see it, then. _Your contract_." she continued. My, this girl was quite haughty, waltzing in and acting as though she owned the place.

The blonde did not like the way she spoke to Ciel: _not one single bit._ However, the " _August has been keeping secrets_ " bit struck a chord with him. He stared at the mistress with evil eyes.

"Well, _aren't you observant?"_ the Phantomhive boy said patronizingly. "I'm afraid I'll have to pass on that. _I don't like taking orders in my own home_." He smirked. "Did you really come all this way just to say that, or is there more?"

Cassandra felt her eyebrow twitch in irritation. "I want to know _why._ " she said. "Why do you get a demon too?"

" _Ladies first."_ The blonde couldn't help but giggle at the bluenette's retort.

"Are you _toying_ with me, Phantomhive?"

"Of course not. Like I said, _I don't take orders in my own home_. I don't like beating around the bush, either. Why are you _really_ here?" Ciel said, observing as the girl sat in her chair, in silent anger. "Do you have business with the _Student, Ciel Phantomhive?_ Do you wish to converse with _the head of Funtom toys?_ Or rather, did you want to speak with _The Queen's Guard Dog?_ "

"The Queen's _what?"_

"In regards to your parents murder, as the _Queen's Guard Dog, I looked at that case_. Wouldn't that be helpful to you if I told you what I knew?"

"... _Not really.._." the girl said, looking away. August stopped looking straight ahead, and looked to her mistress in surprise.

"But mistress..." she began, only to be silenced by Cassandra.

" _Be quiet, August_."

" _Oh, I see..."_ Ciel began, his smirk faded. "Your very purpose for having a demon is the very _lack of purpose_."

Everyone in the room gave the boy one-hundred percent of their attention, now. Even Alois, who was so lazily lying on the sofa, was now at full attention. _He knew what Ciel was talking about_.

"W-what do you mean?!" Cassandra demanded, leaning forward in her seat a bit.

"I was told by August that you seeked revenge for the death of your parents, yet you refuse information that could make you even one step closer to completing your task?" the bluenette asked. "Why is that?"

"I-I have my reasons!"

" _ **Number one:**_ _A human must lack faith in God._ _ **Number two:**_ _A human must be desperate for a way out._ " the eye-patched demon listed off, "These are the requirements in order to summon a demon. Now that you've found your way out and settled back down into everyday life, do you still _burn with anger?_ Do you still _ache for vengeance?_ Do you still have the _resolve to see this through to the end?"_

Cassandra's eyes went wide and she looked to August. The she-demon was looking down at her with _contempt_ for what she was hearing. The young mistress tore her eyes away from the demon to look at the boy again.

"Of course I do!" she yelled at the boy, trying to keep her voice steady and her tears at bay. She stood up. "I won't sit here and be talked to like this!" she said, trying to compose herself. The young mistress turned and began to head for the door, walking briskly. " _Come, August. We're leaving."_

August stood for a moment before beginning to follow the girl. Her eyes switching from contempt to uncertainty. She looked back at the boys one last time before curtsying politely, and closing the door behind her.

Immediately after they left, the blonde lad sat up and looked to the other boy. "Do you really think she's lost her purpose?" he asked, tilting his head slightly. It was unusual for the boy to have such a concerned expression on his face, _especially_ for someone he didn't particularly like.

Observing this, the bluenette hesitated in his answer. "I was just playing with her at first, but judging by her reaction, I would say it' _s definitely possible_."

"Oh..." was all the blonde said. His tone was sort of melancholic.

The slate-haired teen stood up from his own seat, and took a seat next to the blonde boy. "What's wrong?" he asked.

"Nothing. It's just... I was the same... _I lost sight of my goal, and Claude, he_..." Alois trailed off. His companion pulled the boy closer so the the blonde was resting his head on the lad's shoulder.

 _"You don't have to say it. I know_..." Ciel said, stroking the blonde's hair comfortingly.

"I think that could happen to Cassandra. Even though I don't like her, and she's a total bitch, _I just can't help but feel sorry for her..."_

"What happens, happens. Whatever happens between her and August can't be stopped. _Not all stories can have happy endings."_

 _"I'm glad mine did."_ the blonde said, snuggling into the other boy, making him flush.

Meanwhile,while this was happening, in a certain car was a certain pair of girls riding away from a certain manor in silence. The one with straight black hair stared straight ahead, the words of the boy echoing in her mind. The one with reddish hair, and the pentacle on her left eye stared outside the window, too afraid to even look at the other female. Unwelcome, the silence hung in the air, nearly smothering them both.

"Don't listen to Phantomhive. He doesn't know what he's talking about." the young mistress said finally. Her eyes never wandered from the passing scenery. "Of course I have the resolve to see this through. Never doubt that." The attention of the she-demon's eyes wandered to the other girl.

"Of course." she said, eyes glowing. "Even if it takes your _entire life_ , _until the day your soul becomes mine,_ I will _always_ remain loyal to my mistress..."


	99. Cassandra

Over the next few days, all was quiet on the boy's end. They certainly didn't like being dragged into the affairs of others, so they simply ignored the girls at school. Even though they noticed strange behaviour between Cassandra and August, they did nothing to interfere. It's best to let these things play out for themselves, isn't it?

August seemed to have grown colder to her mistress, no longer walking several paces behind her, no longer assisting in various tasks she was asked to complete, and no longer remaining by the girls side, taking the chance to wander off and talk to other children instead. Lord knows what was going on behind the scenes. The young mistress herself seemed a bit more _fearful_ , especially with August around. She would often cower at the she-demon's stare, and roll over when asked to do something. The stubborn, bossy, haughty girl that the class had known before was gone, and while the girl that replaced her looked the same, her behaviour wasn't like Cassandra's at all. This new girl was quiet and withdrawn. While Cassandra had an eternal scowl plastered across her face, this lass had a frightful look about her. This Cassandra was a pitiful sight, indeed, hardly a shadow of her former self.

Perhaps this isn't technically true. In fact, Cassandra acted this way several years ago, starting the very night her parents fell in a pool of their own blood right before her very eyes. The only reason she had survived that night was because the masked gunman claimed that he "didn't shoot kids", out of a _cruel act of mercy_.

She stayed there at her parents side as the last bits of their essence escaped them, leaving her alone, and _lost_. Before long after that, she was forced away from them by strange men wearing black suits and spectacles.

 _"This is no place for kids. Go home_." they said, but alas, she had no idea how to even get there.

Over the next few days, she was forced to wander the streets in search of the way. She slept in allies and metro stations, running away from packs of strange men on more than one occasion. They offered her things like food, money, and safety, but she could sense something off about the men so she ran away as fast as her legs could carry her.

Ever onward, she ventured in search of "home", trying her very best to ignore her hunger and fatigue, until finally, her little twelve-year-old legs finally collapsed from underneath her. How damp her filthy clothes were, providing no insulation from the chilly night air. How her stomach growled and clawed at her insides like some ferocious beast, preventing her moment of rest from being enjoyable. How worn were the soles of her feet from walking and how her legs ached, as she lied there on the unforgiving concrete.

Oh, how she wanted it to end. It was by some miracle that she met this man who so graciously offered her a place to stay for the night. She ate good food, scrubbed away the dirt that had collected over the past week from her being, and rested her tired, aching feet. He was such a nice gentleman. She wished that those days could've gone on forever. Maybe then she could've been happy. Woe, it was not meant to be.

Before long, she discovered the man's true purpose for treating her so well. It wasn't out of the goodness of his heart, but so he could sacrifice her in a ritual of heinous nature. She was never allowed to enter the basement of the man's home, but upon waking she realized immediately where she was. That is when she met her first requirement. When she saw the altar, the blades, and the bones in the home of this man, who had been so kind to her, this man, who had saved her from a certain, slow and painful death, this man, who was now going to brutally end her life, she came to the following conclusion:

" _God doesn't exist."_

There was no "savior". Good things don't happen to those who do no wrong. Everything she had been taught by the good book at that very moment was proven to be nothing but a lie. She was just an innocent, twelve-year-old girl. What could she have possibly done to deserve all of this?

Now, I won't go into too many details, but she still has the markings that were carved into her skin that day. They have healed, but the symbols and insignias carved by a knife can still be faintly seen in the form of pale, soft skin, lacking any and all pigment in their places. When the knife carved into her skin for an unknown number of times, was it that she had met her _second_ requirement _. She was desperate for a way out_.

She wanted it all to end. The pain, the fear, the anger, the sadness. All of it, yet she did not want to _die._ Dying is for the weak. Only when you stand and fight do you rightfully earn the ability to trample on the weak. This man had _not_ earned it. It was for this reason that the devil appeared not before him, but before Cassandra.

It was then and there that Cassandra's sadness turned into anger, and her fear had turned to hatred. From that day forward, she would be in possession of a demonic apparition. For several years after that she had kept this hatred burning, but as time went on, she realized that she wanted nothing more than to _forget_ the past and move _onward._

Onward, _forward_ , never _looking back_ at the horror she had experienced. _But that conflicted with the promise she had made that day._ August wasn't about to let her forget, either, and now, this is why the young mistress had reverted back into her old, wretched, _unworthy_ self. Now she didn't want to look back at the past, or forward to the future and the terror it may bring.

The true reason she had visited the Phantomhive estate was to clear up that she was no threat, and potentially make a friend with whom she could relate to. Ciel, since he possessed a demon, must have gone through an awful experience as well, making him a person she could feel empathy for.

But she was not met with kindness. Instead, the lad had only enhanced her problems, notifying her servant of the weakness in her heart she felt about pursuing the what had at one time caused her so much " _trouble_ ", as an understatement.

Obviously, he knew what he had done, and now, he wasn't even going to _help_ her? Underneath her fear of August, there was seething anger towards the bluenette boy for doing this to her. Finally, after August had left her alone for a moment to go galivanting at her own pleasure, had she let this feeling boil to the surface.

She got up and made a B-line towards the Phantomhive boy and his blonde companion who were busily discussing nothing in particular. She strode right up next to the couple of desks they were seated in only to be ignored. That wouldn't do, not one bit. For a slit-second, she threw a bit of a fit, punching the surface of the desk as hard as she could to get the lad's attention. Her knuckles stung and ached as they turned a dark pink, but she ignored this, and pressed onward.

"Can I help you, miss Bates?" the bluenette said, lazily turning his attention to the girl. He rested his chin in his palm, and his elbow on his desk, to emphasize this somehow.

"Yes, yes _you can_." she said, trying to keep her voice steady. "You see, because of _you,_ I now have _demon problems_." While the bluenette was known for his "Ice-beam", the energy that seemed to emit from her own eye seemed fiery.

The boy ignored this, of course. "I'm deeply sorry for that, but what exactly can I do to stop this? This is between you and August now, do _not_ pull _me_ into it." he said, shooting back his ice-beam.

"Look, I'm _begging_ you." she said, voice cracking. "I can't go on like this. I'm not like you, I don't _have_ the resolve, or power to do this on my own..."

Ciel opened his mouth to speak, but the blonde boy stopped him, putting his hand on the bluenette's shoulder. The expression on his face was sympathetic, or maybe the closest the little sociopath could get to "sympathetic". Alois knew how Cassandra felt, and this pang of empathy stabbed at him. The blonde didn't like the girl, not one bit, but at the same, he would feel _guilt_ if he denied her help. They were the same, after all. He stared into the eye of the bluenette lad, wordlessly conveying all of this.

how could Ciel deny the blonde boy at this moment? Alois hardly ever felt sympathy for an "outsider". The bluennette couldn't help but feel a little jealous at this for whatever reason. Looking back to the girl again, with great reluctance the boy said: "Alright, what do you want us to do about it?"

 _"How do you break a contract?"_ the girl asked.

"Listen, this isn't something you could just have a lawyer look at, find loopholes, and escape from. You _can't_ turn back. _It's impossible_." The boy should know, he _is_ a demon.

"What if August were to died before the contract was completed?" asked the blonde boy.

" _Kill_ August?" the girl asked in surprise. "But... August..."

"Don't tell me you're _attached_ to her." the bluenette said. "If you don't have the resolve to _kill the person who's trying to kill you,_ then you're _better off_ dead." Alois nodded in agreement.

Cassandra hesitated a bit before asking: "Would that even _work?"_

"Like I would _know._ It _could_ completely backfire and kill you too." the bluenette pointed out. "There are different types of contracts, some are weak, some are strong, and demons are _very_ protective of their prey. It could be a natural case of 'if I can't have it, then no one can'."

"But what other choice do I have? If there's even a slim chance of surviving this..."

" _Now_ you're thinking like a contract holder." The blonde smiled. "So what's the plan, _darling?"_ he asked the bluenette.

Ciel cleared his throat, trying to conceal the slight pink on his face. "It's simple, really. Tell August that I'm willing to give you information on your parent's deaths. That way she'll be willing to come. Bring her to that _old, abandoned manor_ and we'll take it from there."

"How on earth are you going to kill her though?" the girl asked.

"Quite easily. You see, we of the Phantomhive house are one _hell_ of a team."

Having this been decided, the three formed an alliance, unaware of the quiet boy in the _skull beanie with black hair in front of his eyes_ , writing all of this down. He was going to prove, at least to _himself_ , _that there's more out there than what can only be seen to the normal, human eyes._


	100. August

It was close to night fall at the old and barely standing house of Trancy, and the leaves were rustling softly until the weaker ones would give way to the force of the gentle breeze the whiffed through the air, causing them to fall to the ground. Autumn was here, and the air was chilled just enough that the boy's outside the Trancy house had to wear jackets as they sat and waited for their appointment to show up at last.

As the Phantomhive boy and the former owner of the house sat on the steps, a third-party member hid in the bushes, camera at the ready. Audrey Baines, or as most people knew him, " _The Boy In The 'Big Chair'",_ was often mocked for his belief in the supernatural. His fascination began at a young age when he saw a man get hit by a car. What he saw that day would set him on this path to seek the paranormal.

After the man got hit, another man wearing a black suit and spectacles rushed over and couched down next to him. The adults thought that the bispecled man was trying to help the innocent victim of a hit-and-run, but that wasn't true. Audrey saw it with his own two eyes. The man in the suit and the specticles didn't _help_ the man, but _cut_ him with what appeared to be garden shears. While that could happen, what happened next _couldn't_. From the cut came forth strips of film wafting in the air, reaching toward the heavens, glowing. How do you explain that? None of the adults seemed to notice, but Audrey did. The boy would be forever burdened with that image, and the fact that no one would _ever believe him._

Until today. What he had overheard the demonic duo and the Bates girl discussing could lead to his big break. _Demons? Faustian contracts?_ This was too good to be true! The lad was willing to endure the pain in his joints from crouching in order to prove his own sanity. To his fellow students, his teacher, his friends, his parents, but most of all, to himself. He almost held his breath when he saw the two girls walk up.

Cassandra and August casually walked up to the manor, side by side, but silent. Cassandra had a look of indifference on her face, because that was all she could muster. The she-demon on the other hand, had an expectant look on her face. She half-expected Cassandra to not go through with this, and half expected her to, but there was another feeling nagging at her mind that she couldn't quite describe. It was almost as if her sixth sense was acting up, and as such, she was on-guard.

The pair casually walked up to the boys, stopping a feet away, but this was ordinary for such situations. You never know when things could turn ugly.

"You have the information?" the young mistress asked, her usual self returning a bit. She smiled when the bluenette held up a briefcase.

"It's right here." Ciel said, keeping the briefcase in plain view. "All of the files on your parents murder are _right here."_

Cassandra took a step forward to take the case, but she was in fact getting out of range. She began to walk forward to abandon the she-devil and escape from the girl forever, but she didn't expect August to _stop her_.

August's face was serious, and she held her arm out, parallel to the ground, blocking her mistresses path. " _How do we know it's good?"_ the devil asked the boys.

The bluenette boy handed the blonde the case, in order to use him as a stand, before opening it and pulling out a folder full of documents to the girl. "I may be a _liar_ , and a _cheater_ , but I am not so dishonourable as to go back on a _promise."_ Ciel knew the girl wasn't stupid, so he had some cleverly crafted fakes made. Courtesy of a certain butler, of course.

August stepped forward, walking at a steady pace over to the two gentlemen. The bluenette put the faux-files back in the brief case, and held it out to the girl. Closer, she walked, stepping hardly five feet away from the boys before unknowingly stepping into a circle. Sparks flew, as fire emitted from the circle. Audrey sat in his hiding place, speechless, completely forgetting his plan for a moment.

Of course the lads didn't expect that to kill her. They just hoped to stun her enough that they would be able to pounce. Quickly, the boys ran to both sides of the fiery vortex, waiting for it to die down a bit. But when it did, _no one was there._

Suddenly Ciel felt something making hard contact with his skull, effectively making him stumble a bit. Alois saw a flash of black before receiving a swift kick to his cheek. After both boys recovered from their initial surprise, they looked over to where Cassandra was, seeing a demon behind her.

August had black, crow-like wings, and her eyes glowed crimson. Her tail was pointed, unlike the boys', as were her ears and canines. Her nails were black, as they usually were, but long, like claws. She had a dark grey skirt torn at the ends, and the top of her boots with spiked heels disappeared underneath it. Her shirt was black as well, the sleeves reaching down her arms into almost-gloves, covering only her middle and ring fingers on both hands. Instead of the black horns that lads are so familiar with, the lass instead had black antlers protruding from the side of her head.

"I knew something was off here." she said, smirking a bit. "I didn't think you were the type to give information for free, Phantomhive. Rightfully so, it would seem." August put her arm over Cassandra's shoulder, before using her free hand to make the human girl face her. "As for _you_ , Cassandra, I must say I'm _shocked_ that you would go back on your word. You were even willing to collaborate with these two boys in order to _kill me?_ Too bad it didn't work."

Cassandra was frozen, her eyes wide. She didn't move, didn't speak, didn't blink or look away, the poor girl was to frightened to _breathe_. The only movement she could manage was her uncontrollable quaking in fear. She felt the demon brush one of her claw-like nails against her throat.

"That wasn't _nice_ , Cassandra." August said.

Her eyes widened when a root sprung from the ground and wrapped tightly around her wrist before quickly doing the same with the other one. The roots yanked her arms away from the girl, freeing her. August looked over to the lads, snarling in anger.

 _"Run Cassandra!"_ shouted the blonde boy, his eyes glowing crimson and his cheek gashed where he was kicked by the demon's spiky boots. Blood mixed with sweat as he dug his fingers into the earth, focusing all of his energy on restraining the she-demon.

Snapping from her senses, the young mistress caused her legs to move, retreating behind the blonde boy, as the bluenette took the opportunity to transform into his true form as well.

Suddenly a click, and a flash was seen coming from the direction of the bushes where the third-party, Audrey, was hiding and gathering evidence.

 _"Shit!"_ he muttered under his breath. _"I thought I turned the damn flash off!"_

It that short moment, the flash was able to break the blonde's concentration long enough for the she-demon to escape the binds. Alois feel to his knees, tired from restraining the girl, as said girl darted for the bushes where Audrey was hiding.

A boyish scream was heard as was some rustling before August returned from the bushes, dragging poor Audrey kicking , screaming and clawing at the dirt desperate for an escape.

"Oh look," the she-demon said, "we have a _visitor_."

The other's eyes widened upon seeing the boy. They had been _seen_. Not only that, but they had been seen by a _human from their school._ This was not going to end well.

"Let him go, August!" Alois shouted, using a bit _too_ much of his remaining energy on the command.

"Hmm... _nah."_ the girl said, picking the dark-haired boy up by the collar of his shirt, and placing her claws near his throat. The lad's eyes were visible for once, and shear terror reflected off of them.

 _"Here's the deal:"_ August began, staring directly at her opponents. "Now I know you gentlemen aren't the type to do things out of the _goodness of your hearts,_ but I think I have a proposition beneficial to all of us. _You give me the girl, and this innocent bystander lives_."

The blonde and the bluenette looked at each other for a moment before looking to Cassandra, and back to Audrey and August. They had to weigh their options, here.

If Audrey was still alive, they would have to deal with him later. If by come _miracle_ he survives, and they _don't_ pick him, the poor boy may never recover from this night.

On the other hand, Cassandra could die either way, depending on the type of contract she has. She wouldn't be that nice to deal with if she lives, either. Either way, it would appear that the boy's loose. The option did exist to just kill _everyone,_ but the lad's had too much on their conciseness as it is.

They thought, and they thought. "Well? _Choose wisely."_ the she-demon taunted.

Before either boy could speak, Cassandra stepped forward. "Let him go." she said, her tone sincere, but melancholic. _"I'll cooperate."_

"But Cassandra..." Ciel began. He was completely blind-sided by the girl's sudden declaration, as was the blonde, who couldn't find the strength to make his voice work.

 _"It's fine."_ the young mistress said. "I was going to die anyway. I'd rather let Audrey have the chance to live happily, than forever live with the guilt that I let him die." She looked back to the boy's. "I can't run away forever, can I?"

The demonic duo looked at her solemnly. No, she wasn't like them. Cassandra still wasn't _completely_ tainted. The girl was bitchy, grouchy, bossy, and stubborn, yet deep down, _kind._ While she was all of those negative things, the girl didn't have the darkness in her heart that the boys did. She wanted to move on towards the light, rather than dwell in the darkness on the past.

August's eyes grew softer, and she loosened her grip on the boy's collar, allowing him to fall to the ground. He backed up a few feet on the adrenaline rush, but didn't get far as he crashed.

_"Mistress..."_

Cassandra walked forward without looking back. While she shook, she didn't pause for a moment. Finally, after what seemed to be an eternity and a day, she stood in front of the demon.

" _August."_ she said as greeting.

The demon extended her arm to the girl with the sun setting behind them. The others watched watched as the two stood there. When August was about to touch the face of her mistress, _she was stopped by another root._

The blonde boy grit his teeth and strained to keep this up. He was tired. He was still too young as a demon to be able to perform this ability with ease. "Ciel..." he choked out. " _Kick her ass!"_

With a smirk, the bluenette said: " _Yes, you highness."_ before lunging at the trapped demon. He shoved Cassandra out of the way as gently as he could before cocking his arm back and hitting the she-demon straight in the face, sending her backwards and breaking the roots that bound her.

"Now, ordinarily, it would be against my policy to hit a _lady_. Especially as hard as I just did, however, _I'll make an exception just this one time."_ the bluenette said tauntingly.

The blonde chuckled behind him as he lay exhausted in the dirt. " _But you say I'm a girl, and you've hit me."_ he thought.

Audrey crawled over to Alois, shaking him a bit. "Alois! Alois! What's going on?!" he asked, his voice shaking.

" _Tell you later. Too tired."_ was all the flaxen teen could choke out.

August got up. She wiped off her face and glared at the bluenette. "You flatter me." she said. She ran at the boy before disappearing again. She was at his left, then his right. She was at his front, she was at his back. She was above him, then she was in front of him again and it was the lad's turn to be sent flying.

Ciel flew several yards before crashing into a tree and knocking it over. _August hit hard._ She had the upper hand of having a contract. Contracts make demons _stronger._

He was on his own. Alois was out of commission, and Sebastian was at home. " _Don't worry, we can handle this."_ the lad had said to the man, regretfully. Sometimes he cursed himself for his own arrogance.

He got up and ran at the girl again, faking a left, before hitting her with his right. She quickly recovered and kicked him in the stomach, knocking the wind that he didn't really need out of him.

Unfortunately, this is how Ciel knew how to fight. He wasn't as fancy as Sebastian. He was quick, but not quick enough. He was powerful, but not powerful _enough_. Again and again he received blow after blow from the girl. How was Alois going to react when he found out the bluenette had been _beaten by a girl?_ That was a never-ending eternity of torment that Ciel was _not_ willing to endure.

"This is _sad,_ Phantomhive. I was thinking a man of your caliber would be more of a _challenge!_ " August taunted, amused by the boy's inability.

Finally, in a last-ditch effort, the boy had somehow managed to get the girl in a headlock. He ground his fist into the girl's scalp just as he would with Alois, but this time, he was _rougher._

"Ow, ow, _OW! Let go!"_ she cried, unable to escape the boy-demon's iron grasp.

"Give up, then!" the bluenette shouted back.

"Okay, _OKAY! I give up!"_ and just like that, she was released.

The girl rubbed her aching scalp before swiftly kicking the boy in the stomach. Ciel arched over and grasped the sore are. " _I thought you said you gave up!"_

 _"What?!_ A _demon lied_ to you?!" August mocked. "Hindsight is 20/20..." Ciel grunted and stood back up, thoroughly aggravated.

"You know, Ciel," the she-demon began, "I think that had all of this not happened, we could've had a _beautiful friendship._ " she said, tapping her chin. "Then you had to ruin it by helping Cassandra for who knows what reason."

"I didn't want to. _Alois did."_ the boy said.

"Why go along with it then?"

"Well, _I love him_ , so it's not exactly like I could say 'no'."

"Oh, so _that's_ your relationship." August smiled. "Hardly surprising. _I'm not sure why I didn't see that_."

"It wasn't your concern. _You had a job to do_."

"I _still_ have a job to do."

August's leg muscles tensed before darting away from the fight, and over to the others, grabbing Cassandra as she passed. Ciel's eye widened, and Audrey was speechless. "Don't act so surprised." August said. "I'm a _demon._ We don't play _fair._ "

"August, please!" Cassandra cried, trying to free herself from the demon's grip.

The she-demon's eyes softened. "Don't' worry." she said, smiling warmly. "Even if it takes _your entire life, until the day I take your soul_ , I will _always_ be loyal to my mistress."

The young mistress didn't scream. She only let out a small squeak in surprise when the demon tore into her flesh. She didn't feel pain, her body was in shock from having the demon stab her in the stomach with nothing but her claws. Her eyes widened as it dawned on her what just happened.

Audrey wanted to run, but he couldn't feel his legs. Alois wanted to fight, but couldn't feel his entire body. Ciel wanted to shout, but he couldn't find his voice. They all thought the same thing. One word. A name.

" _Cassandra."_

The girl coughed up blood, still in shock. " _Aug...ust..."_ she choked out.

" _Yes mistress?"_ the demon cooed.

" _I don't want... to suffer anymore..."_

_"I know, mistress."_

The demon granted the girl's wish by giving her the _demon's kiss,_ and taking her soul. Cassandra died that day. Never again would she call the blonde boy an idiot. Never again would she invite herself over to the Phantomhive estate. Never again would she sit in Mr. Irons' World History class. _Never again_ , because she was _no more_.

The boy's couldn't believe it.

August pulled away from the girl's cold lips, and held her. She did not smile, she did not smirk, she did not laugh, but she did frown. _Was it worth it?_

Finally, she looked to the bluenette boy. _"I've won_." she said, smiling faintly. "I still believe we could've been _friends,_ Phantomhive."

"August..." Ciel said with a snarl. He was angry. The boy was a sore loser. This girl had harmed Alois, exposed their secret, and killed their classmate. But what could he do?

Nothing. She got what she wanted. She no longer had a reason to fight. She carried the young mistress' body with care, and begin to walk away, slowly reverting back to her "human" self.

 _"I'll see you all at school tomorrow."_ she said, looking back.

She left the two demon boys and the boy who will exchange information with pixie sticks. She left them there, defeated at the Trancy manor.


	101. It's All Good

"Well, Audrey, I believe we all need to have a little _chat."_ said a certain demon.

The secret was out. Audrey, "The Boy In The ' _Big Chair'_ ", had witnessed a battle of demons, and the death of a classmate. By now, it was night-time, and many children were at home getting ready for bed. _Most_ children.

Audrey, unfortunately, was here at the abandoned Trancy Manor, face-to-face with demons. Real life, honest to God _demons._ They too, were classmates of his, and because he had overheard them talking in class, he had foolishly decided to come out and take pictures of what he hoped was supernatural activity. He got his wish, and now the demons had to figure out what to do with him.

"I-I won't tell anyone! _Promise!"_ the boy pleaded. He saw what happened to Cassandra. He saw what these creatures could do. The lad did not show up to be executed.

"How do _we_ know that?" asked the bluenette demon. "With your information manipulation skills, you could have it around the school in a matter of _hours_."

"I know, I know! But I _won't, I swear!_ Besides, even if I _did,_ no one would _believe_ me!"

"What about that _flash?_ You had a _camera_ , didn't you?"

 _"August broke it!"_ The lad led the demon over to his former-hiding spot, revealing that his story checked out. Still, it wasn't absolute that they could trust the boy. "Is Alois okay?" he asked.

"He should be fine." the bluenette said, smothering his worry. He couldn't help but worry about the boy. "That plant ability takes a lot out of him. He just needs rest." That said, the boy was still eager to check on his blonde companion.

"Alois, are you alright?" Audrey asked the blonde menace.

"Just _peachy."_ Alois said weakly, smiling a bit. "The ground's a bit uncomfy, though... It's a lot like the couch in your office, Ciel..." he chuckled a bit, not having the energy to giggle.

Ciel propped the boy up, letting him lean on him. "honestly, how on earth are you still capable of cracking jokes in your condition?" he asked.

"Easy... It's 'cause I'm _Alois Trancy_..."

"Of course it is..." the bluenette said in a hushed tine, smiling a bit. Alois was trying to keep him from worrying too much, and while it failed to do so, it helped the other lad feel a bit better.

The boy in the skull beanie stared at the two for a while, watching the exchange. After doing so, he realized something: _These were still the very same boys he went to school with everyday._ Them being demons didn't change that. They were _still_ Ciel Phantomhive and Alois Trancy even after their true faces were revealed.

Audrey dwelled on this a bit longer before speaking up. "I won't tell anyone." he said again, catching the attention of the two demon's. "You're still _you_ , right? I'd feel bad for ratting out somebody _who didn't really deserve it_."

"Who's to say we _don't?_ " said Ciel. "We _are_ demonic apparitions who steal the souls of humans, you know."

"I know, but you didn't do anything to _me,_ personally. You also didn't let August _kill me,_ and for that, _I thank you!"_ The boy in the skull-beanie put his hands in his pockets. _"It's all good."_

"You're too kind." Ciel put one arm around the blonde's shoulder, and one underneath his legs, picking him up _like a princess._ The blonde groaned in response.

"Do you need a ride home? I get get Sebastian to pick you up." the bluenette offered.

"Nah, I can call for my own." Audrey said, whipping out his cell-phone. "See you at school tomorrow?"

"Just like always." said Ciel with a slight smile. "We'll be taking our leave, then." With that, the boy turned, blonde boy in his arms, to head home.

"Keep _'Princess Trancy'_ safe!" the Baines boy shouted to them, waving goodbye. Ciel chuckled, and Alois seemed to have regained enough strength to give Audrey _the finger_ as he was carried off, earning a laugh from the boy.

With that, they two were alone. They were quiet for a long while, Alois resting and Ciel reverting back into a "human". After a few more blocks, Sebastian would be waiting with the car.

"Ciel?" the blonde said.

"Yeah?"

"What are we gonna do about August?"

"I don't know. Hopefully after achieving her goal, she'll leave us be." The bluenette answered. He was met with short silence.

 _"We couldn't save her_... If we didn't intervene, Cassandra might've lived longer..." the blonde said sadly. His voice cracked.

"We _tried_ , didn't we? There was nothing more we could do, and besides, how we to know that would happen?" Ciel said. "I knew contracts make demons stronger, but I didn't know August was going to be _that_ strong. I thought that because it was two on one, we had a real chance..."

"I did too..." the blonde said before remaining silent for awhile. "I thought I could've been more helpful, but look at me, I can't even _stand_. What good am I? In the end, I guess I really _am_ more of a _'purple_ _ **princess'**_ than a _'purple_ _ **knight'**_ _.._."

"You did the best you could, and that's more than enough, Alois." the bluenette said reassuringly. "You're still _very young_ for a _demon_ , so your power hasn't had time to develop yet. Qho knows? Maybe you could become a _great_ _'knight'_ someday."

The blonde smiled into the other boy's shoulder. "Does that mean I could be the **'** _ **pitcher'**_ someday?" he asked with a small laugh.

"You _wish!"_


	102. Say No More

Warwick, Warwick _, Warwick Academy_ : lavish school for the offspring of Britain's upper class, and place of all-around academic excellence. There are many interesting things at Warwick. There are many clubs, and sporting teams, and activities to do at Warwick. But the most fascinating thing about Warwick is the _people_ of Warwick. Specifically speaking, the _non-human_ students of Warwick.

The demonic duo walked into the building just as they would any other day, and walked straight into Mr. Irons' classroom, where they would usually converse with friends until the bell rang. This, however, was not their major concern, today. Upon entering the doorway, the lads scanned the room quickly to see if all was "normal", and for the most part, it was.

They saw Audrey in his usual seat at the back of the class. He waved "hello" to the boys, and did a gesture to indicate that "his lips were sealed" in relation to their little _secret_. Alois waved back with a grin, and Ciel gave the boy in the skull beanie a slight nod in greeting.

Then they scanned the room again to spot _August_. The girl was sitting in the middle row, on the side closest to the door. She saw them and waved, _smiling pleasantly_ as though absolutely nothing had happened. _The nerve of her!_

And the boys thought _they_ were the _disturbed_ ones here. They casually walked to their desks, sitting down with a thud. Alois was still a bit tired from last night, and Ciel was still aching from Augusts punches. Demonic healing abilities did nothing to help either of those ailments.

Their moment of rest was interrupted by a certain Indian boy. "You two okay? You look _tired_." The blonde and the bluenette just groaned at the question. "I take that as a _'maybe'_."

"Bet they had a _rough night_." spoke a certain brown-haired son of a politician. " _Wink-wink, nudge-nudge. Say no more, say no more,_ am I right?"

Ciel suddenly felt compelled to repeatedly smash his head into the desk until his brains came out. He flushed red at the lad's implication, but ignored it. Alois, on the other hand, simply didn't get the joke.

"What the _hell,_ Daniel?!" Preston exclaimed.

"What? All they were doing was the _horizontal tango."_ the other boy defended before adding: " _Wink-wink, nudge-nudge. Say no more, say no more."_

Alois still didn't get the joke. The bluenette just hoped that if he ignored the source of his annoyance, that eventually, it would _go away_. The duo didn't really want to bother with Daniel right now. They had just _fought a powerful demon_ , and _watched a classmate die_. They were certainly not in the mood for Daniel's hijinks.

"That's a rather _personal_ thing to know, Daniel." said a certain boy wearing a pink tie. "Tell me, were you _outside the window with a pair of binoculars_ , or something?"

"Let's just say only I know because Alois _sings very loudly._ " Daniel said. " _Wink-wink, nudge-nudge. Say no more, say no more."_

Ciel's face felt like it was on fire as he _tried not to imagine that._ He rested his head on his desk, closed his eye, and tried to ignore the boy again. Alas, it was not to be.

"So you were just _listening_ , then?" Kristopherson asked, trying to trap the boy.

" _Indeed_." said the brown-haired boy. "I could also hear _you_ Kris, as you had your _quality time with senorita mano."_ Kristopherson blushed, and furrowed his brow. The jokes were annoying when they started, but now he was thoroughly unamused. Daniel spoke again. " _Wink-wink, nudge-nudge. Say no more, say no mo-"_

"Daniel, if you say _'Wink-wink, nudge-nudge. Say no more, say no more' one_ more time, I will personally _beat the ever-loving shit out of you_ and proceed to _chuck you out a window_." the bluenette snapped, cutting off the boy's sentence.

Four of the six stared at the irate bluenette boy in silence, minus Alois who was just yawning. They dared not to speak to the boy when he was like that. Ciel Phantomhive was one of the most fearsome people on the Warwick campus. He was up there on the "most feared" list along with The Blonde Menace, and Mr. Irons, as well as powerful people such as Audrey. Cross his path, and you will most certainly feel his wrath.

 _"We didn't get that much sleep last night, you guys."_ the blonde said finally, rubbing his eyes. _"We went to bed late."_

Now all six were silent. It was a long silence that unwelcomely lingered in the air, making anyone who breathed it in unbearably uncomfortable. Finally, the mist of silence dissipated, or rather, was shattered into a million pieces by the brown-haired teen.

" _...If you know what I mean."_ he added.

Ciel's head hit the surface of the desk. He was exasperated at this point. What on earth was he going to do with these people? They were complete imbeciles! Next it was the blonde's turn to speak.

"Oh... I get it!" he said finally with a giggle.

_"I HATE EVERYONE."_


	103. Flipp-Flopped?

It's time for the lads' English class, and the teacher is running late. Ciel still ached from the previous night, but was slowly recovering. He is still a bit upset for having being beaten by a _girl_. It infuriated him, even knowing the fact that August was under contract at the time, giving her a significant edge. He just knew the blonde was just _itching_ to tease him about it.

Speaking of the blonde, Alois sat on his desk while waiting, kicking his legs back-and-forth in a playful sort of matter, as he was far more awake now than he was this morning. He did in fact quite want to tease his companion, but knew well of the bluenette's frustration on the matter, thus he refrained. He was still a bit upset in the matter of how Cassandra died. After all, he died similarly.

For this, August will never be forgiven by the blonde boy. It made him sad, angry, and it made him feel that oh-so-familiar feeling of helplessness he had at one point forgotten. Alois didn't like it, not one single bit. Since moving into Phantomhive manner, he had felt like he had been given a clean slate, a second chance at life, and most importantly, a sort of power over what he could and could not do. If he didn't like something, he didn't have to participate, and that was a wonderful gift.

But all of that power was revealed to be only an illusion by the she-demon, in the blonde's eyes. He _couldn't save Cassandra_ , he _couldn't help Ciel_ , so what could he really do? Alois felt as though he was once again that little orphan boy in that small village, who struggled everyday in order to survive. That boy who was forced against his will to perform lewd acts by and for a wealthy, and _very sick_ old man. That boy who was fooled by a demon into believing that there was danger before him in the form of the Phantomhive house, when the true danger was _beside him_ all along. That boy was _not Alois Trancy._ That poor, weak, naive boy was _Jim Macken,_ and _that_ lad was entirely helpless. While on the outside, the blonde appeared to be unchanged, all of these thoughts swirled in his mind, granting him nothing but doubt in only himself. He had other things to worry about other than teasing Ciel.

" _Alois get off the desk,_ and to the rest of you, _good morning."_ said the teacher casually as she walked in.

 _Missus Chang_ was a petite woman who dressed somewhat casually in comparison to other teachers, yet it suited her demeanor perfectly. She teaches English, and does so in a matter that is somewhat fun and easy to understand, yet she is never hesitant to tell the Trancy boy off. He doesn't particularly mind, since he's somewhat fond of the teacher. In fact, this class was his best grade. All is takes is a few jokes and interesting presentation. May it also be noted, that the woman's daughter is in the same grade as the demonic duo, and only goes to Warwick due to a special discount. Yes, Missus Chang was a superb teacher.

As such, the blonde menace heeded her words, and sat in his chair rather than the desk itself. Ciel chuckled at him for getting in trouble, causing the blonde to stick out his tongue at him.

"Now, today we're going to talk about poetry- Shakespeare, more specifically." the woman said, earning a groan from the student. " _Now don't give me that._ " She put her hands on her hips. "Shakespeare can be _very_ interesting. In fact, there are a _ton_ of _dirty jokes_ in _Romeo and Juliet_ that I'm sure you'll _adore._ In _Twelfth Night,_ there's _cross dressing_ , and in _A Midsummer Night's Dream,_ there's _magic and donkey people,_ so don't you _dare_ argue with me that Shakespeare is _'boring'."_

"All of that sounds fascinating, Miss, but it's no good if we can't _read_ the stuff." Alois blurted out, gaining the approval of the room.

"That's because you aren't _paying attention to what the words are saying_ , Trancy. If you bothered to shut up and listen for five minutes, you might understand it a bit."

"Only ' _a bit'?_ Why do we care about the man? He's been dead for centuries, as _has Elizabethan English!"_ Alois argued, sitting up.

"It's still _culturally relevant_."

"I wear _booty-shorts,_ not _tights,_ Miss."

"I don't have time for this, Trancy. _I'm starting class_." the instructor said, rubbing her temples.

 _"UGH! I don't caaaaaaaaaaare!"_ the blonde whined.

"Just ignore him, Miss. He'll shut up if you do." spoke the bluenette boy seated next to the blonde, resting his chin against his palm. "Being ignored is like _kryptonite_ to him. He's _lying_ , anyway."

"I'm not _lying!"_

"How is he 'lying'?" the woman asked, confusedly.

"He can recite Sonnet 130 at will." the bluenette said.

This was true, as the blonde had none other than _Sebastian Michaelis_ as a tutor. The butler had a command over the English language that made him perfect to teach Alois how to read and write properly. How else could he have gotten from a third-grade reading level to a ninth-grade reading level so quickly? The blonde was in tenth-grade now, and was able to read and understand quite a few things, as well as memorize them. While the blonde hated reading, he could do all of this, and Ciel knew it. It is for that very reason that he even bothered to mention it. _To bother the blonde._

"Well, Alois?" the woman said, looking at the flaxen-haired teen with a skeptical expression.

"Nope. _Ciel_ is the _smart_ one. I'm just _the_ _obnoxious one in sexy booty-shorts._ I need to keep up my reputation, y'know." Alois said back.

"Alois, Ciel has just presented you with the opportunity _to prove that you're more than that_. Are you seriously going to give it up _because of something so meaningless?"_

The woman's words struck a nerve with the lad. " _Prove he's more than that?"_ Of course he wants to- All the time, actually. _Ciel_ has all of the _brains, Ciel_ has all of the _skill_ , the blonde was just _useless in practically every aspect_. The blonde kind of envies that. Of course he would, at the very least, be able to _catch up to the bluenette,_ who was constantly leaving him in the dust. He slammed his hands on the desk and spoke at a mile a minute.

" _My mistress eyes are nothing like the sun;_

_Coral is far more red than her lips' red;_

_If snow be white, why then her breasts are dun;_

_If hairs be wires, black wires grow on her head._

_I have seen roses damasked, red and white, But no such roses see I in her cheeks;_

_And in some perfumes is there more delight Than in the breath that from my mistress reeks._

_I love to hear her speak, yet well I know That music hath a far more pleasing sound;_

_I grant I never saw a goddess go;_

_My mistress when she walks treads on the ground._

_And yet, by heaven, I think my love as rare_

_As any she belied with false compare."_

The people in the room stared at the boy for a moment. The teacher did so as well before getting out a textbook and checking for herself. She stood there, reading to herself before finally closing the book.

"That's _right..."_ she said, flabbergasted.

"In'nt though?" the blonde said, folding his arms across his chest in triumph.

"Have you read Shakespeare before, Alois?"

"Yeah, but I got that from _Catherine Tate."_ he said. "Y'know, the one where _Lauren_ meets _Doctor Who?"_ The children laughed, getting the reference. This included Ciel, who did so with his hand over his mouth.

"And here I thought you were smarter than you appeared, Trancy." said _Missus Chang_ , rolling her eyes. "On with the assignment. You no longer have much time to work on it in class, thanks to Trancy, but I want you all to write a sonnet, and turn it in by Monday."

The class groaned. Ciel, however, didn't particularly care. He could probably dig up on of his old ones from a previous school and reuse it, anyway. What he was focusing on was the girl outside. He gazed out the window to find none other than _August_ walking about outside.

What could the girl be up to? Class wasn't over yet and she wasn't generally the type to skip, yet there she was, plain as day. She noticed him glaring and waved with a smile. The bluenette just tried to shoot an "ice-beam" at her through the window. He didn't like the girl.

Suffering a defeat by her hands didn't sit well with the boy. Ciel was humiliated by it. Not only did Alois witness it, but so did a classmate. He couldn't bear it. He too would never forgive the girl for what she did.

Whatever she was up to now certainly wasn't any good either. Why did she even bother to come back to school? She got what she wanted, so why did she linger? Something wasn't right at all about this. There was something _else_ , wasn't there? She couldn't have been done here, _there had to be something else she was after_.

The bluenette watched her enter another building, breaking him from his trance. He turned to his other side to see the blonde staring at him, leaning in his chair.

"What?" Ciel asked.

"Something's wrong. I can see it on your face." the other boy replied.

"I'll tell you later. _It's about August_."

"Is it?" the blonde asked. He paused for a moment. Alois was trying to think of a funny remark. "'Bout her and Cassandra _kissing?"_ he asked, causing the bluenette to jump a bit.

"No! _Why the hell would I care about that?_ It was just a _Demon's kiss_ , and there are more important things to think about."

"She's pretty cute though, isn't she? For an _agent of evil straight from Satan's anus,_ that is."

"What the _hell,_ Alois?!"

Alois just looked over at the other boy with a big grin on his face. It was obvious at this point that the blonde was simply messing with the lad. "Don't be _jealous_ , Ciel. I love only _you!"_ he said, earning a punch to the arm.

" _Wanker._ I'm _not_ 'jealous' in the slightest." the bluenette said defensively, making an attempt to hide the blush on his face.

"Good, so _don't go starin' at evil chicks."_

A slight smile now tugged at the corners of Ciel's lips. "Oh, so _you're_ the jealous one?" he asked.

"What? I am not!"

"In the words of a certain blonde i know: _'I love you to, muffin'_."

"You're supposed to be the _serious_ one!" the blonde objected.

"Yes, but I'm also the ' _pitcher'."_

_"Piss off!"_


	104. I Don't Trust You

Ciel was waiting outside the library in his usual reading spot, for Alois to finish up his usual duties there. The blonde was in trouble this time for loudly telling a girl to " _invest in a longer skirt, because no one wants to see her vagina_." Honestly, the blonde could be so _brash and crude_ at times. Still, he was right, and the girl did get in trouble for not following the dress code and Alois got in trouble as well for obvious reasons, but that is neither here nor there.

The bluenette sat under the same tree he always did while waiting on Alois. The reason he didn't go into the library and wait was for the simple fact that Alois would never get anything done if Ciel was there. He would be too busy teasing the bluenette, to the lad decided it was best to wait outside. Here, he would listen to music or read. Today he was reading _The Hunger Games_ since it was recommended to him by the majority of his classmates. As he read, he came to the conclusion that living in that would would be reasonably easy for him. He was pretty sure he could win the game and take down _the Capitol_.

This train of thought was brought to a screeching halt, however, when a shadow blocked his reading light. He didn't even have to look up to see who it was. "Can I help you, _Remy?"_ he said calling the girl by her surname, acknowledging her existence.

"Oh, Ciel, ' _Remy'_ is so _impersonal._ Just call me ' _August'."_ the she-demon said, taking a seat next to the lad. "After all, it isn't as though I have any _secrets_ from you at this point."

"Is that so?" the boy remarked. He didn't look at her, nor did he even believe a word she had just said. At this point he had resolved to not play any games with the she-demon. The difference between truth and lies was blurred when she spoke. She could tell the truth as though they were lies, and lies as though they were truths. Oh, how the bluenette wanted to see that blonde walk through the Library doors so that he may escape.

"It is." the girl said back. "What about _you?_ What are _you hiding_ , Ciel?"

"Nothing is hidden, it just isn't placed in plain sight." the boy said. He could feel the girl staring at him with her large, yet sharp garnet eyes. They were like a cat's, almost.

She leaned closer to the boy. "You and I both know that's a _lie,_ Ciel." August said with a smirk. "I don't need to see _both_ of your eyes to be able to see that there is something hidden inside them. Something dark. Tell me. I'm simply _dying_ to know."

"Literally, or _only_ figuratively?"

 _"Ouch._ That's harsh. _Is your heart this closed off to Alois, too?"_

 _"Alois has nothing to do with it."_ Ciel said angrily. Somehow when the girl said his companion's name, he felt as though she would corrupt it.

"How stingy! I was hoping we could get to know each other better!"

"If this is how you get to know people, you must not have that many friends."

"Well, _neither do you."_

"I _like_ it that way."

August pouted for a moment. "Well, _you're_ no _fun."_ she said. That's what Alois usually says, and she knew it. she leaned against the tree for a moment before laughing. " _I just remember the conversation you had this morning with Daniel and them."_

 _"_ It's _rude_ to _eavesdrop,_ you know." the boy said, his face slightly pinkening at remembering the six's conversation.

"It's not ' _eavesdropping'_ if you can be heard all the way in _Scotland."_ the she-demon remarked. Ciel couldn't come up with a retort, so he just pretended to be reading. "You haven't _turned the page_ in awhile. Am I _distracting_ you?"

Ciel closed the book and set it on the ground next to him and turned to the girl. "Let's skip all of this nonsense and get straight to the point." he said, "What do you _really_ want?"

"I get _lonely,_ sometimes. I thought it would be nice to have a _friend_."

" _Punching and kicking me didn't give you any points_."

"Sorry. You were in my way. It wasn't anything personal, I assure you." the girl said, looking at the boy. "Isn't it nice having someone else knowing your secret, though? Being a demon, I mean. I think so. It feels like I can finally _be myself_." She smiled.

The lad wasn't sure how he apparently _wasn't_ "being himself." Yes, having Alois in on the secret helped him immensely, but he didn't know about August. The girl was a _true devil._ Cunning, manipulative, remorseless, certainly not someone you would want to be alone with. She might just kill you for the fun of it.

The bluenette stood up, wiping the dirt from his trousers, and started to walk into the Library building. He didn't look back at the girl nor did he say any parting words. It was as though she didn't exist. She smiled a crooked smile at his back as he walked away from her.

"Running back to blondie, huh?" she said to herself. " _How disappointing_."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I read the first line of this chapter and was like "God, Alois was so mean!" He is, at this point in the story. I feel like his more current self in the sequel would be really embarrassed. It's really funny how drastically they changed. It happened so gradually, I didn't even notice!
> 
> A lot of people get that when they read this. Hopefully, that's true for this audience as well!
> 
> Until the next chapter, my duckies~!


	105. Bad News, Good, Then Bad Again

'Twas a new day at Warwick Academy. The sun was shining, the birds were singing, and children were laughing. All was well at Warwick on this day.

That is, before science class came about. Lo, that the children will be forced to complete a project of some sort. They had to design, perform, and record an experiment in only a few weeks. All were unhappy at this turn of events. Moreover, they wouldn't get to choose their own partners. Unhappiness became despair as the instructor passed around a hat for the children to draw names from.

Alois, for one, was terrified at who he might get. He could be stuck in a group with Daniel and get nothing done, or he could be in a group with that annoying Lawrence guy, or worse, he could be _grouped with August._ At last the hat made it to him, and he drew a piece of paper. Looking at the name on it made him give a sigh of relief.

" _Audrey Baines"_ it said. The blonde would rather be with Ciel, but could live with that.

Then a truly terrifying thought came to mind. "What if _Ciel_ got August?" He looked over at the girl, who noticed him and gave him a smirk. The evil that could be _seen_ on the girl's visage made him shudder. He looked to his friend who was in the middle of drawing one of the many slips of paper in the hat before hearing the small _snap_ of someone snapping their fingers once. He looked in the direction of August once more, and she smiled, and gestured over to Ciel. Back again to the bluenette the focus of the blonde's icy blue eyes went, and the boy had already drawn his paper, and opened it.

It said: " _August Remy."_

"I'm telling you, she used _magic!_ There is _no way_ you could have possibly gotten her otherwise!" said the blonde after the class had ended. They walked down the hallway together, Alois held on to the other lad's arm so he would accidentally get lost in the massive sea of people the flooded the path. He had to raise his voice a bit to be heard in the hallway, but fortunately, everyone else was too focused on their own affairs to notice.

"I'm not even sure if demons can _do_ that, Alois." the bluenette said. He paced himself a bit so the blonde wouldn't lose his grip. "Besides, I'm not sure why she would even want to do something like that in the first place."

"Who cares _why?!_ She obviously has it out for you!" The flaxen-haired teen stopped walking, bringing the other boy to a halt as well. He waited for the bluenette to look at him before continuing. " _Be careful_." The boy's face was completely serious with a shred of concern, a characteristic usually absent from the blonde.

Ciel was surprised by this. He expected the bot to go on about how the she-demon was an _"agent of evil straight from Satan's anus"_ or something, but no, not now. Now Alois was truly worried for him. All he could think about was how _cute_ the blonde was at that moment, but soon he wriggled his arm out of the blonde's grasp and grabbed onto his hand instead, intertwining their fingers.

"I will." the bluenette said with a slight smile.

"Promise?" the blonde asked.

_"Yes, your Highness."_

The teen's little "moment" was interrupted by the ringing of the bluenette's cell-phone. With his free hand, he reached into his pocket and pulled out the device to answer it. Fortunately, the hallway had by now, cleared enough so that he could hear the person on the other end.

"Hello?" he said into the small device. The smile that was on his face faded entirely at what he had heard on the other end. " _What?"_ he asked, his grip on the blonde's hand tightened, and his visible eye widened. Now the blonde was _very_ concerned.

"They can't do that!" the boy shouted into the phone. " _He hasn't done anything!"_ He glanced at the blonde before looking at the floor. "Right... I'll talk to you later, Sebastian." and with that, he hung up.

"What was that about?" the blonde asked.

"This is bad..." the bluenette said. " _They_ found out about you. The Round-Table knows about you, and they want to know if you are a threat." He looked at the blonde.  
The Round-Table conference is the most powerful assembly in all of Britain. If they know, there is no doubt that _H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G_. knows, and _they will kill you_ if they feel that it's necessary."

"Who's ' _H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G.'?"_

"It stands for ' _Her royal England Legions of Legitimate Supernatural and Immortal Night Gaurd'_. They like to take care of supernatural pests. You are supernatural, and if they see you as a 'pest'..." the bluenette trailed off. Alois' face went pale.

"What about you then?" he asked.

"They'll probably be after me for summoning you in the first place." Ciel's eye went from worried to determined. "I won't let them harm you." he said. "You can prove you're worthy of serving her Majesty as a demon just as I have. I _know_ you can."

 _"Are you out of your mind?!_ There's no way!"

"Alois, you can. If you want it bad enough, I know you can obtain their trust." Ciel smiled at the other boy. "You are _Alois Trancy,_ after all. _Alois Trancy_ doesn't give up. _Alois Trancy_ doesn't simply stand back and wait for defeat. _Alois Trancy_ fights tooth and nail to get what he desires, and does nothing less. _That_ is the Blonde Menace _I_ know and love."

Now it was Alois' turn to smile. Was that really how Ciel saw him. His eyes went from frightened to determined.

 _"Damn straight."_ he said. "Bring on the Round-Table, bring on H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G., bring on _agents of evil straight from Satan's anus!_ I'll show them all!" After those words left his mouth, he smirked.

"What is it?" asked Ciel. He knew that look.

"I have an _idea."_

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'M SO GLAD I DOUBLE-CHECKED THIS. I ALMOST CUT A MASSIVE PORTION OF THIS WITHOUT THINKING. IT WAS THE PART WITH THE PLOT POINT!
> 
> I'm a fucking dumbass.
> 
> This is actually really funny because I never meant for this to become as big of a part of the story as it did... I was just like "haha, this would be a funny reference," and now it's super important. How the fuck did I mess up that badly?
> 
> Well, it did provide a way to make things more interesting as time went on. It wouldn't be the same without it. I'm kind of glad.
> 
> Until the next chapter, my duckies~!


	106. A Meeting With Monster Hunters

A certain blonde was sitting in a strange office in a strange manor in the London area on this day in order to be "evaluated" by some "supernatural expert". It was requested that he come without either Ciel or Sebastian, and while the conditions made both lads nervous, they couldn't afford to refuse. Yes, Alois was at Hellsing Manor, the headquarters of the H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. organization, which has the _sole_ purpose of hunting down and eradicating supernatural beings, _all by himself_. Certainly you can imagine his restlessness at this point.

He sat on the sofa in the office, which was oddly more comfortable than the one in the Phantomhive boy's office, trying to calm his nerves. If he messes up even _once_ , he could be shot on sight. He was busily playing with items on the coffee table in front of him. He found things like pens and pencils, and wanted to somehow find a way to stack them, often failing when he tried. he found a magnifying glass, and wished that he found an anthill nearby. He found a _box of cigars_ , but didn't play with those. He went back to trying to balance a pencil on the point of another before a woman came in with a clipboard.

She was a rather pretty young woman with sort, pale, blonde hair similar to Alois', with red eyes. She was somewhat muscular, and judging by the uniform she was wearing, she was a soldier. The uniform was a dark red with the sleeves rolled up, and had the H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. crest on it. The crest itself was red and black with the words "We Are On A Mission From GOD" in one corner, and the word "Hellsing" at the top in yellow. For some reason, her skirt was impractically short, and her black, thigh-high stockings looked ripped. However, her most distinguishing feature, other than her _massive breasts_ , was her left arm which was entirely black with what looked like strands of some sort of _dark energy_ coming off of it. Obviously, she wasn't human either, so why was she working for H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G.?

" _Good morning."_ the woman said pleasantly, giving the boy a comforting smile.

"Mornin'..." the boy said back, fidgeting in his seat a bit. Even though she seemed nice enough, she was still with the shadow organization.

"Right," said the woman, taking a seat across from the boy. She had a clipboard with her, so she was obviously going to be evaluating him today. She looked up at the boy. "Don't worry, I won't _bite!_ My name is _Seras Victoria_ , but you can call me 'Seras', alright?" she smiled again.

"A-alright." He looked up at the woman, who was apparently known as Seras. "What do you need from me?"

"Well, today, I'm just going to ask you a few questions, if that's alright with you." She noticed the boy staring at her arm. "Oh, this? I bet you're wondering about it, huh?"

"You could say that."

"I lost it a a few years back. _It transforms when I want it to_."

"So you aren't _'human'_ either, are you?" the boy asked.

"No, I'm actually H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G.'s favourite target, a _vampire_." she said, jokingly putting her hands up like claws.

"Why do you work here, then?"

"One of our philosophies here, is that _the best weapon against a monster is another monster_." Seras picked her clipboard back up. "Wait, aren't _I_ supposed to be asking _you_ questions?"

"Oh, sorry." Alois looked down.

"It's fine. I can understand why you'd be wanting to know all of this, us being ' _Big, Bad, Monster-Killers',_ and all. My guess is _Ciel_ told you all of that, huh?"

"How'd you know?"

"Ciel and _my_ master don't get along that well. I think it may be because they're _too alike!"_ the Draculina said with a giggle. "Oh, and Ciel has also notified us of _your past_ , Alois, so we don't need to go over that."

"Why, that little-!" Alois felt as though the bluenette had just played a prank on him. Here he was, terrified of being here, and and the reality was that the people of H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. were actually quite courteous. _That damn blue midget cyclops_.

Seras laughed. "Alright, first question: ' _How do you feel about your country?'"_

 _"'The sun never sets on the British Empire'."_ Alois replied. Seras smiled and wrote down his answer.

"' _Have you ever served the public before, either locally, or nationally?'"_

 _"_ In the 1800s, I was known as _'The Queen's Spider',_ a position I inherited from the previous Earl Trancy. As such, I would do a similar job as ' _The Watchdog'_ as one of her majesty's evil nobles. As of recent, I've been assisting Ciel in his duties."

"You mean the _Sudoku Killer_ and the _Boogeyman_ cases?"

"Yup!"

"Impressive. The next question is obvious. ' _Have you ever been in serious contact with the super-natural?'"_ asked Seras, looking up from her clipboard.

" _Hell_ yeah!" Alois said, folding his arms. "I've seen _Demons, Angels, Grim Reapers_ , and the list just keeps growing!" He smiled. _"'Vampire'_ has just been added to it."

"That sounds crazy!" the young woman commented. "I've only seen _vampires, werewolves, ghouls_ , and a _cat-boy_. You're seeing all the big ones!"

"Isn't it, though? _One in particular_ has been giving us trouble, lately. She's a _demon_ named _August_." the lad clarified. This was part of his plan. Showing H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. that they are willing to kill their own kind, maybe receive help dealing with the she-demon in the process.

"How has she been giving you trouble?" Seras asked.

The blonde boy explained. "She came to school with her contract holder, but the contract holder wanted out of her deal with August. She asked us to help her, but when we tried to save her..." the blonde's face turned solemn. _"...August killed her_."

He saw the woman's face grow solemn too, as opposed to her cheerful self from earlier. Seras didn't even know the girl, and yet felt empathy. Alois wasn't sure how such a person could be a _vampire_. Sure, her arm appeared to be made from some sort of dark matter, her eyes were red, and all of the curtains on the room's windows were closed, blocking the sun's rays, yet the girl seemed to be _very_ human. The boy couldn't quite understand this. She was more "human" now than he was when he really _was_ human.

"She won't leave, either, which is odd." Alois continued. "Usually, when demons finish a contract, they move on, but August is lingering around for some reason. We suspect she may be up to something." he said. The fidgety frightened boy from earlier appeared to be gone for the moment. Seras was busily writing all of this down.

"Thank you for the information." she said. "I think things are looking good for you, so far. I just need to get this back to my Master, and she will discuss this with _The Council of Twelve."_ Seras smiled at the boy.

"Really?!" he said, relieved. _He was going to have to talk to Ciel about making him worry so much._

Seras stood up, and offered him her hand, which he shook. "It was nice meeting you, Alois. I'm sure everything will be perfectly fine." she said with a warm smile.

"You too, _Seras,_ and I hope you're right!"

He bidded the Draculina farewell, and exited the large manor. For the one in her Majesty's apparently _ever-expanding_ arsenal of shadow organizations, this was was surprisingly friendly. He walked up to a black Rolls Royce parked in the driveway, opened the door, and climbed in the backseat. A familiar man dressed in black was behind the wheel of the vehicle, and a bluenette boy wearing an eye-patch was sitting next to the blonde in the backseat. The boy turned his gaze from the window to the blonde.

"How did it go?" Ciel asked.

"Surprisingly well, I think. _Seras_ says that everything will be fine. She just needs to turn in her information to her 'master'." the blonde replied.

" _Miss Victoria?"_ the bluenette asked. "I'm glad she was the one asking the questions. Had her ' _master'_ done so herself, you might've been less fortunate."

"Why?"

"Sir Hellsing is a _stubborn woman_. She's very serious, and very _powerful_. You still have to get past her in order to be in the clear." the bluenette replied. "I'm pretty sure _she's_ a the biggest _monster_ at H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G..." he added.

"W-what? Wait, ' _Sir_ Hellsing?' I thought she was a _woman!"_ the blonde said nervously.

"She _is_ a woman. She's just always been called a _'Sir'_ . It's apparent;y been that way since before I met her. No one really knows _why_ she's a ' _Sir_ ' and not a _'Dame'_ , most people just think it's due to her _commanding presence."_

 _"I am so screwed..."_ Alois said with his head in his hands. Then he remembered something. "Wait, but Seras said you were both ' _alike'_. So shouldn't I have a chance?"

Ciel stiffened at the suggestion. "I am _nothing_ like that _monster-collecting woman!"_ he said defensively.

"Seras also said you don't get along because of it."

"We aren't alike at all! _Sir Hellsing is a cigar-chewing beast!"_

_"She called you 'short' once, didn't she?"_

_"Shut up!"_ the bluenette commanded.

"...Or was it ' _little kid'?"_

_"ALOIS!"_

* * *


	107. Tell Me Something

Phantomhive Manor: one of the oldest manors in Britain that is still in service to it's original family, of which there is only one living member. The residents of the house keep all of it's secrets safe, locked away tightly under locks, keys, and deception, thus further maintaining the illusion of normalcy about the house. Yes, this house has many secrets, some lay in the past, while some lay in the present with the current head and his servants, such as the fact that _none of them are human_.

Today, the manor has guests arriving sometime in the afternoon, a human boy and a devil girl, there for the specific purpose of completing a science project that is due the following Monday. The girl, however, has other plans. She is quite keen on meeting with her lab partner and head of the Phantomhive house, Ciel Phantomhive.

When she makes it through the front door, she is lead by the finest butler the house has ever known, now the only butler it knows, Sebastian Michaelis, to the office of the eye-patch-wearing gentleman. Upon walking through the door, she sees the boy sitting behind his desk conversing with two other boys, both of which she is familiar with. The Trancy and the Baines boy appear to be asking the bluenette for some supplies for their own project.

"Like I would know where to get _PVC pipe.._." the bluenette said to the blonde boy disapprovingly.

"But Ciel! We can make a _potato cannon_ without it!" the blonde said back.

"Why a _potato cannon?_ Why can't you just make a _baking soda volcano_ , or something?"

"The _explosion_ of baking soda and vinegar volcanoes is _inadequate to our tastes_." said the Baines lad, looking down at the seated boy through his long bangs.

The bluenette sighed in exasperation. "I should have known..." he said. "Look, why don't you focus on gathering the rest of your materials until you can get Sebastian to take you to the hardware store?" He looked past the pair of boys in front of him at his own lab-partner. He was _not_ looking forward to this.

Alois knew the girl was standing there from the moment she walked in, but chose to ignore her. Audrey, on the other hand, noticed the bluenette's gesture and froze in fear upon realizing that the she-demon was right behind him. The girl in question, however, simply took a seat on the couch and smiled in a friendly manner at the boys.

" _Fine_." the blonde said finally. "C'mon, Audrey! We have _potatoes_ to find!" Alois dragged the nearly petrified boy in the skull beanie out of the room, making sure to glare at August on his way out. She ignored it.

The door closed behind him, and with that, it was just the bluenette, and the she-demon. "Hello, Ciel." she said.

 _"Remy."_ the boy said in order to acknowledge her existence.

"How cold! Didn't I say you could call me _'August'?"_ the girl said in mock-hurt.

"You said I _could,_ not that I _had_ to." the boy remarked. "Anyway, do you have any ideas about this project?"

"None at all. To tell you the truth, I couldn't care _less_ about it."

"If you say at school, you should do schoolwork."

"I _should_ , but I don't _have_ to." August said mockingly. She giggled when she saw the lad's eyebrow twitch in annoyance.

"If you aren't going to _help_ , then you might as well _leave._ I'll just do it myself."

"Oh, you're no fun at all, Mr. _'ordinary human boy'!_ Don't you ever get _tired_ of being a _goody-goody two-shoes_ all the time? You aren't _human_ , after all, you're a _demon_."

"I'm not _'good'._ I can't remember a time that I ever was. Being a demon has nothing to do with it. _Maybe_ I just like getting through life as simply as possible?" the bluenette replied.

"By fitting into a mold?" the girl questioned. She crossed her legs and folded her hands. "Tell me, how exactly is that _easy?"_

"Simple. I keep the _monster hunters_ away by acting civil." the boy said with a slight smirk. He slouched his shoulders and rested his chin on his palm.

"Monster hunters? Come now, we aren't weak little bugs that can be squished so easily."

"Neither are _they. They_ are monsters in their own right. Some _figuratively_ , some _literally_. Killing creatures of darkness is what they do best."

August looked at the boy in a patronizing manner. "Really?" she said. "And who exactly are ' _they'?"_

 _"Her royal England Legions of Legitimate Supernatural and Immortal Night Guard,_ otherwise known as H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. _"_ the boy said. "If I don't behave, they could make it very difficult for me, you know? There isn't a place in the entire United Kingdom that I could hide."

The girl legitimately laughed at that. "Hah! You-you're afraid of a little organization? _You?_ That's hilarious!" she said, catching her breath.

"If they tamed _Dracula_ , who knows what else they could do?"

"You _have_ to be _joking_."

"I'm told I have a very _dry_ sense of humour."

"How big of a threat are they _really?_ Certainly you aren't talking about the book by _Bram Stoker_."

"They _killed_ a man wielding the _Divine Nail of Helena_."

Now _this_ was interesting. The "Nail" had many names, you see. _"The Lance of Longinus", "The Holy Grail", "The Holy Shroud", "The Tang of Miracle"._ This "Nail", was said to originate from the true cross that Christ himself was crucified on. The wielder of the "Nail" is said to become a "monster of god", driving the nail into one's heart and becoming what can neither be described as _life_ or _death_. The wielder of the nail cannot simply be "killed". No matter how many time you shoot, stab, maul, maim, decapitate, eviscerate or otherwise attack the wielder of that nail, they will not die. They will only regenerate their appendages and heal their wounds instantaneously without so much as wincing. Whoever kills them, is a true _monster._

"You've _got_ to be kidding." said August. Her playful smile faded.

"If I was, I wouldn't be here, now would I?" the boy said with a smirk. "Since I've been such a _'goody-goody two-shoes',_ and pledged my allegiance to her majesty, they don't see me as a _threat._ I can _introduce_ you, if you'd like."

"Is that a _threat?"_

_"Now, why would I do a thing like that?"_

"Well, now this may just be my _imagination_ , but I'm _starting_ to get the _impression_ that _you don't like me very much_." the she-demon said with sarcasm.

" _Really? Whatever gave you that impression?"_ said the boy, flashing a fake smile.

The girl stood up and slammed her hands on the desk in front of of the boy, causing his usual face to appear. " _That,_ Ciel, is exactly _why."_ she said, leaning over the desk. Her long black hair crawling down her shoulder and back, dangling less than centimetres above it. "You're so _fake_. What are you _really_ hiding inside that head of yours? What is _really_ in that _heart_ that you so desperately try to shield? You, Ciel, are like no other demon I have encountered. Demons _seldom_ keep secrets. We lie, but we don't keep _secrets_. We're open books, you know? Except for _you_ , who is obviously _hiding_ something behind that disguise you wear _so well_. How do you do it? _Why_ do you do it? I don't _want_ to know, I _have_ to know, Ciel."

Ciel sat there silently and let the girl finish her rant. He hardly blinked. His faux-smile returned and he said: "Well then, as _Alois_ would put it, ' _I guess that means you're royally screwed'."_

"Yes, _Alois."_ the girl echoed. Somehow the way the blonde's name rolled off her tongue was disturbing. "You're quite fond of him, hm? That's a bit unusual as well. What pray tell, is the reason?"

"You sure like to ask questions, don't you _, Remy?"_ The Phantomhive boy looked the intruding girl in the eye. "Did you know? _Alois is an even better faker than I am."_ August furrowed her brow at the boy's words. "We have many things in common, Alois and I. _His_ secrets are quite similar to _mine_."

"And _that's_ why you _love_ him? Tell me something _, is he fully capable of loving you back?"_ the girl asked with a smirk. Ciel's visible eye widened, and his brow furrowed.

August just seemed _amused_ by this, and continued. "He just screams _'sexual abuse victim',_ you know. He obviously has _Borderline Personality Disorder_ , made obvious by his _impulsiveness, fear of abandonment_ , and _dramatic mood swings_. He is also very _dissociative_ on certain levels, can you see it? He also obviously has _Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder_ as well. I see him _'re-expeiriance'_ it whenever he seemingly fades into a near zombie-like state on seemingly random occasions. You know what another symptom is? _Avoidance_. While he may be rather bizarrely promiscuous on the outside, has he every really _tried anything_ with y-"

" _Shut up."_ the boy ordered through clenched teeth. This girl had said _enough._ She acts as though she could know what Alois was thinking, what was _feeling._ She knew _nothing_ about the blonde. Nothing, yet she had the audacity to say these things as though she knew the boy's heart inside and out. This girl was a _demon_ in _every_ sense of the word.

And what does she do? What. Does. She. Do? She _laughed._ She was _amused_ by this.

"Oh, Ciel, you're so _cute_ when you're _angry_." she said _mockingly._ Ciel glared at her. Sapphire against garnet.

 _"Eternity_ is so _boring_ , Ciel." she said. "It's so monotonous, repeating the cycle of taking souls, over and over again. How many hundreds _, tens of hundreds_ of people have had their despair devoured by me? I feel it. All of it. I have nothing but this ever-expanding _despair_ to my _name-_ in fact _, I haven't even that_. I have _forgotten_ it while trapped in this Limbo that is 'Immortality'." Her voice was now calm, sincere, _hushed._ "You're lucky to have someone to spend it with, just so you can escape the 'normalcy' of eating souls. But tell me something:" She paused.

"Could _Alois love_ you the way _I could?"_


	108. Who Is August?

"What kind of question is _that?"_ asked the bluenette behind the desk in the office of Phantomhive Manor.

"I thought it was a pretty straightforward one." said the she demon leaning on said desk in front of him. "Wouldn't you agree?"

"I suppose, but I'm still going to answer you with a _'no'_." the boy said firmly.

"Aw, you aren't even going to consider it?" the girl asked. "You could be making a mistake, you know; picking _'damaged goods'_ and all."

"Maybe so, but even goods that have been _damaged_ can still fair better as long as they are _high-quality_ , and treated with care as opposed to those that are _cheap_." the boy said with a smirk.

 _"Ouch_ , that _stings_..." the girl said in mock-hurt.

_"Good."_

"Me? _Cheap?_ Tell me, what makes you believe that?"

"The fact that you so willing to lie, cheat, and twist the knife on other people's insecurities, for one." the boy answered.

" _Fair enough_." August said with a shrug. "Anything else?"

Ciel leaned back in his chair and looked at the girl. "You're _boring."_ he said plainly.

To the lad, part of Alois' very _appeal_ is that common ground they have with their horrid pasts from their human lives. It brought them closer together. It endeared them to one another. Part of the fun was pushing forward in spite of all of that, and doing so together. August had nothing to her. She said that she, herself was bored of her everyday life, so what is the fun to be had with that? Does she honestly think that being _female_ makes up for that? It would appear that way.

August stopped leaning over the desk, and flipped a stray lock of hair over her shoulder. "I see." she said. "So you're still willing to play with a _damaged_ person over a ' _complete'_ one?"

"He may be a _damaged_ person, but he's also my _favourite_ person." the boy said with a slight smile.

The girl frowned, and he continued. "By the way, you aren't _that '_ complete', you know." His smile faded. "You have nothing that seems to make you who you are. You're just 'August'. You don't seem to have a _past._ You only have a _present_. You say you've forgotten it. What makes you 'you'? You're name isn't yours. _Cassandra_ gave it to you. This form isn't even yours. This is just the form you took because it was what _Cassandra_ needed from you. _Is there anything you have at all? What makes you interesting? It isn't a hard decision, you know."_

Things flew off the desk and hit the floor with a clatter as the girl suddenly stretched her arm across the desk and picked up the boy by the collar of his shirt. Her teeth were clenched, eyebrows furrowed, eyes glowing crimson as the rest of her face was warped into a snarl. Ciel had done it. He had really done it. He didn't experience this because he was human once, but he had just put out _every demons insecurity_ out in the open.

Demons don't have an _identity_ without a _human_ to give them one. They devour souls because they have a _void_ to fill. Demons have no _identity._ They aren't _people_ , and as such, they can't really _love_. They can only rely on _instinct_ because they have no _preferences_ or _opinions_ without _someone else_. August isn't "August". August is "nobody". August is a just nameless demonic apparition who lost their sense of self long ago.

Ciel and Alois have a sense of self because they were human. Sebastian has a sense of self because _Ciel gave him his identity._ But what did August have? August was no longer "August" because she doesn't have _Cassandra_ make her that anymore. Who is "August"? _Who is "August"?_ _ **Who is "August"?!**_

The girl shouted the question over and over again in her mind. "Who is 'August';" she had no idea. She had no one who could _tell_ her. In the end, she was just another demon who could do nothing without having someone to _tell_ her. One of the very things that drew her to Ciel was his overwhelming sense of self, his _pride_. The blonde was weaker in this department in comparison to the bluenette, that is _why Ciel_. The Phantomhive boy _commanded demons_ , which was something _uncommon_ for the race. You can't _command_ without being " _somebody"._ Those who are "nobody" _take_ orders, and those who are "somebody" _give_ orders, it's as simple as that.

"Well?" the bluenette boy said. He hardly flinched. "Are you going to _say_ something, _August?"_

 _Who is "August"?_ The she-demon couldn't respond. _She was not August_. She was no longer " _August"_ now that _Cassandra_ was gone. She knew she felt _angry_ , but she was not " _August"._ She knew she felt _uncertain_ , but she was not " _August_ ". _She knew she had been asked a question, but she was not "August"._ She could not answer because she was not _"August"._

" _Let go of me."_ the boy ordered. Because she had no idea what else to do, she simply did as she was told and released the boy. He dusted himself off and fixed his attire. "I think it's about time you went home. I'll see you tomorrow at school."

The she-demon clicked her tongue in annoyance, and turned. She walked out the door without argument. She couldn't argue, she knew not what else to do. She couldn't think of anything on her own.

Demons don't serve a high-devil, or ruler of hell of any sort. They each work independently to sustain their own meaningless existences. There is none of such a title, yet if there was one, _the bluenette boy with the eye-patch would be him._

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "He may be a damaged person, but he's my favourite person."
> 
> I haven't written a line that good since I first wrote this chapter. It's my favourite line! I still get people quoting "wink wink, nudge nudge" and "WARWICK ACADEMY," but never this one. I guess it's just not the same as a running gag.
> 
> More disappointingly, I didn't come up with "wink wink, nudge nudge." That's from a Monty Python sketch. The "Warwick Academy" openings aren't really original, either. They're a parody of the first couple of episodes of "Ouran Highschool Hostclub," where they talk about Ouran Academy, as only those with excellent social standing and those from filthy rich families are lucky enough to spend their time at the elite private school, Ouran Academy.
> 
> Until the next chapter, my duckies~!


	109. Pity The Poor Deer

The sound of feet making contact withe the earth could be heard as he ran. The sound of heavy breathing could be heard as he ran. Air seethed into the cracks of his dry throat as he ran, yet he did not stop running. If he did, the creature behind him would most certainly catch him.

 _Audrey_ was just going home, minding his own business, when he saw the she-devil kill. Two strangers, to be precise. He didn't know them, and he was certain that she didn't either. They were just victims of a random act of murder. She looked up and spotted him, he could see the crimson glow of her eyes stand out against the darkness. He ran. He didn't dare stop running. While he knew she could most likely catch him if she wanted to, he didn't dare stop running.

Finally, the boy in the skull-beenie took refuge in a church, in hopes that it would dissuade the she-demon from following him. His legs fell from underneath him and he collapsed on the hard floor, gasping for air in hopes of soothing his burning lungs. He didn't dwell on this action for too long, however, as he knew that he didn't have much time.

Quickly he scrambled to reach into the pocket of his jeans in order to pull out his cell phone. He scrolled through the contacts list and mashed the green "call" button when he saw the name that he desired. It rang. He held his breath as it did. It was like he was afraid that the sound of his breathing would scare the ringing noise away. Finally, a voice sounded from the other end.

 _"Hello?"_ it said.

" _Trancy!_ It'e _Baines!_ You gotta come quick! She's gonna kill me!" the boy sounded off quickly.

"Whoa, Baines, calm down, mate." said the blonde on the other end. " _Who_ is going to kill you?"

_"August!"_

The phone was silent for a moment. The only thing that could be heard was Audrey's irratic breathing as he waited for a reply. Finally, Alois replied.

 _"I'll get Ciel and Sebastian. Where are you, Audrey?"_ he asked.

Audrey coughed as he tried to speak. "Sou- _Southwark Cathedral_..." he said.

"Stay hidden. We'll be there as soon as we can."

_"Hurry..."_

With that, the call ended. A small "beep" sounded as the boy hung up. He was alone in the cathedral. It was only him, and the divine, and the dead. That was the real reason why he didn't go with the six when he was invited last year to visit the haunted Trancy manor. While he loved the supernatural, it sometimes became to be too much for him. _Seeing them_. His eyes scared him, so he kept them hidden by his long bangs over his face. He wanted to know more about his eyes, but he didn't.

Now he could see nothing. His eyes were shut tight. He didn't want to see anymore. He wanted no more of this. Audrey Baines, lover of all that was supernatural, wanted no more. He had nearly died by the hands of a demon once; _twice_ was _two times too many_ , for his tastes. Being right all along about the existence of the paranormal was meaningless if he could not live to revel in couldn't even tell anyone about it. It was just a secret that was shared between he, and those _two devils._

_"Hello Audrey."_

This time it wasn't his eyes that scared him, it was his ears. That sickeningly sweet voice that sounded from behind him was the voice of a teenaged girl. He knew that voice. That voice made him quake with fear. Instinctively, his eyes snapped open, but he didn't turn around. No, he didn't need to turn around. He didn't _dare_ turn around.

It was August.

She was in her demonic form, her onyx antlers reaching towards the sky, and her forked tail wriggling as if it were wagging with glee. Her silhouette was unmistakable in the doorway framing the moonlight outside, stray strands of her hair rode the wind, seemingly giving them life. Her glowing red eyes trying to stare into the boy's very being.

Audrey could _imagine_ all of this. He didn't need to turn around.

"Audrey~!" she said in a sing-song voice. " _What's wrong, Audrey~? Why are you so frightened?"_

The boy could only whimper at the girl's inquiry. His eyes snapped shut again. He couldn't respond, he couldn't look. All he could do was quake in fear as he heard the clicking of her heels against the hard floor of the cathedral, echoing as they got closer. The boy's quaking stopped as he heard this, his muscles finally locking up.

Cool hair hit his sclap as his signature skull hat was gently tugged off of his head _. "Are you alright, Audrey?"_ the girl said. She ran her fingers through his hair before resting her palm on the back of his neck, snaking her clawed slender fingers around his throat. _"Speak up now."_

A single gunshot was heard, echoing throughout the building. August's eyes widened, and she released the human boy. The she-demon turned her attention to her shoulder. Steam wafted from her wound, and it burned, the exposed meat sizzling and throbbing from the bullet. She looked into the direction the shot came from to see two other demons in the shadows of the rafters above.

 _"Cool gun, Ciel_." said the blonde one with the forwards pointing horns, exposed abdomen, and short-shorts.

" _Thanks. I 'liberated' it from Sir Hellsing."_ said the bluenette one with the weapon. His horns bent backwards like those of a ram, and he was covered much better than his companion.

The Phantomhive lad was pretty handy with guns. When he was younger, he went hunting, and even slept with a pistol underneath his pillow. He usually carried one on his person at all times out of habit. His revolver, dubbed " _The Zamiel_ ", was a little "retro" when compared to the "antifreak technology" that H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. has come out with recently, but it was still powerful, weighing in at a over a kilogram, and firing point four-hundred and fifty-two calibre bullets was one of the lad's favourite toys. Naturally, the bullets it fired were _blessed,_ and it required strong arms for any human to wield, as they would when working for H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. this was no problem for the demon-boy, who could easily handle the recoil with just one hand. Yes, the Hellsings did make excellent toys. Toys that were designed for the sole purpose of killing monsters and demons. He often found it somewhat disappointing that _Funtom_ didn't make _this_ kind of _toy_.

"Did that _hurt,_ _August?"_ the bluenette said, leaping down from the rafters and landing on his feet. The blonde did the same.

 _"August"._ The name echoed in the girl's mind once more. Now it just made her angry. Her frown warped into a grin; a twisted, demented grin.

 _"Now, now, that was rather rude of you, Ciel."_ When she spoke, it didn't sound like her voice. It sounded like a conglomerate of voices speaking together in unison. Like she was talking with the voices of all the lives she had devoured. " _You didn't even say 'hello'!"_

"What's _wrong_ with her?" Alois asked, looking to the bluenette. "It's like... she's _broken._ "

" _Broken? Me?!"_ the girl asked. Her grin was now warping and shifting to that which was not humanly possible without tearing facial tissues. _"You're the only broken one here, Trancy!"_

 _"You're mistaken."_ the bluenette interrupted. "Alois has a sense of self. Since you've realized that you yourself lack this, you're reverting to nothing more than a _beast_." The she-demon's grin changed to a snarl.

"Oh, so is _that_ what you were talking about in your office earlier?" the blonde said, placing his hands on his hips. "It was so hard to hear! You talk quietly, Ciel."

"That's because I know certain blonde blokes like to eavesdrop outside my door!"

"Yes, but am I still your ' _favourite person'?"_

The bluenette specifically ignored the question while trying to hide his blush. Of all the things for Alois to overhear, why did it have to be _that?_ He turned his attention to the human boy, who was hiding under one of the churches peiws. "Audrey! You get out of here. _We'll handle August_." The frightened human boy nodded, and forced his legs to move, and headed towards the door.

" _Ooh!_ Rematch time, _sucka!"_ Why was Alois so _excited_ about this?

August snarled. Her face was warped, and her body began to follow suit. Her neck elongated and grew in mass, she fell onto all fours, her hand contorting into ghastly shapes. Her mouth was large, her frown seemed to crawl down her neck, revealing rows upon rows of razor-sharp teeth. The she-demon's skin peeled off, revealing some mysterious black matter underneath. Her onyx antlers grew in size as well, and began to resemble arms reaching upwards to drag whatever it is they end up grabbing straight down into hell. Cloven hooves were on the ugly creatures hind legs, and bird-like talons in the front. If you stood back and looked at it as a whole, August now resembled a _deer_ ; a _deer_ from _hell's forests._

This is what she had become. Ciel was right. Without some sort of identity to tie herself to, she was nothing more but a beast. The demonic duo prepared for battle as the creature reared up on it's hind legs and roared. It's roar was almost a screech, and it echoed throughout the supposedly " _holy_ " place. Is this what a demon was? An ugly, horrible, _pitiful_ beast with no sense of self whatsoever? It relies on humans in order to keep up it's farce, but when that is stripped away and the truth is made bare for all to see, demons really were _pitiful_.

Be that as it may, this "pitiful" creature was angry, and it wanted nothing more than to destroy everything in it's wake. It got back down on all fours and charged at the duo. Demon against demons.

* * *


	110. That Blonde, Repairable

"See Ciel? Some girls look pretty at first, but underneath all of that makeup, they're a _demonic deer thingy!"_ a certain blonde demon said jokingly, wagging his tail. He jumped into the air to avoid being gored by the antlers of said " _demonic deer thingy"._

"I just don't _get_ girls." the bluenette remarked back. He fired off several rounds into the beast's side, causing it to leak some mysterious black liquid onto the floor of the church.

"Is that why you went _gay~?"_ the other boy asked. He came back down from his place in the sky and swiftly kicked the deer in the face while it was weakened by his companion's bullets.

" _Shut up."_

_"I love you too, muffin!"_

While the two were playfully argueing, the creature formerly known as August unhinged it's massive jaws, revealing it's sets of razor-sharp teeth. With one swift movement, it tried to swallow the blonde up, hindered only by the blonde himself.

Alois had his feet on the creature's bottom jaw, and his hands on the top, preventing the demon-deer from closing it's mouth. It's teeth cut into the poor lad's palms, but there was nothing he could do about it, seeing it was either that or being eaten.

 _"Ciel! I could use some help, please!"_ he shouted to the bluenette. His arms an legs straining against the force of the deer's jaws. Meanwhile, the bluenette in question was reloading his gun.

"Well, _since you asked nicely_." he said back aiming straight at the creature's face. Bullets whizzed by the blonde as they made their way into the female demon's throat. The creature gagged, and released Alois. He fell to the floor with a thud, getting covered by the black mystery-goo his foe had coughed up in the process.

"Hey! You almost shot me!" the blonde shouted. "...Eeeeew! What is this stuff?!" He got up, and tried to shake the substance off of him. His efforts were in vain. "On second thought, _don't_ tell me _. I don't want to know_."

"As you wish, _your highness_." Ciel ran up to the she-demon, and hopped on her back, grabbing her by the antlers. He pointed the pistol at her head at point-blank range in order to get the most out of the force.

Just as the lad was about to pull the trigger, the beast's _long, black mane_ grew in length and wrapped around his wrist. He tried to pry himself free, but the beast trapped him even more, with the locks of hair proceeding to wrap around his legs, waist, and even his neck, causing him to accidentally _drop_ his weapon.

"Dammit!" cursed the bluenette as he tried to free himself. "Alois! Help me!"

The blonde hesitated. Last time he wasn't much help, but this time, he wanted to make sure he was useful. But how? He didn't have any "anti-freak weaponry", and all he could do was that "flower trick" that he did last time. He weighed his options, and decided that the plants were the way to go. If he tried to initiate a direct attack, he would just end up getting trapped too, now wouldn't he?

Frantically, he looked around. The floor was hard, they weren't outdoors, and there were no plants in sight. It isn't as though he can simply conjure them from thin air. Finally, in the corner of the room, he saw a small potted tree. He made a mad dash towards the object, and picked it up, hurling it at the beast with his demonic strength. Rather than it simply hitting the creature over the head, it opened it's jaws and swallowed it. _"Well, there goes that plan."_ the blonde thought.

 _"What the bloody hell was that, you idiot?!"_ his friend demanded, now more tangled in the mane then he was mere minutes ago.

"It's a plan in progress!" Alois shouted back, doubtful that the other lad was convinced with that answer.

Then, he had an _idea_. The creature _ate_ the plant right? It was still inside of it, right _? What if he could use his power and tear it apart from the insides, outwards?_

He knew he would need to get closer, so with his speed, he ran up beside the creature, and punched it in the side with his full force. It howled in pain, but he paid it no mind as he tried to locate that tree.

When he did, he grabbed onto the beasts side with his hand, and did the same with the other, and focused all of his energy on that one spot. He grit his teeth, his eyes glowed, sweat trickled down his forehead and he furrowed his brow in concentration. He did his best to avoid getting shaken off by the demonic deer, as it tried with all of it's might. It howled and it roared from the sensation of having that tree inside of it, and it just kept growing. Soon branches were coming out of the beast's mouth, and it fell to the ground as it could no longer stand. It groaned and it howled, but could do nothing.

It's mane released the bluenette, and the blonde fell over himself, worn out from using the plant ability. It appears as though he has been getting better at it tough, as he could still stand back up and walk over to the recovering bluenette.

"You alright, Ciel?" he asked his companion. He sat on his knees and put his arm around the boy's shoulders.

"I'm _perfectly fine, Alois_." answered Ciel. "You should be more worried about yourself. That plant ability takes a massive toll on your body."

"I'm good. _I didn't use it that long._ Still we better wrap this up." Alois looked over at the angry creature. It coughed up more blackness and it wheezed, it's sides rising and falling with every breath. It glared up at the two with blazing eyes.

"Wait, _where's my gun?"_ the bluenette asked, looking around, trying to find out where he had dropped it.

Slowly, shakily, the beast, formerly known as "August", propped up one of it's front legs, and tried to pull herself back up with it. It roared again, a screeching, angry, pained, and frightened roar that shook the entire building.

A single gunshot was heard.

 _August stood_ , wide-eyed as more of the black substance mixed with crimson trickled down her face, starting from her forehead. Finally, the she-demon's knees buckled and she fell to the ground with a mighty thud in a pool of black and crimson. The beast had been silenced, never to roar it's terrible roar.

Who fired the shot? Ciel didn't. The lad dropped his weapon. Alois didn't. He had no experience with firearms. He wasn't even sure how to hold one. The boys whipped their heads around to face the direction from whence the bullet came, finding the silhouette of Audrey, standing in the doorway.

He stood there holding the gun in both hands, steadily, as he grit his teeth. His bangs were swept to the side somewhat, revealing his right eye. It was the first time either of the demonic duo had actually _seen_ his eyes. While it was widened with fear, it still had a determined look to it, that took away from his otherwise youthful appearance. His brow was furrowed in concentration. The most striking feature of these eyes, however, was the irises. They had a ring of yellow pigmentation, enveloping a smaller green sphere that held the pupil. _The bluenette has seen eyes like that before, but never in a human._ In fact, _a human_ shouldn't have even been able to wield that gun so easily.

The boy sighed and sat down on the floor, placing the gun to the side of him. "That was close..." he said with a small laugh at the end.

"I thought you left? _Wait, when did you get my gun?!"_ the bluenette asked accusingly.

"Relax, mate. _I never left."_ said Audrey, putting his hands up in surrender. "I grabbed your gun while you two had your hands full. _Chill."_

"Nice shot, _cowboy."_ said Alois, who gave the boy a thumbs up. " _Demon hunting John Wayne?"_

"Nah, I don't think _I'm quite there just yet_."

"What do you mean _'yet'?"_ asked the bluenette.

"I've been thinkin'..." said the Baines boy, leaning back and laying on the floor. "...this H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. thing you guys were talkin' about? I might wanna sign up someday."

"You _wanker!_ You'd sell us out!?" asked the bluenette. He wasn't really angry or anything. Just surprised, and a little shaken from the battle.

"No way, you guys are cool. It's just that I can see shit like this for as long as I can remember. I wanna know more about it, y'know?" Audrey smiled.

"I say go for it. Don't let mister grumpy trousers over here boss you around." said the blonde boy while poking his bluenette companion's cheek.

Ciel stood up and dusted himself off. "Do what you want. It's _your funeral_..." he said.

"Huh?" the boy with the multi-coloured eyes said, sitting back up.

"As you can see _, employee death-rates_ at H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. are rather _high_. I hear the _pay's good,_ though."

"Works for me!"

After their battle and the little exchange with Audrey at the church, the demonic duo decided to go home, having Sebastian drive Audrey home, since he was too shaken to go by himself. The blonde and the bluenette walked down the street. They were a bit tired, but it was a nice night.

"Hey Ciel," Alois spoke up suddenly. "what happens to _demons_ when _they die?"_ The blonde turned to his companion for an answer. "Do they go to _Hell_ , or are they just erased from existence?"

"I don't know." said the bluenette. "Either one, is possible."

"I hope it's _Hell_." Alois smiled. "I bet we could _take over the place_ without much trouble."

"Keep dreaming, Trancy." said Ciel with a slight smile. He looked over to the blonde before immediately averting his eyes with a blush. _"Is it really necessary that you stay in that form?"_

"Why? Does it _bother_ you?"

" _Very much so..."_

"Then _yes,_ yes it is _entirely necessary_." Alois smiled as his companion furrowed his brow and frowned. "Is it really necessary that you _stare at me_ like that?" He giggled when Ciel realized what he was doing and looked away. Silence lingered with them for a while after that.

Then the blonde spoke again. "Hey, Ciel," he said again. " _are 'damaged goods' still good enough for you?"_

Now this, caught the bluenette's attention. _Just how much of that conversation with August did he overhear?_ He stopped walking, causing the blonde to do the same, and look at his companion questioningly. He suddenly felt the bluenette's lips on his for a brief moment. His confusion melted when he blushed, and looked at the other boy with surprise.

"Even if _high-quality_ goods are _damaged_ , they're still better than _cheap things_." the bluenette said with a slight smile. "Besides, given enough time and care, _they can be repaired_ , and work even better than ever." Now it was the eye-patch-wearing teen's turn to be surprised as the blonde's arms made their way around his neck, and Alois hid his face in his shoulder.

_"I love you, Ciel."_

_"I love you too, Alois."_


	111. The Sensational Seven

Warwick Academy: the creme de la creme of sophistication in private schools. Here, the offspring of the upper-class come to receive an education. Today, our demonic duo recovers from their epic battle with the she-demon formerly known as "August", and welcome a new member to the _Sensational Six._

 _"_ Hey, _Romeo and Juliet_ , why's Audrey hangin' out with you guys?" asked a familiar face; a lad who goes by the name of _Daniel Westley._

"One _: Stop calling us that_ , and two: he's pretty cool, that's why." replied the bluenette cyclops, seated casually at his desk. " _Problem, Westley?"_

 _"_ Wait, _since I'm a boy_ , wouldn't that make it _'Romeo and Julian'?"_ inquired a certain blonde lad.

 _"Alois, you aren't helping_..."

The son of a politician shrugged. "Nope. Just thought it was kinda weird. Welcome to the _Sensational Six_ , Baines."

Audrey nodded in response. He wasn't sure what to say. Another member of the six, a boy in a pink tie, sat down and crossed his arms. "Wouldn't that make _us 'The Sensational_ _ **Seven'?**_ " Kristopherson asked.

 _ **"The Magnificent Seven!?"**_ Alois asked excitedly. He leaned forward and slammed his hands down on his desk when he did.

Of course it was Daniel who replied. _"Oh my god, yes!"_

"Oh yeah! _Audrey is 'John Wayne'!_ Remember Ciel?"

 _"John Wayne wasn't even in that movie, moron_." the bluenette replied. He was somewhat relieved to see things going back to normal so easily. It seemed as though it's been awhile since the group talked like this.

_"Details!"_

"Why is Audrey _John Wayne_?" asked Preston.

Ciel furrowed his brow. What were they going to say? " _Audrey shot a demonic deer in the face, that makes him John Wayne?"_ Of course not! The bluenette looked at the blonde, narrowing his eye. His look just dared the blonde to make up a story to cover for them.

His blonde companion propped his feet up on the desk and smiled. _Of course_ he could pull an excuse out of thin air.

"Well, me and Audrey were testing out the potato cannon we made for science, right? Well, Audrey could position the cannon every time so it would hit it's target. We hit bottles, and a stop sign, easy. _It made me think of a cowboy, and who's the most famous cowboy ever?"_ he smiled. " _John Wayne."_

A bullshit story, but there were strand of truth in it. Audrey almost laughed when he heard it. Ciel rolled his eye. Daniel, however, turned pale upon remembering something he had forgotten.

"Shit! _That project was due today_ , wasn't it!?" he asked, putting his hands on his head.

 _"No._ _ **Next**_ _week."_ Travis corrected.

"Damn _, give me a heart attack, will ya?"_ the politician's son said with relief. "So Audrey is ' _John Wayne'_ from now on. Any objections?" he asked.

"I would think _'Bones'_ would be a better name for him." suggested Preston. "His mom owns a big _medical supply company_ , and he always has that _hat on with a skull on it_."

"Like _doctor McCoy_ on _Star Trek?"_ asked the bluenette. He was partial to science fiction, of course. Ciel also found the name appropriate since the lad has the eyes of a _Grim Reaper_.

"That's what I was thinking!" replied the Indian boy with a grin.

" _Geeks!"_ Kristopherson declared.

" _Geeks!"_ Daniel agreed and pointed at the two.

Finally, after his long silence, Audrey finally spoke his voice kind of startled the politician's son and the boy in the pink tie for a moment. They had never actually heard the lad's _voice_ before. "You watch the one with _William Shatner_ in it too?"

"Of course. The _original_ one is the _best_ one." Preston said, earning a nod from the bluenette. Audrey smiled a bit. He was afriad he would fit in with the others at all.

Kristopherson put his hands on his head. "Oh no! _Triple geeks!_ "

"I agree with the homo! _Triple geeks all the way across the sky!"_ shouted Daniel.

_"I have a name, you know!"_

"Is being a geek a _deal-breaker_ for you, Kris?" Alois asked jokingly. "That's too bad, I bet there's a lot of guys that would let you play with their _'lightsaber'_." The blonde earned laughter from the group, and a punch to the arm from an embarrassed boy in a pink tie.

"Does _Ciel_ let you play with his?" the faux-blonde snapped. He retreated, however, when the bluenette in question glared at him, chilling him to the bone.

"Oooh~!" said Daniel. "Though, judging by his short stature, I bet it's more like a ' _sonic screwdriver'_ , huh?"

"Daniel," the blonde began. "If you don't want to wake up in a gutter with both of your legs broken, _if you wake up at all that is_ , I suggest you _drop it_." Alois didn't dare look at Ciel's face at that moment. He could feel the anger radiating from the boy, and it wasn't warm. The entire room was getting colder by the second.

"Good call..." the brown-haired boy agreed.

"Now, to get off the _totally not-gay_ subject of _dicks_ for a moment: What's all of this about a _Halloween Fair_ , I keep hearing about?" asked the blonde.

"Oh yeah, _you transferred last year in November_ , so you missed it..." Preston began, "Basically, it's a little _festival that the students put together every year around Halloween_. There's games, snacks, haunted houses and _costumes_."

"We're gonna help work on the haunted house. Wanna join, Trancy?" asked Daniel.

The blonde paused for a moment, and looked to Ciel, silently asking if it was alright. The bluenette folded his arms before flicking his wrist at the blonde, telling him to "go ahead."

 _"Hell_ yeah!" Alois finally replied.

Daniel snorted. "He has to _ask for permission_ first..."

"That's the sign of a somewhat abusive relationship, Alois." Kristopherson pointed out jokingly.

"Yeah Alois, _Kristopherson will love you right_." The brown-haired boy simply burst into laughter, even while Kristopherson was attempting to beat him. The sheer amount and viciousness of the Westley boy's harrassment was starting to give the Phantomhive boy a headache.

"What about you, Audrey?" asked Preston, turning his attention to the lad in the skull-beanie. "Are you going to sign up too? I bet you'd be really good at this sort of thing."

"I, uh, I dunno..." the other boy replied. He wasn't really good with people, as he's always just been "The Boy In The 'Big Chair'." Preston seemed nice, though, and the demonic duo would be there. _"My mum doesn't really like Halloween_. She says all the candy and stuff is bad for me, but I'll _try_ to make it."

While the others were busy discussing their own plans, Alois took the opportunity to lean over to Ciel and ask a question that was sort of bothering him about him about the entire thing.

"So, uh _, what do people do for Halloween nowadays anyway?"_ he asked, whispering into the bluenette's ear.

The question surprised him for a moment, but that could also be contributed to the feeling of having the blonde boy whispering in his ear. "Put up 'scary' decorations, pull pranks, dress up in costumes and go to parties and stuff. Younger kids dress up and go door to door asking fo candy. It's called _'Trick-or-Treating'."_ Ciel said, summing up modern traditions in as few words as possible.

"That sounds _dangerous as hell,_ not to mention _rude_." the blonde said.

"Yes, and you know _all about_ 'rude', don't you?" the bluenette remarked.

" _Damn straight_."

"You're also going to want to _dress up_ , aren't you?"

" _Naturally_."

"And I assume it also involves _cross-dressing_ , am I right?"

" _You know me so well!"_

The bluenette sighed and rubbed his temples, fighting off both a headache, and _every memory he has of Alois in a dress._ "Why is it that every time you do something with a costume, it involves _cross-dressing?"_

"'Cause it's _fun_." said the blonde with a giggle, earning a blush from the other boy. "Remember when we first met? I was wearing Hannah's uniform and wearing a wig?"

"How could I _forget?"_ Ciel replied. He touched his left ear at the memory and furrowed his brow. His blush went all the way up to his ears, causing his blue earring's to stand out even more.

"Did you _really_ know I was a guy _all along_ or were you _bluffing?"_ asked Alois with a grin, noticing the lad's gesture. He knew the _exact memory_ Ciel was thinking about. He giggled at the glare he received.

It was a funny thought, really. If Ciel _really did_ know the blonde's true identity upon meeting him, why did he allow the lad to _whisper in his ear, and even lick it?_ Perhaps Ciel's personal preferences were not the result of becoming a demon after all. The thought just tickled the blonde, and brought embarrassment to the bluenette.

" _Shut up."_ said the latter of which.

" _Yes, my_ _master_." the blonde teased.

"Ooh~! _Kinky!_ " remarked the Westley boy.

"YOU ARE NOT PART OF THIS CONVERSATION, DANIEL."


	112. Put The Drill Down

Warwick Academy. Ah, what a fine establishment. Truly, it is the top-school in all of Britain. It's students are well-read, and capable, being both educated and cultured. Today is a fine example of this as the students prepare for the school's annual Halloween Festival. Some will handle catering, and some will schedule event, while others prepare booths and games for the public to participate in. It just so happens that all of the members of the Sensational Seven are signed up to participate in the haunted house. The project was led by a mister _Lawrence Rose_ , since he was supposedly the "most knowledgeable of disturbed characters" due to his role as _Cecil Hauntington_ in the movie _Devil Butler._

The boy had dark, straight hair with a sort of greenish tint that ended in small curls at the wore no tie with his uniform, but distracted from this by wearing a green sweater-vest under his blazer. He held sort of a regal appearance that made the girls swoon, having a sort of "Prince Charming" aspect to him. Sometimes it even appeared that he could make roses bloom behind him.

"Alright, let's think of a plan, yeah?" he said. When he spoke, his words were smooth and sweet. "Who has any ideas for this thing?"

"Why don't we just make something that looks like a haunted mansion or something and put some scary stuff in it?" asked Daniel.

"Ugh! That's so... _unoriginal!"_ Lawrence said. "Give me something I can work with!"

Next a certain blonde boy spoke. "Why don't we make it a _maze?"_ suggested the Trancy. " We'll rig it with traps and stuff to scare the guests, and just let them navigate it."

"Yes. The _feeling of being lost_ will add to the atmosphere." added the lad's bluenette companion.

Lawrence's face lit up at the idea. "Magnifique! I like it! I like it a lot! Quickly! Someone draw up some plans!" Ciel is disturbed by this boy. He couldn't believe Rose played a character so similar to himself. He shuddered at the thought. Daniel, however was _fascinated_ by the lad.

"Lawrence! You should totally dress up as _Cecil_ for the event!" he said. "It'll be good for business."

The lad stopped his incessant rambling for a moment and stood silently for a moment. Then his face went dark, and he covered up his left eye with his hand, getting into character.

 _"What for?"_ he said finally. "To lead others down the same path of despair that I have been forced to wander? No, that is something that they, themselves should decide. This fate of mine is something I wouldn't wish upon another person. No, that is reserved for _one_ person, _the one who has bismircthed the name Hauntington!_ I will have my revenge! _I will!_ And don't any of you dare get in my way!" he snapped, before letting out a deep breath and uncovering his eye. "Aaaand, _scene."_ The others applauded. All but the demonic duo.

Ciel was disgusted. This boy had just unknowingly thrown his former self right back in his face. He hid his displeasure with a mask of indifference. Both he and the blonde were unamused by the performance. The bluenette looked over to Audrey, who was already doodling in his notebook possible ideas for the event. It was odd to see him so lively.

He was pulled from his thoughts, however, by a pair of arms being wrapped around his neck. "Hey Ciel," said Alois with a grin. "What are _you_ gonna do? I bet we could give them a good scare!"

"We are not _mentally scarring_ children." Ciel replied.

"But _we're_ mentally scarred, and we scarred Daniel and the rest at my old house, remember?"

"Scaring your friends is _different_."

"Aw, so you admit to being their friend! How _sweet!"_ the blond teased. He was aware of the bluenette's inability to feel especially fond of most people.

"I admit to being _your boyfriend_ , don't I?"

"Ah-hah! But that's _different_."

The Phantomhive boy shook his head and rolled his eye. "So what are _you_ going to do?" he asked.

"Dunno. I might just stick to staying behind the scenes this time."

"What? _Alois Trancy_ _not_ in the _limelight?"_ Sarcasm dripped from the bluenette's words."That's just _wrong."_

"Hardy-harr-harr, Phantomhive. I'll have you know, that I'm not too sure about this entire operation." the blonde replied.

"Why not?"

"Did you _see_ the kid running it? He _disturbs_ me."

"Same here, but you shouldn't let that stop you."

"Hm, I guess... Oh! Maybe I can get Kristopherson to show up with me in a dress!"

 _"Again_ with the _cross-dressing?"_ Ciel asked. "Tell, me is there a secret desire of yours that I don't know about?"

"To be a woman? _Hell_ no." the blonde replied, sticking out his tongue. "Cross-dressing is just _fun_ on occassion. Too much, however, and I'd imagine it would get boring. Besides, I don't need to give you any more reason to call me a _'girl'_ more than you already do."

"I will stop calling you a girl when you stop acting like one." the other boy said with a a smirk.

"I'm _perfectly_ masculine!" Alois leaned in to whisper in the bluenette's ear. "I could _show_ you when it's just _the two of us,_ if you'd like." He giggled when the boy flushed a deep scarlet at the implication. Was it just him, or had Alois become a bit more perverse, lately?

Suddenly a crash was heard, and both boys turned their attention to the source. They saw Audrey trying to pick up some building materials on his own, while Lawrence was yelling at him.

"What are you doing? No one told you to move that stuff!" the actor said to the boy in the skull beenie.

"Yeah... but... it looked like it was in the way, so... I..." the shorter boy began.

"So you just thought you'd try and move it by yourself? There's no way you can carry all of that on your own!"

"Whoa, Lawrence, relax, man." said Daniel.

"He was just trying to help." Preston added.

"It doesn't matter. Just don't try to move stuff on your own! You might break it, or hurt somebody!" Lawrence wasn't trying to be mean, he was just being forceful to get his point across. His only real friend for a while was Walter Hackett, his costar, and we know how that lad was. In a way, Lawrence was like Audrey in that he was unsure how to interact with people properly. The only thing that the lad could do was act, thus _pretend_ that he _did_ know. He looked to the others, and took their reactions as a Que that he should in fact, _relax._

 _"Just be careful, okay?"_ he asked the boy in the skull beanie finally. "Have some of the others help you next time, alright?"

"Alright..." Audrey said back, looking to the ground. He didn't quite know how to respond other than that. He listened as he heard the sound of the actor walking away, his shoes making noise against the school floor.

"Right! Let's pick this stuff up! Phantomhive! Trancy! _Quit snogging for a minute_ and _help!"_ shouted Daniel, calling out the demonic duo.

"We were _not snogging!"_ the bluenette shouted back, getting up out of his chair. His protest made his blonde companion giggle his usual girlish giggle.

They joined the others in picking up cans of paint and pieces of wood on the floor that Audrey had tried to move and dropped, along with other things that needed moved outdoors to the area that they were supposed to be setting the event up at. While they were moving thing, something finally popped into the bluenette's head.

"Hey, _Bones_ , was that thing you were drawing on _plans_ for building?" he asked the slightly shorter boy.

" _'Bones'?"_ the lad echoed. He had forgotten that he had been assigned a nickname. "Oh, _yeah_. Just some doodles." he answered.

" _You holdin' out on us, punk?"_ Daniel asked jokingly.

_"What?"_

"I think he means that _if you have some ideas, you should share them_." clarified Preston.

" _Oh."_

"If you can design the sets, I can design the costumes." offered Kristopherson after a long silence. He wasn't used to the new boy just yet.

"I am _not_ wearing a _dress,_ Miles!" shouted the Westley boy.

"Like hell I'd make you wear a dress!" the faux-blonde snapped back. " _Nobody_ wants to see that!"

"Yeah, I guess you're right _. I don't shave my legs like you and Trancy."_

 _"I don't shave my legs..."_ said Alois, answering upon hearing his name. Everyone starred at him for a moment, even Audrey, who's eyes were only slightly visible. That was absolutely impossible. _Those legs with those shorts?_ How could he _not_ shave them?

"You're _kidding..."_ Kristopherson said.

" _Nope."_ the Trancy boy replied. "Hey, where does this _thingy_ go?" he asked, holding the object up to eye-level so he could better look at it.

 _"Put the drill down, Trancy!"_ shouted the faux-blonde.

 _"Whoa! Watch where you're pointing that thing_!" shouted Daniel.

 _"Is that thing plugged in?!"_ asked Preston.

" _Alois. Stop."_ said Travis.

The blonde boy just tilted his head in confusion as the bluenette gently took the power-drill from him. "Don't do that." Ciel said. " _You'll put an eye out_." He pointed to his eye-patch.

"Whoa! Did _Ciel_ just make a _joke!?"_

_"Shut it."_


	113. Gentlemen

"Put that over there." said a certain child-actor as he was directing his fellow students. He stood there looking at the plans drawn by Audrey fo r the haunted house, and was liking the direction this was going.

"This is perfect!" he said. "I'm glad you did this, Audrey." Lawrence said to the rather shy boy in the skull beenie.

"O-oh. Thanks." the lad replied, looking at the ground. He wasn't used to people talking to him that much. He did, however, start to speak up with the rest of the Sensational Seven more.

He, Preston, and Ciel would talk about their favourite science fiction programes and books and such, while he would talk about supernatural stuff with Daniel and Alois. He would also talk about certain aesthetics with Travis and Kristopherson, and crack jokes and such on occasion. he was starting to really like this. Maybe his eyes weren't so bad after all. They had helped him find such good friends!

But today, his eyes were bothering him. They were starting to ache a bit, and he rubbed them. Finally, he gave up and reached into his bag, pulling out two palm-sized cases. Alois watched him curiously.

"What are you doing?" he asked, tilting his head slightly like a puppy.

Audrey say down and opened one of the cases, unscrewing the cap off of half of one. "My contacts are bothering me." he said. "I'm gonna take them out and wear my glasses."

" _'Contacts'?"_ the other boy echoed.

"Yeah, as in, ' _contact lenses'?_ " the boy in the skull beenie replied, brushing his bangs out of his way, revealing his tired eyes underneath. "Oh yeah, sorry. They didn't have them in the _Victorian era_ , did they? _Just watch."_

With one hand, the lad held open his eyelids, using his middle-finger to prop open his upper lid. Now what he did with his _other_ hand, truly _frightened_ the blonde boy. With that hand, with his index finger and his thumb, it looked as though he was trying to _pinch his eyeball._ Was the lad _trying to pluck his own eye from the socket?!_

"Whoa! What the-!? Are you bloody _insane?!_ What are you doing?! Ugh! _STOP IT!"_ Alois started to shout. He looked away from the other boy as he was touching his eye. He was immensely disturbed by this scene.

"What? You got a _problem_ , Trancy?" Audrey teased, while continuing in his attempt to remove the offending lens. He stopped for a only for moment to look at the blonde before continuing to bother him.

"That's _disgusting! Ugh!_ How are you _doing_ that?!" the blonde asked, shielding his own eyes from the image.

" _Got it."_ Audrey said finally. He held out the lens to the other boy. "See? You put this in and it helps you see better."

Alois stared at the strange object before him. How could some flimsy little thing _help_ you see, especially when you had to put it _into_ your eye? "Only in one eye?" he asked finally, as the other boy put the lens into the case after filling it with saline solution.

 _"Nope._ _There's one in the other eye too."_ Thus the boy repeated the same process on his other eye, irking the blonde lad to no end.

_"STOP IT!"_

Naturally, the others found this quite amusing. Nothing bothered Alois. Nothing. Yet the "new kid" was able to do so simply by completing a mundane task. Even Ciel Phantomhive, the least likely of the group ever to utter a sound even resembling laughter, was amused. He looked at his blonde companion being pestered and grossed out, and simply found it hilarious.

"Audrey, _be nice."_ he said finally after about five minutes. Five minutes is far too long to keep harassing the blonde with one thing. He may become desensitized, or something.

"Fine." the boy with the peculiar eyes said, taking out his contact lens at last. After putting it back in it's case, he then retrieved the other small case he had retrieved from his bag, and pulled out his glasses. They weren't especially stylish or anything, but they made the lad look like an entirely different person.

"About _damn_ time!" the blonde boy said. "Ever think that _maybe if you didn't poke your eyes, your eyesight would be better?"_

"Nope. I'm just really nearsighted." the Baines boy replied.

"Hey, Trancy! Phantomhive! Where's Bones?" asked a voice, calling the attention of all three boys. It was Daniel, talking as he walked over to the others. "We need him to tell us how this wall should look."

"He's right here?" said the Phantomhive boy as he pointed out the lad.

"Whoa!" said Daniel, taking a step back. "I didn't even recognize you, man! Hey, hey! Kristopherson!"

" _What?"_ asked the boy in the pink tie with a very cross tone. He was busily doodling in his own sketchbook designs for the costumes.

"Look here!" the brown hair boy said, tugging on Audrey's arm and whisking him away to the area where Kristopherson was sitting. "Look at Audrey for a sec!"

In a huff, the faux-blonde closed his sketchbook and looked at the boy, brow furrowed and a frown prominent on his face. That is, until he got a good look at the lad's face. His eyes widened as he got a good look at that face. The lad's _eyes_ in particular stood out.

"Well?" Daniel asked. " _Is he your type?"_ He smirked.

"So that's what this was about." Kristopherson said, turning his attention back to his sketch. "No, he isn't."

"Oh come on! I saw how your face lit up when you saw 'im!"

"Yes, but _that isn't why."_

Now both the politician's son and the boy in the skull beenie looked confused. "Then _why?"_ Daniel asked finally.

"Inspiration. You'll have to wait and find out." the faux-blonde said cryptically, and with that, he ignored the others.

Back over in the realm of Phantomhive and Trancy, the duo conversed about the lad's eyes. How they were so odd-looking. Was it some sort of genetic mutation?

"No, he's _not_ a _mutant."_ said the bluenette, shooting down the proposition.

"Then shat is it, _'mister knows everything cyclops of wisdom'?"_ That remark earned the blonde lad a look. Not a cross look, or a glare, but rather that of confusion, as though the bluenette was asking him what was wrong with him telepathically.

Ciel waved off the nickname after dwelling on it for a moment, deciding that it wasn't worth it. "Those are the eyes of a _grim reaper."_ he said. "The weird thing is, _Bones_ doesn't seem to _notice_ it."

"Maybe nobody _told_ him?" suggested Alois.

"Are you suggesting his parents _lied_ to him?"

 _"Precisely that._ Oh! What if he's not even a full reaper! That would make sense! _"_

 _"How,_ pray tell, would that _'make sense'?"_ inquired the Phantomhive boy.

The blonde shrugged. "Maybe he's a halfer. Maybe his human parent just got remarried and _never told him?_ That could also be why you _couldn't sense_ it right away."

"You're twisted _un-logic_ is _astounding.._."

 _"I try_." said Alois with a grin. He turned his attention back to the set he was painting before turning back to the bluenette. "Hey Ciel, are you gonna dress up too?"

"What? No! Why would I?" the other boy said inisstantly with a blush. There was no way in _hell_ that he would wear a costume.

"'Cause it'd be _fun."_ Alois said while painting his wall absentmindedly. When he opened his mouth to speak, the other lad who was painting with him inturrupted him.

 _"No,_ I will _not_ wear a _dress_ with you." said Ciel, receiving a pout from his companion.

"Fine..." and with that more silence ensued. It hung around like an unwelcome guest, lingering around after a party. Who broke it? Which of the duo wasw it who made the silence leave? Shockingly, it was _Ciel._

"Hey, Alois..." he said, waiting for the blonde to look over at him.

"What?" asked the blonde, doing just as he wanted. Instinctively, his eyes snapped shut when he saw an object flying towards him. When he opened them again, he felt something wet on his nose. Looking over at the bluenette, he saw that the lad was holding up a small paintbrush with grey paint for the castle wall set.

" _There's paint on your face."_ he said wearing a smirk across his face. The look on Alois' face made him chortle a bit.

The blonde one touched the tip of his nose, and it registered just what the Phantomhive boy had done. He pouted for a moment before smirking himself. He set his brush down and walked closer to the other boy, putting his palms on both sides of the bluenette's head.

He leaned in closer, closing his eyes, and in turn, the bluenette closed his in anticipation. However, he didn't receive what he expected. No, Alois had simply given him an Eskimo kiss, briefly touching the tip of his nose to the bluenette's, thus contaminating it with the same grey. With that, he simply returned to his duties, walking back over to the section of the wall he was painting without another word, leaving Ciel very confused.

"Hey, Ciel..." he said finally, glancing in the other's direction. "... _There's paint on your face."_

The other boy furrowed his brow at having been made a fool of. He grabbed his paintbrush yet again, and walked over to the blonde. Alois looked up to see the boy, before instinctively closing his eyes again, and feeling the wet bristles brush against the area just underneath his nose.

With two simple flicks of his wrists, Ciel looked at his companion triumphantly and admired his handiwork. " _Nice Mustache."_ he said.

Now it was Alois who furrowed his brow at the indignity that he had suffered. "How _very_ dare you?!" he said, picking up his own brush. " _En garde, Phantomhive!"_

Hours passed, and the end of the day came, signifying the end of work until morning came. The students had done good work that day, and the "haunted house" was off to a very good start, with the basic structure built and painted. Now all that was left was to decorate it further and rig it with traps. A certain boy of Indian descent stretched as he got up from the crouching position he had been in as he tried to reach the bottom of the walls, making sure they were not bare.

He looked over to a certain pair of boy who were also assigned to be painting, to see how much work they had done, only to see that not only did they paint the wall, but they painted _each other_. He laughed at the ridiculous sight.

Alois had a grey dot on his nose, a grey handlebar mustache, the word _"GIT"_ written across his forehead, and his dress shirt was ruined beyond all recognition. Fortunately, he had removed his tie and blazer to avoid getting paint on them, as was suggested at the beginning of the day by the Phantomhive boy, who was certainly not any better off. Ciel had been adorned with a "little" mustache by the blonde, a style that had been made famous by actor _Charlie Chaplin_ and dictator _Adolf Hitler_. He also had cat whiskers and the word _"TWAT"_ scrawled across his forehead, and his shirt wasn't any better off than that of the blonde.

"What the _hell_ happened to you?" Preston finally asked.

Alois replied: "We had a bit of an _'accident'..."_

" _'Accident'_ is a bit of an _understatement_ , actually." added Ciel.

"You two are _hopeless_." the Indian boy said with a sigh.

" _'Gentlemen, it has often been said that I like war...'"_

_"What the hell, Alois?"_


	114. What Kind of Cafe?

"No, we can't _tar and feather_ the guests." said a certain child actor to a certain blonde demon.

"Why not?! It would be wicked!" Alois said back, hoping to make the lad budge on this.

" _No."_ So much for making him budge. Lawrence folded his arms in defiance. "We can't hurt, humiliate, or emotionally scar the guests."

"If that's all it takes to _'emotionally scar'_ them, then they were pansies to begin with, and shouldn't have come at all." the blonde argued.

They were trying to come up with traps and surprises to hide in their now-fully built "haunted castle". So far, the only one spitting ideas was _Alois Trancy,_ and all of his ideas were awful. (Some of them could get the school in _legal_ trouble.) This was the final step they needed, and then they were done after some additional decorating, however, they were getting absolutely nowhere.

"Bucket full of spiders on a small catapult?" he asked.

"Make them _fake_ spiders, and it _may_ be possible." said Lawrence.

_"Fine..."_

"Finally, we're getting somewhere..."

"Oh! _Oh!_ What about We pull a random person out of a large group through a secret passage in the wall?! That would _really_ freak them out!"

" _Alright. That's it_. Look, why don't you go and check on the others or something." Lawarence said, rubbing his temples. This blonde boy was really a handful. They weren't going to get anywhere with ideas if Alois keeps spouting random nonsense.

"Oh! Can I take _Ciel_ with me?" asked the blonde lad in question.

"Yes, fine, whatever. _As long as he keeps you out of trouble_." That was probably a good idea, actually. With all the excitement buzzing throughout the campus, Alois was sure to get himself into something sooner or later.

Thus the bluenette was dragged into the mix. Everyone knew that wasn't the _real_ reason why the blonde called for him. Alois just wanted to play with him, that's all. Still, the bluenette had to admit, that seems far more interesting than listening to a bunch of children argue. So with a swift yank of his arm, the bluenette was dragged behind the blonde as he went to go survey the area.

Since they were busy working, they hadn't had time to see how the other groups were progressing. Some were already done, even. Those were mostly food stands and game booths, though. None of the big shows were ready, which was a shame. There were musical performances by local bands and the Warwick orchestra. There were magic shows, and theatre performances, and the boys would be missing all of this while working on at the haunted house. It can be assumed that it's just one of the downsides of performing.

They walked the grounds, checking out the upcoming attractions and talking to random people. Alois didn't let go of Ciel's wrist the entire time, not that the bluenette particularly minded. In fact, being able to display out in the open that Alois was his was kind of nice.

"Hey! Trancy! Phantomhive!" a voice called out.

Turning around to face the direction of the source, the lad's found that they knew the person somewhat. She was dressed in a Warwick uniform, minus the blazer and the tie, since she was working. She had brown eyes and blonde hair that was obviously bleached, as you could see the dark brown roots peeking through the faux-flaxen locks. The girl was named Anastasia Miles; sister to Kristopherson Miles. The lass looked at the boys from the food stall that her crew was setting up, and motioned for them to come over, and with great reluctance, they did.

This particular stall was very crisp and clean, with semi-intricate detailing on the sign, and the napkins on the table folded just _so_. It was brightly coloured- well, as brightly coloured as a stand around Halloween could be, with purples and oranges, and greens, with a touch of black here and there. It had a completely different atmosphere from the other stalls, almost, but then again, looking carefully, you would also notice that this was the only stall that had only _girls_ working at it.

" _Like it?"_ the Miles girl asked in a friendly manner, smiling at the two lads. It was almost completely different than how she had acted the last few times they had saw her. It was almost _disturbing._

"It looks cool." Alois said as a half-hearted compliment. The stall was impressive, but he wasn't quite sure what to say about it, as was the Phantomihive boy.

"What are you all doing here?" asked the bluenette, curious as to the odd atmosphere about the shop.

"It's kind of like one of those _Japanese maid cafe's_." Anastasia explained, only to receive confused looks from the two boys. "We got the idea from this cafe' in town, right? It's called the _Hellanic Restaurant_ , and it's awesome! I haven't been anywhere like it! Anyway, waitresses in a maid cafe' all wear French-style maid outfits and serve you, attempting to recreate the feeling of being served by a maid."

"So it's a _fetish_ shop?" the blonde lad asked, only to be jabbed in the ribs by his bluenette compatriot, who then added in his own thoughts.

"Why would you want to bring that here? _Most people here have maids at home_."

"Yes, but we aren't just having maids. We're also going to have witches serving and other monsters and stuff." the girl said, attempting to justify the silly concept.

"Again, a _fetish shop?"_ Alois asked again.

"Don't be stupid! There's no way the administration would let us do something like that!" Yes, she obviously was related to her brother.

"So what you're saying is, if they would let you, _you would?!"_

The girl rubbed her forehead, realizing the hole she had just trapped herself in. With a sigh, she looked to Ciel and said: "Honestly, I will _never_ understand what either _you, or Kris_ sees in this guy..."

The bluenette shrugged. "Sometimes, _I don't either_."

" _My stunning good looks and charming personality?"_ the Trancy suggested.

 _"Whatever keeps the tears away at night, Trancy_." Anastasia said, before something occurred to her. "Oh! You were really popular at the talent show last year, right?"

"Yeah, and I would've _won_ if the headmaster weren't such a _humourless twat_."Alois said with a sneer.

"Well, why don't you work at the cafe' for a bit? I'm sure you'd drum up some business."

"Boy or girl, I'm still _well fit!"_ Alois said. "Right, Ciel?" he smirked in the bluenette's direction, causing the boy to groan and look away. The blonde giggled at his response and said. "If I'm not busy with the Haunted House, I'll give it a try."

"Oh yeah, I forgot about that." the girl said. "Kris has been going mad trying to design costumes for _both that and the cafe'_. "

"Can he really do it _all? "_ Asked the bluenette. "What about _after_ he gets the designs done?"

"No problem. The girls agreed to make them after he gave us the designs and patterns. We're also supposed to be making the costumes for the haunted house." Anastasia said. "C'mon, Alois, I bet he'd _love_ to design you a dress!"

"Only if he agrees to keep me covered." the blonde boy said. "My _vital regions_ must remain protected."

"I'll be sure to tell him!" said the girl with a grin.

Another voice called. "Hey, Anna, who're you talking to?" asked another girl, busily putting up lights.

"Just Alois and Ciel!" the girl called back, turning away from the duo for a moment.

"No way! For real?" another girl asked, as more girls flocked to get a look at the two boys. All of them smiled and giggled at the sight of the pair, much to their confusion.

They weren't at all sure how to respond to all of this attention. The lads didn't even know why they were receiving it. All that they knew, is that all of these girls flocked to them after hearing their names. As to why, was a complete mystery- that is, until one girl said _it_.

_"Aw! They're so cute together!"_

_What on earth?_ The bluenette blushed at this. Ciel's hand worked it's way into Alos', as he prepared to make a run for it. His leg muscles began to tense, and his grip on the other boy's hand tightened as the girls continued to gawk at them and mention how "cute" they were. Finally the girls apparently said it one too many times, as he suddenly yanked on the blonde's arm and led him away, which made them giggle even more.

The bluenette flet as though his face was on fire as he guided the other boy to another part of campus and away from those girls. He couldn't _remember_ the last time he had been so embarrassed. He was embarrassed when Alois would perform his usual hijinks, but that, he was now usually prepared for. At last, he stopped after they were a satisfactory amount of distance away from the strange female creatures. Perhaps that was part of the reason why he didn't choose to go out with a _girl_. He just didn't understand them at all.

"What was _that_ about?" he finally asked aloud. He was partially asking Alois, himself, and really, no one in particular.

"Dunno." the blonde replied. "Maybe those were just some of those... oh what are they called? _'Fag-hags'?"_

" _'Fag-hags'?"_ the bluenette echoed while looking at the boy questioningly.

"You know, female 'gay lovers', or something of the sort?" Alois _attempted_ to explain.

"I thought you weren't _'gay'?"_ Ciel asked jokingly. "What ever happened to being _'bisexual'?"_

"I'm _'Ciel-sexual'."_

"I feel so _honoured."_

"You _should._ But are you sure you just wasn't using 'getting away' as an excuse to hold my hand?" Alois teased, pointing out the fact that the bluienette still had his fingers firmly intertwined with the blonde's. Ciel really wasn't the kind to initiate such contact so casually.

As such, he flushed once more at the statement. He cleared his throat before speaking. "Isn't it perfectly _normal_ to want to hold my _boyfriend's_ hand?" the lad justified.

Alois blinked for a moment before smiling his usually silly grin. He latched onto the bluenette's arm. "Of course it is! You're usually just so hesitant in doing so."

"Well, you could start sometime too, you know." Ciel stated.

"Yeah, but since you're so _insistent_ that you're the _'man'_ in this relationship, I thought I'd let _you_ do it." the blonde replied, as they began to walk. "Unless of course, you want _me_ to..."

" _No."_ the bluenette said forcefully.

"Oh, _come on!"_

"I _refuse_ to be the _'girl',_ Alois."

"Your _pride_ is shoved _way too far up your ass,_ you know that?" the blonde pouted.

The bluenette answered with a smirk. "At least that's the _only_ thing I have up my ass."

"I'll have you know, that in _this_ body, I'm a complete _virgin!"_ Alois said defensively. He paused for a moment, processing his afterthought. " _Unless, of course, you're willing to_..."

Alois didn't even have to finish his sentence. He giggled as he saw the other boy's face change red, as he nearly choked on his own spit. Oh, if _those girls_ had heard that, they would be throwing a fit...


	115. My Beloved Foe

The students working on the haunted house were buzzing at what the boy in the pink tie had brought. The lad's hair was a mess, he had bags under his eyes, and he couldn't stop yawning. Obviously, Kristopherson had lost sleep working on these costumes. Still, the results were fantastic. Every costume was very high-quality, every stitch and every detail being perfect. Even the clothes that were supposedly "torn" and "mangled" were perfect in their imperfection. "Son of a fashion goddess" is _right_ , he was.

Those who were working on the front lines eagerly tried on their costumes while those who were supposed to be working behind the scenes stopped for a moment and watched in curiosity. Kristopherson had a giant clothes-rack with him that was fully stocked, each costume being tagged with the name of the actor who was supposed to wear it. He stood by it and called the names of the actors, who would approach and take their costume and all of the accessories that went with it before leaving again to try it on.

The faux-blonde paused for a moment and rubbed at his eyes in an attempt to keep himself awake. He grabbed a random costume off the rack and shouted: " _Daniel!_ Get your suit!" before grabbing the accessories that went with it off a nearby table.

It was a suit of armour, correlating to the castle theme, with authentic chain-mail that no doubt took ages to put together. The tunic was black with a crimson cross on it, and fake blood carefully, and strategically splattered arcoss it that made it seem like the wearer had just returned from war. It had gauntlets, shoulder gaurds and of course a sword, all fashioned from cheap, flimsy metal, but still, it looked far better than plastic ever could. What completed it, however, was the helmet of the costume. It was a standard helmet, but Kristopherson had somehow managed to make the face-gaurd look like _a skull_. This was no mere costume. This was a _masterpiece_.

Daniel seemed more than thrilled with the wardrobe, seeing as though he _immediately_ "got into character" and started swinging the not-a-weapon around like a maniac. Ordinarily, this kind of behaviour would have resulted in immediate scolding from Kristopherson, but the boy in the pink tie was focusing all of the energy had had on distributing the rest of the costumes, leaving the scolding to Lawrence.

" _Audrey!"_ shouted the faux-blonde, costume and accessories in hand. The lad in the skull beenie retrieved the garb before disappearing into the dressing area.

When he came out, no one could recognize him. For starters, his hair wasn't in his face, revealing his mulitcoloured eyes, which was entirely intentional. Kristopherson made the hat he was wearing, which strongly resembled the skull of some large canine, forced his hair out of his face, as it was his eyes that sold the costume. It was a double-breasted, almost military uniform-style coat, the colour of night and trimmed with orange, with what appeared to be a ribcage wrapping around it, painted to resemble authentic bones. Audrey was now living up to his nickname, as bones appeared all over the costume. On his right shoulder was the skull of yet another unknown animal, smaller than the one on his head, and on his left shoulder rested a dueling cape, made to resemble spiderwebs, with orange-gold rope securing it to his person. While the lad didn't fit in with the knights, he looked like the master of the castle, a sort of _prince of death,_ if you will. While the costume was impressive, the one wearing it didn't seem at all _confident_ in it.

"Are you sure I can _really_ pull this off?" he asked a certain blonde lad. Alois smiled at him and patted him on the back.

"Don't worry about it! Just _let the character possess you_ , and everything will be perfect!" he said.

 _"'Possess'?"_ Audrey echoed. "So... Just imagine I'm really the person who would really wear this, mean?"

"Precisely, my skeletal friend _. You can't be scared if your character isn't_." the blonde lad elaborated. He looked up when he heard the tired boy in the pink tie call for him. He looked back at the other boy, flashing him a quick thumbs-up before walking over to retrieve his own costume.

Quickly the garb was shoved in his face, and immediately, he _recognized_ it.

"This is..." he trailed off, stunned out how this had gotten here.

"Huh? Yeah. _I based it around that ghost from the Haunted mansion we went to_. I couldn't think of anything else." Kristopherson said, busily rummaging through the clothes-rack.

Alois ran his hand against the fabric, which had "careful" blood-splatters on it as well, before stopping at a particularly big splotch on the abdomen, on the right side. "Hey... Kris..." he began.

"What?"

"Do you... know anything about that boy?" Alois asked hesitantly, suspicious at the markings on the suit. "The boy in that painting?"

Kristopherson paused for a moment before answering. "Yeah." he said. "He's got _quite_ the story. _I read about it in a diary that Preston took from a desk in the mansion."_

 _A diary?_ What diary? "Where is it? I..." the blonde trailed off, thinking up some excuse. "...I want to know more about him, _so I can get into character_."

"Gimme a minute." the other boy said, handing out several more costumes as he did. " _It's in my bag._ Go get changed, and I'll get it for you."

Well, that was easier than the blonde thought. Usually Kristopherson would have been either suspicious, or reluctant, saying something along the lines of _"can't you just make something up?"_ But no, today he was cooperative, probably due to the fact that he was so tired.

Alois did as he was intructed, putting on the costume and looking in the mirror. _Oh God_ , that was something he _didn't want to see again._ He wore a purple coat that stopped past the buttocks and fanned out as it did, a white dress shirt and a black bow around his neck. The vest was double-breasted and green, with black lines running vertically up and down it and a black collar, the vest itself being stained in faux-blood from a faux-stomach-wound. He didn't wear _shorts_ , however. He wore dark-grey pants that tucked into his brown boots with purple bows on them. Just like on _that_ day.

That day, not a day before, or a day after, but that day, the day were his arch-rival, his foe, his nemesis, his _now boyfriend_ mortally wounded him. It was the day before that _other_ day, where he had actually _died by the hands of his own butler_. Then that was yet another day after that, where he had possessed his former-foe's body and sought revenge on both his, and the Phantomhive lad's butler, signing another Faustian contract with his maid. It was that day that the blonde had supposedly vanished from this mortal world for good, only to wake up again in the Phantomhive boy's basement, _nearly one hundred years later_.

All of these memories flooded into his mind as he looked at the boy in the mirror, who in turned, stared back at him, almost _mockingly_. He hated that _face_. He hated that _boy and all that he was_.That was not him- not anymore, and yet here he was, turning up out of the blue, uninvited. Alois grew even more furious as the boy began to _cry_.

Tears silently streamed down his face, as he stared at the boy. His brow furrowed and he grit his teeth menacingly at the boy in the mirror, his face of shock and speechlessness morphing into that of resentment. The boy in the mirror, in turn, did so as well, imitating the blonde boy. Finally, Alois felt something warm and wet on his face. Putting his hand to his cheek, he realized that _he_ was crying. He _was_ the boy in the mirror.

His firey anger froze in seconds and his heart dropped. Doesn't the boy in the mirror live in the _past?_ He doesn't exist here, yet here he was. Why? Why couldn't he just stay in the past where he belonged, and leave the poor blonde alone? It was as though the boy in the mirror simply refused to die, just as Alois does now.

"Hey, Alois? You in there?" called a familiar voice, pulling him from his thoughts. It was the sound of his _beloved foe_ , Ciel Phantomhive.

"Y-yeah. I was just about to come out." said the blonde shakily as he began to exit the small tent-like structure that served as a dressing room. He pulled back the curtain and came face to face with the lad, who looked just as surprised as he did.

Ciel had apparently gotten dressed in a different booth, and he too, was dressed in an outfit similar to one he would have worn in _the old days._ He wore a double-breasted, dark blue jacket with a black collar, and a black peice of fabric holding together the costume in the front and black cuffs on the wrists. He had a white dress-shirt underneath it and a blue ribbon around his neck, fashioned in a small bow. He wore pants the stopped at his ankles, and black shoes with spats. He had faux-blood splattered across his chest as though he had been in battle, and red around the cuff of his left sleeve. All of this looked _so familiar_.

Both boys simply stopped and gawked at each other for a moment, taking all of this in. No longer, did they appear before each other as Ciel Phantomhive and Alois Trancy: students of Warwick and couple. Now they stood as Ciel Phantomhive and Alois Trancy: _Arch-nemeses._ Were they _really,_ though? Neither of them _wanted_ to be, but that is what was seen by their memory, etched into it so carefully.

They stared at each other, taking every detail, noting what had changed, and what had not, eyes darting to various locations on the other, before both finally stopped at the other's face, whuch had only changed _slightly._ For some reason, they seemed _older_ than they had remembered.

"Alois, your eyes." Ciel said finally, noting the red puffiness around the blonde's eyes. He knew that the boy had cried at seeing himself in that get-up. He was slightly angry at Kristopherson, even though the lad had _absolutely no way of even knowing_. Alois touched the area around his eye, feeling the slight puffiness and dampness of it before wiping it.

" _I'm fine_." he said, wiping his face with his sleeve. "I just _... I just..."_ He couldn't find it. His golden excuse that he could usually fabricate out of thin-air didn't come to him, and he stumbled over what he was going to say, only to feel a pair of arms snake their way around his waist and pull him in closer to the bluenette.

"It's alright." Ciel said in a hushed tone, as the blonde hid his face in his shoulder. "We _aren't_ enemies anymore, so stop crying." He pulled back for a moment in order to look at the Alois for a moment. "You know..." he said, "While your crying face is cute too, I think you're even cuter when you _smile_."

The other boy wiped his eyes with his sleeve again, ridding the area surrounding them of water. _"That was such a sappy line.._." he said finally, looking at the bluenette and placing his hands on the boy's shoulders.

"I know. _See what you make me do?_ You make me get all _soft_ and stuff."

Alois giggled at the thought. _Ciel Phantomhive?_ Getting all _lovey-dovey?_ Now _that_ was an accomplishment in itself. It was this that made it entirely obvious to the flaxen-haired teen that they couldn't still be enemies.

"So? Are we alright?" asked the bluenette finally, and a tad uncharacteristically awkwardly.

"Yeah." Alois replied. "I like you better like this, anyway. You were a _great enemy,_ but you're an _even better boyfriend_." His hands moved from the boy's shoulders to the sides of his head, pulling the bluenette in for a kiss, but as soon as their lips brushed together, they heard a _terrifying_ sound. _It was the excited squeal of a teenage girl._

They separated, looking over to see Anastasia. The girl's eyes were wide, her face red, with her hand over her mouth. " _Sorry."_ she said. "I didn't mean to interrupt _... Do you know were Kris is?"_

The bluenette furrowed his brow and cleared his throat in order to compose himself. "He was asleep inside, last time I saw him." he said.

"That _moron_. I _told_ him to go to sleep and stop fussing over all the details." the girl said, with an exasperated sigh. "Thanks." she said. "Oh, and aren't _Public Displays of Affection_ against the rules?" she teased, causing the bluenette's eyebrow to twitch in annoyance. Thus, she escaped into the haunted house in search of her brother.

Ciel let out an exasperated sigh as the girl left. _Why did she have to interrupt? Just when it was getting good, too._

He was pulled away from these thoughts as his blonde companion pecked him on the lips and smiled at him. Alois grabbed his companion's wrist and dragged him into the haunted house in order to make the final preparations for this evening. Warwick's Halloween Festival was only a few hours away.


	116. A Battle of Honour

_CLANG!_

The sound of metal striking against metal rang throughout the castle as the guest ventured through it. Students and guests alike screamed at the sudden surprises inside, such as the arms coming out of a painting that secretly connected to the area by the set, as actors would reach out at them with out warning. Characters would pop up out of seemingly nowhere, shouting and screaming in faux-aggression or agony as they frightened the guests.

There were also more subtle scares, such as removing the hard floor of the structure after a while, and replacing it with soft mats, concealed by fog. The foriegn and unknown texture gave off a creepy feeling. In the especially gorey sets, they hadn't replaced the floors at all, but simply made them _sticky_ for the sole purpose of disturbing people, further putting them on edge. Other "subtle-scares" involved playing with the sound, being silent in some areas, while horribly noisey in others. The latter was especially effective when guests couldn't see the source of the noises. Some rooms would be empty, yet horrible moans and groans seemed to leak out of the walls, as though the ghosts where trying to communicate indirectly.

_CLANG!_

The sound of metal striking metal was heard as the guests ventured closer to a particular room. " _Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!"_ was heard over and over again, as the shadows of two "ghosts" danced along the wall as they swung their blades, trapped in eternal conflict.

When they finally entered the room, the guests who were students at Warwick gave off a sigh of relief as they recognized the two combatants, a boy in blue and a boy in violet, _Ciel Phantomhive_ and _Alois Trancy._ They certainly looked the part as they were dressed in authentic period clothing with patches of blood in realistic locations, including in the make-up on their faces. This "blood leaked from the blonde's mouth and from the bluenette's eye-patch, and they were both pale with dark circles under their eyes. The same fake blood that covered their clothes covered the floor, but there was a reason for this, which will be explained _later._

_CLANG!_

The sound rang out as the boys dueled with their _faux-swords_ , each lad trying to best the other. They were in good spirits, choosing to think of this venture as a battle similar to the "Nerf Battles To The Death" that the lads had at home, rather than a direct enactment of what Kristopherson had read in the diary that was snatched from the Trancy manor.

Yes, _the diary-_ It supposedly belonged to a mister _Claude Faustus_ who had once served the Trancy household back in the late 1800s. It described the daily life of the butler and the horrid past that the young master had faced including bits and pieces about the boy summoning a demon, leading up to the duel between the young master of Trancy and the young master of Phantomhive, the butler's betrayal of the boy, and a few days after, before abruptly stopping. The rest of the small book was left blank after those few days. The fate of mister _Faustus_ was never specified, but the young Trancy's, or rather, _Jim Macken's_ seemed rather _clear._

Jim Macken had been mortally wounded by the Phantomhive boy, nearly ending his life there, but no. The boy instead forced his failing body into a carriage in order to go see his foe for some unknown reason, before it crashed, sending the boy into the woods, where his head was then crushed by _Claude Faustus_. Yes, all of this was in the diary. _Claude Faustus_ was clearly a _madman_ who _thought himself a demon, and murdered his master before being caught by police a few days later_ , and is perhaps the reason that the ghost of _Jim Macken_ still haunts the grounds to this day. At least, that what _Kristopherson_ believes based on his loose knowledge of the events and concept of reality.

Nay, the poor boy in the story was _alive and well, and right underneath the faux-blonde's nose_ as he reenacted his descent _back_ into the pits of _Hell_. His sword clashed against that of his adversary in a playful quarrel _loosely based_ on the account of that day. Instead this time, "Alois Trancy" would _"die"_ in front of the guests as they were lulled into a false sense of security by the sight of the familiar faces playing.

The boys fought for a few minutes, watching the guests' faces in the corner of their eye. When they seemed relaxed, Alois faltered, allowing the bluenette to get the upper hand and stab the boy in the stomach. The guests gasped at the sight, watching _blood_ drip onto the blade. The Phantomhive retrieved the blade from the abdomen of his foe and the blonde fell, _clutching his wound and groaning on the floor in pain_. Ciel smiled as he delivered the final blow, stabbing the other boy in the back as he squirmed. Alois stopped moving, and Ciel turned to the guests, grinning with ominous glee. His very face emitted a sort of evil that seemed to be able to appear only in the most horrible of nightmares. He walked towards them, raising the blade and preparing to strike, when they _ran._

He chuckled a bit when they left, before turning to his companion. " _Okay, Alois. They're gone_." he said with a slight smile. He offered his hand to the other boy in case he required assistance getting up.

" _Finally."_ said Alois as he took the other's hand and stood. He removed _a small plastic bag covered in red_ before throwing it away in a nearby trash can. He reached behind a bookcase and replaced the bag with a new one, full of the fake-blood so that when he was stabbed again, _the fake-sword would pop it, giving the illusion of injury_. The floor was covered in the stuff by this point, as _they hadn't had the time to mop up between performances._

"You're going to be covered with that stuff by the time we're done." said the bluenette.

"I already _am!_ It's probably going to turn me pink for awhile..." said the blonde with a sigh. He didn't want to be pink. Pink was _Kristopherson's_ thing. Moreover, the bluenette was going to be teasing him about it without mercy.

"It'll wash off eventually, and besides, if you didn't wear those _booty-shorts_ , no one would even _know_." said Ciel, pointing out the massive amount of the red liquid on the lad's pants.

"They aren't _'booty-shorts'!_ They go down to my _mid-thigh!"_

"And that makes them _not '_ booty-shorts'?"

" _Naturally._ And don't even _pretend_ that you don't like my _legs."_

Ciel rolled his visible eye at the blonde and his silliness, and blushed at the latter half of the lad's comment. " _Whatever."_ he said. "What time do we get done here, anyway?"

"I think it was like, _eleven_ or something." This news made both boys groan. They had been doing this for _hours_ now, and both boys wanted to have a look around the festival themselves. That was perhaps the _worst_ part of working on this whole project; _missing the festival._

"This is getting overly _repetitive_." said the bluenette, rubbing his forehead.

"You mean _'boring'?_ Yeah, pretty much." said Alois back. "Still, these _play-fights_ are kind of _fun,_ ain't they?"

"A little, I guess. Though as much as I like _winning,_ it's not really _fun_ when it's _scripted."_

"So is it a _defeat_ you want?" Alois asked with a smirk.

"No, but a _challenge_ would be nice." Ciel answered with a smirk of his own.

" _Right!_ No holdin' back, then! _En garde!"_ shouted the blonde as he advanced toward his opponent.

" _Allez!"_ the bluenette shouted back, blocking the blonde initial attack with his own sword, before swinging at him.

The blonde menace dodged the assault before swinging in the bluenette's now open-to-attack side, only to miss. Now _he_ was open to attack. Ciel took the opportunity to adjust his footing and initiate a lunging attack at the blonde, who jumped to avoid it. It seemed as though he had underestimated the lad _again._

The last time they fought with blades in a serious sense, Ciel had the _knowledge and training in the art of dueling,_ while Alois simply ' _winged it'_ as he was doing now. Last time, the lad had his superior strength gained from his many years of hardship on the street to land strong attacks against his physically weaker opponent, but now he didn't even have _this_ , as he was up against a _demon_. Now it is _the blonde_ who is the weaker one, being the " _younger_ " demon of the two. That, along with his training, Ciel was a difficult adversary.

He swung the faux-blade erratically, hoping to land a hit by some bizarre stroke of luck. Maybe if he could keep up this speedy series of attacks, he could simply overwhelm the bluenette. He lunged, he attacked, he guarded, all in a very unorganized manner. In the past, unpredictable attacks like this had almost always worked when it came to both battles of might and wits. Whenever you lack either, being unpredictable can lead you to victory. Your opponent can't gain the upper hand if he can't predict your moves, right?

Finally, it seemed like he had the bluenette. The lad had allowed himself to get distracted by the guests walking into the room and unintentionally lowered his guard. Alois, however, _didn't notice them at all_ , and used this moment of weakness in the other boy and went to land a touche' on the lad's chest _when Ciel ducked_. He avoided the attack and sprang forward, _headbutting the blonde's chest and knocking him backwards_ , emitting a hearty _"oof"._

When he hit the ground, the Trancy boy furrowed his brow and went for the blade that he had dropped when the bluenette struck him with his uncharacteristically silly attack. He stopped when he saw the audience watching. _How long had they been there?_

His confusion was cut off when he felt a familiar jab to his side as Ciel took advantage of the blonde's distraction, puncturing the bag of blood hidden in the lad's clothes. At the moment, he realized that they still needed to finish the show. He groaned and gurgled, grabbing the blade in his feigned-agony and "dying" when the bluenette removed it. Ciel then went through the usual routine of scaring away the guests, chasing them with his bloody blade.

When it was clear, the blonde scoffed at his companion's supposed victory. _"You only won because we needed to put on the show."_ he said to Ciel, getting up and straightening his costume.

 _"Sure,_ that is it _entirely_." the bluenette said. _"You could have definitely grabbed the sword that nearly flew across the room, get up, and stab me_."

 _"Sarcasm_ is _unbecoming_ of you." the blonde said, furrowing his brow.

"Sorry." Ciel said, not even bothering to tone down the gloating expression on his face. "So what time is it now?"

Alois pulled out the pocket watch that was stored safely in his costume pocket and glanced at it. " _Ten-fifty."_ he answered, dropping his sword. Ciel in turn dropped his own and walked over to the blonde.

"I'd say that's _close enough_. How about we go get changed?" he asked, pulling out a handkerchief and beginning to wipe at the unsightly make-up on his face.

" _Agreed_. Besides, this thing is _cold and wet_." replied the blonde, referring to the faux-blood that had soaked through his clothes over the past several performances. "It's bloody _freezing!"_

"That's _too bad_. And the only other thing you have ot wear is your _booty-shorts_."

"Do I need to explain again that they aren't _'booty'_ shorts? _**Mid. Thigh**_ _."_

"Whichever makes you _feel better_."

_"Piss off."_

_"I love you too, muffin."_ said Ciel mockingly, as he began to walk away to the backstage area. He earned a flustered look from the blonde. Not only had he been defeated in battle, but the bluenette had also _mocked_ him! He stomped after the other lad and shouted:

_"FUCK YOU!"_


	117. An Ass-ton of Games

It seemed as though the festival was starting to close for the evening, but the lads still had a little over an hour to play around. Quickly, they changed from their costumes and into their regular clothes, so they wouldn't miss another moment. Upon doing so, the blonde frowned as his concern had been realized. _The red dye from the faux-blood had stained him pink._

 _Pink._ Pink was _Kristopherson's_ thing. His "wound" had "bled" profusely throughout the evening, running down not only his abdomen, but down into his lap, as well, changing the skin that was visible through the gap in between his knee-socks and his short-shorts from a pale ivory to a horrid shade of _pink._ However, the T-shirt he had chosen to wear distracted from this, with it's _wonderful slogan_.

" _'Slutty Badass'?"_ the bluenette said aloud. He arched his brow at the phrase.

"Huh? Oh, yeah. _Daniel_ gave it to me." the blonde replied, in a bit of a sheepish manner. He thought the shirt was _funny_ when he saw it, but actually wearing it was a tad _embarrassing;_ not that he would _ever_ admit to that.

 _"Figures."_ Ciel rolled his visible eye. It seemed like something the son of a politician would do as a quick joke. "Why'd he give it to you, anyway? Was his father _'unimpressed'_ with it?"

"We were talking about birthdays, and I said mine was _next month_ , so he got me this so he _'wouldn't forget'."_ Alois said, grabbing onto the other's hand as they walked away from the haunted house in search of something better to do. The blonde's explanation, however, took Ciel by surprise.

 _"Your birthday's next month?"_ he asked, hoping the other boy wouldn't be upset that he honestly didn't know. The subject simply never came up, so he had never thought to ask.

"Yeah. _It's on the fifth_." the blonde answered. His feelings weren't hurt at all. In fact, the subject didn't seem to interest him very much. He was busy taking in the scenery. _"I'm a scorpiooooo!"_ he added, pinching the bluenette's arm with his free hand in order to playfully "sting" him.

"Ow..." the bluenette said. "I never knew that..."

"It's fine. I dunno _yours_ either, so we're even." Suddenly, the blonde's eyes lit up as something grabbed his attention. "Ciel! Ciel! What's _that?"_ he asked, tugging at the boy's arm to get his attention and pointing.

It was a small game booth with prizes on display. Halloween-themed plush animals and such lined the walls of the inside of the booth, except for the back wall, which had a table set up against it with bottles stacked on top of each other in the back. Yes, the "milk-bottle" game. A classic. This game was obviously _rigged,_ as most of the games at festivals and carnivals and the like are. The "milk-bottles" aren't really milk-bottles. They aren't made of glass, they're usually made of some sort of resin or something so that they're too heavy to knock over, but Alois didn't know this, and immediately ran up to the booth before Ciel could convey a word of this. Either he would learn the hard way, or have to be dragged away from the booth, swearing at the top of his lungs. _The bluenette hoped that it wouldn't be the latter_.

"Hey there!" said the boy working the booth. He appeared to be an upperclassman, and he spoke nicely so that the lad would want to play. " _Three balls for a fiver, knock over the bottles, and win a prize_. What do you say?" he asked in a seemingly overly friendly manner.

The blonde looked over to the bluenette, his eyes almost _sparkling_ as he silently asked. Ciel has the money, after all. With great reluctance, his companion rolled his visible eye and reached for his wallet, pulling out the money to pay the scamming boy. You could tell just by _looking_ at this guy that he was up to no good.

Alois received his ammunition and picked up one of the spheres before cocking his arm back and throwing it, only nudging on of the bottles slightly. He wasn't too pleased with this outcome. He could hear the vendor snickering a bit, and smirked.

The bluenette knew that look. _Alois had figured it out_. The blonde still had two throws left, and he was going to use them well. In fact, he only really needed _one._ Ciel smirked a bit himself, realizing what the boy was going to do. It was such an abuse of power, but it might be funny to see the scamming upperclassman's response.

Once more, Alois cocked back his arm, and released the ball, sending it hurling towards the bottles at a ridiculous speed. You couldn't see it. All that could be seen were the bottles falling over and the dent in the wood behind them that the ball had left. The blonde's smirk changed into a triumphant grin, as the vendor's cocky grin turned into a look of surprise.

"See, Ciel?" the blonde said to his companion. "I could be a pretty good _pitcher!"_

"You _wish!"_ the other boy said, taking the final ball from the blonde lad, and giving it a good toss at another stack of bottles, knocking them over in a similar fashion. He gave the blonde a smug look before turning to the vendor. "' _Three balls for a fiver, knock over the bottles and win a prize!'"_ he quoted.

"Yeah, we knocked over _two stacks of bottles within the three-ball limit_ , so doesn't that mean we _both_ win a prize?" the blonde asked innocently.

The upperclassman rubbed his forehead and nodded, allowing both boys to pick a prize. While ordinarily, one would think Alois would pick a stuffed animal, but no. He didn't after Ciel picked his prize. The bluenette had chosen a _yo-yo_ , and fascinated by the device, the blonde had to have one as well.

While Ciel was able to grasp the use of the toy's rotational energy, but alas, the blonde was not. He simply couldn't fathom how the new-fangled invention of the 1920s worked! He tried to copy the bluenette's flick of the wrist, but failed every time. _What a stupid toy_.

Either way, he had his chance at the next booth, as they both continuously won. They weren't _cheating_ though. No, games have a certain amount of _skill,_ involved, right? The boys simply had the "natural skill" to play the games, and the had one _hell_ of a time doing it.

By the time the festival ended for the day, their arms were full with prizes. They could hardly carry them all. While the bluenette would ordinarily not waste money on such "ridiculous" or "useless" entertainment, it was worth it. The blonde somehow had a way of bringing out the _kid_ in Ciel.

When they walked to the car, the man behind the wheel looked thoroughly surprised, but that quickly changed to amusement. "Did you have a good time, My lord?" asked Sebastian, smiling as he managed to somehow fit all of the items in the vehicle.

Ciel immediately tried to straighten himself. He was funny about that. It was as though he was afraid of being mocked for being childish by the man or something. He cleared his throat and said a simple " _I suppose so."_

His companion couldn't help but giggle at that. The bluenette's over-whelming sense of pride was almost _humourous_ , sometimes.

"We _scared children_ , ate _unhealthy foods_ , and _played an ass-ton of games_ , I'd say that was pretty fun." said Alois, giving the man clad in black a thumbs-up.

Sebastian looked in the rear-view mirror at the blonde and asked "Exactly _how much_ is an _'ass-ton',_ Alois?"

"Well, I guess that all depends on _the size of the ass_ , Sebastian." the blonde replied quite seriously, which caused the bluenette beside him to snort while trying to hold in his laughter. Sebastian chuckled at them both as he turned his attention back to the road.

The first day of the festival was now over, and two more days remain...


	118. Provocative Attire

_"Nngh_!" The blonde cried out. He filled the room with similar cries, and grunts, and other noises as he panted hard. This hurt a lot more then he thought it would.

"This would _hurt_ a lot less if you would just _relax_ and _stop squirming_." the bluenette replied, his face dyed with a deep blush from the _sounds the blonde was emitting_ and from the _very sight of him like this._ This was _Alois' idea_ in the first place, wasn't it? He just _got caught up in the moment_ and went with it. There certainly wasn't _any holding back now_.

" _Could you at least try and be a little more gentle?!"_ the blonde asked, briefly pausing to wipe the sweat from his forehead.

"No. I want to get this over with as quickly as possible _before anyone else hears us_ and gets the _wrong idea_..."

"It's no _my_ fault _Kristopherson designed this dress_ with a bloody _bodice!"_ the blonde said with another grunt as the bluenette pulled the strings again to tighten it.

A _bodice,_ for those who may not know, looks much like a _backwards corset_ in that it's strings tie in the _front_ rather than in the _back._ While they were in a more convenient location, the blonde lad still needed help tightening them, and the bluenette was automatically volunteered for the task. The noises that came from the dressing room gave many of the girls at the so-called "Maid Cafe'" _a lot to think about_ , even though they _knew_ what was _really_ happening.

It was too early for the Haunted house to be open at the moment. It usually opened during the evening around sunset, so in the mean time, the lad's had promised to help the girls at the cafe', and Alois had a maid uniform of his very own to don.

It had a white shirt with a neckline, and a black vest like thing that hung at the blonde's shoulder's and connected to his short, black skirt. The vest-like thing was covered by the white bodice that the two boys had been trying to force on the blonde for the past few minutes, allowing only a bit of the black on his shoulders and chest to show, and had his apron coming out from underneath it. He wore a blonde wig with long, twin pig-tails and the standard maid head-piece, and black pantyhose. This maid uniform was a bit more... _provocative_ than the one Ciel had seen him wearing when they first met face-to-face.

Finally, he tied the string and released the blonde before leaving the dressing room. He jumped when he saw the girls smiling at him and staring with a slight pink hue in their cheeks.

" _Girls can be such perverts..."_ he thought, contrary to his previous notion that he was raised with _: "Girls_ being _delicate little flowers_ who are _pure_ and _innocent_ while _boys_ were _rough, rowdy_ , and straight up _brutes_ that no girl was _safe_ against." With time, he has come to realise that this is absolute _rubbish_ , and _girls could be every bit as perverse_ as any _boy_ could. It made him question what lurked within the mind of his cousin _Elizabeth_ when he was human.

He was pulled from his thoughts when the sound of the door opened and Alois walked through in his outfit. The air seemed to disappear from the room as the girls all gasped at the sight, thoroughly pleased, nonetheless.

Alois stuck his hip out in a effeminate manner and placed his hand on it. "Hi! I'm _Eloise Trancy!"_ he said in a high-pitched voice, causing the "other" girls to giggle at his silly antics. Ciel crossed his arms across his chest and looked away, feigning disinterested, much to the blonde's amusement.

While he found the bluenette's shyness to be quite adorable, he couldn't help but feel _uncomfortable_ in the clothes. It certainly wasn't because cross-dressing suddenly embarrassed him. No, the problem wasn't the _cross-dressing_ part of it. It was the _over-sexualized nature_ of the costume that unsettled him. While the idea of dressing up in a maid's outfit and parading around in it was funny to him, the fact that the point of this was to be _eye-candy for a bunch of men_ unnerved him. He shuddered a bit at the unpleasant memories.

Noticing this, Ciel looked up and cleared his throat. " _No way."_ he said in an assertive voice. "There is absolutely _no way_ you're going out there in _that."_

The blonde's eyes widened in surprize at the statment, and the girls surrounding the scene whined in protest. "Oh _come on_ , Phantomhive!" said one of the girls. "He's already wearing it!"

"Yeah, and everybody worked really hard on that dress!" said another.

 _"I don't care. It's not happening_." the bluenette said plainly, not giving them a single inch to work with. If he didn't care about what they had to say, there was no argument. It was as simple as that. He smiled slightly at the blonde to reassure him a bit. It was so slight that you would only know it was there if you looked for it. Alois immediately caught on and thanked the boy internally as he fidgeted with the edges of his apron.

"Ladies, calm down." Anastasia spoke up. " _If Ciel doesn't want to share his boyfriend with other guys, that's their business, and we have no right to interfere_." Oddly, she was the voice of _reason-_ that is, until she opened her mouth again and made Ciel wish she had just kept it shut. _"He has first dibs on Alois' body_ , after all."

The eyebrow of the bluenette twitched in irritation at that last remark as the flush on his face came back as he heard the girls giggle. "Fag-hags" was _right._ He took a deep breath in order to compose himself before speaking.

" _That's not it_." he said. "I simply don't want him to go out there and _embarrass himself."_

"It's okay to be _jealous,_ Ciel. We were just _messing_ with you." the Miles girl said to the boy in the eye-patch with a grin. The bluenette opened his mouth to dismiss the claim, but the girl just continued talking. "We have a spare _butler uniform_ if you'd like. It was made for someone else, but they never showed up. _Kris_ can probably make a few adjustments if he needs to."

"I can deal with that." said the blonde lad. "That is, if my master agrees to it." He curtsied in the direction of the bluenette giggling at his response. The boy simply waved his hand at Alois in a way that seemed to say " _That'll do."_

"It's settled then. Sarah, go get the butler costume." Anastasia said to one of the girls, before placing her hands on her hips and looking around for a moment. " _Where is Kris, anyway?"_

Ciel and Alois looked at each other questioningly. They had no idea that Kristopherson was supposed to be there. The faux-blonde's sister looked amongst the group of girls clad in maid uniforms, before grabbing the arm of a girl with long blonde hair.

"Ah- _hah!"_ she declared. "Thought you could _hide,_ huh?!"

"Y-y-you didn't tell me _they_ were going to be here!" the girl replied in a somewhat _low,_ and panicky voice as she attempted to escape the grasp of the Miles girl.

"I didn't think it was important information. C'mon, we need your help!"

" _Anna! Let go!"_

_"Quit being such a baby!"_

The demonic duo tilted their heads in confusion at the scene. Finally, is dawned on them. The blonde spoke up.

" _Krisopherson?"_ he asked, and the "girl's" face turned dark red and "she" looked away, confirming the lad's suspicion. It _was_ the faux-blonde himself, _Kristopherson Miles_. He was wearing a french-maid outfit and a wig. _He had completely disappeared into the group of girls_.

 _"Y-yes?"_ he answered back, trying to remain calm, but failing miserably. Alois inhaled.

"Dude looks like a lady~!" he sang, trying to break through the absolute awkwardness of the situation.

 _"You're_ one to talk! _Look what you've got on_ , you bloody pillock!" the other boy dressed in drag shouted while pointing at the other accusingly.

"Yes, but _I'm_ going to change into a _butler_ outfit."

"Only because _Phantomhive made you!"_

 _"Not true!_ I don't feel comfortable wearing this! _It's too much!"_

" _Bullshit!"_

 _"Ladies,_ please, break it _up."_ said the bluenette, clapping his hands to get their attention. It had taken him a moment to recover from the shock of seeing Kristopherson like this. He knew the lad was _gay_ , but _this_ was entirely new and unexpected. He had thought the lad had a bit more shame than that. While some of his Victorian values had changed, as I mentioned earlier, some things never do. "You're giving me a _headache_."

"I'm surprised you don't get one _everyday_ because of Alois." said the boy who usually wore a pink tie.

"Are you just going to ignore the fact that he called you a 'lady'?" asked Alois. "Or do you prefer being referred to as such?" he added teasingly.

Kristopherson furrowed his brow. "I do _not!_ What about _you?_ Why are _you_ always in drag!?"

"It's _fun_ on occasion. _You?"_

 _"I like clothes._ " he said. "Clothes don't have a gender, so I just wear what I _like_."

"It's true!" butted in the faux-blonde's sister. "Sometimes, he takes stuff from _my_ closet!"

_"ANNA!"_

"Fair enough." Alois said with a shrug. "I'm going to get changed. This thing is bloody _freezing!"_

"If you need any help, I'm sure _Ciel_ will be _glad_ to help~!" the girl called after the boy, ignoring the glare from the bluenette.

"You're such a _fag-hag_ , Anna..." Kristopherson muttered. He couldn't believe his sister would do all of this. Invite the demonic duo over to help, not tell him, then proceed to embarrass him.

"I blame _you_." the girl said with a grin.

Her interest was peaked when the lad had first confessed that he was in fact, gay. She has been fascinated by the LGBT community ever since; a fascination, that has since spread to her friends, and then their friends. The idea of two men together was considered "taboo" in society, thus making it _even more_ interesting. These were only _some_ of the factors that contributed to this. Kristopherson rubbed his temples to fight off his inevitable headache. He really didn't understand why it was so _interesting_ to these girls. To him, it was simply " _normal"._

Finally, the curtain to the dressing room was pushed to the side, revealing the blonde lad fully dressed in a three-peice butler suit very similar to that of Sebastian. But then again, _aren't most butler uniforms similar?_ He was currently attempting to tie the tie as he exited the changing booth, but failing miserably. He wore a tie with his school uniform every day, but his usual purple tie was a _zipper tie,_ which only gave the _illusion_ of being an _actual_ tie.

Kristopherson rolled his eyes and walked over to the boy before shoving his hands out of the way and tying the thing, getting it perfect on the first try. He ignored the ice-beam that Ciel was currently firing at the back of his head; a thing that amused his sister rather muchly. The faux blonde turned and looked at the bluenette before putting his hands up in a surrendering position, and backed away from the blonde lad. He wasn't going to step on another of the blluenette's _possessive nerves_.

Alois tucked the black tie into his vest. "You'd make a good _wife_ one day, Kristopherson!" he remarked teasingly before walking over to the bluenette.

"What!? I will be no one's _wife!"_ the boy in the maid uniform said objectively. "I'm not like _you,_ Trancy!"

"I do believe that is a lie! You just scream _'catcher'!"_ the girls in the room emitted a series of "oohs" before erupting into a fit of giggles as Kristopherson's face turned red again for one of the many uncountable times that day. Wait, why do those girl's even know what that _means?!_

He furrow his brow and nearly snarled at the comment. He opened his mouth to say something, but was interrupted by Ciel. The bluenette looked to the blonde.

"Alois, you're supposed to be a _butler,_ right?" he asked.

The blonde tilted his head in response. "Yeah?" he said.

"Then I _orde_ r you to _stop picking fights with Kristopherson_." Ciel said in an authoritative manner, almost as if he were trying to command _everyone_ in the room and not just Alois.

With his right hand over his chest, the blonde gave a slight bow. " _Yes, my master."_ he said with a smirk.

" _Bow chika wow-wow!"_ called one of the many girls, causing the rest of them to giggle. The lad wearing the eye-patch frowned deeply at the this.

"I _also_ order you to _stop calling me that in public!"_ he said at the other boy, pointing his finger at the boy.

But it was only taken in the blonde's hands, held tightly so it couldn't escape. "Only in _private_ then? _Understood_." Alois said. His attempt of saying that with a straight face was foiled by the smile that was so mercilessly tugged at the corners of his lips.

Now it was the bluenette's turn to turn red. The blonde's words held an embarrassing implication that made the boy also have to internally fight off his own _thoughts_. He couldn't help but finally allow it to register how good Alois looked in his suit. He was appealing in his maid uniform as well, very much so, but now he was appealing in a _different_ way. Unlike with the maid uniform, the bluenette had accidentally lowered his guard since it was semi-ordinary men's clothes, and allowed his mind to wander- Something he dared not to do with the maid uniform. In fact, he didn't even dare to _look_ at the boy while dressed like that. Not while Alois was showing so much _skin._ He had nearly _lost it_ while helping the blonde boy put the garb on.

Alois in this outfit held a certain amount of masculinity to him that was usually absent from the lad, with hm almost always wearing a pair of "booty-shorts" and such. Now he was all dressed up and eager to please. If Alois was going to act like a butler and take orders, Ciel wondered what _else_ he could order the blonde to do.

He nearly had to smack himself to escape from going there. The palm of his hand met his forehead, causing the other lad to smirk a bit. " _You moron_..." the bluenette muttered.

"If you'll excuse me, _sir,_ customers are starting to come in, and I am needed." the blonde said, copying Sebastian's demeanor to some extent. He let go of the other boy's hand and went to the front of the cafe' with a few of the girls, leaving the bluenette with his thoughts.

Ciel was still inwardly kicking himself for allowing himself to think like that. Some values don't change, and the lad from the Victorian era had a hard time letting some of them go. He sat in a chair against the wall and continued to think this way until he realized he was being stared at.

Anastasia snorted while trying to contain herself. She nearly lost it about how flustered the boy was. She too had allowed her mind to wander to parts unknown.

The bluenette boy furrowed his brow and tried to straighten himself up. These girls were so strange. Never before had he encountered women like these before.

_These fag-hags..._


	119. One Hell Of A Butler, You Are Not

It was noon on the second day of Warwick Academy's annual Halloween Festival. The booths that served food were completely packed, as such. Especially for a certain "maid cafe'." People were curious as to what that was, so they flocked to it to see it for themselves. There was even a line to get inside!

It was all hands on deck as every maid (and butler) on staff were scrambling to get customers seated, served, and sent on their merry way so that they could repeat the process again and again. It didn't help that there were many large parties of guests all seated at one table, for several tables. Large groups like that like to sit for awhile after eating to chat, making it difficult to get the next party seated. The person who stayed the longest though, was a petite boy wearing an eye-patch seated at a table for one.

He had been there for a few hours, reading, chatting with a certain blonde butler when the boy wasn't busy, and occasionally pausing to drink his tea. He was on his third or fourth cup and was getting bored, so he entertained himself by watching the crowd. This was somehow fascinating in a way similar to that of the feeling you get when watching fish swim around in an aquarium. His visible eye occasionally focused itself on the blonde butler that he was so fond of, only to avert it's gaze when the other boy noticed him watching.

However, this activity could be very _annoying_ sometimes. He wasn't too fond of watching girls flirt with Alois- _his_ Alois. He watched as the blonde chatted with them while taking their order, treating them nicely, only to be pulled back into the conversation when he tried to leave to give the order to the kitchen.

It was odd how the blonde talked to them. It was very _fake_ to the bluenette's ears. For starters, his very _accent_ was different. Ciel was used to hearing the blonde speak with an odd sort of blend between Northern and Southern English as of late, but now he was speaking as he did when they first met, sounding like an aristocrat. He had completely forgotten about that. The blonde must have had some sort of training to be able to do that, in order to pass himself off as the _legitimate_ Alois Trancy. Bits and pieces of their conversation could be heard by the bluenette with his superior hearing, and he was annoyed at how often the blonde was asked _what he was doing later_ or _when did he got off work_. When the question came up of _whether or not he was single_ , however, the bluenette found the girls' reactions to be amusing when the blonde answered, "No, I have a _boyfriend_." A smirk appeared on the bluenette's face at those words. He could also tell by the look in the boy's eyes, that he had thought it was funny too.

At last, Alois made his way over to Ciel's table. He dodged being pulled into yet another long-winded and pointless conversation by the other customers. He placed his hand on the table's surface and leaned against it with a prominent, and somewhat _comical_ frown on his face.

 _"I dunno how much more of this I can take_." he said with his usual demeanor. It was somehow _nice_ to see the real Alois again.

 _"Whatever do you mean?"_ asked the bluenette with obvious sarcasm. He took another sip of his tea as he did so.

"I _mean_ these damn girls! If I get asked ' _what are you doing later'_ one more time, I might _throw up_." Alois said, imitating the girls' voices while quoting them.

" _Try not to do it on the customers_." said Ciel. "I thought you _liked_ attention?"

"Not _all_ attention is _good_ attention."

"Getting in trouble all the time counts as _'good'_ attention?"

"Ciel, you should be fully aware by now that we both have very _flexible_ definitions of _'good'."_

"Well, I can't argue there." said the bluenette taking another sip of his tea. " _Refill?"_ he asked, holding out the teacup with a slight smirk.

With a roll of his eyes, the blonde took the cup and saucer and uttered a quick, playful " _Yes, my master_ " before disappearing once again into the crowd.

Then, all that Ciel had to do again was watch the ocean of people once again. His eye would occasionally find something of mild interest and focus onto it for awhile before that got boring to him and he scanned the crowd again for something new. Finally, his eye focused on Kristopherson in _his_ maid outfit, and he had to admit, the faux-blonde made a _surprisingly convincing_ girl- that is, until you remembered _what he was packing underneath his skirt._

The lad even spoke in a higher pitch than normal, and the customers seemed to _actually believe_ it. _One man_ in particular seemed to by convinced. When Kristopherson walked by, he slapped the lad on the rear, causing him to squeak in surprise and drop the tray he was carrying. He looked up and the _now laughing_ man and his friend, brow furrowed and face red. How dare that guy do that to him?! Never before had Kristopherson been so humiliated and felt so violated in all of his life.

It was his turn to laugh however, when the man's eye's widened in surprise and he jumped, grabbing his now _burning_ scalp, covered in hot tea. Standing behind his chair, was Alois, and in his hand was an _empty teacup_. The blonde smirked.

"Oh, I'm _so sorry!"_ he said in fake innocence, placing the cup back on it's saucer. " _My hand slipped."_ Ciel even chortled at that. "I'll get you a towel right after I give this customer his tea."

Alois went back and got a new cup of tea, new cup and everything, as the man sat fuming in his wet clothes. The blonde then casually brought the tea to the bluenette's table. "Sorry 'bout that. _Your tea was a victim in my petty revenge_." he said to the eye-patch-wearing boy, setting the cup down.

"I don't think it was _'revenge',_ per se. I think it was more along the lines of _'defending a friend_ '." Ciel replied.

"Ew, you make me sound _nice!"_ Alois said, making a disgusted face.

"You _are_ 'nice' when you _want_ to be."

"I guess I'm simply _not trying hard enough!"_

"You don't have to _try_ , Alois..."

"So you _admit_ I have _skills?"_

"I _admit_ that you're an _idiot_." said the bluenette, taking a sip of his tea. Alois watched him do this for a moment before it began to confuse the bluenette. " _What?"_

"I was just wondering..." Alois began, "...Demons don't need to _pee_ , right? And you just drank several cups of tea, _so where does it all go?"_

Ciel almost did a spit-take at the ridiculous question. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. "What kind of question is that?!" he asked.

"The kind that keep me up at night..."

"Demons don't need sleep, either..."

"But _why?"_

The bluenette rubbed his temples. He had no idea why. It was just that way. He looked up at the boy and said: _"I will inform you when we learn about it in demonic biology class."_

"Oh, now you're just being a _smartass_." the blonde said with a pout.

_"Don't you have to give that man a towel after dumping tea on him or something?"_

"Nah. I was just going to ' _forget_ '." Alois replied, putting air quotations around the word, "forget". He never had any intention of doing so from the very start. "I'd rather stand here and talk to you."

"Shouldn't you be _working?"_

"What are they going to do, _fire me?_ I'm _so_ scared, Ciel. I'm a bloody _volunteer_."

With a sigh, the bluenette had run out of arguments. There really wasn't any point in arguing with the blonde. He slouched in his chair, and just let the boy do as he pleased. He was getting bored with sitting alone anyway, and Alois had already pulled up a chair and sat in it.

"I'm _bored."_ he whined.

"Then go back to work." said Ciel.

"I don't wanna! Talking to _random whores_ is _boring!"_

"They aren't _whores_ , Alois..."

"Oh yeah..." the blonde said, as though he had gotten the other lad's point. " _Whores_ get _paid_. I guess they're just _sluts,_ then."

Ciel covered his mouth with his hand and tried to hold in his laughter at that. Why was this blonde boy able to make him laugh so easily? He had somehow crept his way between the cracks in the bluenette's heart, made him fall in love with him, and now Alois was making him laugh, and laugh often. The blonde grinned at this reaction he had forced from the other lad.

"Why do you always hold in your laugh? You should laugh more often!" Alois said, leaning across the table to touch the other boy's arm.

"I don't know anymore. I just _do_." replied the bluenette. Before, he would say that "he has forgotten how to smile properly", but apparently, Alois had reminded him. It was most likely remnants of this philosophy and his overwhelming sense of pride that rendered him incapable of laughing with his hand away from his face, if he failed to keep it from escaping his throat at all, or admit to having fun.

"Well, cut the crap, Phatomhive! The hell is _wrong_ with you?" the blonde said jokingly, putting his hands up in the air.

"You know _exactly_ what's _wrong_ with me." he said with a slight smile. He looked up, past the blonde boy and raised an eyebrow at what he saw.

Behind Alois was Anastasia, fully dressed in a maid costume, with her arms folded and a nasty look on her face, that was so exaggerated that it was almost comical. She directed her irritation at the back of the blonde's head, it was surprising that it hadn't _burned_ him put a hand on his shoulder.

"Alois, what are you _doing!?"_ she asked. " _GET BACK TO WORK!"_ She pinched the blonde by his ear and forced him to stand up.

"Ow, ow, ow, OW!" the blonde said as he was being dragged away by his ear. _"Wait for me, my loooooooooove!"_ he shouted to the bluenette at the table.

This time, Ciel was laughing with his hand _away_ from his face. Yes, _progress is good._

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is another one of those chapters where I'm amazed at how much the characters have changed. The line "I don't wanna! Talking to random whores is boring!" really stands out to me because now (the most recent additions to the story as of the moment this is published) he would never call someone that. I feel like this is really reminiscent of his treatment of Hannah in canon. There's this sort of contempt for her, which he shares with these girls, too, for doing nothing but trying to have a conversation with him. It occasionally comes out in these little bouts of sexism. He's a bit of a nasty little shit, isn't he? That's sort of what I was trying to do, here, but I still want to scold him... Ciel isn't much better, though. He laughed, didn't he? Land O' Goshen, these boys need a time out...
> 
> Until the next chapter, my duckies~!


	120. Masters of Monsters

It was the evening of October the thirty-first, and Warwick Academy's annual Halloween Festival was in full-swing, as it was every evening thus far. Tonight, however, the place was packed, as children dressed in costumes ran about, collecting candy that the vendors would hand out just for the night. It was probably to worst night to be there, as everyone was there. One woman in particular was annoyed.

She looked to be in her early thirties, with tanned skin that didn't seem to go with her flaxen hair, and she wore a black pants-suit with a red ascot, round spectacles, and an eye-patch on her left eye, just as a certain bluenette does on his right. Unlike the boy, however, she was simply missing her left eye, not covering up a contract, let me just clear that up right now. The woman had an air of authority about her, and with her was a _certain draculina_ that we had met before. Yes, her name was _Sir Inegtra Fairbrook Wingates Hellsing_ , the head of the H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. organization.

She lit up a cigar, even though they were in a semi-crowded area, not caring about that fact because she was annoyed. Why did she have to be _busy_ the first two nights of the festival? Why couldn't she have moved her work to today, so she could have gone on one of the previous nights when it wasn't so crowded? It was too late for that now, and she pressed onward. The woman didn't have even the slightest interest in the festival itself. What she was instead interested in was _two specific demons_ who were said to be working at the haunted house this evening. She was going to use the festival as an excuse to speak with the two since the Phantomhive boy was always _"busy"_ when she tried to schedule an appointment with him. The _coward_.

"It's really crowded tonight, huh?" asked the draculina, also known as _Seras Victoria_. Usually, she wasn't one to point out the obvious, but she felt as though she should say _something_.

" _Don't remind me_." said the older woman. She could just _feel_ a headache slowly trying to grow inside of her skull. "I'm honestly surprised that Phantomhive would participate in something like _this_." Remembering the boy, she knew the lad to have always been rather _serious._ It was odd that he would involve himself in a _festival_ of all things.

As they walked to the haunted house, the crowd seemed to part in from of Sir Hellsing, allowing her room to walk. She had that sort of prescence, you see. Although he would never admit it, even Ciel felt a bit intimidated by her aura. Perhaps _that_ is why he didn't like her very much.

They paid the boy with the strange, multicoloured eyes at the front of the house and went inside. Odd, how it was the _draculina_ who jumped at the small scares the house had to offer, while her "master" didn't even flinch. While Seras was enjoying herself, the older woman was there spcifically on business. Finally, they neared a certain room from which the sounds of metal striking metal could be heard echoing throughout the twisting hallways that seemed to creat a maze. Upon entering that room, they were greeted with the sight of two boys, one in blue, and one in violet, fighting with blades.

At the exact moment the two women entered the room, Ciel froze, and his face went pale. He didn't have to look, he could sense the other two. His "foe" furrowed his brow in confusion at the bluenette's sudden actions, and looked over and saw them in the corner of his eye.

" _Seras!"_ he said, greeting the older-looking blonde woman with a big smile. Miss Victoria smiled back and waved, while the woman next to her puffed on her cigar with a disinterested face.

"Well, it appears that the show is ruined, now that you've _broken character_ , Alois." said the bluenette boy with a sigh, lowering his weapon.

"Oh, _sorry..."_ the other lad said with a slight giggle.

"I never expected I would see _you here_ of all places, _Sir Hellsing_." said Ciel, turning his attention to the other eye-patch-wearing aristocrat in the room, causing the blonde to follow his eye and turn pale upon realizing who the woman was. She was the one who Ciel claimed to be "The biggest monster at H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G."

"Neither did _I."_ the woman replied to the bluenette. "But I couldn't get hold of you when you weren't _'busy'_ , so I thought I would simply stop by and pay you a visit at work. Am I not allowed to participate in a _public_ event?" The manner with which she spoke to the boy made his eyebrow twitch.

"Not at all, however, I am a bit surprised that they let you in while _smoking_." the boy replied. It was as though they were trying to out-authoritate each other.

"Really? No one said anything about it."

"Perhaps they were _too afraid_ that you would _shoot_ them _. Concealled weapons_ on a _school campus?_ Are you itching for a _fight?"_ said Ciel, pointing out the fact that Integra always carried a gun on her at all times. This wasn't helping the blonde calm down at all.

"Oh _no._ I just bring it with me so I can _frighten demonic brats such as yourself_." the woman said with a smirk.

Ciel scoffed and folded his arms across his chest indignantly. He glared daggers at the blonde boy for _giggling_ at the woman's remark. "Why are you _really_ here, Hellsing?" he asked.

"Like I said, I couldn't get a hold of you otherwise, and _I wanted to see you new little familiar for myself_." the woman clarified. She turned her attention to the rather unnerved blonde boy. "Is this him?" she asked.

"Yes, this is him." the bluenette answered, watching the frightening woman's every movement.. "This is _Alois Trancy_."

" _Hmm..."_ She continued to puff on her cigar, examining the boy for a moment. He straightened himself, and withheld the sudden urge to salute for whatever reason. After a moment, the woman finally spoke again. "'Alois'." she said. "What is your _real_ name?"

Alois jumped a bit at the question. He was a bit confused as to why Sir Hellsing would ask that. It was a bit odd, but he answered anyway.

"I-it's ' _Jim Macken'..."_ he answered.

" _'Jim Macken'?"_ she echoed. "Is _'Jim'_ sort for _'James'?"_

"No ma'am, it's just _'Jim'."_ He was being unusually polite today. The bluenette found it odd, hearing " _ma'am_ " come out of the blonde's mouth. He simply couldn't help it. He just felt compelled to do so.

Sir Hellsing paused before turning her attention back to the Phantomhive boy. "He looks like a _weak_ one. I don't see what _possible use_ you could have for him." she said plainly.

"I was _bored_." the bluenette said back. "He may not _look_ like much, but he can certainly hold his own when he needs to. I would _appreciate_ it if you wouldn't speak of him in that way." His visible eye was locked on the woman's. It seemed as though he was firing a beam of ice at her, while she was blasting a beam of fire at him. Seras was right, they were quite similar...

Speaking of the draculina, she stood off to the side, laughing nervously at the eye-patched duo's battle of will. Finally, she turned her attention to the blonde boy. "I think you'll be _fine."_ she whispered to him. "She doesn't find you threatening."

"I know, but why does that _bruise my ego_ a bit?" Alois whispered back. He didn't well care for being called "weak" or "useless". He often found himself feeling inadequate in comparison to the bluenette.

It has always been that way since "back in the day", as well. Ciel was born rich, while Alois was born poor. Ciel had family and friends who cared about him, Alois had lost his, and they remained lost without anyone coming forward to fill their place. Ciel had demons fighting over his soul, Alois' had abandoned him to do so. Ciel had a commanding and powerful personality, and Alois was considered whiny, clingy, hungry for attention, and meek in comparison. Yes, Ciel was so perfect in comparison to the blonde- at least, that's how the blonde had perceived it.

The Phantomhive boy truly was worthy of the blonde's envy in every way. He was radiant, he was beautiful, he was invincible to any force that opposed him, remaining untouchable to any misfortune, walking forever forward into the unkind world that greeted him. That is what Alois _loved_ about him; what he _hated_ about him. _Ciel Phantomhive_ was a magnificent foe, and _Alois Trancy-_ no, _Jim Macken_ wasn't even _worthy_ of being his adversary. " _The Green Monster", "Invidia", "Envy";_ all are the same, but none are a kind friend.

The blonde frowned at the statement given by the Hellsing woman. He had felt as though once again, he was shown up by the Phantomhive lad, yet again. He wanted Sir Hellsing's approval, his very existance depended on it, after all, however, he also wanted to one day walk amongst those _giants_ that he envied so and this certainly wasn't a very good start.

He snapped back to attention when Sir Hellsing spoke in his direction again. "As long as you remain loyal to her Majesty, I don't really _care_ what you do." she said. He hadn't caught the conversation of the two cyclopes, but nodded anyway. _"Just don't do anything stupid."_ she added for good measure before turning on her heel and heading for the exit. "Let's go, _Seras."_

"Yes _sir!"_ said the draculina before rushing to follow her master. She waved goodbye to the demonic duo before the two women dissappeared, supposedly off to terrorize the undead.

Ciel kept his eye on them until they did, before giving a sigh in relief. He ran a hand through his hair in order to try and shake off some of the stress from the "visit". _That woman actually kind of scared him._

"Sorry about that." he said finally, turning to his companion. "Don't pay anything she said much mind. She likes to belittle _everyone."_ The boy remembered almost every encounter he had with the fearsome woman. He shuddered at the memories of being mocked and toyed with in a way similar to that he himself had done to so many people before she was even _born_.

"Maybe so, but she's right about _one_ thing: I _am_ pretty _weak_." the blonde said softly with a sort of melancholic smile.

The statement made the bluenette raise his eyebrows in surprise. He didn't even have to ask why he felt weak. He already knew, because he knew the blonde and how he was, how he _is._ He furrowed his brow and sighed, taking a moment to sort out what he was going to say.

"Listen, you aren't _weak_." he said. He swallowed his pride for a moment and spoke. "If some ways, you're even stronger than _me_."

"I appreciate the thought, but _let's get real_. There is _no way_ I can beat you, and that is that." the blonde replied, making gestures with his hands. Here Ciel was, throwing away his pride for a moment, and the blonde just shook it off? How dare he?!

"It's true!" Ciel argued, startling the other boy a bit. "Even after everything that happened to you, after crawling out of _hell_... you..." the bluenette's voice went soft for a moment. "...Had the strength to _smile_ again... You might not think that's much, but I... think that's pretty damn _amazing_."

The blonde stood speechless at this. How was that " _amazing"?_ But knowing the Phantomhive boy, it made _sense_ somehow. The experience that the bluenette had gone through had weighed down heavily on his mind and heart, completely preventing himself from even allowing himself to experience those things; things like laughter and a simple smile. Could you imagine not being able to _smile?_ That is at least one thing that the blonde had that Ciel didn't. The ability to _allow_ himself to feel _happy._

"Look at you," the bluenette continued. "You've even died, gotten revenge, come back to life, and you're _still_ able to perform all sorts of silly antics." He smiled at the blonde. It was a warm, genuine smile, one that would seldom grace the boy's face. "You're even able to force _me_ to smile. You're much _braver_ than I ever could be, Alois. Don't forget that."

 _Brave? Alois?_ The blonde was "brave" in an unusual sense of the word. When you hear the word "brave" you think of powerful, _knight-like individuals_ , who _spit_ in the face of fear, or the _lions_ that fought tooth and claw against the armoured gladiators in the coliseum of ancient Rome, not a _young blonde boy_ who was for the longest time _afraid_ of childish things such as _the dark_ , or _being alone_. But the blonde _was_ brave in his own obscure way, you see. How many young boys the audacity be able to use their _sex appeal_ as a _weapon_ , taking an enormous amount of wealth from a _perverse man_ perhaps four times their age? How many people had the resolve be able to bounce back from death in order to exact revenge, and do so again and dare to continue living? Who all could run up on stage, perform a role that they, themselves had never rehearsed while cross-dressing, and do it again and force that bravery to rub off on another lad who needed it? That _powerful force_ that the Phantomhive boy was, who was so brazen to _defy_ that authority? _Jim Macken._

The blonde boy smiled. His smile, too, was a smile that seldom graced his face. It was a genuine smile; a haughty, _prideful_ smile. He claimed that his wretched self would never feel pride again, yet the feeling grew in his chest from the bluenette's words. He had gained pride in himself from the very dragon that he had attempted to defeat all those years ago. Perhaps defeating the dragon wasn't truly the way that he would be able to walk along side those magnificant giants that he had envied so. Perhaps he too, was a giant all along, and he just didn't know it.

He ran over to the bluenette and put his arms around his neck, holding him close, and as a natural response, the bluenette's arms made their way around the other lad's waist. They stayed like that for a while, smiling uncontrollably "like a pair of idiots", as Ciel would say. They simply enjoyed the closeness for a while, but then they heard it.

_POP!_

The bag of faux-blood that the blonde lad had within his coat in order to realistically recreate the vision of being stabbed, had burst under the pressure inflicted on it by their embrace. Immediately, they separated to inspect the damage, but it was too late. While the blonde's costume already had a giant red stain from previous performances, the bluenette had not, but had gained one from his close proximity to the other lad when the bubble burst. Fortunately, the "strategic blood-splatters" on the costume had kept it from seeming too out of place, but the lad was now experiencing the uncomfortable feeling of damp cloth against his skin that the blonde was, but on a lesser level. Regardless, Ciel picked up his sword and raised it at Alois, who in turn giggled at the boy's childlike gesture and raised his own faux-blade in a defensive way, blocking the bluenette's strike. Thus, an new sword fight had begun, and continued until the festival ended.

It was the evening of October the thirty-first at Warwick Academy's annual Halloween Festival. It was the night were ghosts haunted the grounds, and demons lurked in the shadows, waiting for an unfortunate souls to gobble up. This wasn't true, however. Tonight, those very same evil demons fought off the ghosts of the past that so rudely haunted them in a playful dance of blades.

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And this is the moment where this fic technically becomes a crossover. Hellsing is an actual series, you guys. I like it a lot, obviously, and the universes fit together quite nicely. While having knowledge of Hellsing will give you insight into this aspect of the story, I wrote everything pertaining to Hellsing under the assumption that everyone here is a BLACK BUTLER fan, and might not be familiar with the other series at all. Everything is explained so nobody gets lost. Don't let that intimidate you. It's still a Black Butler/Kuroshitsuji fic. That's where the emphasis is, that's the big deal. Hellsing became sort of a tool to make way for more stuff happening, which was an unintended result from something that was initially supposed to be "haha, that's a funny reference". It's weird. 
> 
> Until the next chapter, my duckies~!


	121. Well, That Escalated Quickly

Phantomhive Manor: home to the Phantomhive family for centuries, an home to one member in particular for over a century. This is possible due to the secrets it holds. Today, one of those secrets happens to be basking in the sunlight in the garden behind the massive complex, but in the _least_ relaxing way possible.

What had began as a _fun game of paintball_ , turned into a war between the two lads. A fuming bluenette was bent on absolutely _destroying_ the blonde boy for what he had done. What he had done made the Phantomhive boy begin hunting him down like a predator, turning this game into a battle of honour. Now, what exactly was it that Alois had done in order the peeve the bluenette to such an extent? It isn't too difficult to figure out, with the purple splatter of paint on the seat of Ciel's pants.

That is correct. _Alois had shot Ciel in the behind with a paintball gun_. Now, the other boy longed for revenge.

Through the garden and the nearby trees, Ciel stalked his target, and even though there was a limited amount of cover, he was having a strangely difficult time trying to find the blonde. He would think he catch a glimpse of movement, only there to be nothing. What sort of trickery was Alois up to?

Nothing special. He was just hiding in a patch of bushes. He was lying on his stomach, making sure that not one single inch of his being was exposed. He knew if he was caught, the bluenette would probably unload his gun at the boy, hitting him the majority of the time. He shuddered while remembering the last time he was shot with paintballs. Non-lethal or not, the things stung like _hell_.

Suddenly, his ears perked up, hearing the faint sound of footsteps nearing the area just behind him. He didn't dare turn around. In fact, he didn't move at all. Every muscle of his tensed up as the sound got closer. His eyes were wide, and he bit his lip. Alois knew that it was the Phantomhive boy, as he could sense what he would call, " _his evil presence_ ".

Occasionally, the sound would stop as Ciel paused to inspect the surrounding area, only to start moving again a few seconds later. He too, could sense the blonde's, " _idiotic aura_ ", as the bluenette would so lovingly put it. He had to make sure it was he who struck first, and not the blonde, for if Alois did, he knew that the first thing he would shoot was _the cheek that he didn't hit_ for the sole purpose of humiliating the boy further.

He stopped behind the bush where the blonde was hiding, just a hair away from succeeding in his mission. He knew that he was right on top of the boy in a figurative sense, as did the blonde. Never before had Alois' nose itched as badly as it did now, when he needed to remain as silent and motionless as possible. He fought it for as long as he could, but finally, the urge overwhelmed him, and he _sneezed_.

Quick as a whip up on hearing the sound, the bluenette turned around and pointed his weapon at the bush, only to be tripped by the blonde. Every muscle in Alois body had been tensed up, and right after he sneezed, he let loose like a metal spring, extending his leg and tripping the bluenette, before quickly standing up and aiming his own gun. When he did, however, Ciel wasn't the _only_ one to be staring down a barrel of a paintball gun. In the second it took him to stand up, Ciel had aimed his weapon, and was now staring up at the blonde from his spot on the ground. Both lads were now trapped within a _stalemate._

"Well," Alois began, _"It appears we have reached an impasse_." His icy blue eyes were trained on the other boy. He didn't dare to even _blink._

"Yes." the bluenette said. "How do you propose we _end_ this?"

_"Whoever gets the most hits wins?"_

"You have the high-ground. That isn't exactly fair."

"On _five,_ then." the blonde suggested. " _One..."_ He took a step back, and the bluenette propped himself up.

"... _Two..."_ Ciel was almost standing. He didn't dare put down his weapon, making it far more difficult to do achieve his desired position.

 _"...Three..."_ Alois took another step back, and his foe stood.

"... _Four..."_ Both boys tensed their leg muscles in anticipation of performing evasive maneuvers.

 _"...Five!"_ Both boys leaped away from the other, firing several shots. Each lad had the others colours now splattered across their chest before they could escape. Ciel had three spot of purple (not counting the one on his bottom), and Alois had five splotches of blue, before he decided to make a run for it. He knew he could never win with a direct fight, thus he decided to resort to guerrilla warfare, and made a dash for the surrounding trees with the bluenette in full pursuit.

` _"I am going to_ _ **kill**_ _you, Trancy!"_ the enraged bluenette teen roared.

"You're gonna have to _catch_ me first, stud puppet!" the blonde said, throwing in a randomly generated pet name for the hell of it. While he was ahead, he quickly climbed up a tree in order to get the high ground again. There, he patiently waited for the bluenette to walk underneath. He thought he was so clever in plan, but then it began to crumble as he heard a noise behind him in another nearby tree. Did Phantomhive have the same idea?

Quickly, he adjusted himself on the branch where he was seated, and aimed his weapon. He saw nothing but a fleeting flash of _black_ before getting struck in the shoulder by something. It made a "pop", and whatever it was, it didn't hurt nearly as much as a paintball gun, but it startled the lad enough to cause him to fall from his hiding spot.

He touched his shoulder, he looked at his hand, finding it to be stained with black paint, and he looked around to see bits of rubbery material with the same paint. Water balloons? With paint in them? Was this Ciel's doing?

A twig broke behind him, causing his head to whip around to gaze into the face of _evil._ There, Ciel stood, nefarious grin plastered onto his face and a paintball gun in his hand, aiming it right at the blonde. "Found you." he said.

This was it. _Checkmate._ Ciel was going to defeat the Trancy boy yet again. With the blonde in his sights, Ciel started to apply pressure to the trigger. His victory was eminent, yet he stopped.

Now of his own will, no. It was due to a sudden distraction. He too, was struck by a balloon filled with black paint, followed by second, and a third, dying his clothes and skin with blackness. Alois was currently suffering a similar fate, as he was being targeted as well by the same unknown third foe. They both struggled with all their might to block the attacks with their arms in order to regain enough of their senses to figure out what on earth was happening, squirming at the coldness of the dark moist substance whenever it suddenly made contact.

After what seemed like an eternity, the terror ended just as suddenly as it had began. Ciel forced himself to pry open his eye in order to inspect the damage. Paint was on his arms, his legs, his face, in his hair, and he could've sworn this shirt wasn't black when he had bought it. It was so covered, that evidence from the blonde's attack was now gone, invisible to the eye. Speaking of which, the blonde was no better off.

The bluenette looked over to his companion, who was almost unrecognizable with most of his hair matted together by the paint, which covered his ordinarily flaxen locks. _"So that's what he would look like with dark hair."_ the Phantomhive boy couldn't help but think to himself for a brief moment. Alois sat up and spat in order to try and get some of the paint out of his mouth. All evidence of being attacked by the bluenette was missing from his person as well.

"What the _fuck_ was that?!" the blonde asked

"I have _one_ good guess..." replied Ciel. He furrowed his brow at the sound of a familiar chuckle echoing through the trees. It sounded further and further away until it was gone. As to why the butler would have done such a thing, neither of them could guess _. Perhaps he was just starting to feel left out._

Alois ran a hand through his hair in order to get some out of his face. He made a face of absolute horror at what he found. " _MY HAIR!"_ he shouted.

"It'll wash out." said the other boy as he stood up and made a fruitless attempt to dust himself off.

"Do you even _know_ how long it will take me to get this stuff out!? It hardly matters for you 'cause you have dark hair! I might accidentally scrub myself _bald!"_ Silence hung in the air for a moment. All that could be heard was the wind rustling the leaves in the trees. Then, the bluenette let out a cough _. "YOU PICTURED IT, DIDN'T YOU?!"_ shouted the blonde. His voice hit a pitch that was almost so high, that only dogs could possibly be able to hear it.

"What? No, _not at all..."_ said the other boy with his hand covering his mouth. His attempts to force his lips from curling into a smile where in vain.

_"YOU ASS!"_

And this was just the first day _after_ the Halloween Festival. It would appear that the residents of Phantomhive Manor are always the energetic sort, always pulling pranks on each other. Even the butler felt the need to get involved occasionally, rather than sit on the sidelines of the children's quarrels, as he had earlier. This was seldom, but he felt as though presenting the children something unexpected was good for them. It certainly helped liven up the household quite a bit.

Similarly, not even a full hour later, the Phantomhive boy was pranked yet again, this time by the _third_ demon in the house. He had just rid his person of black paint, and had decided that he had wasted enough time with silly antics for the day. He exited the shower and put on a fresh set of clothes before making his way down the lonesome hallways of the massive building and made his way to his office.

There, he went through the usual ritual of sitting in the over-sized chair behind his desk and turning on his computer, where he would usually check his e-mail, first-thing. He only got as far as turning on the computer and logging in, however, where his routine was forced to a screeching halt when his desktop came up. The bluenette was immediately taken aback by what he saw, which had beaten the entirety of the paintball brawl from earlier that day as " _the most bizarre thing he had witnessed all day"._

His eye adjusted and saw his "new" desktop background, which was changed from his usual generic one that he had chosen at random from the pre-loaded images on the computer that he had chosen because he found it the least offensive. His "new" background was anything but "unoffensive" as it appeared to be a crudely drawn cartoon penis with a smiley face that had been drawn using _Microsoft Paint_ , with the caption " _Dick Dickardson says 'HELLO'_." scribbled below it.

"What... the... _hell?"_ the lad said aloud.

Ciel knew immediately who the culprit was, and so should you, but in case you haven't already guessed: The one who had both drawn the image and replaced the background of the bluenette's computer desktop with it was none other than the "blonde menace"; _Alois Trancy_. The flaxen-haired teen's ability to be unpredictable, humourous, and offensive all at once was simply astonishing. At this point, the Phantomhive boy was uncertain if he had been pranked, molested, or _both_.

First thing's first, he had to remove the image from his background. Once he did that, he was content to get up from his seat and seek out the estranged blonde in order to confront him. Through the halls once more, he ventured for the sole purpose of telling the other boy how much of a "moron" he was. Perhaps once he did, his mind would be at ease once again.

The bluenette didn't even bother to knock on the blonde's door. He never did. He swung the door open, causing the offending Trancy boy to jump a bit from his position in front of his computer, where he was watching _Youtube_ videos. Ciel had opened his mouth in order to yell at the boy and call him names that questioned the blonde's very intelligence, but once he had set his eye on the lad, he had completely forgotten what he was going to say. With a blush on his face, he had observed that Alois was wearing nothing but a towel around his waist.

His hair was still wet, and he looked as though he had just gotten out of the shower himself, and had just not gotten dressed yet. Ciel was grateful that he hadn't chosen to come later, when the blonde might have been in the middle of dressing. The boy at the computer turned his head to face the Phantomhive boy.

"Would it _kill_ you to _knock_ for once?" he asked.

The bluenette cleared his throat before speaking. "It's _my_ house. _I_ don't _have_ to knock."

"Whatever happened to being a 'gentleman'?" inquired the blonde, arching an eyebrow.

"That stopped after I came in contact with a mister _'Dick Dickardson'."_ the slightly shorter boy answered with a frown. Alois thought for a moment as he tried to process what the other boy had just said. Then he just laughed at the explanation.

"You seriously just _now_ found that?" he asked. "I did that _yesterday_. I was _bored_."

"Can you not touch my things if you're bored?" asked the bluenette.

 _"But touching your things is so much fun!"_ The blonde paused for a moment. "Oh, that didn't sound right at all..."

 _"Shut it_. Oh, and while you're at it, _put some pants on!"_ Ciel replied, trying to keep his mind out of the gutter. Often he would claim to not be like Alois, who's mind seemed to practically live in the gutter at times. However, being a formerly-human demon that was over one-hundred years old and _trapped in eternal puberty_ , he was susceptible to such thoughts.

"It's _my_ room! _I can be naked if I want!"_ Alois protested.

"I don't care! _Your room_ is in _my house_ , and _I_ say put some clothes on!"

"So you have mastery over my _nakedness?!"_ Alois shouted that last bit a bit too loudly. He smirked at the reaction he was getting from the bluenette.

Ciel took a deep breath in order to hopefully calm his nerves a bit, and rubbed his temples. "Alois, _why,_ pray tell, to you have to do that?" he asked finally. He tried his best to look anywhere other than at the blonde.

"I dunno. You're just so _cute_ when you're all _flustered."_ the other boy said with a grin before turning back to his computer and resuming the episode of _My Drunk Kitchen_ that he was watching. "Sometimes, I think I just like to test your limits..."

"Limits of _what?"_ the bluenette asked. _When did he get so close?_ He was now watching the screen as well with mild interest over the blonde's shoulder. Alois hesitated before answering.

"The limits of your _pridefulness."_ he said.

"It's not nice to tease people, you know."

"Don't like it? Then _leave_. I need to get dressed anyway." He waved his hand at the other boy, silently telling him to "shoo".

"You were so persistent in staying as you were. What brought on the change?" asked the bluenette.

" _A pervert appeared."_

"Who is the _'pervert'_ here, exactly, mister _'draws pictures of dicks on other people's computers'?"_

"The person who is currently _breathing down my neck_ while _pretending_ to watch _Youtube_ over my shoulder." Alois said, turning back to the bluenette. "In other words: _you_."

"Oh, no. You're on _a whole other level_ than me, ' _Jimmy'_." the bluenette said with a smirk. Now it was his turn to smirk at the other's reaction.

 _"Don't call me that."_ the blonde said indignantly. He squeaked a bit in surprise to the feeling of lips against his own. When the other lad pulled away finally, his face was completely red, all the way up to his ears, which contrasted oddly with his widened icy blue eyes.

"You know, you're pretty cute when you're flustered as well." said Ciel after examining the blonde's face for a moment.

"Sh-shut up, you- you..." the blonde couldn't think of anything especially clever to say "... _you one-hundred-some-odd-virgin!"_

_"What the hell?!"_

_"Don't even pretend!"_

_"Pretend what?!"_

"Is that why you don't have any _moves,_ Ciel?"

"Fine! _I'll just take the towel off, then!"_

"My lord, if I may be permitted to give you some advice..." The lads' eyes went wide, and they quickly turned in the direction of the noise to see the butler, Sebastian Michaelis, standing right in the doorway. "...it is generally frowned upon to perform such activities _with the door standing wide open."_ said the raven-haired man, and with that, he shut the door and left the boys alone.

Ciel and Alois just stared at the door for awhile, red-faced and speechless. _Neither of them could look Sebastian in the face for the rest of the week._

* * *


	122. Damn Dirty Centaurs

Warwick Academy is one of the finest learning establishments in all of Britain. It is here, that the offspring of the upper-class receive their ever-important education! The tuition may not be cheap, but knowledge is priceless!

Today at Warwick the students are currently reflecting on the events of the Halloween festival, while others simply gazed out the window at the destruction of the various booths. Yes, it was quite a shame that the booths that the children had worked so hard on had to be demolished, but they must make room for learning! An even greater tragedy, however, was unfolding within the walls of the building.

"Kristopherson worked as a maid, _and I didn't get to see?!"_ inquired a certain politician's son in a rather loud and dramatic manner. The boy in the pink tie simply rolled his eyes. He wasn't even going to bother explaining that he knew of the teasing he would have received had the brown-haired loudmouth been involved.

"It's okay, Dan. I have a picture on my phone." spoke a certain blonde menace. He pulled out his cell-phone, and immediately, fout of the Sensational Seven flocked over to him in order to veiw the image of legend. Ciel simply stayed put while Kristopherson stood up and began to protest, when the blonde turned his phone to face the pack. " _See?"_

The eyes of Daniel, Audrey, Preston and Travis all went wide at once at the image of a fairly attractive young woman in a french maid costume. They looked back towards the boy in the pink tie for comparison, and back again. Kristopherson was speechless, his mouth gaping, yet no words would come out, and his face was nearly crimson upon the other lads discovering his " _feminine side_."

Finally, the son of a politician spoke first. "Wow, Kris..." he said. "...Is it weird that you actually look kind of attractive? _No homo,_ of course."

"What I want to know, however, is how did _you_ get that picture, Trancy?" asked Preston, causing the attention of everyone to shift from the faux-blonde to the true-blonde in an instant.

Alois placed his phone back in the inner pocket of his uniform blazer before saying: "Well, I was there, but I'm not the one who took the picture..."

"Cross-dressing again?" asked Preston.

"No, _Ciel_ wouldn't let me wear the outfit in front of the customers.I dressed like a butler instead."

"Ooh! _Possessive,_ are we, Phantomhive?" Daniel asked the bluenette, inspiring the lad to fold his arms indignantly and turn his attention back to the destruction outside. So what if he was? He had every right to be, didn't he? Why such a thing must provoke the brown-haired lad's teasing, he'll never know.

"Any way, I didn't take the picture. _Anastasia sent it to me."_ Alois said, diverting the attention back to himself and away from the bluenette who obviously didn't want it.

The blonde watched as Kristopherson sat back down in a huff. He really hated having a sister sometimes. If Alois was completely honest, he was slightly jealous of the Miles siblings. Sometimes when watching them, he'd wonder if he and Luka would pick at each other like this as they got older. The thought was quickly shaken off before the blonde could depress himself. Suddenly, a strange whining sound was heard.

"Why do _you_ have her number?!" demanded Daniel. "Wait, _was she wearing a maid costume too!?_ You _bastard!"_ He placed his hands on the blonde's shoulders and shook him back and forth.

Finally, after being silent for a while, it was Ciel Phantomhive that asked the question. "Why do you even care? _Didn't you break up with her?"_

Daniel froze at those words. He did, didn't he? He shouldn't care. Why would he care? He and the Miles girl weren't together anymore, so why did he care. Leave it to her brother to explain.

"Wait _, he_ broke up with _her?"_ asked the boy in the pink tie. "No, no, no." He shook his head _. "She_ broke up with _him."_

"Kristopherson! You traitorous swine!" the brown-haired lad accused. His secret was out. Out in the open and bare for all to see. It wasn't a really big deal, but Daniel for some reason really didn't see it that way.

"What? _I_ wasn't told it was a ' _secret'."_ the faux-blonde said innocently.

"You ass! Anyway, I don't see why she even _would!_ She said it was because I was _'immature'!_ Can you _believe_ that!?"

"Yes." said Kristopherson.

"Yeah." said Preston.

"Yup." said Alois.

"Very much so." Ciel said, and Travis just nodded. Audrey, however, didn't give an answer.

"You dicks!" the son of a politician shouted. "What about you, huh? Do you think I'm ' _immature'?!"_

Although they couldn't see it, the boy's eyes widened at the question from behind his long bangs. Why was he being asked this? He put his hands up defensively, almost and said: "I don't know. _I don't know what girls consider 'immature'_."

An astonishing answer from mister Baines! It was perfect, with such indifference that it may have in fact rivaled the bluenette's! It spared the lad's feelings while at the same time, giving him hope. Daniel slung his arm around the boy's shoulder in a friendly sort of way.

"You see that? _Bones_ doesn't think I'm _immature!"_ he said as though he were accusing the others of treachery. "I bet you're a hit with the ladies, huh _, Bones?"_

"Not at all. I can hardly talk to girls." the boy in the skull beanie replied nervously.

"But weren't you talking to that _Sonya_ girl at the haunted house?" asked Preston. What was visible of the shorter lad's face turned pink at that moment, remembering the event.

"Y-yeah, but I wasn't really _'me'._ I was some _character!_ That's completely different..."

"Ugh! The only ones who have any _romance_ among us lot is the ' _P and T homo-couple'!_ All hope is lost!" shouted Daniel. He dramatically sat down in his own chair and slammed his head down on the desk, accidentally hurting himself.

" _'P and T homo-couple'?"_ echoed the bluenette.

"I imagine it means _'Phantomhive and Trancy homosexual couple'_." suggested his blonde boyfriend. Ciel looked at the boy as he was explaining, his face suddenly getting hot from the events that took place the day before and looked away. _We wouldn't be able to look at either Sebastian or Alois in the eye for a while._ The blonde giggled at the boy's sudden shyness, blushing a bit himself.

Daniel lifted his head and turned his attention to Travis and Preston. "What about you guys? Any _lady friends?"_ he asked.

"No, and before you ask _, we're not gay_ , either." Preston replied. He was able to predict the brown-haired boy's eminent rude remark, much to the lad's disappointment. Daniel then turned his attention to the boy in the pink tie.

"What about you? _Talk to any cute guys recently, Kris?"_ he asked with a teasing grin across his face. The boy remained silent, yet the pink on his cheeks told everyone the answer. Everyone simply stared at the faux-blonde, including the Phantomhive boy, waiting for a verbal response. Daniel finally got tired of the quiet and spoke up again. "Well, _where_ was it, _who_ was it, and what _happened?"_

Kristopherson opened his mouth to speak, but hesitated before doing so. The situation was incredibly awkward and uncomfortable for him. _"It was at the cafe'."_ he said finally _. "He was the only guy who was able to tell that I'm a guy."_

"Was he gay?" asked Alois, putting out the question that everyone was itching to ask.

"Yeah, but by the looks of him, he's in the closet."

"Wait, how do you even _know?"_ asked the bluenette.

"My gaydar is never _wrong_. Trust me. I think I saw _your_ gayness before even _you_ did, Phantomhive." replied the faux-blonde. The bluenette furrowed his brow and the others laughed _with_ him, not _at_ him.

The boy in the pink tie continued. "He goes to _Tamworth,_ though."

 _"Tamworth?!"_ echoed Daniel, somehow shocked at the information. "You _are_ a traitor!" Everyone seemed to understand what was so bad about this "Tamworth" place except for Alois. All he could do was arch and eyebrow and look to his bluenette friend for an explanation. With a sigh, Ciel gave him just that.

 _"Tamworth Academy_ is our _'rival school'_ , Alois." he said, adjusting his eye-patch a bit.

"Hell yeah they are! Go _Gryphons!_ Beat the shit outta those _Centaurs!"_ Daniel's statement only seemed to confuse the blonde more.

 _"The school's mascot is a Centaur."_ clarified the bluenette again.

"I hear it's not as nice there." added Preston. "They apparently get all of _our_ used textbooks and stuff."

"Yeah, and it's full of the people _who got kicked outta Warwick!"_ said Daniel.

"We almost considered sending you there, Alois." added Ciel. "We decided against it just in case you got in _'trouble'."_ Remembering back to when Alois first came to Warwick, he didn't know enough about the modern world in order to stay above suspicion. It was this kind of "trouble" that the bluenette was referring to unbeknownst to the rest of the seven, except perhaps Audrey.

"You were gonna be a _Tamworthian?!"_ Daniel asked. "Are you a _spy?!"_

 _"Daniel, stop being an idiot."_ ordered Ciel. "He's at Warwick, isn't he? Personally, I'm quite _thankful_ that we didn't send him to Tamworth."

The blonde blinked for a few seconds before smiling. He liked finding this sort of _sweet_ side to Ciel. It was always so unexpected, but it was also welcome.

"More time to _smooch_ , huh _Romeo?"_

_"Daniel, if you don't shut up within the next few seconds, I WILL END YOU."_


	123. Exciting News and YOU DID WHAT?

Warwick Academy: A usually calm place of study for the children of the wealthy citizens of Britain. Why "usually?" you may ask? That is rather simple to explain. It is due to the sound of a certain brown-haired son of a politician stampeding down the hallway. He had news for his friends regarding the conversation they had yesterday about _Tamworth Academy._

He charged down the hallway like a herd of startled wildebeests until he reached his destination, Mr. Iron's World History class. Daniel rushed into the room and threw his bag down next to his usual seat before abruptly grabbing the attention of his comrades.

"Listen up, you lot! I've got big news!" he announced proudly. The other six lazily turned their heads to face him, some of them arching an eyebrow. Whatever the boy was talking about, it probably was irrelevant and stupid.

"What is it _this_ time?" asked Ciel, turning his attention away from the blonde sitting sideways in his lap for a moment. It no longer seemed to bother him, as by now he was kind of used to this kind of behaviour from Alois. Daniel had to stop and ponder this for a moment before saying:

"Remember how we were talking about _Tamworth_ yesterday?" he asked.

"Yeah, what about it?" asked Preston.

"Check this out." said the politician's son, pulling out his smartphone and showing it to the others. He had the school schedule up on it, revealing all of the events and lunch menus for the month.

 _"We're having shrimp today for lunch?"_ asked Audrey, confused.

"Why is _that_ important?" the boy in the pink tie inquired. He folded his arms as he sat on his desk, waiting for an explanation.

"What? No! _Not the menu!"_ Daniel insisted. "I'm talking about _Friday's rugby game!_ Look at who we're up against!" He pointed to the date on the calendar.

 _"'The Warwick Gryphons V.S. The Tamworth Centaurs'."_ the Baines lad read off. "Are you saying you want us to go watch the game?"

_"Yes."_

"Why the _hell_ would we?" asked the eye-patch-wearing bluenette. He had no interest in sporting events. In fact, he had no interest in extracurricular activities at all, really.

"Could be _fun_ , though." said Alois, adjusting himself in Ciel's lap. _Of course_ he said that. Now the bluenette was _sure_ to be sucked into Daniel's realm of nonsense. "I never seen a rugby game before."

Five of the Seven looked genuinely surprised at this, yet it was true. "Rugby Football", as the game was called, was an invention of the 19th century, and while the blonde had been around in the late 1800s, he had never had the opportunity to play, as two people, he and his little brother Luka, does not a rugby team make. He never really had the opportunity to watch the other children in the village play either, since they would always stop and chase he and Luka away.

"You poor child!" Daniel said, pointing his index finger at the blonde.

" _First,_ he's never been to the _beach_ , now he's never seen a rugby game?! Does Phantomhive keep you in his _basement_ , Trancy?" asked Kristopherson.

"That's it, we have to go now! Don't you _dare_ say 'no', Phantomhive!"

" _No_." the bluenette replied plainly.

"Oh come on! It'e the day before his _birthday,_ in'nt? Don't you have a _heart!?"_ asked Daniel in mock dismay.

Regardless, the lad's words struck a chord with the boy, causing his eyebrow to twitch slightly. With a sigh, Ciel turned his attention to the blonde in his lap. "Do you _want_ to go Alois?" he asked. The blonde just giggled.

"I think it could be fun." replied the blonde. He put his arms around the bluenette's neck. "Think of it like a _date."_

"It's hardly a ' _date_ ' if _they're_ going too." said the bluenette with a slight pink flush in his cheeks.

"Oh, don't mind us. We'll give you _plenty_ of _privacy_." insisted Daniel.

"I will not be having _intercourse_ with Alois at a _rugby game!"_ protested the Phantomhive boy, causing the Trancy boy to giggle at his red face.

"That works too. _That's_ usually saved until _after_ the date, anyway!"

_"DANIEL!"_

"...And _that_ is why _I will not put a good word in with my sister for you, Daniel_." said Kristopherson. His cheeks were slightly flushed as well at the thought.

"What?! _Why!?"_ asked the brown-haired boy.

"You're _sleazy_ as _hell."_

"No, really? A _politician's_ son? _Sleazy?"_ the bluenette asked, his words absolutely dripping with sarcasm. "That _can't_ be right."

"So says the _pirate_ with a _blonde concubine in his lap_..." said Daniel.

"I'm _not_ a _pirate_ , and he's _not_ my _concubine!"_

"Oh, that's right, you have _a platypus_ to _cock-block you!"_

Both boys turned red at those words, recalling the moment that Sebastian had walked in and interrupted their- _ahem, "business."_ They looked away from each other, suddenly finding the ground to be quite interesting. The rest of the seven seemed to notice this.

"Whoa... What kind of reaction is that?" asked Daniel.

"Nothing... Just an _unpleasant_ memory..." said the blonde.

"Was the platypus _unable to save you_ from the _blue cyclops?"_

_"WHO'S A 'CYCLOPS'?! Mind your own business!"_

_"Relax_ , Phantomhive. I'm not _judging_ you..."

"Just shut up..."


	124. The Beginning of Kristopherson's Troubles

Warwick Academy: Best school in Britain built by anyone ever. The students at Warwick are privileged, and are thus able to enjoy all sorts of extracurricular activities. For the Artistic types, there are many clubs, such as the Art Club, Drama Club, Literature Club, Film Club, as well as many others. Or, if you aren't artistic, but love news, you can join the news club, crating and publishing the school newspaper. Perhaps you prefer to cook, and would like to take a peek at the Home Economics Club, or maybe you are more into academics, and would join the Science Club, or the Debate Team. Maybe none of those are your cup of tea, and you prefer the world of sport.

Ah, yes. Warwick loves sports. There are many different sports teams of Warwick, such as the Bowling Team, The Basketball Team, the Cricket Team, the American Baseball Team, the American Football Team, the Football Team, and the _Rugby Team_. A _fine_ sport, _Rugby_. From Rugby came many of the principles of American Football. Only _unlike_ American Football, _Rugby_ isn't for the _weak._ No, Rugby has no protective padding, unlike it's younger American brother, and features fewer rules. Injuries are also more garish and unsettling when they occur. Never before have I seen someone's leg twist around backwards in an American football game. It simply doesn't happen.

Now why would the Sensational Seven go to see such a struggle? The bluenette young-looking Phantomhive lad had a hunch that Daniel had something in mind. It was probably going to be something silly that he would want no part of. Regardless, he and the blonde got ready to go to the event, and made their way to the Warwick stadium. When they got there, only Daniel, Audrey, and Travis were there. Preston and Kristopherson seemed to be running late.

" _Over here!"_ shouted the brown-haired lad to the demonic duo, waving them over to the group's location near the gates. Alois grabbed the bluenette lad by the arm, tugging him along. He was quite lively this evening.

The boy had never seen a sporting event of such magnitude, before. He had only seen children playing for a few moments before he and his brother were chased away from the scene. The stadium was big, though hardly that of the scale or grandeur of a professional one, but the blonde didn't know this, and was eager to enter the massive complex.

"Where's Pinky and Preston?" asked the lad.

"Kris is just taking his sweet time getting here, and Preston just _bailed_ on us." said Daniel, annoyed for whatever reason. The politician's son was probably planning on using the boy in whatever mischief he was planning. He was clad in school colours, with a yellow T-shirt and a blue jacket, representing the navy and gold of the Warwick Gryphons. Even his scarf matched the colour scheme.

The others, however, were not as school spirited. Audrey wore his usual dark purple hat with the skull on it, a black t-shirt with _the "Punisher"_ logo, blue jeans and a denim jacket. He didn't care too much for fashion, so he simply grabed something from the closet. Travis wore a blue turtleneck that was such a dark blue, that it was almost black, with a pilot's jacket over it, and a knitted scarf that his _grandmother_ had made for him around his neck. Ciel had on a union jack T-shirt, a wool suit-looking coat, and black pants. Even the Blonde Menace wore pants, since it was quite cold out, accompanied with a purple jacket and a white T-shirt with the Anarchy _"Circle-A",_ which had to be explained by the bluenette was most definitely _not_ an _"'A' for 'Alois'."_

"Screw Preston! We can do this without him!" declared Daniel. His face was determined.

"Do _what,_ exactly?" asked Ciel as he braced himself for whatever harebrained plot the boy had in mind.

 _"We're gonna find that guy Kristopherson was talking about!"_ the plan shocked the the other boys, except for Travis, who had silently suspected this from the beginning.

"Are you _mental?_ There's no way in _hell_ that we can find him in that huge crowd, if- and it's a _big 'if'_ , he's even in there at all!" The bluenette was simply not having this. The reason for this had absolutely nothing to do with the faux-blonde himself. No, Ciel simply just didn't want to participate in an obviously hopeless cause.

"It won't be that hard! Listen, Kris told me what he _looks_ like, and I think _I might know who it is!"_

 _"Really? Do tell."_ the bluenette said with great amounts of sarcasm. He was eager to just get this over with, hopefully with minimum amounts of stupid hijinks, and Daniel was trying to ruin this plan of his with his own.

"He's got sort blonde hair, an earring, is pretty tall, and pretty muscular. There's only one person I can think of like that, and he's on _Tamworth's rugby team!"_ explained the spirited Westley lad.

"What about the _other_ blonde's on Tamworth's team?" asked Warwick's own natural blonde.

"There aren't any. They're all brunettes."

"And if you're _wrong?"_ asked Audrey.

Daniel simply shrugged. "Then I'm wrong." he said simply. "C'mon! All we gotta do is get Kristopherson and the _dirty Centaur_ to _talk!"_

"And _how,_ pray tell, are we going to do _that?"_ asked the eye-patch-wearing bluenette.

The other boy was silent for a while, occasionally opening his mouth for a moment on order to attempt to say something before closing it again. _"I haven't thought about that yet."_

"Come on, let's go." the bluenette called, as he and the blonde had begun to walk to the gates, with Travis and Audrey right behind them.

"Hey! Wait up! _We still have to wait for Kristopherson!"_ shouted back the Westley boy as he jogged to keep up with the others.

"He can come _find_ us. _Don't worry about it_."

"What if he _can't?"_

"We'll send _you_ to go find him."

"But I want to watch the game!"

_"Who cares?"_

And with that, the game between two rival schools was starting to begin, as the faux-blonde finally arrived. He had wondered where his compatriots had gone off to...


	125. This Can't Be Good

_"I think I'm in the visitor's section..."_ said a voice over the phone.

Daniel looked at the bluenette seated just a few spaces over from him, eyebrows furrowed in an "I told you so" sort of fashion. He then placed the cellphone back up to his ear to answer the faux-blonde over the phone, plugging his other ear in order to filter out some of the cheers of the crowd.

"What makes you say that?" he asked, ignoring the looks of his friends for a moment.

"Well, I'm surrounded by people dressed in _green and white_ , and there's people in _navy and gold_ on the _opposite_ side of the stadium. That, and the people over where I'm at keep shouting _'go Tamworth!'_ and stuff. _"_ replied Kristopherson. He couldn't believe this had happened to him.

He held his pink phone up to his own ear, and squinted, struggling to see across the stadium in order to try and distinguish his friends from the massive hoard of nameless spectators. Even though he was in the front row, closest to the field and with the best view of the "home" stands, he couldn't make out anyone's faces, and gave up on trying to do so. The boy was more than "slightly" peeved that his friends would simply go in without him.

Kristopherson was wearing light grey T-shirt with the letters _"BL"_ on it. He wasn't sure what they stood for, but he thought that the shirt looked cool. He wore that under a pink hoodie, with a black jacket over that. He was glad he had on all the layers, since it was freezing outside. He wondered if Trancy was wearing his signature short-shorts, imagining that if he was, he was most likely freezing to death about now. He leaned over the rail, nonchalantly and continued to listen as the Westley lad talked on the phone.

"Blame Phantomhive! _He_ was the one who wanted to leave you!" Daniel said _. "I_ said we should've _waited_ , but..."

"Daniel, just tell me where you are so I can find you." the boy in the pink hoodie replied. He furrowed his brow in annoyance at the other boy's constant chattering about nothing important.

"Oh yeah. Sorry, so, uh..." Kristopherson heard the brown-haired boy trail off, and what he said next seemed as though he had his hand over the speaker in order to talk to the rest of the seven. "So, guys _, where are we, anyway?"_

_"You don't even fucking_ _**know!"** _

"Hey! You! On the phone! _Shut the hell up!"_ yelled Tamworth's coach. The boy was close enough to the field that the team could hear him shouting into the small, handheld device. Bashfully, he took the phone away from his ear and hung up before sitting down.

" _Sorry..."_ he said. Kristopherson didn't dare look around at the other spectators who had heard him. He folded his arms across his chest and tried to get comfortable in the horrible stadium seat and absent-mindedly watched the game in front of him- that is, until the stare of a certain player sitting on the bench caught his attention.

The boy was quite sturdily built, and a natural blonde, as indicated by his pale eyebrows and eyelashes. His hair was short and his eyes were blue; he had been staring at the boy in the pink hoodie for a while now, trying to place where he had seen the faux-blonde before. Kristopherson blushed as he immediately recognized him. It was the boy from the cafe'.

Meanwhile, on the opposite side of the stadium with the Warwick Gryphons, a certain brown-haired boy was straining to hear the boy on the other end of the phone, until he came to the following conclusion: " _He hung up."_

"Maybe he was getting _weird looks for yelling at you_." suggested Audrey as he shifted in his own seat. All of the lad's were struggling to get comfortable in those seats. All of them but Ciel, who was apparently used to the feeling, due to the petrified couch in his office.

"Not unlikely." he agreed before looking over to the blonde boy who's eyes were currently glued to the events unfolding on the field with excitement.

Ciel smiled internally at the blonde's excitement. The boy was nearly jumping out of his seat when their team scored, and booing when the opposing side did. Alois wasn't generally the type who was into sports, but somehow, the sensation of being in such a huge crowd like this caused him to get swept up in it all. While watching a bunch of guys hurt each other was fun, the bluenette just couldn't stop watching the other boy. He was just so _cute._

Then he heard _"it"._ He looked around to see if the others did. Daniel was swearing at his phone while trying to contact Kristopherson, and Audrey and Travis were talking about the latest episode of _Top Gear_. Ciel was the only one who heard _"it_ ". A voice calling out.

"I'm so bored! I'm going to _die_ of boredom if this isn't over soon!"

The Phantomhive boy turned around to see a familiar face just a little ways behind the group. The man was wearing red eyeglasses with red beads streaming down from them and had long red hair and sharp teeth. He appeared to be wearing make-up, and was dressed as flamboyantly as ever, wearing a red coat over a black suit, and a pair of red, high-heeled cowboy boots. With him was another man in a black suit, with hair the appeared to be orange with a layer of black underneath, also wearing eyeglasses.

"Come on, _Mister Sutcliffe!_ I was sure seeing a bunch of _sweaty, muscly guys run around and tackle each other in matching outfits_ would be right up your alley!" the man with the orange hair said to the man in red.

"Hmph! You just don't _get it,_ do you _Ronald?"_ asked the other man. "These are mere _children!_ I have _no_ interest in _children!"_ He stuck out his tongue and made a disgusted face.

Ciel's eye widened in surprise at the appearance of the two men. He knew both of them, but hadn't seen them in several years. What could _they_ be doing here?

The men were none other than _Grell Sutcliffe,_ and _Ronald Knox_. Both men were _bona fide Grim Reapers._


	126. Grell Likes Puns

The crowd was roaring, cheering for their team on each designated side of the stadium, but the noise didn't seem to register in the bluenette's mind. No, Ciel Phantomhive was too busy thinking about the two familiar faces he had spotted in the crowd _. Grell Sutcliffe_ and _Ronald Knox_ , two bona fide _Grim Reapers_. What on earth could they be doing at a rugby game?

It was doubtful that they were here for the game. No, there was no way in _hell_ that _Grell Sutcliffe_ would be caught _dead_ at a rugby game outside of business. There was most definitely going to be death in this stadium, and judging by the fact that the Grim Reaper Dispatch Society had sent _two_ reapers instead of just _one,_ there's going to be a _lot_ of it. The Phantomhive boy knew he had to somehow get to the deathly-duo, and do it with discretion. He needed to know why they were here, and what was going to happen. Ordinarily, it wouldn't concern him too much, but if word got back to Sir Hellsing that he was there and did nothing to stop it, she would insist upon having his head mounted on her wall. Moreover, his friends were there, and he was concerned about their safety. Yes, Ciel Phantomhive could care for the lives of others, especially the blonde lad seated next to him. The fact that Alois was a demon didn't change the fact that he could die.

The bluenette was pulled away from his thoughts by the hand of said blonde on his shoulder, demanding his attention. Ciel looked away from the reapers for a moment to look at him. The blonde had a confused and concerned look on his face.

" _You okay?"_ he asked.

" _No."_ Ciel replied plainly. Trying to sugar-coat the situation would only make it worse, so he decided to tell his companion up-front. "There's two men seated behind us. They're _Grim Reapers."_

Alois turned around in order to try and spot the two he was talking about. Immediately, he recognized them-well _, one_ of them, anyway. How could he forget? He recalled seeing the man with long red hair on the very day he died. The man had appeared inside of his carriage and caused it to crash. The only reason that Alois wasn't killed by the maniac was because Claude had gotten to him first. _How could he forget?_

By the look on the boy's face, Ciel was immediately able to deceiver that the blonde had met them already. He didn't ask for details, but he did need to ask for a favour. " _Can you keep the others distracted while I go and talk to them?"_ he asked.

"Talk to _them?!_ Why?!" the blonde questioned.

"If two reapers are here, that means there is going to be a large number of people dying tonight. I need to know _why_ , and try to stop it. _Please?"_

Oh. Ciel Phantomhive used the " _p-word_ ". Now Alois knew he was serious. With a sigh, he gave his reply. " _I'll do it_. Wait, should I tell _Audrey?"_

 _"_ I guess. He could help you keep the others busy." the bluenette said. "When I leave them, I need you to come and find me. That way _Audrey_ can keep them busy while we find the threat."

"Aye-aye, _'Captain Under-sized'_." the blonde said with a smirk, causing the other boy to frown.

Then the bluenette smirked himself. "Thanks, _'Jimmy'."_ he said before getting up. He was going to make it look like he was heading to the bathroom, as he made his way to the reapers.

With the furrowing of his brows, the blonde flushed a bit at being called "Jimmy". No one called him "Jimmy". No one. It was too late to correct the bluenette now, since he was by this point too far off to hear him without the fair-haired boy yelling at the top of his lungs over the crowd.

"Where's Phantomhive going?" asked Audrey to the blonde demon, noticing the bluenette getting up and leaving the group. The other two lads with them looked over to the blonde as well, finally noticing the boy's absence as well.

 _"He went to the bathroom."_ Alois replied, earning the immediate faith of Daniel and Travis that this was, indeed, true. Why wouldn't it be? Thus they went back to watching the game. Audrey, however, was far less than convinced.

He leaned in closer to the blonde so he could speak at a volume that the others wouldn't be able to pick up. "Why did he _really_ leave?" the lad asked.

"Well, that brings me to what Ciel and I were talking about earlier..." the blonde began. He informed the Baines boy of the situation as he knew it, while the Phantomhive boy was making his way to the pair of Grim Reapers.

Casually, he sat down next to them, gaining the immediate attention of the one in red. " _Sutcliffe."_ the boy said as greeting.

"Well, if it isn't the _Phantomhive twerp!"_ the man said with a toothy grin, causing the boy's eyebrow to twitch with annoyance. "So what brings _you_ here? Oh! If _you're_ here, I bet that _handsome_ butler of yours is as well! Where is he?" Grell Sutcliffe was the same as always. He obviously continued in his pursuit of men.

"He _isn't_ here." the boy replied, immediately losing the shark-faced man's interest.

"Then what do you _want?"_ asked Grell. All evidence of any sort of politeness he had was gone now, much to the utter annoyance of the bluenette.

"I _want_ to know _why you're here."_ replied Ciel, pretending to watch the game.

" _Business_ , of course." the reaper replied, stretching his shoulders. Those stadium seats seemed to make everyone ache everywhere. "You think I would come here for _recreation? I_ wouldn't be caught _dead_ at one of these silly things for any other reason!"

It was precisely as the boy had suspected. "Since you have a colleague with you, I would assume it's a _big_ order." He recalled meeting the other reaper once before, but simply couldn't remember his name. He knew he was the one with the _lawnmower_ though.

"You bet!" the man said. "Do you even know how much of a bother it was to sneak our scythes in? We had to hide them in a bloody janitor's closet! Ah! I feel so _naked_ without it!"

Now that was an image that the boy simply did not need. "Sound's like a problem. What's so big _here_ that can cause such a massive amount of _death_ that requires _two reapers?"_ he asked.

Grell waved his finger in front of the boy's face and clicked his tongue. " _Nice try, brat. Disclosing information about any person's death_ is _against the rules_. I don't want to get my precious death-scythe taken away again!" he said, much to Ciel's displeasure. The red-head continued with a grin. "But I'll give you a hint: The end of the match, is going to be a real _blast!"_

Ciel's eye widened and he tore his gaze away from the field in order to look at the man. "A _bomb?!"_

"Oh, you're no fun. I was hoping you'd have a little trouble guessing!"

"Hey! _Stop talking about it!"_ spoke the carrot-top next to Grell, finally noticing the presence of the bluenette. He had actually been interested in the game. "I don't want my scythe taken away because of you!"

"Calm down, _Ronny_. Everything will be fine! I never told him anything important!" the other man protested. "Wait, where'd he go?"

The boy had vanished, off to go look for an explosive. He theorized that the device would be somewhere away from the reapers, so his friends were most likely safest where they were. He pulled out his phone and hastily sent a text.

_"It's a bomb. Make sure Audrey keeps the others busy,_

_and come help me find them. The others are safest where they are now,_

_so he needs to make sure they stay put._

_-CP"_

Alois received the text, pulling out his own celluar device and read the text. The blonde sent a text, confirming that he received the information, and turned ot Audrey.

"Keep the others here." he said, standing up.

"Wait, _why? What's going on?"_ asked Bones.

The blonde leaned down to tell the other boy as quietly as possible. "It's a _bomb_. You're safest here." And with that, he left with no further explanation, leaving Bones, open mouthed, gaping at what he was just told.

A _bomb?_ At _Warwick? In this very stadium?_ That was a lot to process. Nevertheless, he had been given a task, and the lives of his new friends depended somewhat on whether or not he performs this task well. Audrey looked to the other boys, who were currently cheering that their team scored, Daniel standing up and shouting at the top of his lungs, and Travis clapping and smiling in his usual silent and awkward way. They hadn't seemed to notice that the blonde was missing, which quelled his anxiety to some extent, but failed to rid the fear of the bomb-threat in his mind. He looked around the stadium, trying to _guess_ where the explosive _might_ be, which only made him more anxious.

_What if the demonic duo were wrong, and they weren't really safe? What if they failed in their attempt to remove the bomb? What if the bomb went off where Kristopherson was?_

The last question made him especially fearful, as it was entirely _likely._ He scanned the stadium again, this time looking behind him in an attempt to locate the supposed "Grim Reapers" that the blonde had told him about. His eyes immediately set on an unusual-looking pair, a man with sort orange hair, and one with long red hair, both wearing eyeglasses. He couldn't figure out _why,_ but he suspected it was them.

" _Whatcha lookin' at, Bones?"_ asked Daniel, pulling the boy in the skull beanie out of his trance.

 _"Huh?"_ was Audrey's initial response. "Oh, _nothing_..." he said, turning his gaze back to the game.

"Where did Alois go?" asked Travis. Audrey opened his mouth to speak, but Daniel spoke first.

"Probably went to go and _look for the cyclops_." he said, crossing his arms.

"Ciel's been gone for a while, though..."

"Then _Alois must have already found him_." said the son of a politician with a smirk _. "Wink-wink, nudge-nudge, say no more, say no more!"_ he added to emphasis the dirtiness of his joke.

"What is _wrong_ with you, Daniel?"

Audrey let out a sigh of relief. He didn't have to fabricate a story, and it was all thanks to Daniel's dirty mind. _What on earth was he thinking, anyway?_ Never mind, I will leave the images his mind was conjuring up to your imagination.

Meanwhile, as the boys were theorizing, Audrey was distracting them, and the demonic duo searched for a deadly explosive, Kristopherson was in his own predicament. The boy from the cafe' was looking right at him. He knew it was him, for the boy in the pink hoodie was close enough to the field to see the players quite clearly, and the boy was on the sidelines, waiting to be sent in. Kristopherson couldn't figure out if the other boy was seriously staring at _him,_ or someone _near_ him. For some reason, he didn't know where to put his eyes.

"Hey, you. Pink hoodie!" the boy finally called, startling the Warwick student. Kristopherson looked around for a moment, before looking back at the boy confusedly. _Was he talking to him?_

"Yes, _you_." the Tamworthian player said, as if answering the question that the expression on the other lad's face seemed to be asking. "Where have I seen you before? I don't think I've seen you at school." he said. Kristopherson blinked in surprise.

"Well, I... Actually don't go to Tamworth. I got seperated from my friends and ended up in the wrong section." the boy in the pink hoodie explained.

"Oh, so you're a ' _Warwiccan'_ , huh? I went to your festival last week, is that were I remember seeing you from?"

"I _guess."_ he lied. "I worked at the cafe' ."

"Oh! Were you _the guy in drag?!"_ the Tamworth player asked excitedly. Kristopherson furrowed his brow.

"Yeah, _what of it?"_ he asked, crossing his arms indignantly. His face was starting to turn a subtle shade of pink.

"That took some _serious bollocks_ , mate." the blonde said with a wink. Kristopherson's internal gaydar was going completely off the charts at this point.

Then the coach who had yelled at the boy in the pink hoodie called for the player _. "Gully!_ Get in there! _Now!"_ he bellowed, exchanging players.

"That'll be me, then." said the Tamworthian, who's surname was apparently " _Gully"._ He stood up and turned to the faux-blonde one more time. "Watch me mop the floor with you _Warwick pansies!"_ he shouted jokingly.

"You _wish!_ Tamworth is going _down!"_ the boy in pink shouted back, earning the spiteful gaze of the visiting spectators. He didn't care, he smiled anyway. He wasn't entirely sure why, but he did _. "Gully";_ he'd have to remember that. He couldn't help but wonder what the boy's first name was, as he watched him run about on the field. Little did Kristopherson know, however, about the demons searching below the stands, searching for a deadly device.

They had until the end of the match to find it. It was just as the red-headed Sutcliffe had said: " _The end of the match is going to be a real blast!"_ He grinned to himself, knowing that even if they did find it, people were going to die that night, no matter what they do. At last he had found an entertaining idea to focus on during the boring game.

"Hey... Sutcliffe... _You're kind of creeping me out_..." said his coworker, noticing the red-head's toothy grin.

"Shut up, Ronny, and watch your _silly prancing boys_." mister Sutcliffe replied.

"I'm not like _you..."_ the other reaper replied.

_"WHAT'S THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN?!"_


	127. The Bomb

"Not here." said the blonde over the phone.

"Keep looking. We _have_ to find that thing." Ciel stood underneath the bleachers, avoiding random bits of food and rubbish dropped by the spectators. You would think people from Warwick would have a little more _decency_. He spoke over the phone with his blonde companion, as they both searched for a supposed bomb. "Have you checked the visitors side yet?"

"Nope. On my way over there right now." replied Alois.

"Don't leave any stone unturned. If word gets out that we were here, and made no attempt to stop a bomb threat, we could end up in some serious hot water."

"Worried about Sir Hellsing shooting you?" the blonde teased.

"Getting shot is the _least_ of my worries in that case..." replied the Phantomhive boy. He didn't even want to think about the afull things that woman would do to him. It seemed as though she had it out for him, sometimes.

He forced away the image of the smirking Hellsing woman to focus on the task at hand. They were coming up with nothing, and the game was growing closer, and closer to a close. Where had they not checked? They had searched high, and they had searched low, but there was no sign of a bomb. Had the red-headed Grim Reaper been messing with him? Was there really no danger at all? Unlikely, but possible. There were a lot of people in the crowd that were supposed to die that night, but none of them were in the section that the reapers and the friends of the demonic duo were sitting in, meaning that specific area didn't need to be checked. The bluenette dwelled on this thought further, when the horror of the possibilities sank in.

_They hadn't checked that area. What if nobody died in that area because he was supposed to move the bomb?_

Ciel quickly hung up on Alois and ran. He ran to the section that the reapers were in. He ran to the section that his friends were in. He ran. The bluenette dodged support beams and garbage as he did. Finally, he found it. A homemade bomb, ducttaped to one of the metal beams holding up the structure. How was he going to remove it? This would be one of many situations that _Sebastian_ would be better suited at handling.

Could he just tear off the tape, or would that set off the device? Could he even move it without setting it off? The Phantomhive boy's mind was racing, when he felt the vibrate of his cell phone in his pocket. Answering it, he heard a voice.

"It's not here, either!" the blonde shouted.

"I know! _I found it!"_ Ciel shouted back, unintentionally matching the other boy's volume. "I don't know how to move it!"

"Hang on, I'll be there in a sec!"

"No, Kristopherson is over there, and you might need to move him if that is the section that is supposed to explode." the bluenette insisted. "I have another idea. _Audrey_ isn't going to like it, though."

Meanwhile, just above the bluenette, the boy in the skull beanie was growing more and more anxious with every second that passed. Had they found the bomb yet? Is the danger over, or are they still looking? _Not_ knowing was far worse than knowing. He nearly jumped when he heard his own phone go off.

Audrey took out the device and saw that he had received a text from the bluenette. it said:

"I'm going to need you to ask those Reapers which

section the bomb is supposed to go off in.

-CP"

The request startled Bones. Ciel wanted him to casually walk up to two _Grim Reapers,_ and simply ask _what section people are supposed to die in?_ Was the bluenette _insane?_ He received another message.

_"I found the bomb. It's underneath your section. Tell them that. If they tell_

_you that they can't give you that information,_ _**show them your eyes** _ _._

_-CP"_

This situation was going from "bad" to "worse" for poor Audrey. He wasn't exactly a "social butterfly", therefore he wasn't entirely confident in his ability to talk to people, let a alone Grimp Reapers! Moreover, the bomb was _right beneath his feet_. He felt as though he was going to be sick. Moreover, what was the deal with his _eyes?_ What did that have to do with _anything?_

Regardless, both his, and the lives of his friends where in danger, and Audrey was the only one that could be counted on in this situation. Bones turned to look behind him at the mysterious pair of bespectacled gentlemen. _He didn't even know if it was really them or not_. He tried to rationalize that if they didn't know what he was talking about, they would just think he was weird, and that would be it. That would be all. All he had to do was _ask,_ right? Still, the lad was having difficulty finding his inner courage. This wasn't like at the haunted house, where he had a certain persona to shield himself from them. He would have to face them as _Audrey._ He took a deep breath, and turned to Daniel and Travis.

"I'll be back in a sec, _there's some people I need to talk to_." he said with a forced smile. He was glad that his eyes were covered with his bangs, preventing them from knowing just how _fake_ it was.

"Okay. We'll tell you what happens." Daniel said. He was hardly paying attention to the lad. The son of a politician was too invested in the game to pay him much mind. Travis just smiled an nodded, and turned his attention back to the game as well. Something told Audrey that he hadn't entirely bought it, but this was good enough.

Bones forced himself to stand up, and turned to climb up to the odd men in spectacles. The closer he got to them, however, the less feeling in his legs he had. Regardless, he kept climbing, eventually receiving a glance from the one with red hair, causing him to hesitate for a moment.

That moment passed, however, when he remembered what was on the line, here and pressed on. Now he stood near the men, received their full attention. Both looked confused at this awkward-looking boy that neither of them had seen before. He opened his mouth to speak, asking a simple question.

"Excuse me," he began, "but do either of you know a kid named ' _Ciel Phantomhive'?"_ He asked this question as not to immediately sound like a madman spouting nonsense about _Grim Reapers and bombs_ before he even knew it was really them.

"Weird blueish hair, eye-patch, face permanently stuck in a scowl?" asked the man with short orange hair, making gestures as he spoke.

"Yeah. That's him." replied Audrey.

"What do you want? We're _busy_." said the other man rudely. Mister Sutcliffe had no interest in children. He had no interest in being here. He was just waiting for this job to be over with.

His tone took the the boy aback for a moment, as he tried to think of a response. Audrey remembered the bluenette telling him something about his eyes, so he casually swept his bangs behind his ear, revealing one of his odd, mulit-coloured eyes. The two men seemed surprised by this somehow. They seemed to not know what to say.

"He told me to ask you wich section the people on your _'list'_ are seated in." Audrey said as calmly as he could.

"You know _way too much,_ kid." said the red-headed man. "What makes you think we should just give you that information?"

"Because the bomb is right underneath _this_ section, and he needs to know _where to put it."_ Now he had them. The reaper's eyes went wide at this news. They had no idea that this was what was supposed to happen. _Fate_ is a funny thing, isn't it? It was when the men had this sort of surprised expression on their faces that he noticed that _their_ eyes looked just like _his_. He immediately felt compelled to ask them why, but then they started whispering amongst themselves for a moment before turning back to the boy.

"Fine." said Grell, furrowing his brow. He pointed his finger to the field, or rather across it, at the _visitor's section_. "There. It goes _there_. Just tell the brat to _hurry up and move it quickly!"_ With that, the shark-faced man and Ronald stood up and begun to walk away, making it evident that it was almost time for it to go off. They were just fleeing the scene in case the bluenette _failed._ Quickly, Audrey pulled out his phone, hastily scrolling down the contact list to the demon's name, when he dropped it. He dropped his phone, and it fell beneath the bleachers.

He couldn't say anything. He couldn't even utter a swear at his mistake. He screwed up big time. He needed that in order to contact the bluenette, their only hope of surviving this. He stood there for a moment. Even though the crowd was roaring, it didn't register in his mind. His own thoughts didn't even register. Audrey didn't _think_ , he _acted_ , squeezing between the gap between the bleachers and dropping down below, completely forgetting how high up he really was.

With a _thud_ , he landed, wincing at the sudden pain in his ankle when he did. It was dark down there, and he couldn't see anything. Bone completely ignored is ankle for a moment, ffeeling around on the ground for his phone, but grabbing nothing but grass, dirt, and the occasional candy wrapper.

 _"Damn it!"_ he swore. He was in a near panic at this point. Frantically, he continued, until he felt a hand on his soulder. He turned around to see nothing but a glowing red eye, and _screamed._

 _"Audrey! Shut up!"_ said the creature. It was just the Phantomhive boy. "Did you find out what section or not?!"

"T-th-the visitor's section!" answered bones, still recovering from his shock.

"Thanks. I'll come back to get you after I've moved this thing." said the bluenette. By the way he phraised that, it was to be assumed that the bomb was in the lad's hands.

It was. Ciel had carefully removed the duct tape, noticing that it was hastily fastened, giving the impression that the bomb would not go off from simply being shaken arounf a bit. He had no time to lose, and thus, the only thing that Audrey could see disappeared when the demon did, leaving him in darkness.

Ciel had walked along the shadows, using them to "teleport" in order reach the stands opposite to the home team without being noticed. He stepped along the shadows, even thin ones that were almost nonexistent due to the harsh stadium lights. Luckily for him, the majority of people where focused on the game.

At last, he reached his destination, ducking under the bleachers and setting the device down in the middle, before turning to talk to the set of red eyes in the darkness. "Get Kristopherson out of here, _now."_ the bluenette ordered.

"Yes, my master." replied the boyish voice of the figure in the darkness. The eyes dissappeared as the bluenette finished fastening the device to the support beam. Never before did he think he would have to resort to _terrorism_ in order to save his school.

Above ground, the boy in the Pink hoodie was watching the game- well, the boy known only as " _Gully",_ to be precise. Kristopherson was so focused on this that he didn't even noticed the other blonde boy waltz right up to him before he put his had on the faux-blonde's shoulder.

The boy jumped at the sudden contact, looking up to see none other than Alois Trancy at his side. Kristopherson could have sworn his eyes seemed to glow for a moment, and _not_ in a poetic sort of way. His face was almost _concerned_. The blonde menace opened his mouth to speak:

"We _have_ to get out of here." he said. Kristopherson was almost taken aback by the unusual seriousness in his tone.

"Why? What's going on?" the faux-blonde asked in response. Arching an eyebrow and folding his arms.

With a exasperated sigh, Alois grabbed the boy's wrist and forced him to stand up before he started walking, dragging the boy in the pink hoodie right behind him. _"No time for questions. Just follow me_." he insisted.

"Wait, but I-!" the other boy began as he tried to squirm from the blonde's grip to no avail. He looked back to the field one last time, looking at the Tamworthian he had spoken to earlier. The boy was on the field, playing. _Kristopherson had really hoped to be able to talk to him again._

After they where a little ways away from the stands, the buzzer went off, indicating the end of the game. The crowd cheered. Kristopherson was about to look to the scoreboard, when Alois yanked his wrist, throwing him in front of the blonde _just before the vistor's stands exploded._

Flames went up into the sky and pieces of wood and metal came raining down. Screams of the people who were caught up in it all were heard; at least those who hadn't died immediately in the explosion, and the people on the opposite side of the field gasped in horror. Kristopherson's eyes went wide as he looked at the scene, speachless at what he had so narrowly escaped.

Alois didn't even turn around. He could see it all in the reflection of the faux-blonde's eyes. He could hear it all. He could feel the heat from the flames at his back. He didn't look. He knew those flames, and he knew those screams. He knew that the sight would only invoke painful memories, he instead, he looked at the field and the Warwick stands, at the players and spectators who were "safe".

He watched as the people from Warwick scrambled to get out of the stands in case there was a bomb underneath their stands as well. He watched as they pushed and they shoved, grabbing their children and fleeing, including Daniel and Travis. He watched as the Warwick players on the field ran away from the scene, and as the Tamworth players stood in shock as to what had just happened. Some fell to their knees, and some cried, upon realizing that their parents where in the audience.

"Alois..." he heard the faux-blonde say finally. "...did you... do _this?"_ He looked to Kristopherson.

"No." he said. "I just got worried about you, and decided to come and find you."

"Like _hell_ I'll believe that!" the other boy shouted. "The way you dragged me away wasn't _ordinary_. It was like you _knew! You knew!"_

The blonde looked shocked for a moment. Then his face went solemn and he crouched down to the other boy's level. "Kristopherson..."

"Get away from me!" the boy in the pink hoodie shouted. Whatever the blonde had to say, he wasn't going to listen.

" _Kristopherson! Look!"_ Alois shouted back, pointing. Hesitantly, the human boy turned around to see two figures looming around, smiling. One had a chainsaw, and one had a lawnmower. He watched them for a moment longer before they charged into the inferno, machines roaring. They ran in, and started hacking at bodies.

"Wha... Wha..." the human boy couldn't even ask. He was too stunned at the sight.

"They're _Grim Reapers_ , Kristopherson. I've seen them before. They have a list of those who are supposed to die, and they come to collect their souls."

"You're... _You're fucking insane!"_

"I'm not insane! You just don't know the truth! The bomb was originally under the _Warwick_ stands, Kristopherson! Daniel, Travis, and Audrey, they would have all _died!_ It was moved because no one on the Warwick sides was destined to _die_ tonight!" Kristopherson was completely speechless at the explanation. Alois' voice got soft and he pleaded. "You _have_ to believe me, Kris... You just don't know... how the world _really is_..."

The other boy couldn't believe that. How could he? It didn't make any sense. "Grim Reapers"? They're _imaginary!_ They _don't exist!_ His eyes softened a bit, however, at the sincerity in his friend's voice, but, he just couldn't _believe_ any of that. He wanted to, but everything he knew said otherwise.

The he appeared. The devil himself, or so it seemed. Behind the blonde appeared a boy with glowing eyes, one purple, and one red, gazing down at the two. His hair was of an odd, blueish tint, and he had black horns that bent backwards, almost like a ram's, long, black claws, and a monkey-like tail with fur the same colour as the hair on his head. He was clad in a black, military-style coat with various patches on it of various satanic and religious symbols.

He looked like Ciel- or rather, Ciel looked like the devil. He too, crouched on the ground with the others. "Hello, Kris." he said.

"Ph- _Phantomhive?"_ the faux-blonde asked.

" _Yes. This is me."_ said the demon. "I, or rather, Alois and I, are _demons_."

"No way... That... This is... _Impossible!"_ shouted Kristopherson, putting his head in his hands. "When will I _wake up?_ I have to be _dreaming_... I have to be! Things like _Grim Reapers_... and... And _demons!?_ They don't _exist!"_

" _We_ exist, don't we?" asked Alois. " _And we are demons_."

"Why... why didn't you _tell_ me? I thought we were _friends..."_ said the human boy. His voice sounded like it was cracking.

"We _are_ friends, but being _'an apparition of pure evil'_ isn't something you can just bring up out of the blue, y'know? We knew you'd react like this, so we didn't tell you." the blonde explained.

"So you're _'evil',_ huh?" Kristopherson forced out a laugh. "I'm not sure if I want to associate with that..."

"Kristopherson, we aren't _'evil',_ we're just _us._ " Ciel explained. "We're _demons,_ yes, but we're still _'Ciel and Alois',_ alright?"

"How do _I_ know that? Everything else already turned out to be a _lie_."

"You already know _almost everything_ about us, though." said Alois, finally. "You read _my bulter's diary."_

Now the human boy paused to think for a moment. He silently sat on the ground until it finally clicked. "So you... Both you and Ciel are _the 'Alois Trancy and Ciel Phantomhive'_ from the diary?" he asked.

" _Yes."_ Ciel said. "That's us, over one-hundred years ago. Claude Faustus really was a demon, and the diary ends so abruptly because he was killed by _my_ butler, _Sebastian."_

"He's one too?!" Kristopherson asked loudly. Then he composed himself again. "Alright, alright. I _have_ to hear the full story of this, and when I do, I _might_ let you off the hook for _lying_ to me."

"Will do, but _now_ probably isn't the time. The police and fire department will probably be showing up any minute." said the blonde. "We'll tell you later _, pinky promise?"_

" _Fine_." the boy in the pink hoodie said. " _Pinky promise_."

 _"I swear on your silly fetish with the colour pink that we will tell you how it all happened someday_." Alois said, putting his hand over his heart and getting up.

"It's not a _fetish_ , and _that's not how you pinky promise!"_ the faux-blonde shouted.

"It is! _I promised to 'Pinky'!_ _Ciel! Change back and let's get out of here!"_ With that, the bluenette burst into black flames and reverted back to normal, before he and the blonde began to flee the scene, slowing down a bit for Kristopherson to keep up.

After what seemed like an eternity, the gang was reunited in the parking lot, recounting the event. Daniel and Travis were making a big deal about whether or not the boy in the silly pink hoodie was alright or not, Kristopherson conveyed what the bombing had looked like up close, specifically excluding the supernatural bits, Audrey was limping on his bad ankle, saying that he tripped during all of the mayhem, and Alois was hanging all over Ciel in the way he always has. They loitered for quite a while, talking about this and the game itself, all of them forgetting the final score.

This went on, and on, until Kristopherson saw a familiar face walk up to them. It was the boy he had talked to during the game. He was on the field at the time of the explosion, and was completely unharmed, aside from any injuries he had obtained while playing. With a smile, he walked right up to the group, immediately gaining the group's attention. He smiled at them, somewhat awkwardly.

" _Hey_." he greeted.

"Uh, _hi_." the boy in pink said back, completely ignoring the snickering of Daniel. "You alright?" he asked.

"Yeah, I'm just a little beat up from the game." the Tamworthian answered. "I'm just glad my parents were too busy to watch me play this time."

"Well, that's good news, I guess!" Kristopherson said with a smile, causing the rest of the group to just stare at him. _Kristopherson never smiled like that_. "Oh! I never introduced myself! I'm Kristopherson. _The sleazy brunette_ is 'Daniel', _the brawny one_ is 'Travis', _the angsty cyclops_ is 'Ciel', and _the thing attached to him_ is 'Alois'. He was the 'butler' at the cafe'."

The Tamworthian boy just laughed. "Well, I'm _Cameron_." he said, blushing a bit at the way Alois was so openly hanging all over Ciel. "Well, I just wanted to tell you all that it was a good game! I'm sorry I didn't keep _my promise of moping the floor with you guys!"_

"That's fine. We never saw the final score anyway." said Kristopherson. "You could have said that you won, and we would have _believed_ you." The Tamworthian just laughed again.

"You're just as funny as you were at the Cafe'! We should totally _hang out_ sometime."

"Sure, what's your number?" The others simply couldn't believe it. Kristopherson had just _flirted with a guy_ , and _gotten his number_ right in front of them. Who knew the boy had such skills?

After a while of talking with the boy from the other school, he had to leave and get on the bus to go home, leaving the others free to tease the boy in pink to their heart's content.

" _Booty call?"_ asked Daniel, as soon as the boy known as " _Cameron"_ was out of sight.

Kristopherson blushed. He immediately objected. "What? _No!"_ he said. "I'm not as scummy as you, Daniel."

"I wasn't talking about _him for you,_ I was talking about _you for him_."

"I am no one's 'booty call'!"

Everything appeared back to normal. They teased Kristopherson for a while longer, and then went their separate ways, leaving Ciel and Alois outside the stadium while they waited for their ride. They sat on a bench near the ticket booth out front, and talked about nothing in particular while Alois snuggled up to the bluenette. Ciel was at this point, used to the action, therefore he wasn't entirely embarrassed by it, and put his arm around the blonde as they talked.

" _Oh, forgot..."_ Ciel said finally, rubbing his forehead. _"I was going to ask you what you wanted for your birthday..."_ he said. He was kicking himself internally a bit for letting such a thing slip his mind.

The blonde stopped and thought for a moment _. "Hmmmm..."_ he said, before leaning in to whisper in the other boy's ear. " _Are_ _ **you**_ _an option?"_ he smirked.

Oh, how the bluenette's face flushed at that question. The redness that stained his cheeks went up to his ears, and the blonde could feel it due to the close proximity. "That... That _depends_..." he began. "... _what way_ are you asking, exactly?"

"In _exactly_ the way you _think_ I am, _perv_." the blonde replied with a giggle. He hoped that the slightly shorter boy couldn't feel just how fast his heart was beating as he asked. He doubted it, but he still _hoped_.

"How am _I_ the _'perv'?_ "the bluenette inquired." _You're_ the one _asking..."_

"Because you _understood_ what I was asking _immediately_." Alois said. "So? What is it? _Yes? No?"_

 _"_ Only on _one condition_." said Ciel _. "I_ get to be the _pitcher_."

" _Yes, my master~!"_ the blonde said in a sing-song voice. He would've initiated a make-out session right then and there, but a certain _black Rolls Royce_ drove up and parked in front of them, completely destroying that opportunity.

Oh well, his birthday was _tomorrow,_ after all...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There are things that are corrected or outright "not canon" anymore from the early DLTD chapters... I'm not sure because I didn't reread these last couple of chapters before posting them, but Grell is treated a lot differently in later appearances is a correction. Then the implication that Ciel and Alois made at the end, here? The canon of that has been slightly altered. They've been fooling around before this behind the scenes. Honestly, though, if I wrote this now, I would have had them wait quite a bit longer tbh. Stop that.
> 
> Until the next chapter, my duckies~!


	128. Happy Birthday

It was a fine morning at Phantomhive manor. The sun was shining, the birds were singing, and the Sensational Seven were sneaking about- well, all but Alois. On this particular day, was Alois' birthday, and the master of the house, Ciel Phantomhive, thought it would be humourous to invite over the rest of the seven in order to throw him a surprise party. The bluenette, of course, had no _real_ interest in parties, but he knew the blonde did, and he wanted to see the blonde startled for his own amusement. As such, they stalked the hallways in search of Alois' room, since Daniel, for one reason or another, refused any of the bluenette's offers to show him the way.

Alois laid in his bed, fast asleep, never-mind the fact that it was nearly noon. He was in his usual nightwear, an old T-shirt and a pair of boxers with the _Batman_ logo across the rear, while hugging his pillow rather than sleeping on it in the way he always did. He was so peaceful in his sleep, and never stirred when the door creaked open. Six other boys crept into the room, making as little noise as possible.

Daniel silently said: "On three. _One... two... three_..."

 _ **"WAKE UP, ALOIS!"**_ the group shouted, causing the blonde to jump and fall off the bed. He forced his eyes open, looking up from his place in the floor and saw the six boys who were currently laughing at him. He furrowed his brow.

"Oh, it's just _you."_ he said, getting up. He then proceeded to crawl back into bed and pulled his blanket over his head, acting as thought they weren't even there.

"Hey," said Kristopherson, "When he falls back asleep, _we should draw on his face."_

 _"I'm up."_ With that, Alois kicked off the blanket and sat up. _"Get out. I need to put on clothes."_ the blonde said. He didn't sound very cheerful this morning, however, this is probably due to the rude awakening he was given.

"How do we know you won't just go back to sleep after we leave?" asked the faux-blonde, folding his arms.

"I'm not _stripping_ for you, Kris..." said Alois.

"I never said I wanted you to!" Kristopherson shouted indignantly.

" _Unz, unz, unz, unz!"_ Daniel made his best attempt at recreating strip-club music, well, his best impression of what it sounded like on television. "Wait, it's _Alois'_ birthday, so he doesn't have to strip. _Ciel, however_ , should at the very least give him a _lap dance_."

"I will do _no such thing_." the bluenette protested, much to the blonde's amusement. He couldn't even _picture_ that. Regardless, the blonde spoke anyway.

 _"Shut up and take my money!_ " he shouted, crawling out of bed. "But seriously, _get the bloody hell out."_

Thus, the six escorted themselves out, allowing the blonde to make himself decent. They waited downstairs, occasionally commenting on the Phantomhive boy's house, and teasing him about Alois. Ciel wasn't entirely too happy about entertaining guests by himself, but he acted as he always did, disregarding any rude comments Daniel made, and occasionally coming up with some kind of snarky remark or witty quip to block whatever jest Kristopherson made.

"You're house is so dreary for the owner of a toy company." Daniel said, leaning back in his chair. "I expected a very fun-looking place."

"You seriously thought that? Have you _seen_ Ciel?" asked Preston.

"I thought there might be a _fun-loving spirit_ somewhere deep inside him." the brown-haired boy replied.

"Yes, it's true, Daniel. In fact, there's _a secret passage behind the bookshelf_ that leads to _Willy Wonka's chocolate factory."_ the bluenette remarked, his words absolutely dripping with sarcasm.

"I guess _Alois_ is the one who sparks all of the fun around here." the son of a politician said back. "By the way, is it even _legal_ to be dating your adoptive-brother?"

Ciel felt his eyebrow twitch at that. He had completely forgot about that lie. Both Kristopherson and Audrey looked at him nervously at the question, both knowing the "truth" of the house's residents. The bluenette composed himself.

"We aren't related by blood at all, so it's perfectly legal. There may be some extra ridicule for it, but we're already a same-sex couple, aren't we? How much worse could it get?" he said.

"The fact that you're both _underage?"_ asked Daniel with a mischievous grin. Both Kristopherson and Audrey snickered at that. Ciel felt his eyebrow twitch again. "Though, I gotta admit, if I had an _adoptive sister_ , and we were in love, I'd totally be doing _it_ too."

"Daniel, I with never allow you to get your filthy hands on _my sister_." spoke Kristopherson, emitting an unusually dark aura that even Ciel could be proud of _. "That is a promise."_

"Oh, come on! I'd never do anything to hurt Anna!" the brown-haired boy whined.

 _"Everybody hide yo sisters, hide yo wife, 'cause Daniel is bein' scummy out there."_ Audrey said with his best American accent.

"I am _not!"_

"Oh God, Daniel _, what did you do?"_ asked Alois as he entered the room. He took a seat next to Ciel, causing the latter to blush slightly at the implication from earlier. Alois just tilted his head and looked at the boy confusedly, He had sompletely missed the first part of the conversation.

 _"I_ didn't do anything! I blame _Ciel!"_ Daniel shouted, pointing his finger at the bluenette.

 _"I_ didn't do _anything,_ you _dumbass."_ Ciel said.

"I'm just going to assume this conversation began in a dirty place, and move along..." said the Trancy boy. He didn't have much interest in finding out what started all of this, anyway.

"Coward!" shouted Daniel.

"Are you _disrespecting_ me?" asked Alois. He turned to the bluenette. "Is he _disrespecting_ me, because I think he may be _disrespecting_ me."

"Yes, I believe he may be _disrespecting_ you." Ciel said with a smirk. "In this house, Daniel, there is but _one_ way to deal with such _disrespect."_ The demonic duo stood up, smirking.

_"Nerf battle to the death, Ciel?"_

_"Nerf battle to the death, Alois."_

With that, the two fled, leaving the others confused. " _'Nerf Battle to the death'?"_ asked the politician's son to the others. Everyone else just shrugged in response.

"Obviously, they're _up_ to something." Kristopherson said. "I wouldn't want to be around to find out what it is." he got up from his seat and walked out of the room, immediately being struck in the forehead by a small projectile. He fell flat on his behind from the surprize. The boy in pink reached up to touch his forehead, discovering a small foam dart stuck to it.

"Oh." said Preston. " _'Nerf Battle to the death'._ I get it."

" _Everyone take cover!"_ shouted Audrey, as more orange foam darts came flying into the doorway.

Daniel, Preston, and Kristopherson were the ones who failed to duck behind something swiftly, therefore they were all shot before they were finally covered. The demonic duo were ruthless. They didn't even take time to explain the rules or even provide the others with guns. They just left, retrieved their weapons, came back, and opened fire.

The rest of the seven fled the room as quickly as they could, not wanting to get trapped. The demonic duo took this as an opportunity to reload.

"That was an awesome shot! You nailed Kris right in the forehead!" said Alois between laughs. It took everyhting he had not to bust out laughing when the boy was first hit.

 _"I'm simply one hell of a good shot_ , is all." the bluenette said with a smirk. It waas oddly satisfying being able to shoot the faux-blonde after all of the glances the boy had made in Alois' direction over the past two years. "Let's go hunt them down."

"Yes, sir my master!" the blonde answered back.

The two jumped over the railing of the staircase, and split up, hunting down each and every one of the other boy's. It didn't take them long. They had every possible advantage, nearly one-hundred percent of which, could be considered "unfair". The duo utilized their knowledge of the house, their superior athletic ability, and the fact that their prey was unarmed all to their advantage. They were able to kill some time this way while Sebastian was preparing the cake. At least _two_ of the seven had fun.

 _"That... was... mean..."_ huffed an out of breath Daniel. He sat at the table in the dining room, with his chin on the tablecloth in front of him. He was exhausted from all of that running he did. His tactic of "run in random directions" didn't turn out so well, after all.

"Dan, _you still have a dart on your head..."_ said Audrey. He was a little better off than the others were, but then again, he wasn't entirely human, now was he? This thought had crept into his mind since yesterday, actually. He noticed that those Grim Reapers he talked to had eyes like his. He had been meaning to ask the demons about it, but didn't have the chance with all of these "normal" people around.

Kristopherson, too, had questions he wanted answered. He was going to have to wait a while before he could ask as well, however, seeing as though the other's were unaware of the "secret of Phantomhive Manor", to his knowledge. For now, though, he rested his head on the table and regained his composure. Admittedly, his escape tactic wasn't too different from Daniel's.

Travis was fine, while Preston was currently laying down in the floor. He was obviously, the unathletic type, table-tennis being the only "physical sport" that he could actually play. The demonic duo was obviously the least affected of the lot, having not even broken a sweat. Obviously, they didn't need to have toys and games everywhere in the house, because the games they _did_ play where _brutal._ Regular toys, were obviously boring to the pair.

"Maybe when you _girls_ stop heaving, we can eat some cake!" teased the blonde. "Seriously, you guys are _lucky._ Usually, _Ciel likes to use more headshots than that!"_

 _"What kind of house is this, anyway?!"_ groaned Daniel.

"You're even luckier that we didn't play _paintball."_ said the bluenette with a slight smile. "The way we play it, _there is no protective padding at all._ Games are far more interesting when the stakes are higher, don't you think?"

"You two are bloody _mental!"_ the brown-haired boy accused, sitting up in his chair. "Doesn't that _hurt?!"_

"It _used_ to." said Alois. "Now it only _tingles_."

"You're a goddamned _sadist_ , you know that, Phantomhive?!"

"Don't like it? _Leave,_ then." said the bluenette boy as he sipped his tea.

"Hey, Kris, _did you call that guy yet?"_ asked the blonde before Daniel could accuse him of being a masochist.

Kristopherson immediately sat up, his cheeks were a little pink, but that could have easily been from running. "Huh? No, not yet. It feels kind of weird that he gave me his number, y'know?"

_"Booty call."_

_"Shut up, Daniel."_

"Who knows? He could very well be _the man for you_ , Kris." said Alois. It was so odd to hear something like that come from the blonde. It was oddly positive and innocent." _So you're into more standard pitchers now?"_

 _"Shut up, Alois."_ Fortunately for Kristopherson, the only other person who understood that was _Ciel._

The hours passed by, like this. On what only seemed like minutes, the boys had eaten cake, Daniel stopping to inform Kristopherson that he had "white stuff" on his face. The lads taunted each other, occasionally stopping to have a semi-normal or serious conversation, only to go back to more hijinks later. They played video-games, and to the other boy's relief, video-games at Phantomhive Manor were played in a "normal" fashion, without and high stakes. Until, however, Daniel thought it would be fun to involve "penalties" for losing, saying that whoever came in last had to lick the floors, or get kicked in the nether-regions, which ended quickly after the boy kept consistently losing every time for some mysterious reason.

They played games like _Mario Kart_ , and _Super Smash Brothers,_ until that got boring, and they decided to do something else. They absent-mindedly watched " _the Hunger Games",_ which they all had already seen, and enjoyed. So instead of actually _watching_ the movie, they would make snarky remarks and make fun of it instead. Every time someone would call the protagonist, _Katniss Everdeen,_ "the Girl on Fire", Alois would break out into song.

 _"This girl is on fiiiiiiiire!"_ he would sing, causing the rest of the boys to laugh.

Finally, they all got tired and had to go home. The guests said their goodbyes, and left. Unfortunately, Kristopherson and Audrey didn't have the opportunity to ask any questions, but they still had time to do so at school, so they were willing to wait. They all had left, leaving the demons in peace and quiet for the moment. Ciel had forgotten how exhausting entertaining guests was for him.

He lounged on the couch, resting his eyes for a moment. He finally opened them when he heard footsteps grow closer, and watched as the blonde boy moved his feet out of the way and sat next to him, leaning back and taking a moment to rest his eyes as well.

" _Alright?"_ the blonde finally said.

 _"Alright."_ Ciel said back. He sat up properly on the couch, loosing his comfort as soon as the other boy had moved his into the floor.

" _Tired?"_

_"Tired."_

Alois giggled a bit at the bluenette's response, and opened his eyes. "I still haven't gotten my _'present'_ from _you,_ yet though." he said with a grin. The blonde looked over at the the other boy, watching him blush from remembering the conversation they had the night before. "Think you can stay awake long enough for that?"

The bluenette hesitated for a moment, opening his mouth to speak, but stopping himself just short of doing so. Instead, he turned to face the blonde boy and leaned closer. He didn't trust his words, so he went with action, gently pressing his lips against Alois', who put one hand on the bluenette's cheek as though he was trying to keep him there. He scooted closer to the other boy, allowing him better access. Eventually, he ended up in the bluenette's lap before their lips parted.

" _Maybe."_ Ciel finally answered.

"I have one question, though..." the blonde began. "... _your room, or mine?"_

"Sebastian will be less likely to barge into _my_ room." the bluenette replied. "Still, we'd better lock the door."

"Lead the way~!"

What happened in the Phantomhive boy's room after that exchange, now, is a _different type of story entirely_.

* * *


	129. An Important Call and A New Discovery

'Twas a fine morning at Phantomhive Manor. Even though the autumn air was somewhat cold, the sun did it's best to warm the scene with it's bright waves. This, however, wasn't entire necessary, since the residents were currently inside the household, with the heating system running at a comfortable temperature. This, however, didn't matter in a certain bluenette's room, as he had plenty of warmth coming from the blonde in the bed with him.

Ciel was laying on his back, with the blonde snuggled up next to him, using the bluenette's chest as a pillow. The Phantomhive boy mused at how effeminate the other lad could be, even in while he was asleep. Both his, and Alois' hair was a complete mess, ruffled and flattened in seemingly random locations, and the bluenette's eye-patch was missing. It was tossed aside, and was now among the clothes that were currently strewn across the room's floor. Yes, the lads were _naked._

The night before was a first for both of them, and the bluenette was now reflecting on it as he lie there. He was incredibly embarrassed, but rather content with himself, nonetheless. Seeing Alois' flushing, embarrassed face, and hearing that wonderful voice cry out, and knowing that it was _he_ who had caused such a reaction in the blonde, all pleased the bluenette immensely. Thus, he was content for the moment, simply remembering the events from the previous evening rather than waking the other boy.

Oddly, Alois wasn't afraid. He was _nervous_ , of course, but he wasn't _fearful_ of the bluenette's advances in the slightest, as he thought he would have been. His confidence was merely a mask for himself mostly. He was trying to convince himself that everything would be fine, and it was. He trusted Ciel with his heart, and now with his body. And, while it was new, it still remembered the horrible events that took place at the Trancy manor all of those years ago, as though they had been transferred into it along with the blonde's essence and mind, yet it seemed to forget all of it with Ciel. Alois had only focused on Ciel; how uncharacteristically passionate that he was, how his brow had furrowed and how red his face was. How every touch from the bluenette was careful, gentle, as though he were afraid the blonde would break at any moment. After all of these years, Ciel Phantomhive was finally "his" in many variations of the word. He giggled at the thought, alerting the other boy that he was awake.

"Good morning." the bluenette said first.

"Mornin'~!" Alois said back, hugging his "living-pillow".

"Here I was _trying not to wake you_ , and then I hear you _giggle_." said the other lad, moving so he could look at the blonde. "What's so funny?"

" _Everything."_

" _Well that sure narrows it down.._."

The bluenette's jest went unanswered as a knock sounded from the door, immediately causing the boys to sit up in alarm. They had completely forgotten about the accursed interrupting butler.

"My lord?" called the man in black from the hallway. "It's time to get up. Breakfast is already sitting on the table. Do you need anything?"

Ciel cleared his throat and composed himself to the best of his ability. He quickly shushed the blonde, so that he was sure to remain quiet before speaking. "No. That'll be all Sebastian. I'll be right down."

"Very well then." replied the older demon. " _Alois, you should probably get up as well_." he added, and with that, the butler left down the hallway, leaving the two boys absolutely speechless. You couldn't even hear the sound of his shoes as he fled.

Silence awkwardly loomed in the air for what seemed like an eternity and a day. Slowly, the boys turned to look at each other. They couldn't believe the butler's intuition.

With a sigh, the bluenette moved the blankets aside, and got up. He walked over to his closet and began selecting his outfit for the day in silence. He was too embarrassed to say a word.

"How the _hell_ does he _do_ that?!" the blonde asked at last before following suit. He began picking up his clothes. He wasn't going to walk back to his room, naked, now was he?

"I have _no_ idea..." the other boy replied. Suddenly, he froze. He frowned and said: "Alois..."

"Yeah?" replied the other boy.

"Could you please stop _staring_ at me?" the bluenette continued. His face was red, Alois knew that. Ciel didn't even have to turn around for him to know.

"Hey, _you're_ the one who stands naked in front of your closet while picking out clothes, not _me."_

"Well, quit it anyway!"

"Haha, _no_..."

After both boys were downstairs eating breakfast, they hadn't spoken a word to the butler. Both of them wanted to know how the man had found out, but at the same time, were too embarrassed to ask, thus they ate in silence. Before long, however, the phone rang. Ciel gestured for the man to go and answer it, to which he obliged. As soon as he left, however, Alois set his utensils down and spoke.

"Ugh! I can't take it!" he declared. "How did he _know?!"_ He put his hands on his head.

"How should _I_ know?" replied the other boy. He paused before smirking. "You were pretty _loud_ last night, though..." he added.

Instantly, the blonde's face flushed scarlet and he frowned. "I was _not!"_ Alois was about to continue his rant, but the butler had returned with the cordless phone, pressing his hand up against the speaker. The blonde teen was so startled, that he nearly choked on his own spit.

"Kristopherson is on the phone, my lord." said the man clad in black. "He says he wishes to speak with you immediately."

Without a word, the bluenette extended his arm, and the man placed the device in his palm. Ciel held the phone up to his ear. "Hello?" he said.

"Phantomhive! It's Kristopherson." said the faux-blonde on the other end of the line "There's stuff I wanted to ask you yesterday, but the others were around..."

"Is it related to _the diary?"_ asked the bluenette.

"Yeah. _I wanted to know the rest of the story_." Kristopherson replied. "It's _bothering_ me."

All the boy heard was silence as the bluenette thought for a moment. Finally, he spoke _. "Do you think you could come over?"_ he asked. "It's a long story, and it would be hard to tell over the phone."

"Yeah, that's fine." Kristopherson said. He jumped when he heard the door open behind him.

 _"Are you wearing my shirt?!"_ the bluenette heard a voice ask in the background. Ciel was pretty sure it was the other lad's sister. He heard Kristopherson's voice again, but it sounded further away, like the phone wasn't against his ear anymore.

 _"No!"_ His voice sounded nervous. " _This is mine!"_

 _"Bullshit! You've been going through my closet again!"_ said the girl in the background.

" _I have not!"_ shouted Kristopherson. He put the speaker next to his head again an spoke to the Phantomhive boy once more. "I've gotta go." he said. "I'll be over later, alright?"

"Alright... see you then..." forced out Ciel. He hung up, leaving the faux-blonde to argue with his sister without restraint. He rubbed his forehead for a moment. He could already feel his headache coming back.

"What is it?" Alois asked, leaning forward a bit. Ciel looked up at him.

"Kristopherson is coming over. He wants to know _'the rest of the story'."_ replied the bluenette.

"Fine. _He better stay out of my room, though!"_

Rolling his visible eye, Ciel let out an exasperated sigh, and began dialing the phone, still in his hand. He placed the device up to his ear once more.

"Who're you callin'?" the curious blonde asked.

" _Audrey."_ Ciel replied, listening to the ringing of the phone. Finally, it stopped.

"Hello?" asked a boy's voice on the other end. He sounded as though he had just woken up.

" _Bones,_ can you come over?" asked the Phantomhive boy. "I have something I need to talk to you about."

 _"Supernatural_ stuff?" asked Audrey.

" _Supernatural stuff."_ answered the bluenette. He waited for the other boy's response.

"Yeah, I can come over." said Bones. " _I have some stuff I've been meaning to ask you anyway."_

"See you when you get here, then."

 _"Laters."_ With that, both lads pushed the "end call" button, and Ciel handed the device back to the butler.

"Shall I prepare for guests then, my lord?" asked the man.

"Yes, but you probably won't need to prepare much." replied the boy.

"Oh, that reminds me, my lord. It appears to have slipped my mind..." Sebastian began, " _Will you be needing a fresh set of sheets, my lord?"_ he said with a slight smirk.

"How did you even know about _that?"_ the boy forced himself to ask, trying to hide his blush.

"Come now, if I was unaware of any of the _hijinks_ that takes place in this house, then _what kind of butler would I be?"_ replied the man. "That, and _Alois is quite loud_."

 _"Hey!"_ the blonde began to protest. He slammed his hands down on the table and stood up, his face completely red. Ciel flashed the lad a look that seemed to say:

_"I told you so."_

* * *


	130. Life Is Funny Like That

When Kristopherson arrived at the manor, it was jus as quiet as it was before guests arrived at the party on the previous day. He was the first one to show up, naturally, as he was one to show up to scheduled appointments early. The manor was larger than his house, and held an old-timey elegance to it that his own home didn't possess. It was quiet. It lacked servants and life, but this was the home of demons, after all.

He was let in by Sebastian, who greeted him kindly and walked him through the absurdly-sized house. Finally, they reached the location of the master of the house, and the faux-blonde was led into the bluenette's office. There, he found the lad sitting behind his desk, staring at his computer-screen. His chin was resting in his left palm, while his clicked the mouse with his right. He didn't even look like he noticed the faux-blonde walk in.

Alois, on the other hand, was sitting up-side-down on one of the sofas, with his feet up in the air, and his back on the seat. His blonde locks flowed down towards the flow as the flow of gravity dictated it to, revealing the bits of his face that were usually concealed, otherwise. He was complaining at how uncomfortable the accursed sofa was, saying something about how it " _made his 'ass-cheeks' fall asleep"._ Ciel opened his mouth to respond to the boy, when he saw Kristopherson standing in the room.

"Hello, Kris." he said, turning away from the seemingly hypnotic monitor at last. Alois too, noticed the faux-blonde- or rather, his shoes, before looking up to see the pink-loving lad staring down at him, as though he thought that Alois was _silly_ or something.

"Hullo~!" the topsy-turvy demon said with a smile. The blonde adjusted himself so that he was sitting upright, in order to offer the human boy a seat, which he gladly took. "Word on the Phantomhive phone-line says that you're interested in how _I'm still alive."_

This was true. The diary that Kristopherson had read had only gone slightly past the fated duel between the two earls all those many years ago. After the demon butler of the Trancy house had written about the few days that the bluenette-demon was in his care, there was nothing. There were no more entries. None, because the butler, _Claude Faustus_ , had died shortly after.

" _Yeah..."_ Kristopherson said nervously. He still wasn't entirely sure what to make of his friends being real-life demons. It was all very shocking to him. That, and the contents of the diary were a bit, in a word, _disturbing_. He had no idea about Alois' past, how he got his name, his brother, any of it. He wasn't sure how the boy wasn't a nervous wreck! Still, Kristopherson had just assumed that it took people who were "unordinary" in certain aspects. Similarly, he had no idea at all about the past of the bluenette "demon-master" at all. He knew nothing of how he got his first demon servant, or even how he got his eye-patch. There was so much he didn't know about these two, but he was determined to discover the truth, the _entire_ truth, today.

Kristopherson was just about to ask his first question when the office door opened, and through it, another boy was led inside. When he saw who it was, he jumped in surprise, and the new guest did the same. Neither he, or _Audrey_ expected to see each other today.

"Hey..." the boy in the skull beenie said awkwardly.

"Hey...?" the faux-blonde said back, before looking to the bluenette curiously. Ciel just motioned for the new boy to take a seat on the other couch, and he did. "What are _you_ doing here, _Bones?"_ Kristopherson asked as soon as the other lad was seated.

"I had some... _stuff_ I needed to ask Ciel." explained Bones. He looked to the master of the house confusedly.

 _"Congratulations!"_ the blonde said excitedly, while clapping his hands. "You two have _both_ discovered our little _secret!"_

 _"What?!"_ the humans said simultaneously. They couldn't believe they both _knew_.

"It's just as he said. You both know we're _demons_." the bluenette said. "I thought it would be a good idea to inform you both of this."

"How'd you find out?" asked the boy in pink to the boy in the skull beenie.

"I interrupted a battle between them and another demon. You?" replied the latter of the two.

"I found out at the rugby game. They... _moved_ the bomb..." Krisotpherson trailed off, remembering the explosion, and the image of the grim reapers. The thought of someone cutting into him to collect his soul when he died made him shudder.

"That reminds me..." Audrey said, turning his attention to the bluenette. "I wanted to ask you about those Grim Reapers."

" _Fire away."_ the bluenette answered. _"I'll answer any question you like."_

The Phantomhive boy went into detail, spouting everything he knew about the divine beings. Their duties, weapons, uniforms, classes, management, and physical traits, primarily focusing on their eyes, since he assumed that's what the boy really wanted to know. The suspicions that Audrey had since the night of the rugby game versus Tamworth was confirmed.

He had the eyes of a Grim Reaper. That explained why he was able to see that, on that day. Those things that Ciel had called a "cinematic record". Now he knew what they were. They were the memories of the deceased, that were to be examined by the reapers, and from this, they would determine whether or not they would pass on into either _paradiso_ or _inferno_.

It all made sense to Audrey now. The bluenette had also shared his theory of how he has those eyes, suggesting that he may be at least part Grim Reaper. Bones never knew his father- his _real_ father, that is. His mother had gotten married when he was very young to his step-father. The woman would never speak of the man how was his true father. She won't even say his name. Audrey only knew his true father as "that man", which was what his mother would refer to him as. While he was shocked, horrified, and distraught all at the same time, he was also thrilled. He had the eyes of a Grim Reaper? He had to admit: _that was really cool_.

"Next question." the bluenette said, snapping the only full-blooded human being in the room from his shock about hearing how death and the afterlife truly worked.

That was going to give him nightmares for weeks, if not months. He had been pulled into this world so suddenly, and all of this was so shocking and bizarre. It was a hard thing to accept that _everything you knew in the world was a lie_. Absolute truths were _lies._ How things like monsters didn't exist, which was something most children "grew out off" believing, but they had been right all along. Kristopherson was in a room _full_ of these so-called " _monsters"._

He opened his mouth to speak. "So, if that's how _Grim Reapers_ work, then how do _demons_ work?"

The bluenette and the blonde demons grinned darkly at the question, making the boy wish he hadn't asked. "Well, to begin with, let's start by how you summon a demon." Ciel began. "Rule number one: _A human must believe that god doesn't exist_."

"Rule number two:" Alois said for the bluenette. He held up two fingers in front of the faux-blonde's face for the number _. "A human must be desperate for a way out._ Those are the only rules."

"And... You and Ciel followed them?" asked the human boy.

"Yup! But you already _know_ my story!" the blonde said with a grin. Kristopherson felt his heart sink, remembering what he had read in the diary. How could the blonde _smile_ when talking about something so utterly _horrible?_

Both his, and the attention of Audrey were taken by the bluenette, as he reached behind his head to untie his eye patch, and removed it. He opened his eye, and the eyes of the two "ordinary" boys widened at what they saw. At last, they knew the secret of the eye-patch. It was not caused by an "accident" like the boy had said. At last, they gazed upon that eye, that glowing, purple-ish eye, adorned with the image of a pentacle on it.

"After you've summoned a demon," Ciel continued. "You can enter a contract with a demon. After doing so, the diabolic signature of the demon, _the contract,_ will appear on the area of the contract holder's choosing. The more noticeable the location, the stronger the contract is. This, is _mine_." he said, pointing to his right eye. The other were speechless, all but Alois.

"Mine _was_ on my _tongue!"_ the blonde said, sticking out his tongue in a childish manner at the guests _. "It's not there anymore 'cause Claude's dead."_

Well, that explained why _entries in the diary had stopped so abruptly_. Kristopherson had shown the diary to the others to see what they made of it before he _knew_ , so all of the seven knew the story of the _old_ Alois Trancy. He felt horrible about it now. This feeling didn't subside after the Phantomhive told his own story of how he descended into the realm of darkness.

December 14th, 1896: a fire had burned Phantomhive Manor to ash- the very same manor that the four sat in now, killing the head of the household, Vincent Phantomhive, and his wife, Rachel. Their son's body was never found, but this was because he was alive. He had been sold to a religious cult, who had desired to summon a demon to grant their wishes. After enduring months of this, the day came when the lad was supposed to die, but instead, it was _he_ who had summoned the demon.

And the rest, is history.

The history of how he descended even further. The two demons in the room took turns telling, both taking time to explain their sides of the story. How Ciel had _met_ Alois Trancy, how he had sought to _kill_ Alois Trancy, how he had _dueled_ Alois Trancy, how Alois Trancy, or rather, _Jim Macken_ had _died._ They told the two other boys in the room how _Jim_ had had gave him this new life as a demon as he sought revenge on both _Claude Faustus_ and _Sebastian Michaelis_ by forming a contract with a _third_ demon, _Hannah Annafellows_ , now _deceased._ Both Audrey and Kristopherson clung to every word. It was perhaps the single greatest story they had ever heard, and they had knew the characters the entire time. Finally, it came to a close as they got to the part were the blonde was resurrected as a demon.

" _Damn..."_ the faux-blonde said. There was nothing else he could say.

Now that, was perhaps the most elaborate secret history he would ever know of. At least he wouldn't be burdened by carrying the secret alone. Audrey, too, knew now. They both would have this heavy weight on their hearts, knowing of the tragedies that their friends had gone through, all of the pain and suffering they had experienced, and they couldn't tell a single solitary soul of this secret.

Yet, they both were somehow perfectly fine with that. They were fine with the duo being demons. They were fine with them being over a hundred years old (Alois, however, would argue that he has technically _"lived"_ for only _sixteen_ years). They were fine with all of it. Part of them _liked_ knowing, part of them _didn't_.

Part of both Audrey and Kristopherson had wished that they had remained ignorant to this fact, because now, after uncovering this secret world and stepping inside of it, they couldn't return. The knowledge of knowing the demon boys would never simply go away. Never could they simply forget about existence of things like demons, and grim reapers and angels. They knew things that "ordinary" humans were never meant to know, and could no longer go on simply being "ordinary" because of that fact.

"Don't look so down." said Alois finally. He smiled at the pair. "The world's completely _grey,_ anyway. There's no such thing as black and white. There's simply _knowing,_ and _not knowing_."

"Indeed. You're no longer _ignorant_ like the rest of the world." Ciel said. "You get _used_ to it, eventually."

Kristopherson sighed. "I hope so. I'd hate for this to interfere with my _fashion career_." he said, running a hand through his hair.

"So Alois, what's it like _dating your sworn enemy?"_ Bone inquired jokingly.

"It's quite _exciting_." replied the blonde. He smirked in the bluenette's direction, causing the latter of which to blush slightly.

"It is." Ciel said back with a smirk of his own. "It makes it especially _funny_ when Alois _**tries**_ to _defeat_ me." He was sure to put a lot of emphasis on the word "tries", in order to push his point across.

"Sadist..." said the blonde making a face.

"I'm a _demon,_ remember?" The two attempted to stare each other down. It's almost their way of flirting, if you can believe that. Both lads had a competitive nature to them that made them want to crush the other in a way. Alois did that by poking at the bluenette's overwhelming sense of pride, and Ciel did this by picking at the blonde's overwhelming sense of confidence. The other two lads in the room didn't even want to think about this.

"So, uh, Alois..." began Kristopherson in an attempt to change the subject. "What does _your_ demon form look like? I've only seen _Ciel's_." He immediately wished he hadn't asked, as he was being frozen to the bonde by the bluenette's glare. The Phantomhive boy had no desire to allow the lad to gaze upon the blonde in _that form._ Not when it showed so much _skin_.

Audrey immediately caught on to this, having seen the legendary demonic visage of the blonde menace. _"Got your woman on a tight leash, don't you Phantomhive?"_ he asked.

"I'm not his _woman!"_ the blonde argued. His cheeks turned red when the Phantomhive boy emitted a sound from his throat that was his attempt to choke back a laugh.

" _Yes you are."_ said the bluenette with a smirk. He was greatly amused by the flushed face of the blonde.

" _Shut up_." This wasn't usual Alois Trancy behaviour. That was something that the bluenette would say. Had Daniel been there, he would've immediately picked up on this, and made a rude remark, but for now, the others were ignoreant to the pair's _other_ secret. This was probably for the best, though.

That evening, Kristopherson laid on his bed and stared at the ceiling and reflected on everything he had learned that day. He had learned about demons, about grim reapers, and about the duo's past together. Ther was no way he could _compete_ with that. He thought he was hopeless before, but now, he knew he hadn't a chance in _hell_ to compete against the Phantomhive boy. It was then that he resolved to finally _give up on Alois Trancy_.

With a sigh, he turned on his side, and stared at the wall for a long while. He thought about many things that evening. He wasn't _like_ the other two. He didn't have all the time in the world to find his place in life. His brown eyes shifted from the wall to the night stand next to his bed, and the pink cellphone that sat on it. Slowly, he extended his arm and picked up the device, sitting up as he did. Kristopherson then began to scroll through the contacts before stopping on the name, " _Cameron Gully"._

_After a few moments of hesitation, he pressed the green "call" button._


	131. Too Far, Daniel

Warwick Academy: All-around exceptional school for all-around exceptional children; usually those of wealthier individuals. As an exceptional educational establishment, Warwick has a place of decency, thus has rules that the children must obey in order to maintain this image, which was besmirched the previous week when a bomb went off in the visitor's stands on their grounds. An investigation was launched immediately in order to find the perpetrator, but had found nothing at all by since then. It was now Monday, and two lads were breaking one of the many rules of Warwick. They were _tardy._

In their defense, Ciel and Alois had been kept by a certain _beast of a woman_ who had asked them many questions about the incident. Sir Hellsing wasn't thrilled about the meeting either, since it really wasn't her field. She was only sent because the lads were demons, and she was even less thrilled that the meeting had come to a close upon discovering that the duo knew nothing about who had put the bomb there.

They arrived slightly before noon, landing themselves in English class before the bell rang. Ciel walked in, placed a note on the teacher's desk, explaining the lads' tardiness, and sat down as Alois followed suit. The other's immediately began pestering the pair with questions.

"Where were you guys?" asked Preston.

"I bet they _stayed up late last night_ and had a hard time getting up this morning." said Daniel, elbowing the Indian boy in the ribs and smiling. " _Wink-wink, nudge-nudge, say no more, say no more_."

" _Wrong."_ the eye-patch-wearing bluenette insisted. Talking with the Hellsing woman always put him in a foul mood, and he did not feel like putting up with Daniel's hijinks today. _"_ I had a meeting early this morning."

"Couldn't you have rescheduled it?" asked Audrey.

"If you met _that woman,_ you would know immediately how that is an impossibility." Ciel frowned. He rested his chin in his palm in a disinterested manner, hardly matching his grouchiness.

"A _likely_ story!" declared the obnoxious politician's son. _"How's your arse, Alois?"_

"Bloody _amazing_ , like _always_." replied the blonde, completely deflecting the other boy's question. He knew what the answer Daniel _wanted_ was, so he simply refused to give it. It would've been a _lie,_ anyway.

Demons, in general, seldom have _those kinds_ of feelings, but it would appear that the duo had maintained very _human-like_ qualities. They both had their own unique identities, a thing that demons lack. They identified as themselves, and needed no one to _tell_ them who they were, as they had kept their human psyche. Ciel and Alois also slept at night, and ate human food, neither things were necessary for either lad, but they did them anyway, as it was part of their _routine._ Those were things that the boys were used to doing as humans, and honestly didn't feel quite right if they didn't. Finally, they could feel things that demons didn't generally; things like _kinship, love,_ and _lust_.

Demons simply didn't, as they lack interest in those things, and lack the sense of self in order to do so. Even Sebastian, who has been known for quite some time as "Sebastian", couldn't quite grasp foreign concepts like these because of this, but the the boys could, as the capacity to do so was pre-programmed into their minds. They are human-like demons; or were they demon-like humans? Even I, myself, may never know.

The others simply laughed at the humourous jest made by the blonde in response to the brown-haired boy's inquiry. Daniel even seemed amused. "Well, Phantomhive? _Would you agree with that?"_ he asked the bluenette, causing the boy to pay attention to them once more.

" _Yeah_ , but so would _Kristopherson_." said Ciel. The other lad's returned the remark with a series of "oohs" and turned to the boy in the pink tie for his response. Kristopherson crossed his arms indignantly. He furrowed his brow and spoke.

"I don't think I could fairly judge that. " he said with a smirk. "I haven't seen it _up close_ like _you_ have." The seven aside from both he, and the bluenette repeated their "oohs" once more, and awaited the bluenette's retort or _denial_ , whichever came first. Alas, it did not arrive.

The Phantomhive boy simply smiled darkly, and turned to the blonde in question, allowing but a single sound to escape his lips. " _Heh."_

"Whoa, whoa, WHOA! _What's with that reaction?!"_ demanded the son of a politician while pointing at the bluenette accusingly. The others simply blushed a bit at the implication, the one's with the reddest faces being both blondes, the true one and the faux one.

 _"_ What? _I didn't say anything..."_ replied Ciel.

"Congratulations!" declared Daniel. "You two both tied for the second ones to lose their virginity!"

"Whoa, whoa, who was _first?!"_ asked the boy in the pink tie. Daniel smirked.

" _Me."_ he said proudly. Neither Ciel or Alois were sure why that was a thing to be proud of.

 _"Bullshit."_ said Preston.

"It's true!" protested the boy with brown hair. "Sorry, Kris. _No hard feelings about your sister?"_

 _"None at all."_ replied the faux-blonde. "According to her, you only got to _second base_ before she _slapped_ you."

Daniel felt his eyebrow twitch at that. "Is there _anything_ she _didn't_ tell you?!" he demanded.

"I guess it's true. There are _no secrets_ between a girl and her _sassy gay-friend_." said Audrey.

"Apparently that applies to siblings, too..." added Preston. Travis just nodded in agreement. "Oh! I forgot. Didn't you get some guy's number at the rugby game last week, Kris?"

The hue of Kristopherson's face changed to that of a slight pink at the question. "Yeah..." he said.

"Ooh! Did you finally call him?" asked Daniel. He certainly recovered from defeat quickly.

"Huh? Oh. Yeah, I did." said the boy in the pink tie. "And before you say _anything_ , it was _not_ a _bootycall_ , Dan."

"A _likely_ story!" the other boy said. "Now what exactly did you and this _'not a bootycall'_ talk bout, Pinky?"

 _"Nothing in particular._ We just talked." the faux-blonde replied plainly. He spoke as though he didn't consider it a big deal at all.

"Is that who you were texting in class this morning?" asked Audrey.

"Yeah. I'm surprised Mr. Irons didn't catch me." replied the boy in the pink tie.

"Don't get cocky. If you do, you'll make mistakes, and when you do, your silly pink phone goes _bye-bye."_ said Preston.

"My phone isn't silly..."

"Why does everything you own have to be _pink?"_ asked Audrey.

"The same reason why everything _you_ own has to have _skulls_ and shit on it. I just happen to _like_ pink." the faux-blonde said indignantly.

 _"Touche'."_ said Bones.

"So _Pinky likes pink_ , and _Bones likes bones_." the son of a politician said. " _Preston_ likes _geeky things_ , and _Travis_ likes _bunnies,_ so what does that make _them?"_

"I don't know, but it makes _you 'annoying'_." said Ciel. "Not everyone has to have a nickname."

"Silence _Cyclops!"_

"I am _not_ a _cyclops!"_

"A pirate, then!" said the brown-haired boy. "After all, you're the one who's always _'plundering booty.'"_

"Whoa, Daniel..." began Audrey. "We _did not_ need that mental image..." the others folded their arms and agreed while the bluenette was _positively fuming._

" _Ciel_ , _calm down,_ you don't need a _murder case_ against you..." said the flushing blonde, putting his hand on the boy's shoulder.

"There won't _be_ one..." said Ciel. _"...BECAUSE THEY WILL **NEVER** FIND THE BODY!"_

Daniel went home with several bruises that day...


	132. Do You Ever Stop Talking?

Warwick Academy is one of the finest schools in Britain, and _the_ place were the offspring of the upper classes send their youth in order to learn, and prepare themselves for a successful and bright future. Sadly, Warwick was in the middle of a crisis, for you see, several students have gone missing over the past two school years, students such as _Maxwell Goddard_ , _Cassandra Bates,_ and _August Remy_ had all disappeared without a trace. Not to mention that they had that incident with _a bomb at a recent rugby game_ , killing many in the visitor's stands. It was all over the news, and was soiling the school's reputation. It made headlines, and was now adorning every newsstand in London and beyond. This was a very big deal.

The students are also frightened. They're scared that they could very well be sitting right next to the bomber in their next class. It could be anyone. It could be their chemistry partner, one of their friends, or any one of their classmates, really. _Not knowing_ is far worse than _knowing_ , and the paranoia was starting to get to the students. But fear not, for there is one lad with a plan to distract from the negative attention that the school has received. This plan would quell their fear and paranoia and replace it with laughter and smiles. Who was this lad, and what was his plan?

"A... _'Host Club'?"_ echoed the bluenette, trying to process the idea that the child-actor had just proposed.

"Yes, a _Host Club!"_ said a certain Lawrence Rose. The boy was odd. He seemed to almost sparkle. It was said that he could make roses bloom around him at will- well, only in the hearts of maidens. "I got the idea after looking into that _Maid Cafe' thing that Trancy did at the Halloween Festival_. Apparently, another popular thing in Japan is Host Clubs, were there's a bunch of handsome guys, and they just talk and flirt with guests, while throwing out a lot of _service."_

" _Service?"_ asked the blonde boy.

"You know! Things that will get their hearts racing! _Eye candy!"_ the boy with the greenish hair explained. "So, are you in or not?"

"Absolutely _not_." objected the Phantomhive boy, much to the displeasure of the obnoxious actor. "I will _not_ become a _gigolo."_

Lawrence looked angry for a moment before composing himself. "Come now, I can't have a Host Club without either of you!" he said, flipping his bangs out of his face. "You're the _cool_ character, and Trancy is the _mischievous_ character! It just doesn't work without those characters!"

" _Travis is cool_ , go talk to him. _Daniel_ is also _mischievous._ We're easy to replace." argued Ciel. He was not having it. He wanted no part in such a ridiculous idea, _even if it was only temporary._ It would last until the students of Warwick had calmed down, which could take _God knows how long._

"No way. Travis is the strong silent type, and while Daniel is mischievous, he isn't nearly on the same level as Alois." the Rose boy insisted. "Come on, it'll be _fun_."

"I don't _do '_ fun'..." the Phantomhive boy replied.

"Will there be _cake?"_ asked Alois with an oddly serious face for such a silly question. The other two looked at each other for a moment.

"Yeah... also tea and biscuits..." said the actor. "Why?"

"Hmmm... Cake, tea and biscuits, _and_ fun?" the blonde listed off. "This sounds like a pretty good deal. I'd also get to _embarrass_ Ciel by flirting with him in public! I say let's go for it!"

 _"No!"_ said the bluenette, crossing his arms. Every time they get asked to participate in something silly like this and he objects, the blonde would somehow miraculously find a way to convince him otherwise. Ciel was determined, however, to keep this from happening this time. He was going to assert himself and stay _away_ from this silly event.

"... _So we'll be meeting in the library after school_..." said Lawrence, as he chatted with Alois, completely ignoring the Phantomhive boy.

"Okay~!" said Alois in a sing-song voice. He turned to look over his shoulder when he felt a hand on it.

"Hey..." began the exasperated bluenette. "...what did I _just_ say?"

"Silly, Ciel!" replied the blonde. "I'm a _big-boy,_ who can make my own _big-boy decisions._ Seriously, do I really have to _babysit_ you _all the time?"_ Alois put his hands in the air as he said that last part, the silliness adding to the eye-patch-wearing boy's irritation.

"I'd be careful if I were you, Alois. If he makes you _ask for permission_ for things, that's a good sign that he's _abusive."_ spoke Lawrence. "When it comes to _romance,_ I am an _expert!"_

"Did you just call yourself a _whore?"_ asked Alois.

"What? Do you want a _medal_ , or something?" asked Ciel.

The actor rubbed his forehead for a moment and sighed. "Perhaps it _would_ be better if you kept him on a leash after all..." he muttered. "I still need _both_ of you!" he declared. "It won't work, otherwise! Such people who compliment each other so perfectly don't appear that often! That's just the sort of thing my club _lacks!"_ The duo watched the boy in astonishment. He reminded them of a certain man from their past, a mister Aleister Chambers, or as he was more often known _, "The Viscount Druitt"._ Yes, if the man was reincarnated, this may very well be him.

Still the boy continued. "You all have very unique characteristics that define you! You and the seven! I need all of you in this club of mine! It's a worthy cause, however fleeting it may be. We must rid the school of terror by distracting the students from the threat!" And he blathered on, and on about how he was doing the academy a great service, and how it was a noble cause. Eventually, the other two started to tune him out and converse among themselves.

"This kid is a total _nutter_." said the bluenette. "Are you sure you want to go through with this?"

"He may be a bit daft, but he's funny." the blonde replied. "I think I'll _try_ it for a bit, and if I don't _like_ it, _I'll simply stop going_. _Feel free to purchase my services_."

"What? So now I have to buy your time?" the Phantomhive asked jokingly.

"Tell you what, _for you,_ I'll give you a _discount_." Alois replied with a grin. He was obviously joking as well. "I'll even give you 'special _treatment'."_ He winked at the bluenette.

_"I'll be looking forward to it, then."_

"...Furthermore, it is our duty to quell the distress of the students! All of us are completely essential! We are the _essential eight!"_ the Rose boy rambled on.

"Lawrence... _Shut up..."_


	133. May Roses Bloom In Your Heart

The world isn't fair in that some privileged individuals are placed above others, but social injustices such as these made establishments such as the refined and wonderful Warwick Academy exist. The school is a splendid example of academic excellence, in that all of it's students are both well-read, and cultured, knowing the ins and outs of the world around them before they even graduate and set foot into the frightening unknown that is the "real world". Warwick Academy is nearly perfect in every way because of this. It's standards are high when it comes to both education, and culture, as well as things like elegance. Why, Warwick is so perfect, not even a single napkin in the cafeteria is wrinkled.

However, with all good things, there is a dark side, and this campus is no exception. You see, Warwick has had problems in the past about new students going "missing", and now, with the recent bomb incident at a "home" rugby game, the school is in an uproar. Students are worried that the bomber could very well be sitting in the desk next to them in English class, or even their lab partner in science. With such troublesome times, it is essential that relief be provided quickly and with precision. Who should be so bold and so noble to come to the aide of the of the student body? Well, after the clock strikes three-thirty, and the final bell rings, should one go to the splendorous library of Warwick, one will be greeted warmly by eight young gentlemen.

There is _Lawrence_ , the _princely-type_ , _Travis,_ the _strong, silent-type,_ _Preston,_ the _nice-guy-type,_ _Kristopherson,_ the _hot-and-cold-type,_ _Audrey_ , the _Gothic-type,_ and _Daniel,_ the _goofball-type,_ not to be confused with _Alois_ , the _mischievous-type_. After adding the _cool-type, Ciel_ , you get a near-perfect assortment of hosts to fill your every need. That's how it was supposed to be, but one "character" in particular, was having a difficult time forcing himself to go through with this.

Ciel, the ever-essential "cool-type", simply didn't appreciate all of the attention. The lad never was a _social butterfly._ He was more of a _wallflower_ , and wasn't too keen on having to interact with all of these strange girls.

Every girl continuously pestered him with annoying questions, like what his favourite movie was, his favourite colour, his hobbies, and the like. Often, he would answer the question with indifference, unintentionally giving off that sort of aloofness that they were after. his mind was elsewhere. It was _anywhere,_ really; anywhere but _there_. He instead thought about things such as work, and his schedule for the week, or pondering the menu for that evening's supper, but no matter where his mind wandered, it always abruptly darted to a specific part of the room whenever he heard a giggle off in that direction. Lazily, his visible sapphire eye trailed off in that direction before focusing on a particular blonde in the room.

The _Blonde Menace_ sat on one of the many couches in the library that were available to students who wished to read (or in this case, socialize), with a few girls seated on the couch across from him, and one seated next to him. They were all smiling and laughing at what the blonde had to say. He told his story with great enthusiasm, using hand-gestures and the occasional sound effect in order to get his point across.

"So this one time, I was out behind the manor, and I found this _lizard_..." he began, "...and I played with it a little while before I brought it inside to show Ciel. I kinda hoped it would bother him. Well, anyway, I got inside, and saw the toaster sitting on the counter in the kitchen. Well; now ladies, I might want to warn you, that _this is where the story gets a little messed up;_ at the time, I had wondered if the toaster could toast anything _other_ than just _bread..."_ he paused in order to allow the girls to get their giggles and " _aw_ "'s out of the way before he continued. "So _into the toaster the lizard goes_ , as cruel and unusual that is on my part, and I wait. After a while, I see smoke coming from the toaster, and I was like: 'well, that can't me good', and I ran over to it and tried to shut the thing off. _The bloody thing bursts into flames,_ and I throw it back down on the counter. The fire alarm starts going off, I'm panicking, and Sebastian, the butler, walks in and sees what's happening. _I have yet to see him make the face he made that day again._ He goes for the fire extinguisher, and then _Ciel_ walks in..."

Alois paused again so the girls could quell their urge to giggle at the thought of the serious bluenette walking in on that scene. "The look on his face at that moment, _was probably one of the greatest things I had ever seen."_ he said. Both boys held a certain fondness of that memory. While it wasn't funny at the time, looking back, they couldn't help but find the entire thing humourous. Ciel couldn't keep himself from smiling slightly at the story, which quickly vanished when he heard giggling coming from his own guests. He looked over to the group of girls curiously, tilting his head slightly.

" _It's cute how you worry about Alois so much_." one of them said. More giggles thundered forth. He blushed slightly at the comment and frowned.

"I don't _worry_ about him." he insisted. " _He can handle himself."_ His remark only seemed to make them squeal even more. Now it dawned on him. These girls were what Alois had called " _fag-hags_ ". Just how many were there at this school?

"He'll only lower his guard for Alois, it seems." one of the girls said to the others.

"Yeah, did you see the way he was smiling earlier?"

"It was so cute, I could just _die!"_

Any more of those comments, and _that could very well be arranged_. Now the girls were talking to each other, rather than the bluenette. He was conflicted about this, as he was relieved that he no longer had to deal with them, however, he was unnerved by the fact that it was he who was being discussed. He glanced over at the blonde once more, only to catch him looking his way. The boy laughed, and turned back to his own guests. The action rather peeved the Phantomhive boy for some reason.

"Yeah, I like teasing Ciel." spoke the Trancy with a grin. "He's really _cute_ when he's embarrassed, and it only makes me want to tease him more!" His expression changed, however, when he looked at the girls across from him, and noticed that their faces had changed too. They looked as though they were trying to hold in laughter. What really had disturbed him was, however, the ominous aura that he was sensing behind him.

He felt the boy's forearm leaning on the back of the sofa. He didn't turn around- he didn't _have_ to. Suddenly, his chin was grabbed by the lad's index finger and his thumb, as he was guided to look the bluenette directly in the eye. He was _smirking_. Alois was immediately quiet, completely forgetting about the girls in the room, never-mind the fact that they were squealing in a pitch so high, that only dogs should be able to hear it.

"It's not nice to _tease_ people, Alois." the blue cyclops said. "But then again, you have a rather adorable _embarrassed face_ as well." A slight pinkness graced the blonde's face, and the girls went wild. Perhaps this is what Lawrence had meant by "service".

The squeals and screams caught the attention of the other "hosts". The others turned in an attempt to discover the cause of the girlish squeals of delight. Confusion run over their faces at the sight. It seemed as thought they had stepped into some weird alternate reality, were Ciel was openly flirtatious, and Alois timid. One of the most confusing things, however, was the fact that the ladies were going nuts over it.

"What the hell? What's going on here?" Daniel asked aloud. He couldn't even begin to fathom what was happening.

"I think I've seen something similar on an _anime_ I watched once." said Audrey. _"I can't remember the name, though..."_

"So it's just some sort of marketing technique?!" demanded Daniel. Those clever devils had pooled their resources in order to gain more customers!

"Yes! This is wonderful!" shouted Lawrence, standing up. "This is just the kind of service that we were lacking! Such wonderful forbidden bonds between men are sure to pique the interest of the female masses!" The looks on the other's faces shifted from confusion to shear astonishment at the feat that the actor had just performed.

"Whoa! _Did you just make roses appear behind you?!"_ asked Daniel.

"Don't be _silly_. That's impossible. _No one can simply make flowers bloom out of nowhere,_ mister Westley." replied Lawrence. "I can only make roses bloom in people's _hearts!"_

"Why do I have the sudden urge to _disinfect everything?"_ asked Kristopherson.

Daniel turned to face the boy in the pink tie. "How do you think _we_ feel, Kris?! We _don't even swing that way!"_

The entire exchange was seen by the demonic duo, who had paused to see what all the ruckus was about. Now, Ciel sat next to Alois, and the bluenette's own customers flocked over to the group as well. The party resumed talking.

"What was that about _making roses bloom?"_ the bluenette asked. "I don't see _anything."_

" _Me neither,_ but apparently, he has the ability to make _'roses bloom in people's_ hearts'." replied the blonde.

"Sounds _invasive_."

"In'nt, though?"

The girls giggled, all coming up with the same theory as to why. One of them however, came up with a question. "Oh, speaking of which, do you two have a specific kind of flower that you like?" she asked. The others nodded at the question for whatever reason.

The two thought for a moment, then Ciel said. "Well, I like roses, too. _White ones_ , specifically."

With a gasp, the girls all seemed to agree, as though they were envisioning the boy surrounded in the flower of his choice, just as they had with Lawrence. "What about you, Alois?" asked another.

Hesitantly, the blonde answered: "Well, it's nothing _elegant_ like roses..." he paused. "...But, I really like _bluebells_."

"Really? That doesn't seem like you at all." one of the guests said.

"Yeah, I would think you'd like something more _loud."_ said another.

"Yeah but bluebells, they _... remind me of my brother_..." answered the blonde. The girls gasped in surprise at the statement. Alois Trancy had a brother? How could this be?

The bluenette sat and listened intently. The news of his brother wasn't what had surprised him. It was the _flower_. He wanted to know why they had reminded him of the boy. His pondering, however, was brought to a screeching halt as one of the guests shattered his thought process with an inquiry.

"You have a brother, Alois?" she asked.

"Yeah. We used to pick bluebells and put them in our hair. We'd pretend we were girls when did did." the blonde replied with a slight chuckle on the end. It was forced, and the manner with which he spoke seemed to be borderline melancholic, indicating to the others that his brother had passed.

"What happened to him?"

"He... _died in a fire_..." the lad half-lied. It wasn't as though he could tell the others the entire story. Fortunately, his sad tone prevented anyone from asking. He looked up at the girls who were currently on the brink of tears seated across from him. _"But now I have Ciel and the rest of the seven, so I'm not alone anymore_." he said with a smile.

No doubt, this field was the blonde's specialty. He could sway the hearts and minds of almost anyone, and all it took was a little method acting. He would blend the truth with lies, to make everything he said seem so real. He had honed his skills during his time at the Trancy manor, as awful as it was. It was his greatest weapon, and he used it to claw himself to the top. The girls all cooed at him.

 _"You have us too, Alois!"_ they said. They were like putty in his hands.

Feeling left out, the bluenette ended his lengthy silence to put his arms around the blonde and draw him in close. "Forgive me, ladies." he said "But I don't know if I really want to _share_ him."

Now this was a team effort. Alois' face looked genuinely surprised and embarrassed, probably because he _was_. The bluenette had only begun acting this way recently, but only when they were alone. Now he was doing it in public? What had gotten into the boy? What the Phantomhive boy had initially done on a whim, had turned out to be "fun" to the boy. He liked seeing the blonde uncharacteristically embarrassed. Alois was known for his lack of shame, and overwhelming confidence, but now, the bluenette had stripped him of all of that, reducing him to a flustered mess. The idea of embarrassing his significant other was the blonde's, originally, but his plan was stolen by the bluenette in question, and used against him. He internally kicked himself for this. He shyly hid his face in the bluenette's chest so the girls wouldn't see it, earning a chuckle from the boy, and more squeals from the guests. _Damn that Phantomhive, boy._

Until the erratic flames of panic had died down at the school, this is how the next few afternoons went. The boys conversed with guests about nothing in particular, and the demonic duo would occasionally throw in some "service", as Lawrence would put it. This thing called a "host club" was a success, making Warwick Academy once again a _safe playground for the super rich and beautiful._


	134. Yet Another Odd Pair

At last, the ruckus at Warwick had died down, and Lawrence's "host club" was dissolved despite his many protests. The boy was nice and all, but the Sensational Seven is just that; there are only _seven_ of them. Everyone also had things they needed to do after school instead. They had made prior commitments, and they had to keep them. The "host club" often got in the way of that. Travis had gardening club duties that Lawerence had guilted him into missing out on in order to be a host, and Preston had private music lessons to attend. Kristopherson had made plans to meet up with Cameron on " _not a date",_ as he put it, and Daniel... _Daniel just wanted to go home and play video games_.

Ciel and Alois had their own problems to deal with as well. Why, just the day before the club was dissolved, the bluenette received a call from a _certain detective_. The call was of a most distressing nature, as per usual.

"What do you mean ' _mysterious disappearances'?"_ asked the bluenette into the device. The man had called him not about murder, but about missing persons.

"It's exactly what I said." replied detective Bailey. His voice was just as rough and brutish as ever. "There's nothing. No bodies, no evidence, _nothing._ People are just up and _disappearing without a trace_."

"Are there any similarities between the victims?" asked the Phantomhive boy, reclining in his office chair a bit. "Age, occupations, people they know, anything?"

"None. None at all. It looks like they're just chosen at _random_. Once a month, another person vanishes into thin air. I just can't explain it."

With a sigh, Ciel gave his response. "Just send me the information you have on the victims, and I'll see what I can do."

"Roger that." said the man, and the very next day, a file appeared on the boy's desk with all the information they had.

It wasn't much. Just basic facts they knew about the victims and were it was said they were going. It was all useful, it just wasn't a lot of information. It was because of this that the boy didn't even know where to start. What a stupid mission!

Perhaps he was just looking at it at the wrong angle. Perhaps he needed to look at it in a way that Alois would. With a sigh, he cleared his thoughts, and tried to summon the capacity to look at something with child-like wonder before gazing upon the documents again. After much skimming and scanning, he came to but one conclusion: _he couldn't think like that blonde idiot._

In a huff, he reclined in his chair and looked at the ceiling. He just couldn't seem to solve cases like these anymore. Why? Why could he no longer come up with answers with ease anymore? Ever since Alois moved in, he had been acting less and less like his old self, and while in some ways that was a good thing, it seemed like he was slowly loosing the ability to perform tasks that he used to do with ease and precision. He had been wasting a lot of time on silly antics, and less on actual work. His company was prospering, but his Guard-dog work was becoming more difficult.

Once more, he looked at the papers. He looked at a sheet with the most recent victim's name and picture, their address, where they had told family and friends that they were going. This woman was simply going home from work when she disappeared. The bluenette leaned over and reached for his computer, shockingly not finding any rude pictures replacing his desktop background, and pulled up Google maps.

He typed in the woman's address, and the address of her workplace, finding a route from one to the other. The boy surveyed the route, zooming in closer to see any possible detours she might have taken, or any dark allies she may have stumbled into, only to discover that there were _many_. Ciel folded his arms and furrowed his brow in concentration. Perhaps it would be wise to try and find the scene of the crime, as reluctant to do so as he was.

He got up and left his office in order to round up the blonde. If he was going to have to do this, he'd rather make the other boy suffer as well. He walked up to the blonde's bedroom and reached for the doorknob, stopping just short of doing so. Ciel instead reached up and knocked on Alois' door, knowing better than to simply barge right on in.

"It's open~!" shouted the blonde on the other side. The Guard-dog opened the door and stepped inside, only to be hit in the forehead with a paper plane. He looked up to see Alois in a post-throwing position, grinning. " _Gotcha."_ he said.

The bluenette rolled his eye. "What are you _doing?"_ asked he.

"Bein' _bored."_ replied the other lad. "I ran out of stuff to look up on _Youtube_."

"Forget Youtube. _Let's go solve disappearing person cases_."

"Darn! Just _missing persons?"_ the blonde said jokingly. "No _murder?"_

"It isn't considered _'murder',_ because no one has found the bodies _yet_."

" _Let me fetch my trousers."_

With trousers replacing short-shorts, the boys set out onto the streets of London, doing their best to not let the nippy autumn air get to them. In one hand, the bluenette held the hand of the blonde, and in the other, he held his phone, which had the route they were to be traveling on it. They had begun at the address of the woman, since it was closer, and traveled it backwards, checking every nook, cranny, and alleyway for any signs of a possible struggle, or any sort of evidence, really, only to turn up with nothing. Nothing at all.

"Hey, Ciel, what's that?" asked the blonde suddenly. He let go of the bluenette's hand for a moment, and squatted down on the sidewalk feeling the cement. In the now dry path was a paw-print- _a big one._ It was almost bigger than the lad's hand. The Phantomhive boy looked over curiously at the blonde for a moment.

"That?" asked Ciel. " _I guess a dog must've accidentally stepped in it when it was wet. They fixed this sidewalk recently, I think."_

"Ciel! That's it!" the blonde exclaimed. _"I know who did it!"_

 _"What?! Who!?"_ demanded the other boy. His eye widened in surprise.

 _"A werewolf_." Alois said with a smirk. He was obviously teasing the bluenette. The latter of which introduced the palm of his hand to his forehead at the blonde's remark. _He couldn't believe he had fallen for such a stupid trick._

" _Let's keep looking..."_ he said, turning and walking away. He didn't even bother to look behind him to see if the blonde followed or not.

Their search proved to be a waste of time, as they arrived outside the small clothing store where the woman worked in no time at all, finding nothing. They found no signs of a struggle anywhere, no possible evidence, nothing. It was most likely that too much time had passed since the possible kidnapping, and anything that could have been remotely informative had vanished with it. Ciel was growing more frustrated by the minute. This entire outing had been a waste of time.

Still, the boy felt that it was somewhat nice to have a semi-normal outing with just him and Alois. There were no interrupting perverted friends to bother them, no demons or angels trying to kill them, no hijinks whatsoever. They had simply walked and talked, discussing serial killers, and possible ways they could've abducted the woman on file whenever they passed a spot that sparked interest in the matter. While that wasn't entirely "normal", it was pretty close for the too, and it was somehow refreshing.

But then he sensed it. The bluenette sensed it. He sensed the sort of unnatural aura of something. He couldn't quite put his finger on it, but he felt some sort of presence that was not "normal" for the average city street. He looked to his right, seeing nothing but a busy street, and some buildings and people on the other side, and he looked to his right, where he saw the blonde staring at him confusedly. He, too, could faintly sense this aura, but didn't know what was making him feel so uneasy. The bluenette's behaviour didn't help his growing worry.

Just past Alois, however, was a peculiar pair. Ciel couldn't believe he hadn't noticed them sooner. They certainly didn't fit in with the other city-dwellers walking on the very same path. One of them was tall and thin, with a grey dress shirt with the collar up, and black vest accompanied by a pair of black pants. Their hair was black, and pulled back in a ponytail, their bangs untidily framing their freckled face, but their garnet eyes were clearly visible. They were quite androgynous, as the boy couldn't quite decide if they were male or female. This wouldn't be entirely strange, had the person not been carrying a black umbrella, even though there wasn't a cloud in the sky.

The other person was obviously female, regardless of her masculine clothing, that looked obviously like hand-me-downs from an older male sibling or something. She wore a red baseball cap, and an olive-coloured hoodie that looked as though it was meant to fit a full-grown man twice her size. She was a petite girl, appearing to be about a foot shorter than her companion. Her silver hair was long and wavy, reaching past her rear, and her bangs were messy, parted in no specific manner, framing her face. It was adorned with a bored sort of expression that seemed to never change. Her blue eyes were neither light, nor dark, and she used them to look up at her chatting associate through her long lashes. Both of them seemed otherworldly.

Alois followed the boy's gaze, and set his eyes on the pair. He could see it too, now. The source of his uneasy feeling. Those two were obviously not "normal".

Suddenly, the silver-haired girl sniffed the air, and turned to face the boys, her associate following suit. Their hypothesis was confirmed by what the girl said next. She lifted her arm and extended it forward, pointing at the demonic duo, and she said but one word:

" _Démons."_


	135. Charlotte and Amelie

A mysterious duo walked down the streets on this particular day. One of which dressed in a grey dress-shirt with the collar popped up, and a black vest and pair of pants. _She_ was quite androgynous in appearance, with her boyish attire and somewhat flat chest. She had freckled cheeks, garnet eyes, dark hair that was tied back in a ponytail, and she carried a black umbrella even though there wasn't a single cloud in the sky that day. Her name was _Charlotte._ Remember that, now.

The other strange individual was quite a bit shorter than her tall and thin counterpart, with silver hair, blue eyes, and a rather bored expression on her face. She wore a red baseball cap, and an olive-green hoodie that seemed to be meant for a grown man that was twice her size, and a pair of blue jeans. Somehow, she appeared to be the more " _odd"_ of the two, if you can believe that. Her name was _Amelie._ Remember that, now.

They were gazing intently at a Help Wanted poster, debating on whether or not they should go for it. The taller of which, was more than somewhat objective.

" _No way."_ she said. "I am _not_ doing it."

"Why?" asked the other.

" _Because,_ you see this? You're required to wear a uniform! _With a skirt!"_ argued Charlotte.

"So?" asked the silver-haired girl. "You'd be fine."

"No I would not! It's easy for you, because you're at least _cute!"_ The tall girl was grouchy. It was _too early_ for her to be awake. "C'mon, let's just go. I can't do this. Waking up in the _middle of the day_ is so _exhausting_. It's too _bright,_ I'm _starving_ , and I'm _not_ wearing a _skirt_."

Amelie was silent, as she was a girl of few words. She turned her attention back to the sign. They needed the money pretty badly. They were almost through their entire savings. Living on the road wasn't easy, especially when both you, and your companion have certain " _special needs_ ".

While she was lost in thought, Charlotte watched her every move. She watched the girl with her own garnet eyes, which had lost their usual friendly look to them. It felt as though she was being pulled in, like a moth to a flame to the shorter girl. She extended her hand, only to have it slapped away by the other girl without her even having to turn her attention away from the sign.

_"No. Bad."_

"Oh, please!" the taller girl whined. "Just a _bite!_ You dragged me all the way out here in the middle of the damn afternoon! I'm gonna die..."

In case you couldn't already tell, _Charlotte suffers from a rare condition called "vampirism"._ She is cursed to wander the night in search of the blood of the living in order to maintain her own empty existence. They are like our oh-so familiar demons in this sense, replacing the need for souls with the need of blood, only they have far more weaknesses. Garlic, silver, running water, crucifixes, and sunlight: all deadly to their kind, but not to demons.

" _No. Don't be a baby."_ replied the other girl, who wasn't effected by the same ailments. She had her own little "allergies", specific to her own kind. The vampire was about to open her mouth to speak, but her companion didn't listen. Amelie's eyes suddenly widened, and she furrowed her brow. She sniffed the air for a brief moment, before turning around. She pointed, and her companion followed her finger, setting eyes upon what the girl was pointing at. It was a pair of lads dressed in fashionable clothing, one with hair of blonde, and the other of an awkward shade of blueish black. Amelie pointed at the duo, startling them a bit, and said one word, and one word only:

" _Démons."_ spoke she.

_**And here we are now.** _

The world around them moved in slow motion as the two groups simply stared at each other. It seemed like ages, but finally, the girl lowered her arm and placed it at her side, eyes never wavering from the demonic duo. They stood in silence once more.

Then the girls arm sprang to life as if it had a mind of it's own, and she grabbed the wrist of her companion, startling her. The boy's readied themselves to either fight or give chase, but they didn't expect what the girl did next.

" _Attack!"_ she shouted, forcing the vampire forward. " _Charlotte, I choose you!"_

The startled girl tripped on her own feet and stumbled forward, stopping just short of the boys. They just stared at her in bewilderment. Where these two actual threats, or were they just _idiots?_ The girl righted herself, and stood up straight. She nearly towered over the boys.

" _Sorry."_ she said politely.

"No problem" said the bluenette. He looked past the girl in front of him to the other girl. He saw the strange girl making a strong stance, and putting her hands up like claws. She was snarling at them for whatever reason. She was obviously a strange one; perhaps even more so than his own fair-haired companion. "Is she... _Alright?"_ he asked, arching an eyebrow.

"Huh? Oh, yeah. I'm sorry about that. She's a bit _hard to understand_ sometimes..." spoke the tall girl. When she spoke, the bluenette could clearly see her fangs, and he immediately knew what she was.

Ciel then looked over to see Alois in a pose similar to the silver-haired girl, his eyes locked on hers. He growled back, obviously trying to be funny, much to the bluenette's embarrassment. Alois had found someone who was willing to misbehave with him in public. _Super._

Amelie took a few steps forward, keeping her snarl and stance, before she charged the group. Once again, the boys got ready to fight, however instead of attacking them, she attached herself to the other female. Her eyebrows were furrowed, but her expression still seemed the same. The silver-haired girl stuck out her thumb, and pointed at herself with it.

 _"Charlotte iz my wife!"_ she declared, causing a scene. Several people turned their heads to look at the group for a moment, before resuming their previous activities.

"Oh yeah?! _Well Ciel is my husband!"_ the blonde menace shouted back, latching onto the bluenette, causing him to groan. It appeared to be the beginning of a beautiful friendship. Amelie gave the boy a thumbs up in response.

"Good job, _démon-boy."_ she said.

The duo jumped a bit at the statement. It was surprising that the girl in front of them knew what they were when they couldn't place her race at all. She obviously wasn't human, but she wasn't a demon, either.

"How did you...?" the blonde asked. The girl placed her index finger on the tip of her nose.

 _"L'odeur."_ she said simply. The blonde tilted his head in confusion, uttering a simply "huh" as a reply.

"I take it that she has _a good sense of smell_ , and can detect us that way..." suggested the bluenette. Amelie nodded.

"You got it!" said Charlotte. "How'd you know?"

" _Je peux parle français._ " said the bluenette. Causing both the shorter girl and the blonde's faces to light up.

"Whoa! You speak _fancy?!"_ asked Alois.

"It's _French_ , and yes. Yes I do." The bluenette looked over at the girl with silver hair, who was staring intently at him for whatever reason. Seeing this, the blonde lad put his arm's around Ciel's neck possessively, and stuck his tongue out at the girl, who snarled.

"What's with you?" asked her companion. "You speak _perfect English_ , so why are you upset?"

" _It's not the same_." said the silver-haired female in a monotone. "Where are you staying?" she asked the two boys.

"Amelie!" the vampire whined.

"At... _our house?"_ answered the blonde boy, confused by both the directness, and the quesiton itself. The lads became even more confused at the surprise on the girls' faces.

"You have your _own house?!"_ asked Charlotte.

"It's _my_ house, actually." said the bluenette. "Why?"

"That's so awesome!" said the vampiress. "We just _camp."_

"No _shower."_ said the other girl. "Charlotte smells like _death_."

"I do _not!"_

While those two argued, the demons had there own silent conversation. The bluenette looked over to the blonde, and Alois immediately knew what he meant. These two were certainly _suspicious._ They just _happened_ to be along the path that the latest victim had taken, and one of them just _happened_ to be a blood-sucking creature of the night. The girls also didn't have anyone keeping tabs on them. No landlord to suspect them of hiding anything, no neighbours, just them. It would be quite easy for them to be kidnapping and killing human beings. Thus, the Phantomhive boy made his next decision.

"Well, you're welcome to spend the night at our place." he said politely- too politely for Ciel, really. The manner with which he spoke was far _too friendly_.

Both girls immediately stopped their quarreling for a moment. "What's the catch?" asked the shorter of the two. The girl obviously spoke her mind, and was never hesitant to get to the point.

"There isn't one." the boy with the eye-patch replied. "It's just not everyday you see others like us, that, and your friend looks like she is going to _melt."_ He pointed to the vampire who was sweating and looked like she was going to fall over. Apparently, the umbrella was no longer cutting it.

Immediately, Amelie lifted up her over-sized hoodie, revealing a beat-up white tank top underneath. " _Get in!"_ she ordered her vampiric friend.

 _"I'm not getting inside your clothes with you!"_ the other girl shouted back. She then however, emitted a gutsy "ugh!" as she found herself being headbutted in the stomach by her companion. Amelie then threw the girl over her shoulder like a large sack of flour, and turned to the demonic duo.

"Which way?" she asked them, obviously asking them the direction of their residence. She wore the same bored expression as she did, as though what had just happened, _didn't._

The boys blinked in response. They were completely dumbfounded by the ridiculousness of this pair. Even Alois Trancy, the master of mayhem was impressed by the display. These two where potential killers of a supernatural nature, and completely unpredictable, _and Ciel had just invited them into his home_. He was now _regretting_ his decisions.

Before he could answer the question, the girl took off, vampire still over her shoulder. Apparently, he had taken too long to answer, and she just decided to guess. She took off at a ridiculous speed, that which no human could keep up with. After standing there for a moment longer, the boys took off after her, running as fast as they could, yet she remained far ahead of them.

Charlotte and Amelie were two strange individuals. They weren't human, and they were potential killers. What kind of havoc will be in store for Phantomhive manor? It hasn't been destroyed in over a hundred years, and Ciel would like to keep it that way. With the arrival of all of these nuisances into his life, however, that could very well change in the near future...

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Amelie is a character that I wonder about in one of the versions of this story. She hasn't appeared yet, but it'll happen if the person translating gets there. One of my readers on FF has been translating the fic into French, and some of Amelie's lines???? Let's just say that I don't speak French. Some creative liberties might need to be taken... 
> 
> These two are sort of accidental fan favourites over on FF, though. I wonder how that will go down over here. It's almost a different clientele, isn't it? That and some of the factors that were JUST right at the time this was originally posted might not work anymore. Time and place, y'all...
> 
> Until the next chapter, my duckies~!


	136. That Blonde, Uncomposed

It was mayhem earlier that day at Phantomhive Manor. The strange girl wit the silver hair, Amelie, had beaten the duo home. How she knew where they lived was unclear, when asked, she simply said, " _L'odeur."_ and invited herself inside. It was assumed that she had followed the lad's scent trail backwards. This girl, was clearly _insane_.

Immediately after entering the home, she simply dropped her friend on the floor in a random location, and took her shoes off before roaming the house like she owned the place. That wasn't the strangest bit. Upon meeting the butler of the household, things had gotten _weird._ They began staring daggers at each other, and the girl _growled_ at him. She never said a word to the man,and instead growled at him like some sort of wild animal.

"You didn't tell me we were having _guests,_ my lord." said the man clad in black, eyes never leaving the bizarre animal-like person. The young master of the house finally made it upstairs, blonde demon in tow, to reply to the statement.

"That's because we didn't _know."_ said the bluenette. Keeping up with the strange girl had actually been difficult, despite the boy's enhancements. "Can you get two guest rooms ready?" he asked with an exasperated sigh. He began to walk to his office, to escape the ludicrousness.

"Very well, my lord. Just one question:" said the man, " _Is it really wise to keep a werewolf indoors?"_

" _'Werewolf'?"_ echoed the blonde lad. "She's a _werewolf?_ _You're a_ _werewolf?!"_ he asked the small girl. She was even smaller than _Ciel,_ of all people, and yet she was supposed to be a ravenous beast. Alois couldn't quite wrap his head around that.

 _"Ouais, je suis un loup-garou_." the girl replied. She then walked away, going back downstairs, probably to find her friend, leaving the demons to themselves.

Alois put his hands up. " _Well!"_ he said. "That explains _a lot_." he said, pretending to understand what she had just said. "Any _plans,_ gentlemen?"

"We keep an eye on _both_ of them." said Ciel. "They're our _only_ suspects so far, and I want my mansion to remain undamaged!" He walked away before adding, " _That's an order!"_ He left the others to themselves. He didn't really feel like talking to anyone at the moment, as he had a lot on his mind.

He pondered about his Guard-dog work lately, and how difficult it now was. It was the same type of cases as usual, so why was he unable to solve them? Usually, he could do it all on his own, looking at a piece of paper or a piece of evidence, and immediately come up with a lead, but now, he just couldn't think right. His mind felt foggy, like he couldn't focus. He simply couldn't think about detective work. Was he getting rusty? Was he getting weak? Or was it neither of those, and if that be the case, what was it? He walked into his office and shut the door behind him in order to gather his thoughts and organize in his mind his next plan of action. He needed to talk with those girls and get some information out of them. The werewolf was obviously unlikely to cooperate, but the vampire... she just might let something _slip._ He sat alone and struggled to focus on his task, leaving the others to their own devices. The blonde's thoughts, however, dwelled on the bluenette.

"Hey, Sebastian?" the blonde began, gaining the butler's attention.

"Yes?" replied the man in black.

"Do you... think Ciel seems a little... _off,_ lately?" asked the boy. There was an unusual worried tone in his voice that made the butler smile.

"I think that the young master might have just hit a _block_ of some sort." Sebastian answered. "I wouldn't be too worried, if I were you."

The blonde furrowed his brow and thought for a moment. He didn't like seeing the bluenette on edge like this. "Do you think talking to him would do anything?" he asked.

A chuckled was emitted from the older demon's throat. "I would doubt it." he said. "But it couldn't hurt. The young master seems to open up to you a bit more than others, _including myself_." The butler looked at the Trancy boy with a smile. "I think you've _changed_ him."

"He's still _as stubborn as an ass,_ though." replied Alois, placing his hands on his hips.

 _"I don't know if I'm allowed to have an opinion on that_." Sebastian said jokingly. The blonde giggled at the remark.

"Y'know, Sebastian, _you're a pretty cool guy_." he said, taking the man clad in black by surprise. "I guess I just never took the time to notice." The blonde began to walk down the hallway in search of the bluenette. "Well, I'm gonna go talk to _'Sir Grouchalot'_ about _feelings._ Laters, _Bass-man_."

The butler watched him for a moment, in astonishment. That was so _unlike_ Alois to say something like that, especially to a _servant_. Sebastian smiled a bit to himself. The blonde was brash, loud, obnoxious, and the reason why he was stuck in eternal servitude, but he didn't _hate_ him. He just couldn't, because perhaps Ciel wasn't the _only_ one who had changed. Perhaps the blonde had as well. He has seemed to have _grown up_ from being the brat that he was a hundred years ago, and it was a bit unfair to hold a grudge against a _child_.

He was snapped out of his thoughts by the sound of banging. He looked up to see the blonde hitting the door of the bluenette's office with his fist in seemingly random locations. Perhaps he thought too soon.

Eventually after what seemed like an almost inappropriately long time, he was let in by the bluenette, who violently swung open the door and shouted: "I said _'come in'_ nearly _five times!"_

"Didn't hear it." the blonde replied, pressing past the bluenette and plopping right down on the couch. "So, _what's the plan, man?"_

With a sigh, Ciel closed the door. He rubbed his temples, fighting off an eminent headache. _"I don't know."_ he said in a frustrated tone. "Interrogate them for everything they know about any unusual activity, or to see if they're even involved?" he half-asked, half-stated.

"Sounds good to me." said the blonde, as he reclined on the couch. "Ugh! How can you _sit_ on these _couches?"_ The blonde struggled to adjust himself to where he was comfortable.

" _I_ don't _. I_ sit in the _big comfy chair_ behind my desk." replied the bluenette with a slight smile. He walked over and joined the blonde on the petrified sofa, moving the other boy's legs out of the way when he did. He leaned back with a sigh, resting his head on the back of the couch.

"What's wrong, _mister grumpygills?"_ Alois asked, making a pouty-face at the bluenette.

" _Nothing_." the other boy answered. "Why?"

 _"Well,"_ the blonde began with great enthusiasm, sitting up to be on level with the other boy. "You've been _sighing_ a lot, and acting all _wonky_. Also, I know that you never simply give a _one-word answer_. So, would you like to _try again_ and answer _honestly_ this time?"

With raised eyebrows, the bluenette could only blink in response. He was quite surprised by how well the blonde knew him _. (Did he really never give one-word answers?)_ He ran his fingers through his hair, moving it out of his face for a moment while he gathered his thoughts.

"Detective work has gotten difficult for me, lately." he said, slightly embarrassed by his own short-comings. "I can't seem to concentrate on it at all, recently and I can't find the answers on my own anymore, and it's _weird_."

The blonde hummed in response. "Well, I don't know how to fix that, but I'm always keen to help you out when you need it." he said, looking at the bluenette, who simply remained silent. "Y'know, one of the best things about living here, is that I don't have to do things on my own anymore. _Some little blue cyclops_ is always willing to support me when I need it. I just wish he'd _let me_ return the favour." He put his arms around the Phantomhive boy's neck, and the other boy subconsciously found his own arms around the blonde's waist.

It was with a smile that the bluenette finally conceded. "Alright." he said. "I get it. I' so used to doing things on my own, that when I hit a wall, I just don't know how to ask for help. It's been stressing me out quite a bit, lately."

"Well..." began Alois with a smirk. "...I'll have you know, that I'm also available to help _'relieve stress'_ whenever you need me to." He planted a kiss on the bluenette's cheek, feeling the heat of the boy's flushed face against his lips.

"Hmm... does that include _now?"_ asked Ciel with a smirk of his own.

"You bet it does..." Alois squeaked when he was pushed on his back on the uncomfortable sofa, the Phantomhive boy crawling on top of him.

He felt his lips being assaulted by the other boy, and Ciel's hands rubbing his sides. The blonde moved his hands from the base of the bluenette's neck, to the back of his head, where he held the boy in place and removed his eye-patch, throwing it to the floor. Finally the pair of lips against his disappeared for a moment, only to latch onto the side of the blonde's neck, kissing it, and playfully biting it on occasion.

Just when those hands of the other demon tugged at the edge of his shirt, however, the door swung open, startling both boys. They quickly untangled themselves and looked up, expecting to see Sebastian, but instead seeing the wolf-girl. The first thing they noticed about her was that she didn't appear phased in the slightest, wearing the same bored expression she had the entire afternoon, much to their relief. The _second_ thing the noticed, was that _she was wearing nothing but a towel, and completely soaked with water,_ dripping onto the carpet.

" _Clothes."_ she said in a monotone voice. Sebastian had apparently decided to wash hers while she was in the shower. The boys looked at each other for a moment.

 _"I'll go get her something to wear."_ said Alois, straightening his clothes. "C'mon, Amelie, follow me." He was about to get up, when the bluenette pulled him closer and whispered in his ear.

" _I'll be holding you to your promise when you get back_." he said before releasing the blonde boy. He then straightened his own clothes and casually picked up his eye-patch, putting it back on before he took a seat behind his desk. The blonde watched him the entire time.

He forced himself out of his trance, and forced himself to get up and walk towards the door. The girl followed him out, before shutting the door behind them, leaving the Phantomhive boy to his own devices.

Out in the hallway, Alois and the she-wolf walked towards his room, where he would let her borrow something to wear. They traveled with a nearly suffocating silence that clung to the air around them. This, however, was shattered to pieces when the blonde boy heard the girl snort. He quickly spun his head around to see the girl, covering her mouth, trying not to laugh. His face immediately turned red.

"You look good together." she said. "Pretty _hot_ stuff."

" _Sh-shut up!"_ the blonde barked in response. He was incredibly embarrassed. He wasn't embarrassed before, so why now? He clenched his fists, and faced forward once more, resuming his walking. The girl followed behind him in silence.

Finally, they arrived at Alois' room. With a flick of his wrist, he turned the knob and opened the door, leading Amelie to his closet, where he silently rummaged through the clothes in a attempt to find something that would make the girl decent. The blonde could feel her staring at him the entire time. She spoke again at last, pointing at the boy's neck.

" _A hickey."_ she said, her expression never wavering.

_"Shut it!"_


	137. New Information

" _Fifty-three."_ said Charlotte.

" _One-hundred and twenty-six_." said Ciel, nonchalantly.

 _"Two-hundred and five."_ said Amelie. While her expression was the same as always, she seemed a bit proud of herself.

" _Fifteen..."_ Alois said finally.

It was morning at the Phantomhive household, and the group was discussing the matter of age amongst themselves while waiting on breakfast. It would seem that Alois was the youngest of the paranormals, having only technically " _lived"_ for fifteen years, now. The blonde slumped in his chair a bit at the discovery. It wasn't really clear to anyone, including himself, as to why the fact bothered him so.

"Looks like _we're_ the youngest, in'nt it?" said Charlotte politely, trying to ease the burden on the boy. "I guess _Ciel likes 'em young_ , huh?" The werewolf girl seated next to her snickered at the remark.

"He's been around longer than I have by a year. He's just been _alive_ for fifteen years." Said Ciel, pretending he hadn't heard that. "I resurrected him. _It's a long story."_

" _I bet."_ replied the vampire as Sebastian came into the room and set plates down in front of the others.

" _Charlotte is my wife!"_ declared Amelie for the second time since they knew the strange demon boys, only to be ignored by the other girl.

The wolf-girl pouted before turning to the food in front of her. The pancakes and bacon looked delicious, and she reached to her right in order to pick up her utensils so she could dig in. When she grasped the knife and fork, however, she yelped, and sent the _silverware_ flying across the room, barely missing the head of the blonde across from her before sticking into the wall behind the lad. The boy simply stared straight ahead with a frightened look on his face.

" _What the fuck?!"_ he demanded finally, furrowing his brow at the petite girl. He was unpleased with the lack of response, the girl simply sat there, licking her now slightly burning hand. "You could've _killed_ me!"

"I doubt that." said Ciel. " _You just wouldn't be able to get up for a few minutes._ But still, that is unacceptable."

"My apologies, my lord. It would appear that the silverware is, indeed _, made of actual silver_." the butler said with a slight bow. " _It simply slipped my mind."_ Amelie stood up and slammed her hands down on the table, shooting the man a mean look and snarling at him. "Let me go fetch some utensils of a different metal." Sebastian said, turning to walk away, but the girl simply sat back down and began eating with her hands.

"Can you at least _pretend_ to have some manners?" asked Charlotte, disapproving of her friend's etiquette. They were in a rich person's house, after all. She didn't want to offend either lad, but it would seem that Ameile didn't care.

"Aren't you going to eat, Charlotte?" asked the blonde boy, stuffing his face. He noticed that vampire hadn't received a plate.

"Huh? Oh, no. I don't eat actual food." the girl replied. "It just tastes like _ashes_ to me..." The silver-haired girl seated next to her licked the syrup off of her hands, in order to pull down the collar of her hoodie, revealing that her companion had bitten her. Those marks weren't there the last time the boys saw her, granted, that would've been one of the very _last_ things they would've noticed about the _shameless_ girl at the time.

She looked to the side, allowing the others to have a better view bite-marks. " _She got me_." she said, posing in sort of a swooning manner, much to the vampire's annoyance. With a huff, Charlotte sat back in her chair, blushing slightly.

" _Are lycanthropes immune to the effects of being bitten?"_ asked the bluenette, curiously, ignoring the undertones of the wolf-girl's statement.

"Yeah." replied the vampire. "They don't turn into _ghouls,_ or become _'werepires'."_

 _"'Ghouls'?"_ echoed the blonde lad, tilting his head to the side a bit. "What's a ghoul?"

Ciel turned to face the boy with a questioning look on his face. The blonde severely lacked in his knowledge of the supernatural. "A _ghoul_ is what you get _when a vampire drains a human-being of blood_." he began. "They're _lifeless corpses that go around and feast on the flesh of the living_ , in other words: _they're zombies_."

" _Wicked."_ replied the blonde with a boyish grin. He had to admit, being able to create an zombie army was way cooler than his silly _flower powers_. "Then how do you get another vampire?"

This time, Charlotte replied. She rested her elbows on the table as she explained. "A vampire can only make another vampire _by sucking the blood of a virgin of the opposite sex._ Everyone else becomes a ghoul." She glanced over at the she-wolf seated next to her, who was staring at her intently. "Well, unless you're already of a supernatural sort." she added finally. "I don't get human blood that often because of that. _It sounds like a total pain_."

"Sounds like it." said the bluenette. "You'd have to abduct someone, and deal with the ghoul afterwards." He casually took a sip of his tea, gauging the other group's reaction. To his surprise, they were completely unfazed.

"Yeah! Getting away with murder seems to be getting more difficult these days. What would you even do with the body afterwards?"

" _Eat it."_ answered Amelie.

" _That's gross..."_

Silently, the demonic duo communicated. They used no form of telepathy to do this, however. No, they simply used the other's eyes in order to deceiver the other's thoughts. They both felt it was very clear. These two weren't involved.

They were far too open about it. Anyone with a guilty conceive wouldn't _dare_ joke about _eating a body_. They wouldn't be so casual in speaking about the subject. Even a sociopath would falter at the question, and hesitate to answer it. Judging by Amelie's behaviour since they had met the girl, she would never have hesitated in trying to take out the threat to her plan, whatever it may be. Yet, here she was without a care in the world. She had good food on her plate and a roof over her head for the moment, and she was content with that, never questioning the fact as to _why_ she was invited to such an extravagant house. A guilty person would have questioned everything. It wasn't them. Both boys silently communicated that the time was close to dropping the ball, and laying their cards on the table. If they knew anything, it didn't _matter_ how direct they were at this point.

"Speaking of which, _there's been a bunch of people turning up missing, lately."_ the blonde said nonchalantly as though he was simply making conversation. They had decided to not blow their cover just yet. "Think a _paranormal_ might be behind it?"

 _"What makes you think that?"_ asked Ciel, playing along. He tried his best to be convincing. Fortunately, the girls bought it.

"Well, apparently, there's been no clues at all to where they went." said Charlotte. "They just up and vanished! I saw it in the papers."

"What do you think happened to them?" asked the bluenette.

 _"Dead_." said Amelie. " _Almost positive."_

"Yeah, people who've been missing that long usually turn up dead somewhere." said the blonde lad. "The hard part is finding out _where_."

"Well, if something weird's happening, and paranormals are involved, I bet Charlie knows something." said Charlotte. The manner with which she said it implied that the boys knew who that was. _They didn't._

"Who's Charlie?" asked the bluenette curiously. He hoped he hadn't made some kind of mistake in asking, but they wouldn't have been able to pretend they knew for long. The vampire looked genuinely surprised by the question.

"How do you _not_ know? Are you _new_ to the city, or something?" the girl asked. " _Charlie knows every Londonite with supernatural tendencies! He helps us out whenever we can't get what we need!"_

" _Tch."_ Amelie clicked her tongue in annoyance. "He's _sleazy."_ she said. The wolf-girl wrinkled her nose and stuck out her tongue in disgust.

"Hey, he's good to us! Let's see you get some of the stuff he gets us on your own! If it weren't for him, you would get no _steak_."

"How is he _'sleazy'?"_ asked the bluenette, resting his chin in his palm.

"He smells like _death."_ replied Amelie. " _Literal death_."

"Well, he's a _vampire_ , isn't he?" asked Charlotte.

"It still isn't right." The werewolf was odd. She was suspicious of Charlie, whom the girls apparently knew fairly well, and trusted the demonic duo, who she had only known for a few hours. She did so by smell, of all things. Perhaps it is just something that only a werewolf could understand.

Be that as it may, the duo decided that this "Charlie" fellow could be of use to them. Through their usual silent communication, the pair agreed to finally lay all of their cards out on the table. They may be more willing to cooperate if they are aware of the severity of the situation they are in.

"I'd like to meet him." said Ciel finally. "I wonder if he knows anything about _the Queen's Guard-dog?"_ he joked to Alois with a smirk. In response, the girls tilted their heads in confusion.

"The _what?"_ asked the vampire. For some reason the question annoyed Ciel.

"It's my nickname." the bluenette said, masking his growing irritation with the situation. "I'm one of England's supernatural agents who works towards the welfare of the people. _Solving disturbing cases and putting criminals to justice is what I do best."_

Charlotte nearly choked on her own spit, while Amelie remained stoic as ever. She almost seemed _relieved_ in a way, if you can believe that. Even if you couldn't see it on her face, she just seemed a bit more relaxed than she was a few moments ago. Perhaps she was a bit suspicious of the duo after all.

"You're a _what?!_ Are you _serious!?"_ the vampiress asked after recovering from her shock. "Do those even _exist?!"_

 _"Of course_ it is. Europe is _crawling_ with supernatural activity. Why wouldn't we have a defense against it?" the Phantomhive boy answered.

"Wait, don't tell me the reason why you brought us here in the first place was because you thought we were _suspicious!"_ Now the girl seemed angry.

"You just happened to be on the path that the latest victim disappeared on. We figured that you might know something, or know someone who _does_. It was nothing _personal."_

"We're just trying to do our job." said Alois. "We didn't mean any offense or harm."

"How can we trust you now?" the vampire demanded, standing up. "For all we know, we could be walking right into a tra-"

" _Night time."_ interrupted Amelie. " _He's only awake at night. We'll take you then_." She looked at the vampire for a moment, using communication similar to that of the Earls. Finally, Charlotte relaxed a bit and sat back down."

"Sorry..." she said.

"No harm done." said the bluenette. "Shall we wait 'til nightfall, then?" The werewolf nodded in response.

"What should we do until then?" asked the blonde boy seated to the bluenette's right. Amelie literally jumped at the question.

She jumped to the other side of the table and slapped Alois on the back, shouting: " _Tag! You're it!"_ and running away. Quickly, the two others in the room stood up and took evasive action as well, leaving the blonde lad to register what had just happened.

" _What?_ Wait... _**HEY!"**_ Then he, too, took off running in one of the directions that the others had went in.


	138. The Smell of Death

Night fell over the capital city, and the usually bustling metropolis simmered down a bit as most of it's citizens were fast asleep, safely in their beds. From the ground, the sky seemed pitch-black without a single star from the light radiating from the many buildings, but the people walking the streets at night were too busy to look up. They were all walking about on the many streets and sidewalks on their way to they're preferred club or bar if they weren't simply on their way home from work.

But this was not the part of the city that the group ventured to. No, the part of town they journeyed to was run-down, with many of the buildings either condemned or abandoned. This wasn't the "bad part of town" that the bluenette was used to. He had been there many times for work, but this place was new. It was desolate, almost. It was dead. The remaining humans here seemed to have long since given up hope for a better tomorrow, along with their hopes and dreams of bigger and better things. This place was their everything now. No one would ever try to claw their way out of here since they simly had lost the capacity.

The other few conscious beings who treaded the ground weren't dead emotionally, but in a literal sense, yet they walk the ground regardless. The boys could sense them in every direction as they drove up to their destination. Part of the Phantomhive boy was _glad_ that they had chosen to bring Sebastian along.

They rode up to a desolate building that looked just like all of the others, but with a different number on the door. Charlotte went first, climbing the steps before stopping on the stoop and ringing the bell. She glanced back at the others again, before the door opened, and from behind it appeared a very odd-looking man.

He was pale, with dark circles around his garnet-coloured eyes, and had an angled jaw and only slightly pointed ears. The man had dark hair the was slicked back, out of his face, but spiked outwards toward the back. It made Alois think of a _hedgehog,_ somehow. The man was drearily dressed, with an off-white dress shirt underneath a grey sweater, and wore ordinary blue jeans. From the aura that he appeared to be emitting, he obviously was a vampire. This was _Charlie_ , the man who the group had gone to see. At first he looked to be somewhat indifferent, but then his eyes focused on the girl who stood in front of him and it switched to surprise.

" _Charlotte?"_ he said questioningly, raising an eyebrow.

"H-hello." she said hesitantly, but in a cheerful tone, all the same. The wolf-girl behind her frowned and crossed her arms, giving off an almost inaudible grow. Had the two demon-boys not been standing next to her, they wouldn't have heard it.

`"What are you doing here?" he asked, motioning for the group to come inside.

"Uh, well, _these two blokes wanted to talk to you."_ she said. "I just showed them the way." Charlie turned to look at the two boys questioningly. His face contorted in a way that couldn't be read before smiling finally. They couldn't help but notice that his smile was somewhat _sad_ -looking.

"Well, I never thought I'd ever get to meet the _Queen's Guard-dog_ face-to-face." he said. Now the bluenette was severely confused. How does this man know of him when Charlotte doesn't?

"You know me?" asked Ciel, arching an eyebrow. The man chuckled as he lead the group into the living room. It was dreary as well, with only a few candles lit for light, casting shadows that danced along the walls. The room smelled muggy, but wasn't unbearable, unless of course, you ask the wolf-girl, who nearly gagged. She pulled up the collar of her hoodie and pulled it over her mouth and nose in order to mask the scent a bit.

"Of course I know of you." replied Charlie. "I know nearly everything there is to know about the darkness of this city. From the sounds of things, you've been pretty busy!" He sat down in a large armchair in the corner of the room, and looked up at the eye-patched lad. "I hear you've killed an angel, and a demon. Speaking of which, is this the _demon boy_ I've been hearing so much about lately? The one you summoned?"

"How exactly do you know all of this?" the bluenette asked, stepping in front of the blonde lad. He didn't like this man knowing so much.

"It's nothing special, really. I have a _network._ I help supernaturals in need, and they provide me with their most interesting stories. You've got _quite_ the reputation, 'demon master'. You've got people _scared."_

"As long as they _stay out of my way, they're safe_. I don't really care about my reputation in _your_ world. I'm more interested in what crosses over into _mine_."

"Whatever do you mean?"

"I'm certain you _know_ exactly what I mean. Tell me, has anyone been acting _strangely_ lately?" the boy asked. He emitted a dark aura that overpowered the others in the room, aside from the blonde, who was at this point used to the other boy's unusual atmosphere.

For a creature of darkness, he was ever-so invested in the realm of sunlight; the realm of humans. He was known to those of the supernatural culture of London as a sort of "boogeyman" that played by the oppressive humans rules. He was a trained dog of the humans, but at the same time, he was the master himself, having two demons at his side to do his bidding. Ciel Phantomhive was a human who wasn't like ordinary humans, in both body and in _mind_ , who could tame demons and kill the divine. It was also because of those very same facts that he wasn't like the people of the dark either, with his human ethics, and and behaviours that weren't feasible to his own kind. The boy could walk among humans without fear, and do the same with demons. He wasn't on anyone's side but his own, playing by his own rules to support his own interests. He wasn't a true human, or a true devil. _He wasn't the day, or the night._

That frightened the people who knew of him. Admittedly, it frightened the man more than he was willing to show. He answered the lad while maintaining the facade of confidence. " _'Strangely'?"_ he echoed. "How? Do you mean if they have been acting like a murder suspect? I can't say that I have." His eyes kept wandering to Charlotte as he spoke, causing the girl to shiver a bit. She didn't like the way he looked at her. Amelie growled at the man as he continued to speak. "What makes you think that the suspect is of a _supernatural_ sort?"

"In all honesty _, it's just a hunch."_ replied the bluenette. "It would be difficult for a human being to be able to perform a kidnapping so _cleanly."_

The boy's train of thought was interrupted when he felt a slight tugging at his sleeve. The wolf-girl looked as though she was going to vomit if they stayed there much longer, and was silently hoping that they would be able to leave soon. He looked over at the blonde boy, who had a concerned look on his face as he stared at the man.

There was something that the blonde didn't like about the man, either. He didn't know if it was his air, or if it was the way he looked, or the fact that he was an adult male, but there was something he simply _did not like_ about Charlie. His gut was telling him that there was something off about the man, and he wanted nothing to do with him. Finally, the bluenette had to concede. With a sigh, he said:

"If that's all there is to say, then I suppose we'll be taking our leave, then. Thank you so much for your time."

"Not a problem." replied the man with a smile. It faded as the group turned to head out the door. He stood up from his seat and spoke again. "Just a moment. _Could I have just one last word with you Charlotte?"_

The girl froze for a moment, before turning to face the man. She was about to walk over to him, when she felt a tug at her sleeve. _It was Amelie_ , her face changed from her usual bored expression, to that of concern; _legitimate concern_. The taller girl leaned down to get at eye level with the werewolf.

"It'll be okay, _Lielie._ It's _just_ Charlie." she said to the girl before standing up straight again and looking towards the demonic duo. "If I'm not out within a few minutes, you all can head back to the mansion, and I'll catch up. I know the way." Her words did nothing to remove the other girl's expression, but made it soften a bit. While she didn't trust Charlie, she trusted Charlotte with all of her heart, therefore she had to believe that the girl was right.

"Alright. If the sun comes up, just give us a call, and we'll come get you." said the bluenette.

"It would be a shame if you melted!" joked Alois before heading out the door behind the bluenette. With one last glance at the vampiress, Amelie left as well, her uneasiness, apparent. The engine of the car parked outside sounded, roaring to life, then the the car drove off, leaving the two vampires alone, in silence.

"I never thought I would see you again, Charlotte." the man began. His eyes were soft now. The edge they had before was now gone.

"I never thought I'd come back." the girl replied. She fidgeted where she stood, looking at the floor. The _awkwardness_ was _unbearable._

"You're still as _beautiful_ as the day I met you." Charlie said. Walking over to the girl and placing a hand on her cheek. "You were just _nineteen_ then. I remember it all so well."

" _What do you want to talk about, Charlie?"_ Charlotte asked, stepping out his grasp.

"'Charlie'?" asked the man. "What happened to _'master'?"_

The vampiress folded her arms defiantly. _She wasn't the weak, human girl that he had ushered into this world of darkness any longer_. "People change." she said.

"But I haven't. _I also haven't forgotten the way I feel about you."_

Charlotte shifted her weight onto one foot. "Is this all you wanted to say? _I'm leaving then."_ she said as she turned to leave. She didn't need Charlie anymore. She knew what was going on in the world now. She didn't need to rely on him.

She was about to reach for the doorknob, when a mist came floating past her, hovering just before her gaze. It was black, and smelled like death. The mist stayed there for a while before starting to take the shape of a man, solidifying in the air. The mist was Charlie, and Charlie was the mist. He stood in front of her, blocking her path.

"Don't tell me you _seriously_ only came here just so those boys could talk to me." he said, his tone was stern. "Charlotte..."

"Well, I certainly didn't come here for _you."_ the girl replied. "Look, I know, you have... _feelings_ for me, but... I just _can't_ return them." She moved again towards the exit, only to have the other vampire move as well and block her path.

"Why not?" he asked, taking a step forward. "Is there _someone else? Is it one of those boys?"_

Charlotte began to take a few steps back. "Well, _yes_ , but it's not one of those two. That's only a _small part of 'why'_ , though..."

"Then why!? _Who is it?!"_ The man's eyes glowed red, and he snarled. He wasn't like this before. He had _never_ gotten angry like this. He was scaring the girl. He could see it on her face, yet that didn't make his rage die down. Charlie grabbed the collar of her shirt, forcing her to stay still. "If _you_ don't tell me, _your blood_ will!"

" _Amelie!"_ she shouted, much to the older vampire's surprise. His grip loosened for a moment as he stared at Charlotte in shock.

 _"What?"_ he asked simply.

"I-it's... _Amelie..."_ she answered, both frightened and embarrassed. "That's why I just _can't,_ Charlie... It's not you, it's just _me_..."

"You mean... All of this time, _you were_..." Charlotte nodded in response.

Silence loomed over them for a moment. What more was there to say? _Nothing._ There was nothing they _could_ say. Thus, they simply stood in silence for what felt like an eternity. Finally, Charlie simply _snapped._ His shocked face warped into an enraged one, and his fingers found themselves around the girl's throat. He picked her up and then slammed her on the ground, causing the floorboards to give away.

Down they fell, below the floor, and into the basement of the old rickety house. they landed in darkness, lit only by the light of the candles lit in the room above them. Neither of them needed light to see. In the darkness, they can see even clearer than in the day, so everything was visible to them. The smell of death was even stronger than it was up there, as they discovered the source. Charlotte looked around the large room, and was instantly terrified. _Moving, rotting corpses that were once human beings_ were as far as the eye could see. _She was surrounded by_ _ **ghouls.**_

" _STOP THE CAR!"_ shouted Amelie suddenly just a little ways down the street. She opened the window and sniffed the air, much to the demon's confusion.

"What the fuck are you _doing?!"_ demanded Alois, rubbing his head after hitting the back of the passenger-seat.

"What is it?" asked Ciel, hoping that the wolf-girl had found something useful.

" _Follow me."_ she said, unbuckling her seat-belt and opening the car door. The other's had to do the same quickly, before they lost her. The speed of a werewolf, even in human form, is certainly nothing to sneeze at.

Down the street, the wolf-girl and the three demons nearly flew, towards the site were Amelie was leading them. She smelled it in the air now. She smelled _death._ The same stench that had nearly caused her to vomit at the man's house was now out in the _air._ Something had happened to release the Oder, and that mean's that something had happened to Charlotte, _she just knew it._ As they got closer, the scent got stronger, so strong, in fact, that the other's could now smell it as well.

_The smell of death._


	139. Of Neither The Day or The Night

As they approached, the demons began to smell what the werewolf was smelling; _rotting corpses._ The closer they got, the stronger the scent became, and then they started to her the sounds of the creatures groaning as air somehow managed to escape their decaying lungs. It sounded dreadful. It _smelled_ dreadful. They pressed on, regardless, arriving back at the old run-down building that they had arrived at earlier.

Amelie grabbed the doorknob, twisting it, but it would not open. She pushed and she pulled, gritting her teeth together, but the barrier simply would not budge.

"Amelie, _it's locked!"_ said the bluenette as he, Alois, and Sebastian finally caught up with the girl. "We'll have to find another way in!"

She was not having it. She backed away from the door before charging at it, striking the wooden wall with her cranium. She managed to cause the door to crack, but didn't get the results she desired, so she backed up again.

"This bitch is bloody _mental!"_ said Alois. Just _watching_ her hit her head against that door made the lad's head hurt.

"Sebastian, _open it."_ ordered the bluenette. Amelie's plan was working, but at the moment, she lacked the muscle. Without a single word, the man obliged, ramming the door with his shoulder, and stopping himself with his foot as the door flew across the room. The werewolf was inside before he was, charging forward and stopping just short of the massive hole in the floor.

She put her hand over her face. The smell was absolutely nauseating. It reached upwards and fanned outwards, filling the room with the muggy smell of decay. The ghouls could be heard below, and their glowing eyes could be seen looking upward at the posse. Amelie summoned her voice, and threw it out into the air, between her coughs.

" _Charlotte!"_ she called.

" _Amelie!"_ the vampiress shouted back. " _I'm down here!"_ Charlotte was below them, in the center of all of the moving corpses. They simply ignored her, and focused on the others, clumsy extending there rotten, greenish, purplish, limbs towards them. Their mouths were gaping, revealing their yellowing teeth, as they craved for the flesh of the living. Alois was disgusted with the fact that somewhere, his own, _original body_ was rotting somewhere, six-feet underground in a similar state. He covered his mouth with his hand and resisted the urge to vomit.

Ciel's visible eye widened as he looked at the hugry faces of the deceased. He recognized those faces from somewhere. It took him a moment, but occasionally, he remembered.

"Those are the _missing people!"_ he shouted. "They've been turned into _ghouls!"_

"What do we do?" asked the blonde. He forced his eyes away from the horde of dead to look at the bluenette, which helped him calm down a bit.

These people were dead. There was no saving them. Even if Ciel _wanted_ to, he couldn't resurrect them like he did with Alois. The only reason Alois was alive, was because he was able to use the ring that had at one time, contained his soul to establish a link to his essence in order to bring it back. The likelihood that one of these people had something that they could link to was naught. They were gone, and they could never come back. It was for this reason that the Guard-dog didn't hesitate in the slightest when making his decision.

 _"Destroy them."_ he said. "Both of you! Exterminate the ghouls and _take Charlie down!"_

" _Yes, my lord_." said the man clad in black, giving a slight bow.

 _"Yes, my master."_ said the blonde as he readied himself for battle.

_**"Oui, mon seigneur."** _

" _Since when do you work for him?!"_ demanded the blonde, to which the wolf-girl simply replied:

"I felt _left-out_." before jumping down into the pit, her red baseball cap falling off as she did. She was followed by the demons, all four of them landing in the center of the ghouls. There was only a few feet between them, and the gnashing teeth of the living-dead.

"I was afraid you'd find out this way." said Charlie, on one side of the room. "I was going to _take you down anyway_ , Guard-dog, so I guess it's just as well."

"What could you possibly hope to accomplish by filling a basement full of ghouls?" asked the bluenette, furrowing his brow.

"I'm glad you asked. You see, we of the world of darkness have been _oppressed and forced into hiding by humanity for centuries_ , and I think it's high-time to _take back_ the world for ourselves! There is but one thing standing in my way..." said the vampire. He pointed a finger at the lad accusingly. "... _You."_ he continued. "You are the single person who is capable of stopping me, _'Demon Master'._ You, who abuse your powers of darkness by _protecting_ the world of light are an _eyesore!"_

"You sure like to _talk_ a lot, doncha?" sounded a voice. The demon's and both of the vampires in the room turned to Amelie, of all people. She frowned before opening her mouth to speak. "Honestly, I don't know how someone can be such a chatterbox! You seriously think these _cheap bags of meat_ will stand a chance against _him?_ Your _brain_ must be just as _pathetic_ as _you_ are! You're just a sad excuse for a vampire with nothing! No home, no friends, no _lover's heart_ , or even _your own_ ; you expect to take down someone who retains humanity while being still being able to tread inside the world of darkness? You can't kill him! He isn't a weak little lap-dog! _He is neither the day, or the night!"_

Everyone's jaw nearly dropped to the floor at the sudden talkative nature of the girl. Charlotte _did_ say the girl knew _perfect English_. They just hadn't expected her to be _that_ good with her speech.

Amelie smiled a haughty, defiant smile; the first one the lad's had seen grace her face. She crouched down low as though she was about to pounce. What appeared to be white wisps of energy seemed to surround her body as she readied herself to attack.

"I have always firmly believed that _'actions speak louder than words'_ , and right now, I'm gonna _kick your ass."_ With that, she charged forward, simply running through the ghouls at such a speed, that their bodies couldn't react fast enough to try and stop her. The energy around her made her look like slow-moving lightning. She made a beeline straight toward Charlie, leaving the demons to fend for themselves.

" _Crazy bitch!"_ shouted the blonde lad after her.

 _"Alois!"_ the bluenette said in a stern tone.

"What? She's a _female dog_ , isn't she?" the palm of the bluenette's hand made acquaintance with his forehead at the blonde's inappropriately-timed joke. Now was not the time for jokes; now was the time for _exterminating ghouls_.

The trio readied themselves as the first few ghouls shuffled foreward, groaning as their failing muscles protested against it, being the vitims of _rigor mortis_ that they were. Ciel was sure to put on a pair of black gloves before entering the brawl, just as Sebastian already had a pair of white. Alois was just going to have to manage, as things were going to get really messy.

"Remember: aim for the head or the heart. _Striking anywhere else won't stop them_." reminded Sebastian.

" _Right!"_ the boys said simultaneously. Ciel made the first strike against a foe, punching the creature in front of him in the head with all of his might.

Bones shattered from the impact, and skin tore as the bluenette's fist made first contact with the foul-smelling creature. Blood and brain tissue now stuck to his gloves and splattered on his clothes. After the first one fell, he readied himself to strike another, while Sebastian followed suit.

Alois, however, was a bit _hesitant._ He had never killed something with his bare hands before. In fact, the times when he fought, someone else always did the actual killing. Even in the cases of Maxwell Goddard, the angel, and August Remy, the demon, he had _fough_ t, but he didn't _kill_. After what seemed like an inappropriately large amount of inner-turmoil at killing zombies of all things, he psyched himself into it. He dug his feet into the ground before taking off, throwing punches and killing what was already dead at the side of his comrade's.

The sounds coming from that basement were horrible. The cracking of skulls and the pitter-patter of foul-smelling blood-droplets hitting the ground could be heard even above ground. Sometimes it wasn't even a " _pitter-patter_ ", as some hits proved to be more gruesome than others, causing the liquid to _splash_ against the walls and floor, painting them a deep-crimson. You could hear the gut-wrenching sounds of tissue falling to the earth, followed by the thud of an incapacitated body.

It was nearly a one-sided battle as the demons fanned out, covering more ground. They hit ghoul after ghoul, with fabric sticking to their skin with the red water that escaped the bodies. Gruesome, indeed, but necessary. The Phantomhive boy had his pistol, fully loaded with anti-freak bullets, but he was going to need them for the _final-boss_. He knew that it would take more than fists, fangs, or claws, in order to kill a _vampire_ , and he wasn't going to waste such precious resources on mere small-fry. He looked over to the battle between their main foe and the wolf-girl, watching for a moment as she kept the man busy, and unable to escape.

Amelie, admittedly, missed the man most of the time, even with her absurd speed. Charlie would be able to time it right, and become a mist before she could strike him, causing her fist to go right through him; the effect of her arm slicing through the air would make the black mist shape around it, almost as though it was moving out of the way on it's own accord. None of the man's blows landed upon the girl, however. When he would make an attempt to strike, he would only hit air. They were neither loosing, or gaining ground in that section of the battle.

What the bluenette was about to do next wasn't exactly gentlemanly, or "fair", but Ciel Phantomhive never played "fair". He reached behind him, grasping onto the handle of the _Zamiel_ pistol that he kept tucked away and held it out, brandishing the weapon. He knew he would have to be fast, and his aim would have to be true, as to not hit the werewolf by mistake. It would be now or never while the man was distracted, or else he would know what was coming and simply turn into that vile, black mist again.

 _"Amelie! Move!"_ he shouted before pulling the trigger.

The gunshot echoed throughout the building and the area in it's immediate vicinity, sounding much like thunder. For a few seconds after that, it was completely silent. In the basement of that house, _someone was dying_.

Charlie stood with his eyes wide for a moment. He looked straight ahead with his fist raised to strike, but there was no one standing in front of him. He looked to the side of him to see his opponent with her usual bored expression on her face.

He coughed, and the same red substance that stained his shirt was expelled from his mouth as he fell to his knees. The pain from his joints hitting the hard floor didn't even register in his mind at the moment do to the painful sensation in his chest overpowering it. He looked to Charlotte one last time.

"You know..." he began, his voice weak. "...I really _did_ love you, Charlotte... Promise me you'll be _happy_ , okay?" he coughed again, blood splattering on the floor again.

"I _will_..." she said back. "... _master_."

The man smiled one last time before the last of his strength was gone, and he finally feel to the floor. The remaining vampire looked around the room at the pile of dead bodies, and at the only standing combatants. The ghouls were dead, only the demons and werewolf remained.

Casually, Ciel walked over to her former master's body, and shot it again _, this time in the head_. It was cold in the manner with which he made sure the man was truly dead, but it was entirely necessary. The bluenette wasn't entirely sure he had hit Charlie's heart, and had he not, there was a chance that the man could survive, and repeat his offenses. Charlotte winced at the sound of the second gunshot, closing her eyes as she did so she wouldn't she the body react to the force of the bullet.

"He's dead." the boy said plainly. He sighed. "Let's go home. _I'm tired."_

"I need a _shower."_ said the blonde. "...In the _worst_ way."

"I suppose trying to remove these stains will prove fruitless." said the butler, examining the damage to the clothes of his, and the lads. "Such a _waste_."

Charlotte was a bit shocked in the lack of reaction from the group. They had just massacred a whole slew of ghouls, and murdered a major figure in the dark realm of London, and they acted as though it was nothing but a simple _chore_. The blonde had claimed that it was _Amelie_ who was " _crazy",_ but these demons- _They were truly the frightening ones here_. So this was the famous " _Queen's Guard-dog",_ the " _Demon Master"_ and his minions? They were obviously a force to be reckoned with. Charlotte's thoughts were interrupted by a hand intertwining with hers. She looked down to see the much shorter wolf girl, staring at her intently. The vampire smiled.

_"See? I told you everything would be alright."_


	140. What To Do With You Two?

The sun came up, it's gentle rays peeking over the horizon in a marvelous spectrum of reds to yellows, yet no one looked saw it. It illuminated the gardens behind a certain manor on the edge of London, casting shadows and marking the dawn of a new day, yet no one saw this. No one from the large estate, for the majority of them were sleeping with the curtains on their windows fastened closed so that the light wouldn't enter.

A certain pair of boys were a good example of this, but they, unlike the other sleeping member of the household, had their arms and legs tangled together as each simply enjoyed the warmth that the other was emitting as they both slept peacefully. The night before, they had simply planned on going to bed after a long night of solving cases while simultaneously killing ghouls and vampires, but then things got a little... _heated._ They were in the bluenette's room, with their clothes scattered on the floor once again. _I will leave the details up to your imagination._

Soundly, the lad's rested just like this, until a certain werewolf came bursting into the room, door flying open, and she flicked on the lights. Of course this startled the boys- no, "startled" is a bit of an _understatement_ of what that did to them. They shot up suddenly to see what was happening, their rest being disturbed. Their eyes were wide with fright before they narrowed in a glare, brow furrowed, at the invader. Amelie simply stood there as though nothing was the matter in the slightest.

 _"It's time to get up."_ she said plainly, meeting the boys' gaze. Even though she didn't look it, she was struggling to contain her laughter at the situation.

"Would it _kill_ you to bloody _knock?!"_ demanded the blonde, pausing to allow his own sight process in his mind for a moment. " _Is that my maid dress!?"_

Yes, the girl was wearing the dress that the boy was supposed to wear during Warwick's Halloween Festival. He could've sworn he put that in the very back of his closet. She was shorter than the lad by several inches, and slightly more dainty, so it didn't quite fit her correctly, but the bodice made it so it sat where it was supposed to sit, and _covered what it was supposed to cover._

" _My_ clothes got dirty." she said plainly. She grasped the edges of the skirt, lifting it slightly. " _You have good taste."_ she added with a small snort.

"You can't just go through people's closets!" the blonde boy shouted. He made an attempt to get out of bed in order to teach the girl a lesson, but he was stopped by a hand on his bare shoulder. He turned to see the Phantomhive boy looking at him in a warning sort of manner.

"Alois..." he began "...you're _naked."_

The blonde had forgotten his current status of dress, and nearly sprang forth from the covers, brandishing his _manly-terra-incognito_ to the world. After rediscovering his state of affairs, with a blush, the blonde covered himself back up with the blankets once more and hid. The werewolf's expression didn't change once, refusing to give even the slightest hint of a reaction.

" _Get up."_ she said.

"No!" replied the muffled voice of the blonde lad. Amelie knew Alois wasn't going to budge had she only resorted to using her voice, so she decided to use action. She walked over to the edge of the bed, and put her hands over the blanket, getting a good grip and letting out a growl. The bluenette's eyes widened at what she was about to do.

"Wait, _don't you dare!"_ he ordered. He, too, was concealed by the the cloth, and didn't wish to be exposed just as much as the blonde did. He gripped the blanket as well, so she wouldn't be able to remove the barrier so easily. "We'll get up, but you have to _leave!"_

" _Tch_." the wolf-girl clicked her tongue.

Ciel wasn't sure if she was annoyed, disappointed, or both. Reluctantly, she let go of the fabric and backed away before heading for the door. She stopped just short of leaving to point at her eyes before pointing at the lad's as if to say, "I'm watching you". After that strange exchange, she simply left, closing the door behind her. When the sound of the door closing was heard, Alois came out from his hiding place and looked at the bluenette boy.

"What. The. Fuck?!" he said. "What is she even still _doing_ here!?"

"I have absolutely _no_ idea..." the bluenette replied. "I could've _sworn I locked_ that door, though."

"Great. There is a _cock-blocking, lesbian-lolita-werewolf_ that can _**pick locks**_ in our house. How exactly does one deal with this? It's not like _Animal Control_ can help us!"

"Calm down. I'm sure they're just staying for as long as they can for the simple fact that _it is a place to stay._ " the bluenette replied. The blonde had to admit, when he looked at it from that angle, it made a hell of a lot of sense. It was a place to stay, and a pretty nice one, at that.

"I'll see what I do with them, and perhaps find them somewhere _else_ to stay." Ciel added when he saw the pout on the blonde's face.

" _Fiiiiiiiiiine."_ the blonde whined. "You're just glad that there's finally _someone shorter than you_ around, aren't you?"

"Shut up." the bluenette said. He was taller than the wolf-girl by only two inches, and shorter than the blonde by three. It wasn't much, but it was enough to be noticeable, especially to the bluenette. Whenever he wanted to talk to Alois while standing, he would have to look up at his face, which annoyed him to immensely.

He got out of bed, shortly followed by the blonde, and they got dressed. They ignored the girl seated just opposite of the door in the hallway. She was staring daggers at the door, but her expression changed to it's usual one as she saw the pair.

Quickly, she stood up and brushed off the dress that she "liberated" from the blonde's closet, straightening it out a bit. Amelie began to jog up to them, but was stopped in her tracks when the blonde turned around to face her. He stood on one leg, and put his arms up in the standard martial-arts pose.

" _Behold, the Crane!"_ He shouted at the girl with a completely serious face. Ciel turned to see what sort of hijinks the blonde was up to now. Amelie, however, responded by making her own strong stance.

" _Dragon-style!"_ she shouted back.

Alois changed to a different pose. " _Monkey-style!"_

_"Tiger!"_

_"Snake!"_

The bluenette watched the two for a moment or so before coming to the conclusion that they were simply trying to _out-weird_ each other. He resumed walking away as the other demon and the werewolf had their _outlandish duel_. As he walked to his office and opened the door, he listened to the sounds of fair-haired pair making kung-fu sound effects. Ciel simply entered the room and shut the door behind him, which only seemed to muffle the _xiao-lin wannabes._

It died down after a few minutes, and the Phantomhive boy was finally able to remember what his next course of action was to be. He sat behind his desk and picked up the phone, summoning _every last bit of courage he had_ before dialing. What he was about to do went against his pride, his morals, and values. Ciel Phantomhive was about to _ask for help_ , but not from just anyone. No, he was going to ask the _most frightening woman he has ever known_ for help _; Sir Integra Fairbrook Wingates Hellsing._

He placed the device against his ear, and listened to the dial tone as he waited. It seemed like a much longer wait than it was, but finally, he heard the clicking sound of the phone on the other end being picked up off of the receiver. He braced himself.

" _Hello?"_ answered the voice on the other end. He nearly gave a sigh of relief when it wasn't the Hellsing woman who greeted him.

" _Seras?"_ he asked. "Is Hellsing _out_ or something?"

"Uhm, no. She just is a bit troubled at the moment." the blonde draculina on the other end replied. "A bunch of dead ghouls was found along with the vampire who created them late last night. She's busy trying to figure out the cause at the moment."

There was a pause before the boy spoke again. _"I have the answer to that..."_ he said.

"Huh? Uh, okay. I'll go tell her then, if you'll wait just one moment."

"Thank you, miss Victoria." Then, Ciel waited as the H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. agent went and retrieved her master. He could hear muffled voices on the other end, obviously belonging to Seras and her master, but he couldn't quite make out the words. He did however, hear the authoritative woman shout a quick "what?!" before he heard the sound of the phone being passed over into her hands.

Sir Hellsing didn't offer a greeting. She, as always, went straight to the point. " _What. Did. You. Do. Phantomhive?"_ she articulated. Her irritation was prominent, and actually intimidated the lad for a moment. He, however, quickly composed himself before speaking.

" _Hello to you, too, Hellsing."_ he said. "In regards to the mysteirious appearance of _dead ghouls,_ I would like to inform you that it was but a _mere coincedence_ that I am involved."

"Just _answer the question,_ demon."

Sir Hellsing was a powerful woman. She ran her orginization with charisma and patriotism, and does not tolerate failure, _especially her own_. The Phantomhive boy could somehow relate to her in this sort of sense. The woman was proud, strong, and commanding in her personality, and usually has a sort of collected attitude, much like himself. Seras was right, they _were_ similar. It was perhaps for this reason that he had difficulty getting along with her. They were, in a sense _, too similar_. He simply didn't quite know how to deal with someone like this, because it was he who was usually the only one of this particular nature. He cleared his throat before answering.

"I was merely working on _a case of my own_." He sometimes wished he had the smooth-talking ability that Alois had so he could weasel his way out of situations like these. "It happened to lead me to the lair of that particular vampire, and to the discovery that he had been _kidnapping human beings and turning them into ghouls_. We positively identified the victims at the scene."

The was a pause before the woman spoke again. It made the bluenette somewhat nervous, waiting for her answer. "Is there anything _else_ that I should know?" she asked.

"Well, that is _precisely_ why I called." Ciel replied. "You see, the ones who lead us there were two supernatural beings, _a vampire, and a werewolf_. Recently, they've been staying at my residence because they have nowhere else to go..."

 _"Are you asking me if I can take them off your hands?"_ Integra interrupted.

"In all honesty, _yes_." the boy said with a sigh. "They're perfectly _harmless,_ I assure you. In fact, they're _idiots_. The kind of idiots who will accidentally _destroy my home with their incompetence."_

"You aren't doing well to _sell them_ , you know." Integra paused. Ciel could hear the flick of her lighter as she lit up a cigar. Why the woman lit up so many cigars, he would never know. He didn't linger on this thought long, as she continued.

"What makes you think _I_ want them over _here?"_ she asked.

The Phantomhive boy grit his teeth. He needed to mentally prepare himself. He knew what he _needed_ to say, but whether or not the lad's _nearly obscene amount of pride_ would _allow_ him to do so or not was an _entirely different story_. He opened his mouth to speak, but no sound came out at first, so he had to force out the words.

"If... If _anyone_ can whip them into shape..." he began. "...It's _you, Sir Integra_. I'm simply _no good_ at that sort of thing..." It was strange how speaking a few words could make the lad feel so awful. He let out a breath as the last one exited his mouth and entered the speaker, and he waited for the woman's response. He expected much taunting, but oddly, it never came.

" _Alright."_ she said, much to the boy's surprise. "But on one condition: _You must let them serve at your residence for one full month._ I don't want two _completely_ worthless staff-members. _Teach them the basics_ , and I'll see what I can do."

 _He knew it_. He _knew_ there was a catch. _Sir Integra Fairbrook Wingates Hellsing_ never surrendered so easily, if _at all_. Still, he had no choice. It was this, or have to put up with those two for God knows how long. He could do this, and he knew it. After all, he had survived about three years with his _previous servants,_ all of which were almost completely incompetent in their duties.

"It's a deal." he said finally. "I can live with that, but are you sure that there's nothing else that you need to know about them?" he asked, thinking how it was odd to want to hire someone you knew nothing about.

"I don't know _, is there?"_ asked Integra with a tine resembling that of a rather cross teacher.

" _They're a lesbian couple."_ he said, immediately hanging the phone up afterwards. He didn't even give her time to respond, and just let that linger in her thoughts for bit, and now incapable of saying "no". The thought of the look on that woman's face somehow _tickled_ him. He smirked to himself at his actions. He was starting to notice himself developing these odd, moments of whimsy lately. He wasn't sure if he liked it, or if it unsettled him. He jumped when Alois came bursting into the room while being chased by the wolf-girl while she was growling and howling at him.

"She's crazy! She's too weird! _Too weird, Ciel!"_ shouted the blonde as he hid behind the bluenette.

"Exterminate! _Ex-ter-min-ate!"_ shouted Amelie. She had her hands out like claws and snarled in a manner that wasn't threatening at all, but only _comical_. With a sigh, the bluenette opened his mouth to confront the girl.

"Amelie," he said. "How would you and Charlotte like both a _job, and a place to stay?"_

 _"What?!"_ the blonde interjected, only to be hushed by the Phantomhive boy. The silver-haired lass, however, nearly _sparkled_ (in a figurative sort of sense) upon hearing the question. He had piqued her interest.

"I have an acquaintance who deals with the paranormal, and employs supernatural beings such as you and Charlotte to do the job of protecting Britain from otherworldly threats. She has offered you both of those things." Said Ciel. He noticed her attention fading as he mentioned that they wouldn't be staying at his residence, but her then added. "She's much more capable of providing for each of you individual needs than I am. Being a non-human creature of the night becomes _much easier_ when you have an entire organization to provide for you."

Amelie's face lit up again. That made all of their problems seem to disappear. The girls wouldn't be starving all of the time, would have schedules that would be suited to their own sleep-schedules, and she wouldn't have to worry so much about _full-moons._ While she was fully aware of what she was doing, and completely in control of her actions during the full-moon, it was really bothersome to travel on a full-moon safely, as they would be easily spotted in a crowd. With Charlotte being nocturnal, they would often have to travel at night, and it was a pain to have to deal with transforming against her will in public places. While she would switch between forms whenever she pleased at any other time, it was on a full-moon that she lost that ability. _Hiding a giant wolf-monster in a large city without a primary base of operations is much harder than one would think_.

"But there's a catch." the boy continued. "She says that if you can serve me for one month, the _job is yours."_ The wolf-girl saluted in response.

"Does that mean she needs my maid uniform?" asked the blonde.

"It's not like _you_ need it." said the bluenette.

" _You know you think it's hot."_

" _Shut up..."_


	141. Oddly Appropriate Music

" _No!"_ declared the vampire, who had just woken up.

It was evening at the Phantomhive estate. All signs of the sun that had shone so enthusiastically before were now gone, and replaced with the gentle glow of the moon as the single, solitary beacon through the now dark sky. Now that the nocturnal guest was now awake, the quartet of supernatural beings had an appointment with someone that you've already been well-acquainted with. Alas, of all times, Charlotte had chosen now to be stubborn.

"Why not?" asked the blonde lad. "It'll be fine. _Kristopherson's gay_ , so it shouldn't be _awkward when he measures you."  
_

"That's not the point." the girl argued. "The point is, that I will _not wear a skirt!_ I don't _care_ if it's part of the _uniform!"_

The head of the house rubbed his temples as he conjured a response. They had to go soon if they wanted to get this done. The pink-loving lad couldn't stay up all night, you see, especially on a Sunday night. If he tried, Monday morning was going to be a night mare for the girl needed a servant's uniform, but she refused to wear a skirt.

"I'm sure Kris can think of _something_." Ciel insisted. He looked up at the vampire, slightly annoyed by the fact that she towered over him. It made menacing people that much more difficult. "We need to _get going_ , though. We don't have all night." Charlotte simply crossed her arms in protest.

"Fine, then. _We have ways of making you cooperate_." said the blonde. _"Amelie! I choose you!"_

With those words, a storm sprang forth. The wolf-girl seemingly came out of nowhere, attacking the other girl. She latched onto her back, wrapping her arms around her neck and her legs around her torso. Charlotte nearly fell over from the assault, and was barely able to stop herself from hitting the ground, shifting her weight and the new weight on her back in order to right herself. The vampiress reached backwards to try and get the girl off, ignoring the laughter of the blonde menace in the room.

"Amelie, get Charlotte and get her in the car. _We're leaving_." said the bluenette on his way out the door. He was followed by Alois, who was still struggling to stifle his laughter.

" _Oui, mon seigneur!"_ the werewolf replied. She let go of the other girl with her feet while maintaining hold on her neck, the sudden imbalance made her fall over backwards, and when Amelie's feet hit the ground, she shifted herself so the vampire would fall on her shoulders. When she was finally apprehended, the wolf-girl raced out the door and to the awaiting vehicle, protesting vampire in tow.

Before long, they were once more outside the Miles household. The building was smaller than the Phantomhive estate, and far more modern in appearance, but didn't lack in style in the slightest. The four walked up to the front door, and knocked. It opened and the faux-blonde stepped into view. He was wearing a pink v-neck T-shirt and a pair of shorts, which was unusually ordinary-looking for the boy. Kristopherson's hair was also noticeably different, as while it was in the same style as before, the brown roots were now becoming more and more visible, as though he hadn't bleached his hair in a while.

 _"Took you long enough."_ he said. It was a normal greeting for the boy. "I was starting to wonder if you'd show up at all!"

"Sorry about that." replied the bluenette. "We had difficulty getting everyone ready. Oh, _this is Charlotte, and Amelie, by the way_."

" _Hey, I'm Kristopherson_." the faux-blonde greeted.

" _Charlotte is my wife!"_ shouted the wolf-girl. No one could quite figure out _why_ she had to say this every time she met someone new, but she _did,_ apparently.

"Right..." answered Kristopherson. He wasn't even remotely sure how to respond to that. He moved out of the way of the entryway, and motioned the others to follow him. "Well, come in, then. Let's get to work."

They walked into he living-room, where there was a semi-familiar face seated on the couch as he patiently waited for the faux-blonde to return. He had short, blonde hair and blue eyes, and was sturdily built, but that is to be expected, since he was a _rugby player_. Yes, the rugby player from _Tamworth_ Academy, _Cameron Gully,_ was seated in Kristopherson's living room, twiddling his thumbs as he waited for the other boy to return. He looked up at the group, and smiled awkwardly at them, and was met with a smile from the blonde menace and the vampire, and a slight nod from the bluenette as greeting. Amelie just seemed to ignore him, and focused on the living room itself instead.

" _This is Cameron_." Krisopherson said finally, introducing the boy. "Cameron, this is Ciel, Alois, Charlotte, and Amelie."

"Hi." the other boy said.

"I have to take measurements on one of these two chicks. I'll be back." replied the boy in pink. The Tamworthian nodded, and the other lad motioned for the supernaturals to follow him to his room, where all of his things were.

The room was just as stylish and modern as the rest of the house, but slightly less tidy. It had rolls of fabric and sketches in the floor in a sort of "organized mess", and the desk was full of clutter as well, but with just enough empty space to work on. It had white walls, with splashes of pink here and there to sort of give small accents, with pink curtains and a pink bedspread and other various pink items scattered throughout the room, like the lamp that was in the corner and even the lad's cell phone that sat on it's charger on the nightstand. The boy sat down in the chair in front of the desk that was against the wall, and spun it around so that he was facing the group.

"You you need a _'servant's uniform'?"_ he asked, quoting what the bluentte had told him over the phone. _"Do you have anything in mind?"_

There was a pause before anyone answered, but finally, being the man-in-charge that he was, Ciel spoke up. "We need a uniform for Charlotte." he began, gesturing towards the vampire. "The problem is, she refuses to wear a skirt of any sort. _Any ideas?"_

Kristopherson thought for a moment as he eyed the girl over. He analyzed the style she had on now, with her grey dress shirt and black vest. From the looks of her, she already looked like a servant of some sort, just a masculine one. With this observation, his analysis was complete. "I could make a _men's uniform_ , but _'girl it up'_ a bit." he said. "How's that?"

Ciel looked to the girl for a moment to see if that worked for her. He honestly didn't care in the slightest, as long as she had on _a_ uniform. The girl nodded in agreement, but her arms remained folded as though she wasn't quite done protesting.

"That sounds fine." said the bluenette, looking back to the faux-blonde.

With that, Kristopherson clapped his hands together, and spun his chair around to face his desk. "Right, then. I'll start measuring." He grabbed the measuring tape out of one of the many piles on his desk, and looked to the group. He hesitated be fore saying what he did next. "Uhm, _don't take this the wrong way_ , but I'm going to need you to disrobe so they can be accurate." The vampire's face went red at the news, while the werewolf's seemed to light up.

"No way! Nobody said I had to get _naked!"_ Charlotte argued.

"Hey, I said nothing about being naked. You keep your underwear on. _I don't care for seeing that."_ the fashion-savvy boy responded.

"Like I said, _Kris is a total homo."_ Alois chimed in. For some reason, that was reassuring, but at the same time, it wasn't _convincing._ However, Charlotte didn't really have a choice in the matter, for _Amelie_ was in the room. The wolf-girl put her hands up like claws, and walked towards the other girl.

" _Strip."_ she said. And with that, she _pounced._

"I think that's our que to _leave."_ said the bluenette. He covered the blonde lad's eyes, and ushered him outside the room, closed the door behind them as they left. The vampire's screams could be heard in the hallway, so to escape the shear awkwardness of the situation, the demonic duo decided to retreat to the living room to resume their waiting, yet the awkwardness lingered, for the faux-blonde's "new friend" was there as well. Regardless, Ciel and Alois sat on the couch across from him. Expecting there to be a long, nearly suffocating silence, Alois opened his mouth to speak, spouting the first thing that came to mind.

"Y'know, I saw these couches, and expected them to be really hard, but they're surprisingly comfortable." he said to the bluenette.

"No matter how many times you complain about it, _I'm not changing the couches in my office,_ Alois." replied his companion. "In fact, these _not-so-subtle hints_ of yours make me want to keep them _even more_."

"You _sadist!_ A _cinder-block_ would be more comfortable than those things!" whined the Trancy boy.

" _Then go get a cinder-block to sit on. I'll leave it in there for you_." said Ciel with a slight smirk. ''

_"Wanker."_

_"I love you too, muffin."_

The rugby player across from them nearly jumped in surprise at hearing that. It wasn't because the bluenette had taken one of the blonde's favourite phrases. No, he knew nothing of that, however, what bothered him was the fact that the two lad's would so openly say such things. He blushed a bit at the thought, and opened his mouth to speak, and, hesitantly, he asked the question that had been bothering him since the two had arrived.

"Hey... Are you two... _You know_..." he began. He couldn't quite force the question outward due to his embarrassment.

" _Together in a romantic sort of sense?"_ Alois asked for him. "Yeah." he answered casually, leaning on the bluenette's shoulder. Cameron simply stared at them like a deer in headlights for a moment before coming back to his senses.

"How do you do that?" he asked finally. _"How are you able to say that so easily?"_

"Easy. Step one: _don't give a fuck._ Step two: yell _'I like men!'_ from the rooftops _because you don't give a fuck."_ the blonde said, listing off the steps while counting on his fingers.

That, of course, was only the _abridged_ version. It didn't account for any emotional, or social obstacles in the way. It could be assumed that the- _ahem, "don't give a fuck_ " step was in place to give a bit of insight of how to get _around_ those obstacles. It, however, wasn't entirely accurate, because unlike _Alois Trancy,_ most people aren't capable of simply _"not giving a fuck."_ There would be things like _fear and doubt_ blocking their path. In fact, even he, the _blonde menace himself_ , was afraid of telling the bluenette how he felt at first. He hesitated, and he stumbled; both of them did.

"I _think_ what Alois is _trying_ to say is..." began the bluenette, responding to the confused look on the rugby players face. "... that when you get to the point where you are _completely comfortable_ with the fact, you will be able to admit to it."

The Tamworthian boy just looked down at the floor to avoid eye contact with these people in response, lacking the confidence to look at them. He twiddled his thumbs and tried to think of something to say, but his mind was completely blank. Of course he had many questions to ask them, but he didn't want to be _rude_. He had just met these two, after all.

Silence hung around them like an evil sort of presence that seemed to be trying to suffocate the three. Cameron looked at the floor while Ciel and Alois looked around the room, awkwardly. It was as though they weren't sure what they were supposed to be doing. The never-ending silence began to get on Alois' nerves. At last, he opened his mouth to speak.

"Hey _, do you like Kristopherson?"_ he asked the other blonde, as though the situation wasn't already difficult enough. Instinctively, Cameron lifted his head to look at the demonic duo, his face red all the way up to his ears. His mouth opened and closed, but no sound would come out.

"I'll take that as a _'yes',_ then?" asked the Trancy boy. "It's alright, mate. Just don't break his heart, 'cause if you do, _I will hunt you down and gut you like a fish_." The way the boy said that with a serious face was absurd. The Tamworthian couldn't tell if he was joking, or if he _really was_ serious because of it. Somehow, he felt more at ease all the same.

"You know, I'm a bit _jealous_." Kristopherson said to Charlotte in the other room. "You have the perfect model figure." He couldn't stop thinking about how odd it was that he was so calm while in a room alone with a vampire and what would seem to be a _rather unruly_ werewolf. He statement got a thumbs up from said werewolf, but the immediate denial from the other girl.

"Huh? No way." she said. "I'm too pale, and my chest is way too small. In fact, I look like a _man..."_

"What magazines are _you_ looking at?" said the faux-blonde. "I'm not talking about models in any _teen-fashion magazines_ , I'm talking about models for _major brands._ They're completely different. _"_ He wrapped the tape-measure around his neck and wrote down his final measurements. He dug around on his desk for a magazine while the girl got dressed. "It's a shame you _won't wear a dress._ It's such a _waste_."

"Well, _excuse me_ for preferring to keep my business _covered."_ replied Charlotte.

"Hey, I would _kill_ to have your looks. You only look 'mannish' because you _allow_ yourself to look that way. It could easily be fixed by putting on some clothes with a womens' cut, and letting your hair down."

"A _'womens' cut'?"_

Kristopherson sighed. "Look, when it comes to clothes, there are many kinds of cuts, but the main two are _'for men'_ and ' _for women'_. A mens' cut is somewhat square, but a womens' cut has a different shape. A womens' cut goes inward at the waist before going outward again in order to show off your _curves."_

He couldn't believe he had to explain this. He really was a bit jealous of the girl, because quite frankly, he was _growing up_. His voice was getting deeper, and he was starting to look more and more like an adult male. His days of being able to cross-dress, and pass himself off as a girl were numbered. But this girl, _didn't age_ , and she looked like she could easily fit in with the girls in practically any issue of _Vogue_ magazine _._ She simply didn't know how good she had it, and it more that just "kind of" peeved him.

Then he looked over at the other one; Amelie. _She was wearing the maid dress that he designed_. While it was a little big on her, he had to admit, he liked it. Kristopherson liked making clothes, not only for himself, but for other people for two reasons. One: He simply liked clothes, and two: _He liked seeing his ideas take shape and be worn_. If he could somehow make not only himself happy with clothes, but other people as well, he felt like he could be happy in life. That's why he stays up in the wee hours of the morning making costumes for school festivals, and why he took such outlandish requests in the early evening.

"Hey, do you like that dress?" he asked the wolf-girl. She simply nodded in response, and while it didn't look like an overly enthusiastic response, it was enough to make Kristopherson smile wholeheartedly.

" _I'm glad,_ I made it after all." he continued. "I can make it fit you better if, you want." This time, the girl perked up, and nodded very enthusiastically. "Okay, stand over there on the stool that Charlotte was standing on earlier, so I can figure out were sew it."

The girl hoped up off the edge of the bed where she sat, and stood where she was instructed. Kristopherson followed her, picking up one of the pin cushions on his desk as he did. When he looked more closely at the girl, however, he frowned.

"Are you seriously wearing _sneakers_ with that dress?" he asked.

" _Couldn't walk in high-heels_." she replied simply.

"Rubbish! _No girl is properly armed without her high-heels!_ Take those off!" the lad instructed.

 _"No!"_ Amelie hopped down from the stool and ran to the door. She swung it open, and the boy in the pink shirt followed.

" _Get back here!"_ he shouted, chasing the girl into the living room. "You are _not_ wearing a dress of _mine_ with _those shoes!"_

"Kristopherson..." Alois said from his seat on the couch, ignoring the werewolf hiding behind it. "...That has got to be the _absolute gayest thing_ that I have _ever heard come out of your face."_

"Quiet, Trancy! _You have no right to talk!"_ retorted the faux-blonde. "And it's your fault in the first place for _letting her wear it!"_

"Hey! I didn't _'let'_ her wear it! She stole it!" the blonde menace argued.

"I didn't _steal_. I _liberated."_ corrected the silver-haired girl from her hiding place behind the modern-sofa.

" _You went through my stuff and took it!"_ shouted Alois. He was going to say something else, but then Ciel suddenly stood up, distracting him.

"If you're done with the measurements, Kris, _I think it's best if I get these morons out of here quickly while your house is still standing."_ he said to the boy. " _I need to stop this before they get out of hand."_

"That sounds like a good idea..." he said, rubbing his temples. He didn't mean to sound rude, but he really didn't want a werewolf, vampire, and a blonde demon wrecking havoc in his house, especially while his parents were out, as they often were. "I'll have some designs ready by tomorrow to show you." he added.

"That's fine. Just take your time. I wouldn't want you turning into a _zombie_ from lack of sleep or anything." Ciel said in an unusual jest. "Come on, kids, let's go home." He gestured for the others to follow him out the door.

"By the way, if I ever have a fashion show, do you think I could possibly _'borrow'_ those two?"

"Be my guest. It's _your_ show in jeopardy!" And with that, they were gone. They had walked out the door and disappeared into the night- or rather, into the Phantomhive estate's black Rolls Royce.

They drove home in the dark. It was mostly quiet, with only the sound of the radio keeping the maddening silence away. Sebastian sat in the driver's seat, with Charlotte in the passenger seat, and the others sat in the back, with Ciel and Amelie in the window seats and Alois in the middle. The girl had the window open, regardless to the fact that it was rather nippy outside, and had her head hanging out of it, much to the amusement of the other passengers. The quiet among the five was broken, however, when a certain song came on the radio. They all laughed, even Ciel laughed, at the fact that the song _"Werewolves of London_ " by Warren Zevon began to play, completely ruining the serious atmosphere.

They laughed even harder when the girl began to howl at it.


	142. One Thing Is Certain

"You have _maids_ now?" asked a certain brown hiared boy.

It was yet another fine day at Warwick, and the seven were once again discussing this, that, and the other without any idea where the conversation was going to end up. It would seem that most of their conversation's turn out this way. Kristopherson had shown the bluenette his concept designs for the uniform that he was commissioned to make, and Daniel had caught sight of it, and asked for an explanation, only to discover that the Phantomhive boy had a pair of new female servants.

"Yes. They're a bit _odd_ , and are slightly incompetent, though." replied the bluenette, absent-mindedly viewing the sketches. He didn't really care about what the end result looked like, as long as it wouldn't cause anyone's whining.

"Are they _hot?"_ Daniel asked. Of course he would ask that. He was _Daniel._

"I don't know about _that,"_ chimed in Alois, "but _they_ seem to fancy each other quite well."

"Of course..." the politician's son said. "...they're lesbian's aren't they? How come all the homos can get a date and _I can't?!"_ He sat down in his desk in a huff and rested his chin in his palm.

"I believe it may tie into your _outstanding immaturity_." suggested Audrey.

"How am _I_ immature!?"

"Daniel, simply trying to list off all of the reasons would take the _entire day."_ said Kristopherson. "I think it's just _more wise to leave it at that."_ The brown-haired lad scoffed at the other boy's statements.

"I could get a girl if I _wanted_ to!" he said defensively.

" _Then go get one_." said Preston, and the boys laughed at the irritated Westley boy. Their laughter didn't last long, however, as the classroom door opened, and a man walked through, only it wasn't _mister Irons_ who came out from behind the door.

Ordinarily, the students would be excited about a substitute teacher, but this man, he was different. They could tell just by looking at him that his presence didn't mean a "free day". No, this man was serious. He had a stern look on his face, and neat black hair parted to the right. He wore an ordinary black suit and a pair of eyeglasses. He looked as though he belonged in an office building rather than a school. This wasn't his most odd feature, however. The man's most peculiar aspect was his _yellow and green eyes_.

He turned to the large, dry-erase board at the front of the classroom that replaced the more traditional chalkboards, and picked up a marker. The mysterious man took off the cap of the writing utensil, and raised his arm to write. He wrote in big, neat, cursive letters, his arm zigging this way, and zagging the other. Finally, he stopped, and capped the marker before setting it down. He moved to the side so that the children could see it. The man had written his name on the board. " _William T. Spears."_

" _Good morning, class."_ said the man who the children now knew as "mister Spears". His gesture was returned by a few students, but the rest of them simply stared. His voice had an odd quality to it, in that it wasn't entirely monotone, yet it was close. It was like that in which one would imagine an accountant or someone of a similar occupation to speak.

"As some of you may be aware, _Mister Irons was involved in a car accident recently_. " he went on. " _He's going to be alright_ , but has to recover in the hospital for a few days. So, for the time being, _I will be your substitute teacher."_

The demonic duo glanced over at each other. While Alois had never seen the man before, he knew that only a grim reaper could have eyes like his. Audrey and Kristopherson noticed it too. Something wasn't right. If there was a grim reaper here, then that means that someone was going to die on campus, but _who?_ The lads looked around the room at the faces of the other students with this thought. Perhaps it was one of those very faces that would dissappear from their lives forever. They looked to their classmates, they looked to their _friends,_ and then, Kristopherson and Audrey looked at _each other_. Practically anyone in that entire building was fair game at that point. Death became a whole lot scarier when you knew it was coming far sooner than you expected. The man had said that he would be there for a few days, meaning that it may not be today, or tomorrow, or even the next day, but it was _soon._

Ciel and Alois knew that they had to find out what was going on, but they knew it had to wait until after class. They didn't know William very well, in fact, the blonde didn't know William at all, but what they could tell just by the looks of him, he was going to be a strict teacher. No sending quick texts to Sebastian during _this_ class period. Their only option was to sit and wait while the man lectured. Yes, he was a substitute who _lectured_. Mister Spears pushed up his glasses so that they would sit on the crook of his nose.

_"Get out your textbooks and turn to page three-hundred and ninety-four..."_


	143. Emergency Meeting

As soon as first period let out, the demonic duo and the two of the seven who were also in on their secret held an emergency meeting. They meet in the secluded area in the courtyard that was concealed by both a tree and a wall that were oddly close to each other. They needed to talk about the new substitute, "Mr. Spears".

"He's a _reaper_ , isn't he?" asked Kristopherson. He folded his arms across his chest and frowned. He looked at the two demons in a way the gave them the impression that he hoped that he was wrong. Sadly, he was exactly _right._

 _"Yes."_ said the bluenette in a serious tone. He pulled out his cell phone and began pressing buttons. He was texting Sebastian, his thumbs moving at an absurd rate. Ciel had never cared for calling. He preferred to text, and had become quite good at it.

_"We have a situation. We've spotted a grim reaper,_

_and after the bomb incident, I don't want to take any chances._

_Send the werewolf, and have her sniff around for anything suspicious._

_-CP"_

_Send._

"Texting Sebastian?" asked Alois.

"Yeah. I'm having him send _Amelie._ If there's a bomb like last time, she'll probably be able to find it." Ciel replied, slipping the device back into his pocket.

"Bomb-dogs?" asked Kristopherson, arching an eyebrow. He was somewhat skeptical as to the how helpful the girl would be. Sudrey, however, was immensely confused.

"Wait, wait, wait. Who's _Amelie?"_ he asked.

"She's one of the new maids." said Ciel. "She's a werewolf."

"Like, a howl at the moon, _tear people limb-from-limb werewolf?"_ the boy in the skull beanie inquired.

" _The very same_." said the blonde lad. "So what's the plan, exactly? Don't tell me we're just going to just sit on our asses and let the dog do all of the work?" He folded his arms across his chest in didn't like this plan. He wanted to be a bit more involved.

"Well, there isn't much else we _can_ do at this point." replied the bluenette. "If we did perform a search, we'd have to skip class, and there's no guarantee that we wouldn't get caught."

"I guess telling them 'we saw a grim reaper and someone's gonna die' wouldn't work as an excuse, would it?" asked Audrey, jokingly.

"I don't care if I get caught." said Alois. "Just don't make me sit idle. I can't sit in a stuffy classroom when I know there's gonna be death. I can hardly do so _without_ the death!"

"As ridiculous as it sounds, I actually _agree_ with Alois. I don't want to sit by and wait, either." said Kristopherson. The others simply stared at him for a moment.

"Are you sure you don't just agree because it's Alois?" asked Audrey, causing the faux-blonde to furrow his brow and frown.

"I've given up on him. There's simply no way I can beat Satan himself."

"Wait, since when am I _'Satan'?"_ Ciel asked.

"Since you _gained control over demons._ " said the boy in the pink tie. "Now I, for one, refuse to simply sit back and let things happen. _Anyone else agree?"_

 _"I do."_ answered Audrey.

" _Aye!"_ said Alois. The lads look to Ciel, who at this point, couldn't exactly say "no", now could he? With a sigh, he finally spoke again.

" _Fine,_ but if any of you get caught by the teachers, _you're on your own_." he said as warning. "We'll meet back here at the next bell, got it? I'll search the North wing."

"Roger that." said Bones. "I'll search the West wing."

"I'll go _down south_ , then~!" chimed in Alois, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively.

 _"Too much info, Trancy. We don't need to hear about your and Ciel's exploits."_ Kristopherson said, causing the bluenette to blush as he suddenly got the joke of the blonde menace. "Guess that leaves me with the East. See you before third period then?"

"Let's head out!" Alois declared. He then turned to his assigned sector and took off running, shouting along the lines of " _To Narnia!"_ as he did. The other boys followed suit, heading off to their own wings.

They didn't even notice a certain silver-haired girl sitting on the wall outside the school with a bored expression. Amelie was out of uniform, now wearing her "civilian clothes", and she was rather excited. She jumped down from the wall, and landed on her feet, before casually walking up to the nearest building.

_"Je sens la poudre ..."_


	144. Behind The Locker Door

The halls of Warwick Academy's East Wing were almost completely silent, with only the faint sounds of the lecturing taking place in the nearby classrooms. Audrey could hear the sounds of his feet, regardless to the fact that he was making an attempt to walk as quietly as possible. The linoleum floor simply didn't like his sneakers, it would seem. As he prepared to round the next corner, he thought he spotted someone, so he quickly retreated. He peeked around the corner to see _Mr. Spears._

 _"Shit."_ he thought. Of _all_ of the people it had to be, why did it have to be the _reaper?_ He watched the man for a moment, trying to figure out why he wasn't in his classroom. Then, he noticed the bespectacled man peek into the janitor's closet, before sighing with what appeared to be relief. He looked around for a moment to see if anyone was watching, and Audrey quickly moved himself out of sight. _What was the man hiding?_

Soon, Mr. Spears left, leaving Audrey able to do some investigating. Bones quietly sneaked over to the janitor's closet, and looked inside. There was nothing of interest, really. Just your ordinary cleaning supplies and a mop and a broom or two. There was but one somewhat out-of-place item, however, and that was a pair of _long-reach trimmers,_ used to trim high-up or otherwise out-of-reach plants.

" _Looking for something, Mister Baines?"_ said a stern voice from behind the boy. Audrey turned, and nearly jumped out of his skin when he saw the reaper standing right behind him. He was somehow able to sneak up on the lad on the very same floor that had betrayed the lad's sneakers and caused them to echo throughout the hallways. The boy stared at William through a gap in his bangs, his multi-coloured eyes on the man's.

 _"Well... I, uh..."_ was all he could spout. His mind simply couldn't think of a lie that he knew the man would accept as truth.

 _"I suggest you get to class before I escort you to the headmasters office_." the older reaper said, adjusting his glasses. "Am I _clear,_ Mister Baines?" The boy swallowed hard at the grave tone in the man's voice.

"Y-yes sir." he replied. With that, he briskly began to walk away, but then, he was called out to again.

" _Wait a moment."_ said Mister Spears, causing the poor lad to jump again.

"Y-yes?" Audrey sounded like a broken record.

"Do you, by chance... wear _contacts?"_ asked the man, much to the boy's confusion.

"Yeah... I'm _near-sighted_. Why?"

 _"Just curious."_ replied William. "I will see you in my classroom first thing tomorrow morning, then."

"Yes sir?" Audrey half-said, and half-asked. That was really weird. Did he see his eyes? Is that a common condition for grim reapers? Audrey didn't know. All he knew, was that William T. Spears knew what he was as well.

The reaper found it odd to see such a young reaper in this mortal world, and would have to do some digging into it when his mission was over. As long as the boy wasn't a _deserter,_ though, a reaper who had abandoned his duties, the man thought it was safe to assume that he was harmless, at least for now. He walked back to his own classroom as the boy retreated to another section of the building.

Meanwhile, elsewhere on campus, the others were finding nothing. Not even the slightest whiff of anything hazardous. Nothing. They checked the gymnasium, the library, the cafeteria, and other high-traffic areas. They checked in janitor's closets, they checked in bathrooms, they snuck into the teacher's lounge and checked it of all places, yet still came up with _nothing._

Now they were starting to walk around in circles, and even venture out into each other's assigned areas just in case, and even ran into each other several times. Class period after class period went by, and things continued in this manner. At last, they were starting to become a bit paranoid, and even the slightest sound in the hallway would startle them. _One often meets their destiny on the path to avoid it, right?_ Who's to say that it wasn't one of them?

The bluenette was searching the corridor, trying to think of any possible location that anyone could possibly hide weaponry or explosives in. Suddenly he heard it; the faint sound of quickly-paced footsteps coming towards him. He turned, but saw nothing but an empty hallway.

 _"They must be around the corner..."_ he thought, and he slowly walked towards the corner where hallway met hallway at a right-angle, and stood there.

The footsteps sounded erratic and hurried, and grew louder, and closer by the second. Who was running down the hallway at this time? None of the others should be in the North wing, so it couldn't have been any of them. His mind started racing as the sound got closer, and louder, and then finally, it was right on top of him. He stepped out from his hiding place to confront the mysterious force, only to be knocked to the ground with a thud.

 _"Oof!"_ he let out, as air escaped his lungs. He quickly came to his senses, only to open his eye to see none other than Alois Trancy on top of him; worse: _straddling him._

 _"Jesus, Ciel! You don't do that to people!"_ said the blonde menace as though he was completely unaware of their current position. All the bluenette could do was blush.

" _Get off!"_ Ciel ordered, causing the other boy to just look at him confusedly for a moment.

" _Oh_ , uh... _S-sorry."_ said Alois, standing up and brushing himself off. He reached out a hand in order to help the bluenette up. When the boy in blue took it, however, he noticed a slight pinkness in the blonde's cheeks.

How could someone like Alois be _embarrassed_ by such an occurrence? Usually, Ciel would've expected the boy to tease him about it, saying something along the lines of "well this is different, _maybe we should switch it up like this?"_ but there was nothing of the sort. Just a small " _sorry_ " and a blush. If they weren't in the middle of business, the bluenette would have _teased_ Alois acting so out-of-character, calling him " _cute"_ or " _such a girl_ " but alas, _it would have to wait._

"What are you doing here?" Ciel asked finally. "You were supposed to check the south wing..."

"I did. I checked all over that shit, but didn't find a thing." replied the blonde. "I figured you might could use some help."

"Are you sure you didn't just get _lonely?"_ asked the bluenette with a smirk. He couldn't help it. He had to tease the slightly taller lad just once.

"I did _not!"_ Alois said indignantly. " _There's just a lot of lockers in this particular end, and I didn't know if you could search them all!"_

" _Lockers?_ You searched people's _lockers?"_

"Well, _duh,_ Ciel! If you were going to put something of value, or that you didn't want anyone to find, where would you put it? In a _locker,_ or in a _bathroom?"_

Why didn't the bluenette think of that? It was so obvious! He kicked himself internally for that, but there was one thing that bothered him.

"You didn't _damage_ other people's lockers while getting into them, did you?" he asked the blonde. Knowing Alois, he may or may not have.

" _Psh! No!_ They don't change them out _that_ often you know, and if you _hit_ them _just_ right, they just come right open." The blonde boy said, as he demonstrated. He walked right up to a locker, and punched it, causing the latch to become undone. The door simply came open with nothing to hold it in place. He was able to look inside with no problem at all, and when he was done, he gently closed it back, and the latch on the inside caught, so it stayed closed. The Trancy boy really had this whole "delinquent" thing down quite well.

"Impressive. We should get started, then." the bluenette responded. He looked down the long hallway that was lined with navy-coloured lockers. It would take them quite some time to find anything at all at this rate.

Then they heard it. That same erratic, footsteps approaching at an insane speed. Humans don't move that fast. The boys prepared themselves for battle, each taking a defensive stance. Whatever it was, it now had to face two demons.

They saw a blur round the corner before charging towards them, cutting through the air. Then it stopped. It stopped right in front of them, the air following it still moving as some sort of back draft, and they looked down to see a silver-haired girl that was even shorter than Ciel. It was Amelie. She raised an arm, giving the boys a salute.

 _"Sir! J'ai trouvé quelque chose d'intéressant!"_ she said to the bluenette.

" _What?"_ asked the blonde, looking to the other boy with a confused expression.

"She said that she found _'something of interest'."_ Ciel explained before turning his attention to the wolf-girl. "Lead the way." With that, the girl did just that, but at a more reasonable speed so that the others could keep up.

She lead them to another section of the very same building. The girl silently pointed at a locker. " _That's it."_ she said. The lad's simply looked at each other dumbfounded, before the bluenette gestured for the blonde to open the container using his "secret technique".

Alois raised his arm, cocking it back before letting it go, and after the metal door gave a _clang_ in protest, it opened all the same. The demonic duo was even more surprised at what they found inside. _Weaponry._

There were pistols and other small firing arms, as well as knives. The metal on every single one was polished and clean, as if they were well-kept. How someone could gain access to this many weapons was beyond them, and how they somehow managed to inconspicuously stockpile them in this small locker was even more dumbfounding. This person obviously had a reason for this, and it was anything but good.

"How... did you find this?" asked the bluenette. He could have sworn he walked by this exact locker nearly fives times. What they were looking for was here the entire while.

" _L'odeur."_ said the wolf-girl.

"Did you smell _gunpowder?"_ The girl only nodded in response. Not only were these here, they were also _loaded._ He thought for a moment. " _Can you find the person who owns this locker?"_ he asked.

With that, the girl took off again, and the demonic duo had to run at full speed in order to keep up. They ran through the hallway and out of that building and into the sun. The were wondering where she was headed, but then it dawned on them. She was heading to the cafeteria, and it was lunchtime.

When they first got there and opened the doors, they had thought that the girl was simply messing with them, however, that soon turned out to not me the case. The girl changed direction, and charged straight toward a nearby boy who was walking with a tray to his seat. Quickly, he turned around, dropping his tray. He pulled something out of his blazer, light hit reflected off of it, giving the lads the impression that it was metal. _Three shots were fired, and the girl with silver hair fell to the ground._


	145. What Tomorrow Holds

The sound of screaming echoed throughout the cafeteria, yet the demonic duo didn't hear them. As the other children fled, they were too focused on the body that now lay motionless on the floor. It was only moments ago that Amelie was up to her usual hijinks, but now, she was completely lifeless. Not a single muscle of hers even twitched as crimson began to drain out from her head and torso onto the linoleum floor. Ciel and Alois were shocked.

The boy who had pulled the gun out on her simply stood there, staring down at the corpse. His eyes seemed simply reflect the image, as it would appear that he wasn't really seeing what he just did. His face held no remorse, nor anger, or even fear; All there was is simply _nothing_.

He had round, dark eyes with dark circles around them as though he hadn't slept in ages. He had black hair that was so short, he barely had any bangs at all. He looked almost _ghostly_ , as if he had already given up on life. After a while, the boy looked up and stared at the boys with a surprised look on his face, as though he didn't expect them to be there. Alois furrowed his brow and grit his teeth. The blonde took a step forward, only to have the boy quickly raise the gun at him. Ciel put his hands up and spoke.

" _Let's talk."_ he said calmly. He spoke as though nothing had happened. He spoke as though Amelie was still standing. "What's your name?"

" _J-Jonathan."_ the other boy replied, never lowering the weapon. " _Jonathan Beatie."_

"Alright, Jonathan, let's talk." Ciel never lost his cool, much to the blonde's disbelief. He didn't know whether to watch him as he talked or the kid with the gun. "Now that you've revealed your weapon, you can't just pretend that you're an ordinary student. You're now an official _criminal,_ understood?"

" _So?_ This is what I _wanted!_ I'll shoot you, then move on to the others! No big deal! I want to see them suffer!" replied human boy. He laughed nervously as he spoke, waving the weapon around the room. This lad was obviously unraveling.

"And _then?"_ asked the bluenette. The boy's smile turned into a frown very quickly. Regardless, the Phantomhive boy continued. "Do you intend to go to jail, or do you intend to kill yourself?"

"I guess I'll go to jail. It's just a few years, right? _No big deal..."_

"It's a _very_ big deal." said the bluenette. "Once that girl that you just shot _gets up_ , I'm going to have a hard time keeping her from _tearing you limb-from-limb_."

"And I thought _I_ was the only _crazy_ one!" Jonathan's smile returned. "Listen, I go through _beatings every single day_. I think I can handle a little girl! Especially a _dead_ one!"

"Is that why you're doing this? Because of those beatings?" asked Ciel.

" _No."_ said the human boy. "That's only part of it. I'm doing this because of the _humiliation."_ He raised the barrell of his gun to the bluenette. " _Dad_ always said that _guns_ can solve all of your problems! _'When there's an obstacle in your way, it's best to remove it'!"_

That's when it clicked with Ciel. The boy's father was a _weapons dealer_ , _Reginald Beatie_. _That's how he got all of those guns_. That's why he was so sure of himself. Weapons dealers have a knack for getting their people out of trouble. If the kid gets arrested, he'll be out in no time. The bluenette was pulled away from his thoughts, however, by a _voice_.

"Ciel! What are you doing!? _Run_ , you _idiot!"_ shouted _Daniel_.

Yes, _the Westley boy didn't flee_. It wasn't in the nature of the politician's son to flee from the scene of all of the excitement. This however, presented them with a new problem. They had an _innocent bystander_. This problem was only made worse when the gunman's attention shifted from the bluenette to the brown-haired lad, and _he pulled the trigger._

Down the boy fell, landing on the floor with a gut-wrenching _thud_ after the screaming bullet that cut through the air made contact with his body. Now the Phantomhive boy was actually _concerned_. Daniel wasn't a werewolf. He _could_ die from an ordinary bullet. Ciel signaled for the blonde to go check on him and get him to safety.

Right when the blonde lad moved, more shots were fired in his direction, but luckily for the blonde, it's harder to hit a moving target, especially one that wasn't a mere _human._ Alois dodged Jonathan's bullets, and appeared by the side of the human boy.

" _Daniel! Are you alright?!"_ he asked the boy with every bit of urgency as he lay on the ground, clutching his wounded shoulder.

" _Fuck no_ , I'm _not_ , you idiot! I've been bloody _shot!"_ retorted the son of a politician. "Augh! The movies _lied!_ This _hurts!"_ From the obvious joking around, it would appear that Daniel was indeed, _going to be fine_. He did require medical attention, though. The blonde looked up at the gunman, wondering why the shots had stopped.

By this time, the sound of gunfire was replaced with the small _clicks_ of an _empty weapon_. Jonathan reached into his pocket for more bullets, but was stopped by the sudden sensation of someone grabbing at his ankle. The boy looked down, his eyes widening in fear as he saw that the girl he had shot before had _moved._ Quickly, he backed away, shaking loose the grip of Amelie and freeing himself. He fumbled around for more bullets, only to find himself unable to control the shaking of his hands as the girl stood up, and looked at him.

He had shot her in the head, hitting her left eye socket. Blood obviously remained from the injury, making it appear as though she was crying crimson tears, but that wasn't what the boy was so focused on about the girl. No, what had filled him with horror wasn't this, or the fact that she stood back up. Right now, what he was so terrified of at the moment was the sight of _the girl's eye regenerating itself_. The sight of the optic nerves and blood vessels reassembling themselves and intertwining as the lens and the iris became visible once more. Finally, the girl was complete once more, her eye and the holes in her chest now repaired. The small _clink_ of the bullets hitting the floor echoed throughout the room. The boy with the empty gun had his mouth open, and he struggled to force out enough words to form a coherent sentence.

"Wha... What... _are_ you?" he finally managed to ask.

" _Je suis un loup-garou."_ she said, slowly walking toward the boy. While her expression hadn't changed from her usual one, her eyes seemed _darker_ now. They seemed to hold _killing intent._ She was stopped only by a hand suddenly on her shoulder. She turned and looked up at the Phantomhive boy.

"Thank you." he said. "You've done enough. Sorry, but I can't let you kill him." With a pout, the girl complied, walking off to assist Alois with Daniel as Ciel confronted Jonathan. Alois watched Ciel, eying his every move as though he was afraid he would miss something important. While the blonde did this, Daniel's eyes never left Amelie as she walked toward him. He began kicking his feet as though he was trying to get away, and he shouted.

"What the _hell?!_ How did you _do_ that?! What _are_ you?!"

" _Secret_." replied the girl. " _Can only tell if the Boss says so."_ she pointed to the bluenette, causing the human boy to follow her finger.

"What?! Phantomhive is your boss?!" he shouted. "I demand an explanation- _OW!"_

"Stop squirming. You're going to make it _worse_." Alois warned, tearing his eyes away from the head demon for a moment to do so.

"Why aren't _you_ freaked out by this, Trancy?" asked the brown-haired boy. His voice wasn't as loud as it was when he spoke this time. It sounded more hurt and confused.

"You get _used_ to it." replied the blonde. He said no more, and looked back to the bluenette again. Daniel stared at the Trancy boy for a moment longer before doing the same. His mind was reeling at the possibilities. He tried to make sense of it all, but just _couldn't._

Ciel was currently trying to stare down the boy in front of him, his sapphire eye on the lad's onyx ones. The boy was shaking. He grit his teeth in an attempt to look menacing, but his eyes reflected his true amount of fear. Ciel could see it. The boy was very afraid now.

 _"W-what are you people?"_ Jonathan asked one more time. He was in a cold sweat at this point, and his face was concerned and fearful. The bluenette, however, was completely calm. He casually put his hands in his pockets and said:

"Isn't it obvious? We're _monsters."_

The other boy's eyes went wide at that word. "Monster". How could this small, calm boy be a monster? Sure, the even shorter girl had just regenerated, but what could this ordinary-looking student do? Jonathan's brow furrowed, and he snarled as he reached into his blazer again, pulling out a knife. The Phantomhive boy didn't even flinch as light glinted off of the shiny, well-kept blade. This wasn't a simply pocket knife; it wasn't a switchblade, either. No, the boy had a military-grade dagger, that was made specifically for hand-to-hand combat that would result in _death._

" _Careful_." said the bluenette. "Knives are sharp. _You could hurt yourself_."His hands stayed in his pockets, and he simply stood there as the other boy prepared to attack.

Jonathan swung his arm, the blade attached to it. He made broad, careless moves, slashing only the air as the Phantomhive boy simply moved out of the way. Again and again, he swiped at the boy, narrowly missing him every time. They danced this way throughout the cafeteria in a completely one-sided effort to defeat their foe.

Ciel's disinterested face only made the boy angrier, and suddenly, he switched from slashing in order to perform a stab, lunging at the boy with all of his might. The demon simply stepped to the side, and did so at such a speed that the human boy didn't have time to correct his mistake, causing him to fall towards the earth. He put his hands out to cushion the impact out of natural impulse, still keeping the knife firmly gripped in his hand, protruding upward from his fist as the rest of the boy's body came crashing down on top of it. _He had fallen on his own knife._

Only the sound of the boy's agony could be heard as he screamed, and clawed at the weapon that was now sticking out of his stomach. It was buried to the hilt, and warm blood soaked his clothes and spilled out onto the floor as he squirmed, becoming cool to the touch after time had passed and the heat from it was gone. His face was was flushed and tears streamed down it. The only time the screaming stopped was when he had to stop and cough up blood.

Daniel and Amelie couldn't take their eyes off the scene, but Ciel and Alois couldn't _look_. They couldn't _bear_ to look. They had been here before. Not this exact scene, but it was similar. the cries of pain and the pleas for help were _exactly the same_. Ciel was about to walk to his friends, when a blood-covered hand grabbed his ankle.

"Hey..." Jonathan said, looking up at him. The bluenette didn't dare return his gaze. "Help me... _Please!"_

" _Mister Spears, if you're going to evaluate him soon, please hurry_." Ciel said, before shaking off the dying boy's grip and walking away. He and the others left the boy alone as he bled there.

 _Later that evening, Jonathan Beatie would die in the hospital_. The very same one that _Daniel_ had checked into for his gunshot wound. He did not smile, and he did not crack jokes to ease his own nerves. He simply sat there and waited for tomorrow to come. After they had left the cafeteria, the demonic duo had told him that they would explain _everything_ to him.

They would explain the mysterious girl and her powers, and they would explain how they knew what they did. They would also explain why they simply allowed that boy to die. His mind was racing, and his heart ached at the coldness of of his friends. How could they do such a thing? He just simply didn't understand. He would wait for tomorrow, as the night went on, and the sound of Jonathan's heart monitor going flat echoed through the hallway.

 _"Name: Jonathan Beatie. Cause of death: Stab wound."_ said a somewhat familiar voice in the dead boy's room. The man pushed his glasses up to the bridge of his nose as he took notes. " _Analysis complete."_


	146. Daniel's Dream

Today, Warwick recovers from the attack. The students were given the day off as police investigated the scene of the crime. They managed to find Jonathan's arsenal of weaponry in his locker, and managed to tie him to the school's previous bombing incident. Notebook after notebook was found among the deceased boy's things, describing the details of his daily torture, explaining how he was beaten bloody some days, and how he was held down and forced to eat bugs, going as far to give a list of names as to who his tormentors were. Every single person who was on that list was promptly expelled from Warwick. Rumor has it that those same students now have difficulty getting into another school after they caught wind of what the children had done. Today, Warwick takes time off to recover, and the students who still choose to attend stay home to rest their racing minds after the incident.

One group of boys, however, didn't. They instead ventured out to visit their ailing friend, Daniel Westley, at the hospital. The group didn't consist of the entire seven, though. Only the ones who knew of "the secret" arrived that day to visit the boy. They had all agreed to be present in order to let Daniel in on their little secret, just to show him who it was actually _okay_ to talk about it with. It was uncertain whether or not that the brown-haired, son of a politician would e able to keep his mouth shut. Still, it was best to show the lad that they trusted him.

At the moment that the four walked up to the front desk of the building to see if they could make a visit, Daniel himself was laying in his hospital bed, recalling what he had seen yesterday. He remembered the grisly image of seeing the silver-haired girl's eye regenerate, and had not even the faintest of ideas as to how that was even possible. He wanted to pretend that he hadn't seen it, but he did. Moreover, what the blonde had said after he asked the first time bothered him.

 _"You get used to it."_ Alois had said. What did _that_ mean? Does that mean that the blonde had seen stuff like that _before?_ If that is the case, what did he see, and how? _Why?_

The lad jumped at the sound of the door opening, causing pain to shoot through his left shoulder. He turned to see his friends in the doorway, much to his surprise. None of them were in uniform, and all of them had a peculiar look on their faces. He couldn't quite find the word for it; the word "guilty" came to mind, but that wasn't quite right.

"Is there no school today?" asked Daniel, as the four invited themselves in.

"No, they're cleaning up from yesterday." said Kristopherson. " The campus is absolutely _crawling_ with news vans right now."

"Hows your shoulder?" asked Audrey.

" _Fucked up_." replied the injured lad from his hospital bed. "The doctor said I'll be fine, but I'll have a scar from where the bullet hit me. There is a bright side, though..."

"And that would be?"

"I hear having a scar can earn you _major points_ with the _ladies_." Daniel smiled his usual, goofy smile. His friends had only been in the room for mere moments, and had hardly said anything, yet he was already smiling again. The others simply rolled their eyes in response. "So what's up?"

"We came here to talk to you about _what you saw yesterday_ , as promised." began the bluenette. Daniel's smile faded and the atmosphere around the room suddenly became serious. "You saw _Amelie- that girl who was shot, get back up, heal her wounds and regenerate her eye,_ right?"

"So I really _did_ see what I thought I did..." answered Daniel, his voice soft. "How is that even _possible?"_

"It _isn't_ , as far as _you_ know." said Alois, placing a hand on his hip. "The fact of the matter is, there are many things in this world that are completely unexplainable my science and _ordinary_ logic."

"What is _that_ supposed to mean?" asked the injured boy.

"It means basically this: everything you know to be true in this world, things like boogeymen and monsters not existing, are all a _lie_." Ciel explained. "The girl from yesterday just happens to be a _werewolf_."

"Alright, alright, seriously though, _what really happened?"_ Daniel asked again. He shook his head from side to side and smiled slightly. He had thought that the bluenette's entire statement was a _joke._ The others, however, weren't laughing.

Kristopherson frowned and said: "It is exactly as he just said, she's a werewolf! An honest-to-God, bond-fide _werewolf_."

"Yeah, and these two are _demons_." added Audrey, pointing to the bluenette and blonde.

"Guys, _I'm not falling for it_. I'm not an _idiot!"_ insisted Daniel. Kristopherson's and Audrey's palms made acquaintance with their foreheads at the lad's statement. When they thought about it, however, it really was quite a difficult thing to accept.

Ciel cleared his throat for a moment in order to grab everyone's attention, which he was swiftly granted. Once all eyes where on him, he began to reach behind his head and untie the knot that fastened his eye-patch. Daniel leaned forward to get a better look at this. He had always secretly wondered about what the boy was hiding, yet he never expected to see this.

The bluenette's concealed eye revealed itself to be of a purplish hue, and bore the marks of a pentacle across the lens and iris. Even the thick-headed Westley boy could tell by the slight glow that it gave off, that the other boy wasn't simply wearing a contact lens. Daniel opened and closed his mouth as he tried to form a coherent sentence with the the intent of asking Ciel what on earth the mark was, but that eye was almost _bewitching._ Instead of waiting to be asked, the bluenette simply explained.

"It's called a 'diabolic signature'." he said. "It signifies that one has made a contract with a _demon_. In my case, I signed one with the demon that would become _my butler,_ _Sebastian Michaelis_." He paused for a moment in order to gauge the boy's reaction before continuing. "I obtained this before I became one myself, courtesy of _the_ Alois Trancy."

Daniel stared at the boy in front of him for a long time. He had to allow what the bluenette had just said register in his mind. He allowed his eyes to stray from the purple eye, to the bluenette's "good" eye, only to see that it was now red, it's pupil slit. He jumped at the sight.

Over the next hour or so, all four lads took turns explaining their own stories, the demonic duo's taking up the majority of the conversation. Audrey and Kristopherson explained how they came to discover the demon's secret as well, and they branched out even further from there. They explained other things as well, such as _the group's adventure at the Trancy mansion_ , they explained _why Ciel, Alois, and Sebastian all had black fingernails_ , they explained _why Ciel never took his shirt off when they all went swimming together_ , and Daniel didn't interrupt them _once._ The boy was almost completely quiet, only speaking when he had a question. It was so uncharacteristic of the boy, that it was almost _disturbing_.

After the lad's four individual stories came to a close, they all looked to Daniel for a response. At first, there was _nothing_. Daniel simply stared at the four with the look of a deer caught in the headlights of an oncoming vehicle plastered across his face. Then he sighed, and ran his good hand through his hair in order help himself get over the initial shock. Finally, he opened his mouth to speak to the others.

"Alright," he said. "I believe you now. That explains _a lot_ , actually. My biggest concern is, however..." the boy paused for a moment and furrowed his brow. " _Why didn't you let me in on it earlier?!"_

"Really!? _That's_ your concern?! We didn't tell you because we didn't think you'd _believe_ us!" the blonde menace shouted back.

"But you guys got to go on _all sorts_ of _cool supernatural adventures!_ How could you _leave me out of the excitement?!"_ asked the brown-haired boy.

"It's not like it's a _hobby_ , or something, Daniel." Ciel said. "We only do half of the stuff out of _requirement."_

"Yeah, we have to prove we're _good little demons_ , or else they'll sic the _Hellsing woman_ on us." added Alois. "She's so _scary!"_ He shivered in an exaggerated manner to get a laugh out of the others. "Audrey wants to join her scary-ass organization!"

"Well, I don't want _this to be it, after high-school,_ y'know?" explained Bones. The way he phrased that seemed to bring the mood down a bit.

The demonic duo would be around forever, but the humans wouldn't be. Even _Audrey,_ who was partially a _grim reaper_ , only had a _lengthened_ life-span, not an _eternal_ one. As for the remaining two boys, Kristopherson and Daniel, this new world may not be open to them if the Sensational Seven part ways after graduation. Now that they knew, they couldn't simply let go of this world. It was the _real_ world. They had the chance to see the world for what it really was, and now, they didn't know if they could simply go on without having had the chance to fully explore it.

Daniel paused before looking to his friends friends again. This time, he wasn't wearing his signature goofball expression. No, the look on his face was a rare one, the look of serious determination.

"I've decided!" he said suddenly, calling the others to attention. "I want to know _everything_ about the supernatural world! When I do, I'm gonna make this country safe for _both humans, and supernatural beings!"_ The others simply stared in astonishment at the lad's passionate declaration. After a moment of quiet, the Phantomhive boy spoke up.

"Are you _mental?"_ he asked the Westley lad with a confused look. "How the _hell_ are you going to do _that?"_

"By becoming... _Prime Minister!"_ shouted the boy with brown hair.

"Do you think he's on _painkillers?"_ asked Kristopherson.

"I dunno, but this is retarded even for _Daniel_." said Bones.

"Daniel, whatever _planet_ you're on, _please come home_." suggested Alois.

"I'm not kidding! _It could happen!"_ insisted Daniel. Many years from now, he would in fact, _run for Prime Minister_. That, however, _is a story for another time._


	147. How To Save Your School

Warwick Academy; It was considered one of the greatest learning establishments in all of Britain, as far as high schools go. Alas, the school's reputation as a top-notch academy is now in jeopardy following the incidents that occurred only a few days prior. Students return to school today, but not all of them did. There were some children who's parents had about enough of Warwick's lack of security, and failure to act. Parents have every right to be upset, as their children could have very well been victims of violence themselves. It was quite fortunate that there was but one fatality, and one injured.

Speaking of the lad, Daniel returned to the academy after a few day's recovery in the hospital. His movement was now hindered a bit by the sling that held up his arm so that it wouldn't put any stress on his injury, but fortunately for him, he wasn't left-handed. He could still do schoolwork and things, much to his dismay. The lad had apparently been hoping for an excuse to get out of assignments. Warwick may be scarred, but Daniel hadn't changed a bit. Even now, when he knows the true dark nature of the demonic duo, he still treats them as he would on any other day, laughing with them, and teasing them. It was nice to see that at least one thing wasn't different.

"This _sucks!"_ shouted the boy. "I can't move an arm, and _half the class is missing_ , and we _still_ have to do a _worksheet?!"_

"What? Do you want a _medal_ , or something, _'Miser Miserable'?"_ asked Kristopherson as he pushed various buttons on his pink cell phone. "We have to work too, you know. Also, the class isn't _'missing',_ they've just _transferred_."

"How do _you_ know?" asked Preston.

 _"Cameron_ said that _Tamworth has been receiving a bunch of transfers_ , lately. All of 'em _Warwick_ students." replied the faux-blonde as he sent his text. He had been texting quite a bit lately, something that the others teased him about.

"Good job, getting your _boyfriend_ to _spy_ on the Tamworthians for us, Kris!" Daniel gave the lad a "thumbs up" signal for his work.

"He's _not_ my _boyfriend_." the boy in the pink tie articulated indignantly, closing the cellular device and placing it carefully in his pocket. _"We're just friends_."

"Is that why you text him almost _nonstop?"_ teased Audrey.

"Well, it doesn't really _make sense_ for him to text _us_ like that since he can just _talk_ to us if he wants to, now does it?" chimed in Alois, oddly being the voice of reason.

"Sure, 'just friends'..." said Daniel, resting his chin in his good hand. "...and _I'm Frankenstein's Monster_." The other's simply laughed at the blatant sarcasm, the other four lads who knew of the demonic duo's "secret" were also treated to an extra joke in there.

"It's really weird seeing the classes so empty, though." said Preston. "This whole thing has made a real mess of things."

"Yeah, I bet the school is going to _loose funding_ too, with all of the transfers." said Ciel. Leave it to the cyclops to only see the material gain in the situation. At the same time, Alois saw it too, which can be assumed that it's just how they are able to see things. They look at what can be _gained_ , and what can be _lost_ in a situation, and usually not in a moral sense.

"Oh! What if we do that 'Host Club' thing again?! Would that work?" asked Daniel, sitting up in his seat as he expressed the idea.

"Probably not. We'd need something on a _much larger scale_ than that, this time." said Audrey. The seven thought for a while as to what that could be. They thought for a long while, occasionally looking around the room for inspiration. Suddenly, the icy blue eyes of the _Blonde Menace_ fell upon the faux-blonde, and he was struck by an idea.

"Now this is going to sound really, really _dumb,_ you guys..." he began, calling the others to attention. "...but Kris, didn't you say you wanted to do a _fashion show_ or something?" The boy in the pink tie could only furrow his brow and frown with a slight blush at the thought.

"No way. That would _never_ work!" he said to Alois at the true-blonde's idea. "What good would that do?"

"I dunno, but a _Host Club_ seemed to relax everyone a bit, and with a _fashion show_ , we could show the public that _they can come to our school without dying."_ Alois explained. He gave a small shrug. " _Just a random thought_."

"Okay, let's say for a moment that that is somehow a feasible solution," began Preston, making gestures as he spoke. " _how_ are we going to get people to come here if they're _too afraid of getting blown up or shot at?_ "

"What if we had, like, a _security team?"_ asked the son of a politician. "A bunch of _bad-asses_ who can make sure that nobody's getting shot or blown up at Warwick!"

"Alright, where are you going to find these supposed _'bad-asses'?_ " asked the Indian boy. He wasn't entirely sure about this plan. It sounded utterly ridiculous and absurd, but then again, he had thought the very same thing about the _Host Club_. Daniel's eyes lit up, and he turned to stare at the demonic duo with a goofy grin. Ciel didn't like that grin. That grin meant bad things for him.

" _No."_ the bluenette said simply. He wanted no part of running any form of security. He didn't really want to be involved in the first place. Of all of his blonde companion's ideas, _this had to be one of his more ridiculous ones._

"Fine." said Daniel. "Can we borrow your _weird maid_ , then? What's her name... _Amy?"_

 _"It's Amelie,_ and that all depends on _whether or not you can actually pull this off or not_. Do you really think that the _headmaster_ is going to allow such an event while he's _busy trying to keep the press at bay?"_

"Phantomhive's _right_. It can't be done." said Kristopherson, folding his arms across his chest.

 _"I_ might not be able to persuade the headmaster, but I know _someone_ who _can."_ said Daniel with a grin.

"Oh, God, _you don't mean..."_ began Preston.

"Who?" asked Audrey. After keeping the others in suspense for a while, the boy with brown hair decided to finally answer the questions.

" _Lawrence Rose_." he said.

"This plan is _doomed_ to fail." said the bluenette, rubbing his temples in order to fight off his eminent headache.

"Yeah, but look on the _bright side,_ Ciel..." began the Trancy boy, resting his chin in his palm and looking at his fellow-demon. "... you might get to see _me_ in a _dress_ again." The Phantomhive lad blushed at the thought, much to the amusement of the others.

"Wait, wouldn't all he have to do is _ask_ you to wear one?" asked Audrey.

"Yeah, but the cyclops is kind of _shy_." Daniel teased.

" _'Shy'?_ He's not _shy!"_ argued the blonde menace. "Why, _just the other day, he-"_

"Finish that sentence, and _I will end you_ , Alois." interrupted the embarrassed bluenette. He crossed his arms and furrowed his brow, glaring daggers at the boy. He did this, yet the blonde just kept smiling at him.

"Watch out, Alois, he might _punish you_ later." said the son of a politician, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively. The remark was followed by several "oohs" from the others as they teased the demonic duo. " _Wink-wink, nudge-nudge, say no more, say no more_."

"Can we _please_ change the subject?" Ciel asked, rubbing his head again. The blonde answered by leaning over and resting his head on the other boy's shoulder.

 _"I love you, muffin_ ~!" he said sweetly. The bluenette couldn't help but smile slightly at it. This was ruined when the others had to open their mouths.

" _Satan_." said Daniel.

 _"Satan_." Audrey agreed, giving a nod.

"Alois is in love with _Satan_." Kristopherson stated.

"Wait, how is Ciel ' _Satan'?"_ asked Preston, being one of the only two of the seven who were ignorant to the reason for the joke.

" _He just is_ , Preston." answered the politician's son. "If you look closely, _you can almost see it in his eyes_."

By the end of the day, the seven had come to the conclusion that the Phantomhive boy was " _Satan",_ and that the whole " _Fashion Show_ " idea was silly. They would still try, however. Perhaps, like their _previous attempt_ to quell the fear in the parents, students, and faculty, " _silly"_ and " _outrageous_ " was the way to go.

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> When was the last time I did something sort of silly like this? I feel like recently, I've only written sort of serious stuff. I should do something weird instead, soon. I kind of miss the nonsense.
> 
> Until the next chapter, my duckies~!


	148. A Hot Piece of Tail

Warwick Academy: 'Twas a fine school, one that could have very well been the best in all of the United Kingdom, but due to several recent incidents of a violent and deadly nature, it has since lost credibility. Headmaster Horton has been trying for weeks to get the press off of his back, and has been so focused on it, he unknowingly approved a downright ridiculous proposal.

The Sensational Seven made the right decision in having _a certain child actor_ talk to the man for them about the fashion show idea. Lawrence Rose had a certain, disarming nature to him that allowed him to sway the hearts of practically anyone. It is even rumored that the boy could _make roses bloom around him at will._ He agreed to help on the sole condition that he may be included in the show as well, which was also beneficial. Having a reasonably well-known actor advertise your product would help them draw a crowd.

With so much going on, the seven had absolutely no time to loose. There was simply so much _planning_ to be done! There was set-up, location, catering, advertisement, security, and then finally, the actual design and creation of the various fashions that would be displayed. Eventually, the lads had decided to split up into groups and tackle various tasks individually. They had _Preston and Daniel_ in charge of set-up, getting the stage and other things together, _Travis_ in on catering, _Lawrence_ on advertisement and public relations, as well as _in_ the actual show, as he would be wearing _several_ designs. Ciel had put his two maids on security,- well, primarily the _werewolf_ , as Kristopherson had _insisted_ that the vampire _model._ Speaking of the boy in pink, he would be designing the outfits, and was also in charge of _making_ them.

This was perhaps the point where everything seemed to fall apart. While Kristopherson could easily design outfits, he simply couldn't possibly make them all by himself, and thus needed assistance. At this point, the lad had enlisted the help of his sister and all of her friends who had helped him make the the outfits as they had during the Halloween Festival, offering them places on the catwalk along with his current models, which consisted of Charlotte, Lawrence, and the Sensational Seven, _including Ciel,_ of all people.

Of course, the bluenette wasn't entirely _thrilled_ about the idea. He rather detested the idea. In fact, he tried to _weasel_ his way out of it at every given opportunity, only to be called out by the faux-blonde, who was _not_ going to budge on the matter.

Kristopherson could be almost _scary_ when it came to fashion. The boy was constantly arguing with his sister about her methods of production, which he would often apologize later for. He wasn't sleeping well at all during this time. He often looked tired, and had even started caring less about his own appearance, wearing clothes that didn't quite match perfectly as they usually did, and forgetting to shave his legs as he usually did. The boy had even neglected to _bleach his hair_ again, causing his true colours to grow in, revealing that he is, in fact, a _brunette,_ as it now covered the very top of his head, standing out loudly against his usual blonde. He would probably fix this and straighten himself out the day before, allowing himself to be ready for the performance. He, and the others who were aware of the demonic duo's supernatural status were currently in his room, and almost everyone was cross.

" _What?"_ the lad nearly growled, as he made adjustment's to the bluenette's wardrobe for the show. This outfit was so close to being done with, and Kristopherson found the staring of a certain _Daniel Westley_ to be immensely unsettling.

"Nothing." the son of a politician said plainly from his seat at the lad's cluttered desk. "I've just never seen you look so...

 _"'Masculine'?"_ suggested Audrey.

"Yeah. _'Masculine'."_ said Daniel with a slight nod. "Been neglecting your _beauty treatments_ , have you?"

" _Shut it."_ ordered the faux-blonde. "I just haven't had _time.._."

" _Ow!_ Could you pay attention to what you're doing?!" demanded the almost equally grouchy bluenette on the stool after Kristopherson had unintentionally poked him with a pin.

"Well, _stop squirming_ and I won't stick you!" Kristopherson snapped back.

"It's hard _not_ to squirm when I've got you _fondling_ me!"

"I am _**not**_ _fondling_ you!"

 _"Girls_ , please, _calm down."_ said Alois in an attempt to ease tension. "You're _both_ _ **pretty."**_

"You have _no right_ to call _me_ a _'girl',_ Alois..." said the bluenette, giving the blonde a look before getting jabbed again. " _Ow!"_

" _Oops,_ _sorry."_ Kristopherson said half-heartedly.

"Rubbish! _You did that on purpose!"_

"Guys, Alois is right. _Calm down_." said Audrey at last. It was plainly obvious that things should definitely not escalate any further. "Let's not get worked up. We have stuff we need to do."

"That's easy for _you_ to say! _You've_ hardly got anything at all to do!" the boy in pink accused.

" _Give me something to do, then_." said Bones.

" _Alright,_ I need everyone to _shut up_." said Kristopherson. As soon as he did, everything remained silent for the longest time. Silence hung in the air like some sort of miasma, slowly suffocating everyone in the room. Finally, Alois had decided that he had quite enough of this unsettling quietness, and had decided to entertain himself.

As of late, the blonde demon has discover how to only partially transform into his demonic form, to the point where he doesn't do the entire "costume change", or to where he can only develop certain traits of demonity at times of his choosing. Ciel, too, has this ability, but doesn't find it nearly as amusing as the blonde does. Alois was especially fond of his _tail_ , and used it often to pick things up around the house like a monkey, much to the annoyance of the bluenette. Ciel had often claimed that it was "ungentlemanly to take ones tail out in the presence of others", yet that didn't stop the blonde from doing so.

With a grin, Alois summoned the appendage, his eyes glowing crimson. When it appeared, he took to amusing the others with it, _putting it across his upper lip in order to resemble a mustache._ When Daniel and Audrey noticed, they immediately started to snicker, both covering their mouths as to not make much noise. When _Ciel,_ noticed, however, he frowned.

"Alois, what have I said about the tail?" he asked with a stern tone, immediately causing the faux-blonde to look in the blonde's direction. He was immediately speechless.

With a sigh, Alois answered. "That _'showing your tail is for animals, not gentlemen'_." quoth he. "I don't see what the _big deal_ is. Everyone here knows we're _demons_."

"That's not the _point..."_ replied the Phantomhive boy. "The point is, it's incredibly _rude_ to show your tail in public!"

"But _why?"_ asked Daniel.

Ciel simply folded his arms in response. " _It just is._ "

"Well, I guess it's kind of like showing your _'naughty bits'_ in public, isn't it?" asked Audrey. "Because they're both always _hidden?"_

"Oh my God! Alois! _Put that thing away!"_ joked Daniel. Alois simply stuck out his tongue in response.

While this was going on, Kristopherson had finished his adjustments, leaving Ciel to go get changed. The bluenette stepped down off of the stool, and headed for the door, as he wouldn't get changed in front of all of these boys for obvious reasons. He would instead get changed in the bathroom down the hallway, but before he did, he stopped just short of the door.

"Your tail is your _biggest weak point,_ that is why it's _unwise_ to show it. It's _rude,_ however,because it's also an _erogenous zone."_ he said before turning the knob and leaving. He left the four to dwell on that as he went and changed into his usual attire. The three humans simply stared at the blonde with blank faces, as the boy's face turned red.

"What?! _I didn't know!"_ he shouted indignantly as he shifted his form to that of a complete human being.

"Trying to _seduce Ciel_ again, are you?" asked Daniel.

"I guess that's what's called, _'passive seduction',_ huh?" inquired Kristopherson, his face as pink as his T-shirt.

"We don't understand all of your _gay-terms_ , Kris..." replied the politician's son.

"I wasn't trying to seduce _anyone!"_ Alois insisted. "I thought it was _just_ a tail!"

"Oh yeah, you're _new_ to this whole _'demon'_ thing, aren't you?" asked Audrey. "You know, you aren't very demon-like, actually."

" _Shut up!"_


	149. In Catwalk Limbo

It was only a few days before the unveiling of Warwick's grand fashion expose', and the lad's were busily debating on how they were supposed to travel down the catwalk. They debated on the order in which they'll be going on, the way that they would be walking, even how they posed at the end before walking back along the path that they had just ventured. One would think that this is all insignificant, but it _wasn't._ The future of Warwick depended on how the lads and lassies presented themselves to the public.

Be that as it may, Daniel didn't see it that way. He simply believed it all to be as simple as walking out, and walking back, which is what most people's assumptions would be. Most of the boys felt silly walking back and forth without ever seeming to make any progress. It was all a fruitless venture.

 _Kristopherson_ , however, disagreed. In his experience with attending fashion shows, he had noticed that the model's walks held a great influence over whether or not the crowd liked you or not. If you walked too fast, you were considered impatient, if you walked too slow, you were too cautious. Either way, it gave the audience the impression that you don't want to be there, and if you don't, why should _they?_ To do it properly, one needed both confidence, and grace, and right now, the lad's were lacking in both of those departments.

"What the hell was _that?!"_ asked the boy in the pink tie from his seat in front of the stage. "Why are you walking so fast?!"

"Because you've made me walk this stupid thing _a million bloody times!"_ shouted Daniel from the stage.

"Doesn't matter! Walk like you _want_ to be here, got it?!" ordered Kristopherson. "Do it again!"

" _FFFFFFUUUUUUUUUCCCCKKKKK!"_ shouted Daniel as he walked back to his starting position.

"That doesn't _sound_ like _'wanting to be here'!"_

Meanwhile, backstage, a certain pair of demons were conversing about this, that, and the other, along with nothing in particular. The topic would occasionally drift to the show itself, only to sway in another direction again. When it finally did turn back to the matter at hand, they would talk about how silly Kristopherson was being with his persnickety ways and his staying up all night making clothes. They would talk about the clothes themselves as well, talking about who's outfits they liked, and who's they didn't, saying thing like how "Daniel's suit looks like Doctor Who meets James Bond", and such. They also discussed their own attire, which they were pretty content with, as the faux-blonde was sure to design their wardrobe with their personal comforts at heart.

"I must say, you look _well fit_ in your suits." said the blonde with a smile. "I expected lots of black, blue, and some white, but I really didn't see the _red_ coming."

"I guess. The _heel_ on that outfit is somewhat bothersome, though." replied the bluenette.

"It's only to make you look _taller_ than me. I'll be wearing _a dress_ while you're in that costume."

"I haven't seen any of your _dresses_ yet..."

" _Before you ask_ , they're all an _appropriate_ length." interrupted Alois. "I wanted _those_ to be a surprise for you."

"Should I be worried?" asked Ciel. "I don't need any more difficulty with keeping my composure in public."

"I promise not to embarrass you... _much."_

 _"Get a room, will ya?"_ asked Audrey. He made the duo jump in surprise because they hadn't recognized him at all.

Bones had his bang out of his eyes, held in place with a hair-clip with a tiny rabbit on it, and was dressed completely different than usual. He had on a leather jacket with many studs on it that served no purpose other than to look cool, a white T-shirt with what looked like a charcoal drawing of a skull on it, and red, plaid pants tucked into black combat boots. He looked like some sort of punk rocker. The boy also appeared to be more cheerful than usual, but that could very well be due to the fact that they could see his _entire face_.

"Whoah, _Bones!_ You look great!" said the blonde boy as soon as he figured out the boy's identity.

"You figured out it was me, huh? _You're the only ones who did_. And here I thought I could be a _jerk_ to you two _without consequence_." Audrey said jokingly with a smile.

"It was pretty obvious when we saw _your eyes_." stated Ciel. Those yellow and green eye were unmistakable. Unless there was a new reaper in town, it had to be Audrey.

"Yeah, but not that many people have seen them, y'know?" said Bones. "I wonder if Kristopherson would let me _keep_ this outfit."

"I bet he would. I highly doubt that he would wear something like that." said the Phantomhive boy, unable to imagine the faux-blonde in such attire.

"Yeah, it's not _pink_ enough." said Alois.

"Too much _punk_ and not enough _pink_. I can definitely see that." joked Audrey. "Are you wearing a _dress_ again, Trancy?"

"Hell yeah! It's a _tradition!"_ the blonde joked back.

"We were just talking about that, actually. He says he won't show me his dresses because he wants them to be a ' _surprise_ '." spoke the bluenette.

"Sounds like _you're_ going to be having _fun_." said Audrey before turning his attention to the blonde boy. "So you have to cross-dress _every_ time you're on a stage?"

" _Yes._ Especially when it embarrasses Ciel."

" _Finally!"_ shouted a certain politician as he ran into the offstage area. Daniel was at last free from _"catwalk limbo_ ", as the lads refereed to it was.

When one was in " _catwalk limbo",_ one is forced to walk the catwalk back and forth, over and over again until Kristopherson is satisfied with your _competence_ in _walking_. The process was almost maddening, with each moment that passed by, you would start to feel less and less comfortable on the stage, and make even more mistakes because of this. The process is absolutely exhasperating, especially for _Daniel,_ who was the one who had spent the most time in limbo. The boy's train of thought didn't run on a particular track for long, so he lost all interest in the venture quickly.

" _Audrey!_ The _fashion diva_ wants you to do on next!" declared the brown-haired boy. "Go! Quickly! _Before he changes his mind and makes me go back out there!"_

"Alright. Calm down. _I'm going."_ said Audrey as he began to walk in the direction that the other boy had just came from. As soon as he was out of sight, the Westley lad turned his attention to the demonic duo.

" _He's going to die."_ he said.

"What?" asked the blonde with a laugh. "How?"

"I highly doubt Audrey is going to be able to get it on the first, or even _fifth_ time." Daniel explained. "Catwalk limbo is _no joke."_

"Then maybe you should try to do what Kristopherson tells you to the first time." suggested the Phantomhive lad.

"I thought I _did!"_ argued Daniel, only to see Bones walk back up to the group. "I thought you were going to walk?"

"I did." replied Audrey. " _One and done_."

_"You ass!"_

"It's okay, Daniel." said Alois, putting a hand on the lad's shoulder. " _Walking_ is a _difficult skill to develop."_

"You _all_ are _asses!"_

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One thing I've noticed that's pretty consistent in this is that I really don't spend a lot of time describing clothes. Usually, I give enough to give the audience some ideas and then let them fill in the blanks. That's sort of what readers do, isn't it? There's no way anyone else could picture a character exactly as I do unless I draw it for them. In this medium, the reader has to use their imagination. I feel like leaving it open is sort of advantageous, since there's SO many different interpretations on how Ciel and Alois dress in the fandom. My taste is actually pretty plain! But, I don't mind if other people have ideas.
> 
> Until the next chapter, my duckies~!


	150. That Foil, Fashionable

Warwick Academy in the eventing ordinarily took on an eerier atmosphere just as any other location would under the silent veil of night. The dark always brought on a natural sort of primeval, almost _childlike_ fear in the hearts of human beings, yet on this particular night, it wasn't quite so. Lights illuminated the academy's exterior in the area where the stage was set, and music played, the kind of music that could be found in your average techno club. It sort of made the lads backstage uncomfortable, with it's great, booming sound; A sensation that was only heightened when the Westley lad joked about how it was "the sort of music that could be heard in only three places: a fashion show, a techno club, or a _strip club_."

His statement was met with glares from the others for making them even more anxious and self-conscious than they already were. Everyone backstage felt extremely uneasy, due to several factors, the most prominent of which being _stage fright_. Every time one of them caught a glimpse of the crowd from their hiding place, the butterflies in their stomachs only seemed to increase in their unrest. The audience outside was composed of many important individuals in their lives, their parents, their peers, including teachers and fellow students, and not to mention that some of the people could very well be future investors in their families' businesses, putting not only themselves on the line, but their _parents_ as well.

Kristopherson, however, bore the worst of the sickness gained from overwhelming anxeity. It was _he_ who had the _most_ at stake, here. It was his designs, his entire future career in fashion that was at risk. The faux-blonde knew full-well that in the audience were high-profile designers and and owners of popular brands that had sacrificed their time to be here, and should he dissappoint them, _he could kiss his fashion career goodbye_. He didn't know how well he could take their eminent criticism. His ego probably couldn't bear being crushed with such intensity and force. He felt sick, but looked fabulous.

The boy wore what he called, "something simple that he threw together at the last minute", that he wasn't entirely thrilled about either. He wore a black dress shirt with two of the top buttons undone, with a loud, pink vest over it. His pants were white, and his belt was black, matching his shoes. Kristopherson had also taken the day before the event to clean himself up, finally shaving and re-bleaching his hair so that it had it's old pale blonde hue. He used concealer to mask the dark circles that had formed around his eyes in the weeks leading up to the event from lack of sleep, as well as other things so that his face would appear under the harsh lights on the stage. He swore he could hear Alois Trancy in the other room screaming and protesting about having to wear make-up for the very same reasons, but disregarded it as heavier thoughts weighed on his mind. The boy in the pink vest was, however, surprised to look up and see _yet another blonde_ standing in front of him with a smile.

" _Hey."_ said Cameron as greeting. "Nervous?"

"Hey..." said Kristopherson in return. "I think 'nervous' is a serious _understatement_ of what I'm feeling right now..."

"I don't think you really need to worry. All of your designs look great, and as long as your models are able to convey how much time and effort you put into making them, I'm sure the audience will love them too." said the Tamworthian, his cheeks a slight shade of pink.

" _Uhm, thanks..."_ Kristopherson, however, wasn't quite sure what to say in response. He felt his face start to get a little hot, and the butterflies in his stomach seemed to do a different dance now; one that wasn't an anxious one, but a _happy_ one. The boy liked it when someone took time to appreciate the work that he did when making clothes. A simple "they look good" was insufficient to the pink-loving boy. There seemed to be an imbalance between the work he put in, and the recognition he received. Admittedly, he found it quite frustrating when he wasn't fully acknowledged, even though that isn't the true reason why he does what he does.

"You bleached your hair again." said the slightly older boy, pulling the Warwick student from his thoughts. "I was kind of wondering what you would look like as a brunette. _I bet you would've looked pretty cute_."

The pinkness of Kristopherson's cheeks immediately switched to a more red hue at those words. Unconsciously, he played with his chemically abused hair.

 _"Why didn't you tell me that sooner?"_ he asked so softly that he might as well whispered. Before the other boy could answer, however, a yelling was heard from the room in which Warwick's "blonde menace" was getting his make-up put on, directing the attention of both lads to the door.

" _You almost jabbed me in the bloody eye with that thing!"_ Alois shouted at the girl who was trying to put on the boy's eyeliner. He didn't like putting on makeup. Not one single bit. He disliked it with the same intensity of the bluenette that was in the next chair over from him, who was currently undergoing the same process. The only difference being that Ciel could sit still and bear it, while Alois could _not._

He furrowed his brow, moved his head away from the applicators, flailed about and otherwise behaved ill-mannerly. His struggling only made the process take much longer than necessary, and in that time, his bluenette companion was already done, and was now just waiting on Alois. Ciel had to admit, it was quite amusing to watch.

The bluenette had on a black, double-breasted suit with military-stly accents such as small fasteners on the shoulders, one of which held a silver rope that wrapped underneath the lad's left armpit before wrapping over the shoulder again. The buttons on the coat were silver as well, standing out against the black with great prominence, and a silver stripe going down the side of the boy's left leg, reaching down at his black shoes. The pants were made slightly short on purpose so that the lad's white socks could be visible for whatever reason. Why it was that Ciel always had to be dressed in what appeared to be military dress-uniforms, will never be known.

He looked over to the blonde with amusement, who's own outfit didn't seem to match the boy's rude behaviour at the moment. Alois was simply wearing an inverted version of the other boy's wardrobe, his suit being white with all of the silver trimmings being replaced with gold. He even wore a black dress shirt and a black pair of socks, with a white tie and pair of shoes along with a surgical eye-patch on his right eye in order to contrast Ciel's own. It was as though they were dressed with the intended purpose of mirroring each other. Detail such as the side the buttons of the coat, the ropes, and the eye-patches appeared on however, remained unchanged for the purpose of maintaining what Kristopherson had referred to as "order", as the sides that the buttons appeared on were different for men's and women's coats, and the shoulder-ropes where traditionally worn on the side of the wearer's non-dominant hand. The lads simply didn't question it any further so the faux-blonde wouldn't go on a _two-and-a-half-hour-long rant_ about the _significance_ of such _minor_ details.

While much has changed since the last time Alois had to undergo this ritual of getting ready for the stage, the blonde still loathed it. How much he has matured since then didn't make even the slightest difference, causing the two boys to be a bit behind schedule.

"And to think," began the bluenette with a grin, "You'll have to do this _again_ when you they switch to the dresses. Then you'll have to wear _even more_ make-up."

 _"Why did I sign up for this?!"_ the blonde boy asked no one in particular.

"Because you're an _attention whore."_ said Kristopherson as he peeked into the room to investigate the screaming. He looked incredibly annoyed. " _Quit taking a piss and get back to work!"_ and with that, he left again, slamming the door as he left. The lad could be quite _scary_ when stressed.

Eventually, the make-up crew was able to get the Alois' eyeliner on after resorting to having the bluenette hold the boy's head in place so that he would stop squirming, and with that, they were on their way. Alois went to his point of entry on stage right, and Ciel to his on stage left, and they awaited their queue to go on. They would be walking at the same time for this particular set before returning backstage for a quick change before repeating the process. Sometimes, they would be together, sometimes they would be with someone else, and sometimes they would go alone, just as planned.

It was incredible how many unique designs that Kristopherson was able to produce in under a month. That alone was impressive by itself, but that meant nothing if the crowd didn't like the fruits of his labor. As the show began, he was in a cold sweat backstage by the time Lawrence walked out on stage in order to welcome the audience and announce the models. He was glad Lawrence was so generous to involve himself in this entire venture, as without him, there wouldn't be a show. Even if they did somehow miraculously receive the headmaster's "OK" on their own, they still wouldn't have such a large crowd. The actor was a valuable asset to the team.

Lawrence's duty was to go on, get the audience warmed up, introduce the men's line, then leave again before he went on again to introducing the women's. He would also be in the show itself wearing several designs, and he was glad to do so, as made obvious by the way he walked onto the stage with absolute confidence. He was obviously in his element, and was happy with his wardrobe, which consisted of a light grey dress shirt and a dark grey tie tucked into a grey sweater-vest with a blazer that matched the lad's eccentric personality. It started with dark grey at the top before changing into a lighter shade in the middle and then ending in a light yellowish-green at the bottom, breathing life into the boy's otherwise drab attire, giving it a fun sort of appearance. The actor's pants were a light grey as well, but were set off by his shoes, which weren't dress shoes at all, like one would expect, but sneakers, of all things, that were a combination of yellows and greens. While the lad's outfit was mostly grey, it held an essence that was very joyful and energetic, and when the audience saw him, they lit up and applauded.

" _Hello~!"_ he said into the microphone, performing the first of his first sacred duties. "How is everyone? My name is _Lawrence Rose_ , and I'll be leading you all through this whole experience!" he paused for a moment in order to allow the audience to applaud. He was very good at working them, as it is what he does as a career.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I'm so glad you were all able to make it here." he continued. "Y'see, Warwick is a wonderful school filled with wonderful, talented people, and I should know. I come here every day!" He paused a moment to allow the audience to laugh. He wasn't entirely sure _why_ it was funny, but he just went with it. His tone suddenly got serious. "But Warwick, ladies and gentlemen, has been exposed to some really _difficult scenarios_ over the past year, and we are all doing our best in order to turn this _misfortune_ into our _strength,_ in order to prepare ourselves for a _better_ tomorrow. This past does _not_ define Warwick. Warwick is my school, and I hold it very close to my heart. Warwick is full of _strong, talented, intelligent_ people, and tonight you will be getting a taste of the _true_ Warwick! _My_ Warwick! _Our Warwick! This show,_ ladies and gentlemen, _**is Warwick!"**_

Lawrence's speech seemed to move the audience, as they clapped and cheered. He had done his job perfectly. After that, he introduced the men's line as planned, having Ciel and Alois walk out on stage first.

The duo walked in sync, placing the same foot in front of the other as they walked side by side. It was unintentional at first, but they went with it, as it made the whole "mirror" theme of their designs that much more _so._ Alois was incredibly uneasy about walking while wearing an eye-patch. He couldn't even see the boy at his side due to his right eye being covered. He felt somewhat exposed while being conscious of only his own location, yet he still smiled and pretended that he wanted to be there.

His mirror image, the bluenette, was unnerved as well, and could see the discomfort that the blonde was currently experiencing from the look on his face. Ciel's eye could see the true contents behind practically anyone's mask, no matter how good they were. With his hands at his sides, he gently brushed against the other boy's hand, guiding his fingertips to the inside of Alois' palm, coaxing him to move his had a certain way.

When the fair-haired teen looked over at the other boy in order to see what he was doing, Ciel did the same in order to mirror him. Then it occurred to the lad what the bluenette was doing. They extended their arms, touching the palm of their hand against that of the other, so that they could both be aware of where their companion had gone at the end of the stage. Still touching, they both took their free hand at the same time and placed it over their chest before bowing to the audience. They then turned, disconnecting at last and walked back along the stretch of stage.

It was odd to the bluenette how such a simple touch could easily calm the nerves of his foil. He saw the expression on the blonde's face change from a forced smile to a genuine one in mere seconds, but that smile was now gone from his line of vision as the blonde was now walking on his right side. While he could no longer see it, he could still tell that the boy was grinning that silly, childish grin of his. Alois did feel much better now that he could see the bluenette again, and was practically giddy over the slight gesture that he had initiated.

They returned to the places from which they originated, Ciel to stage left, and Alois to stage right, then their places were taken by two others, Audrey and Preston, who were then replaced by Travis and Daniel, and so on. During this time, the Ciel and Alois had gotten changed into their next outfits. When Ciel saw the outfit that he was to wear next, his heart dropped down into his stomach at what he was to wear.

 _It was a dress_.


	151. The Devil Wears A Skirt

It was a dress. A. Dress. The bluenette boy felt nothing but horror at the cloth item that he held in his hands. Surely this wasn't for _him_ , was it? Alois or someone must have put it in his things as a _joke,_ right? These thoughts did nothing to quell his growing unrest when he discovered upon further examination, that this outfit didn't suit Alois at all. It was far too plain for him, thus it couldn't belong to the blonde at all. It _was_ for him. The bluenette swore that he was going to _murder_ the faux-blonde for this.

Slowly, he put the thing on, first the flowing white skirt that stopped just below the knee, the white tank-top that was covered by a black, draping top that fastened at the base of the neck, revealing the wearer's back and shoulders. He put on the long, beaded necklace with small white beads and large blue ones, along with somewhat over-sized dark-grey belt and sandals that went with it. He put on the long, black wig with pigtails that he had found with the outfit, parting the faux-hair to his right in order to cover up his contracted eye. The bluenette felt disgusted with himself as he looked at the image in the mirror. To his disappointment, he really did look like a girl. The shame he felt on that night at the Viscount Druitt's party rushed back into the front of his mind, causing the lad to feel a bit ill.

How could Kristopherson do this to him; _why_ would Kristopherson do this to him? Surely the boy wasn't _that_ cruel. Before he could dwell on this any further, the door opened, revealing his blonde companion in a dress and wig of his own.

"Jesus, Ciel! What are you doing?! I've been knocking forever! We need to go-" the blonde stopped talking as soon as he caught a glimpse of the bluenette. He stared, mouth agape, eyes wide, and his face red at the bluenette as he took in the sight of him in drag. Ciel stared back at him with equal amounts of shock. _Alois had seen him._

Suddenly, Alois tensed his leg muscles in order to quickly flee the scene, but his arm was caught by the slightly shorter boy, and he was pulled into the room. Ciel swiftly shut the door and locked it. He then turned to the blonde and glared at him, causing shivers to run down the spine of the latter.

" _You... saw..."_ was all the bluenette could say. His face was crimson all the way up to his ears.

" _Yeah..."_ replied the blonde as he eyed the other boy. "B-but I won't tell anyone! _Honest!"_

 _"I don't care! I don't want anyone, including you, thinking that I have some kind of weird hobby! I do not, I repeat:_ _ **do not**_ _cross-dress!"_ Ciel declared, clenching his fists.

"But... you're _cross-dressing now,_ aren't you?" asked the blonde. "Why are you wearing _someone else's_ outfit?"

 _"What are you talking about?"_ asked Ciel. "This was in _my_ things..." Both boys just stared at each other for a while longer before the blonde burst out giggling. He was laughing so hard that tears threatened to ruin his make-up. He held his sides in a vain attempt to control himself. Ciel simply frowned, furrowing his brow.

 _"What's so funny!?"_ he demanded. He had to wait until Alois finally managed to force out a coherent sentence between laughs.

" _Yo-you!"_ he said finally. "That's not _yours!_ Tha-ha-hat's _Kristopherson's!_ Someone put it in here by _mistake!"_

 _"WHAT?!"_ the bluenette shouted, grabbing the blonde's shoulders. "You've _got_ to be _kidding!_ Wait, how do _you_ know?!"

"H-he-hee... He sho-ho-howed it to me while I was being fitted for _mine!"_ the blonde said, tripping over his own laughter.

 _"Stop laughing!"_ Suddenly, there was a knock at the door, interrupting the duo's argument. Alois was sure to put his hands over his mouth as to not make any more sound. He could see the terror on Ciel's face at the situation he was in.

 _"Ciel? Are you almost done?! It's almost time for you to go on!"_ sounded the voice beyond the door. It was the voice of a rather angry Kristopherson.

" _I'll be done in a moment!"_ the bluenette shouted back in as firm a voice as he could muster under such stress. He quickly turned to the blonde and whispered. "You go and stand over there while I get changed. You have to leave _after_ I do so people won't think we did anything _weird_ in here, _got it?"_ Alois soundlessly nodded as his reply before doing as the Phantomhive boy instructed. Ciel, however, went back over to the clothing rack and grabbed the correct costume that he was to be wearing. Alois' eyes never strayed from him as he did so.

The blonde watched while Ciel hastily tore off the wig, and tossed it off to the side before he started removing his clothes. First the the black top, then the tank, and so on. The sight of seeing the bluenette in in a dress-, or more accurately, removing a dress right in front of the blonde seemed to be too much for Alois, as he suddenly felt warm liquid trail down from his nose and toward his chin. He caught the leak with his hand before any of it spilled onto his own, _pure-white_ dress and dyed it _crimson_. Ciel looked over to see the blonde before turning red in the face yet again.

 _"Did you just get a nosebleed?!"_ he asked in a hushed sort of _almost-yell_.

 _"I can't help it!"_ the blonde said back in a similar tone, his voice muffled by his own hand. He had to quickly move his other hand up to catch what was now leaking from the first one.

Ciel frantically looked around for something to wipe the blonde's face with, now only wearing his black pants the belt that went with it. He found nothing. There was nothing in that room that He could fix this with. He looked over at his own clothes, at the black T-shirt that he had arrived in, particularly. Finally, he grabbed it and threw it at the blonde.

" _There. Wipe your face with that_." he ordered, before going back to getting ready. He reached for the red shirt on the clothes rack, pulling it off the hanger before throwing it on, and buttoning it. (Yes, he had learned how to button his own shirts over the years.) The blonde just stared at the boy for a moment before heeding the bluenette's advice, and wiping the blood from his face.

" _Sorry..."_ he said looking down at his lap, causing the other boy to look at him with slight surprise. Ciel sighed before answering.

"Don't worry about it. _It wasn't your fault."_ he said, tucking his shirt into his pants. He finished putting on the rest of his accessories before walking over to the other boy and checking his face. He took the shirt from him and wiped away any stray smudges that the blonde had missed. He checked Alois' attire as well, making sure that no stray blood droplets had stained his dress.

Kristopherson had obviously been doing a theme of contrasting them. The blonde's dress made him resemble some sort of _divine_ being, with flowing lace and gold trimming. He had feather-like projections in his hair, and appeared to be based on some goddess of myth, or an angel, like the ones in many renaissance paintings-, the ones that _didn't_ want to kill people.

Ciel, on the other hand, was based on the image of the devil himself, with black pants tucked into black knee-high boots, and a belt with the word "sin" across the buckle. His shirt was red and baggy, like a crimson version of some kind of poet or something, and it had no buttons torwards the top, so it revealed part of his chest. Fortunately for him, it didn't threaten to reveal the brand underneath his left pectoral. Ciel wore a long, black coat that he was specifically instructed to put only his right arm through the sleeve, allowing the other side to only hang onto his left shoulder. The icing on the cake, however, was the boy's eye-patch for his costume, which was only a red, half-mask that cover his right eye, part of his cheek, and his forehead. It had what appeared to be a black horn protruding from the part of the mask that covered the forehead. For some reason or another, it felt as though the pink-loving, faux-blonde had put much more thought into the Phantomhive boy's outfit, oddly. It could have been attributed to the boy's recent discovery that the demonic duo was, in fact, _demons._

"I'm just... _embarrassed,_ is all." Ciel said finally.

"But I think you're _cute_ when you're _embarrassed_ , though." Alois replied, giving the other lad a smile. The bluenette caught the boy's chin in between his index finger and his thumb, forcing the blonde to look directly at him.

"I'm _'the devil',_ I'm _not supposed_ to be _'cute'."_ he said with a smirk. The blonde could only stare at him for a moment longer before smiling again.

"But that's not _my_ devil." Alois said. " _My_ devil is _cute_. He can also be kind of an _arrogant prick_ sometimes, but I still think he's _cute_."

The demon stood up and began walking to the door, his smile never wavering. He turned back to the other boy with his hand on the door knob. "I'll show you _just_ how _'cute'_ I can be when this is over." he said. "You should _learn_ by now that you _shouldn't tease_ _'The Devil'_." With that he left, leaving the blonde alone in order to try to calm down a fretting Kristopherson.

Alois simply smiled to himself. He would follow behind the other boy in another moment or so in order not to raise suspicion. In a few moments, the show would begin to draw to a close.

"I _like_ teasing _'The Devil',_ though. _'The Devil'_ is _most fun_ when he does _devilish_ things."

* * *


	152. Wolfwalk

The boy's couldn't believe what they were looking at, here. While the demonic duo was busy getting ready to go on, their place on stage had been stolen-, or rather, they were the wolf girl posed and strutted on the catwalk-, or "wolfwalk" it would seem.

Amelie had on a blue work shirt with the sleeves rolled up and a black tie. The word "Security" was on her armband, and likewise, she had on a police-officer-like hat on the seemed to be intentionally a little big for her head. Instead of a star or other symbol of law enforcement on the front above it's visor, the Warwick crest was in it's place, giving proof of the place that she was supposed to be guarding. Her shorts were black, and even shorter than those of the Blonde Menace, reaching above her mid-thigh. On her feet were black, knee-high combat boots, and in her hand was a stop sign for whatever reason. Not even Kristopherson, who had designed and giving her the uniform could explain _where on earth she squired the sign._

In fact, _he didn't even tell her to go on_. She just _did._ The boy in the pink vest, however, didn't really care since the crowd was loving her, and he was simply thankful that there wasn't a blank space due to the demonic duo being late. When he saw the pair in the wings of the stage, he furrowed his brow and frowned, mouthing something along the lines of " _I am going to kill you"_ at them.

As though sensing the arrival of the pair, the wolf-wolf girl walked back towards the wings, passing them as she went to return to her post. She gave them a "thumbs up" as she did, and with that, the lesbian-lolita-lycanthrope went back to her own duties. Her expression hadn't changed in the slightest the entire time.

Ciel and Alois watched her leave for a moment before a certain faux-blonde had gotten impatient, and, placing a hand on the backs of each boy, gave them a haughty shove forward. The demonic duo recovered from the initial surprise of being pushed, and began to walk, moving their feet to the beat of the obnoxious, booming music.

The lads costumes held a twisted sense of irony that only they and the members of the Sensational Seven who are aware of the supernatural world would understand. Ciel, the "demon master" was in a sort of artistic representation of The Devil himself, while Alois, his fellow-demon, was supposed to be some sort of angelic being.

Needless to say, the bluenette quite _liked_ this set. While he hadn't walked in shoes with a heel for quite some time, he didn't falter, and because of the few extra inches, the Phantomhive boy gave the appearance of being _taller_ than the Trancy lad. He would never admit to it, but this was a major part of why he liked the set. The boy also appreciated being able to see the blonde in a dress again, since he wasn't able to thoroughly enjoy the sight over the previous few times the blonde had dressed in drag. He would never admit to _that_ either.

A haughty, arrogant smile graced the demon's face as he walked side by side with the blonde menace. He had concocted an idea that would allow him to see the blonde's embarrassed face at the same time. The evil little cyclops did so enjoy teasing the blond lad, forcing him to make expressions and remarks that he otherwise wouldn't.

Thus, he simply placed his hand in the small of the blonde's back, chortling a bit to himself as he felt Alois shudder at the slight touch. With his free hand, he grabbed the hand of the flaxen-haired teen that was closest to him, giving the appearance that he was escorting Alois to some sort of ball, as if the blonde were actually a woman. The act seemed to noticeably annoy the other boy, as the lad's eyebrow twitched slightly, momentary breaking his mask. He cheeks were also noticeably more pink.

When they returned to the side wings of the stage from which they had originated, Alois' mask broke completely. He allowed himself to frown and furrow his brow as he looked to the rather smug bluenette as he made his vain attempt to look threatening. A male simply cannot look threatening in a dress.

 _"Stop treating me like a girl all the time!"_ he said in a hushed tone that oh-so desperately wanted to be a yell.

"I don't treat you like a _girl."_ Ciel whispered back. "I treat you like an _Alois_. Since when have I ever treated a woman so _nicely?"_

" _Whatever."_ Alois said, folding his arms. He couldn't exactly argue with the bluenette, now could he? Ciel had worded his reply just so, so that he may not be able to answer in the manner that he wanted to.

"What happened to _mister flirt?_ The one who used to say things like _'I'd be your princess any day'?"_ the Phantomhive lad teased, playing with a strand of faux-hair from the other lad's wig. " _Someone's_ developed a bit of _ego_."

"Is that bad? If memory serves, _you're_ the one with the _gigantic ego_."

 _"_ At least _I'm_ not the one in _a dress_."

_"You were several minutes ago."_

_"Speak of that to anyone, and I may just have to kill you."_

"You wouldn't dare! Who else would take care of your ' _special needs'?"_

"Oh, _there_ it is! Is this what Kristopherson called, _'passive seduction'?_ "

 _"How the hell would I kno-"_ Alois was cut off when the bluenette pressed his lips against his. Ciel lingered there for a few seconds before pulling away and smiling, leaving the blonde with a dumbfounded expression on his face.

"I don't do it to _belittle_ you, you know." said the Phantomhive lad. "I do it because I think you're cute, and I just _want_ to. Not _everything_ I do has some sort of _dark agenda_."

"Fine." the blonde replied finally. He couldn't remember the last time someone was able to make him feel self-conscious before Ciel Phantomhive. The bluenette made  
"the boy without shame" actually feel _embarrassed._ That, my friends, is no small feat.

Shortly afterward, the show began to draw to a close. Lawrence, the "host" for the evening walked back out on stage and said a few words before introducing the designer, calling Kristopherson out on stage. The look on the boy's face when he heard that was absolutely priceless. Kristopherson immediately turned to run in the opposite direction, desperate to avoid the scornful eyes of the crowd, but he was stopped by the demonic duo, and promptly escorted out onto the stage. His efforts to break free of the demons' grasp was all for naught. The poor boy's face was pink all the way up to his ears, yet the applause he received from the crowd put him at ease a bit. They liked his work. They actually _liked_ it.

The faux blonde was glad that Lawrence was able to notice his discomfort, as the actor gently gave him gentle nudges in the right direction when it was his turn to speak. He asked questions about the designs, the models, as well as the show itself, and cracked jokes while making observations. He made it feel like he was simply talking to the boy on any other day like the audience wasn't even there. Finally, as it was almost time to end the performance, Lawrence asked his final question.

"So what inspired you to make these designs, Kris?" he asked. His question seemed to completely catch the boy off-guard, as he jumped a bit. Then Kristopherson's face shifted from surprise and general discomfort to that of concentration.

" _My friends_ , I guess." said the boy sheepishly. "I just tried to make designs that I thought they would like. Stuff that might make them _happy."_

"I'm sure happy with mine!" the actor replied. "You don't see stuff like this just anywhere!"

"Well, you're welcome to _keep_ the outfit, you know." said the faux-blonde with a smile. "Personally, I prefer _pink_ to _green_."

After they exchanged for a while longer, Lawrence bidded the audience farewell, and the show ended. There was a party afterward, that most of the seven were too tired to actually attend. Kristopherson stayed behind of course and mingled with the guests, but he didn't get lonely even in the slightest, regardless of his friends' absence. Cameron stayed with him, after all.

While the demonic duo didn't necessarily need sleep, the lads still felt a little drained from the experience, and retreated to the black Rolls Royce in the parking lot before riding home. Ciel was in his suit from earlier because of the blonde's blood on his T-shirt from that whole _embarrassing situation_ in the dressing room, and the blonde did the same for no reason, really. They arrived home; demons, werewolves, and vampires all returned to their "normal" lives once again, readying themselves for whatever came their way next...

* * *


	153. The Effects Of A Full Moon

It was a fine Saturday at Phantomhive Manor with the sun shining over head, yet even with it's warm rays, the cold autumn air negated it's heat and chilled the manor's inhabitants as they stood out back near the garden. They were almost done with tonight's preparations, putting up a small, temporary shed. You see, tonight was a _full moon_ , and one of the servants of the house was, in fact, a _werewolf_.

Amelie's vampiric companion had explained the details of her-, _ahem_ , " _medical condition"_ for her to the master of the house _,_ as the silver-haired girl wasn't much of a fan of verbal communication. Contrary to popular belief, werewolves are in full control of themselves, even under a full moon. They can even cycle between their forms at will on any other occasion. For some unknown reason, however, the night of the full moon is the exception. It may never be fully understood, for science has never had the ability to study a lycanthrope before.

To prevent the girl from tearing anything up, she will have to spend the night in the shed out behind the manor. As a giant wolf-monster that is almost twice the size of an average human-being, she simply will not fit in the manor, much like the demon-hound that had lived there at one point. The only difference was that Amelie was a tad more... civilized. That is what differentiated the two species.

One was civil, the other was not; one was born a monster, the other was not. Let me make the distinction clear right now: Demon Hounds, and Werewolves, are two completely different monsters. The master of the Phantomhive household once sat trough a nearly full-hour lecture on the subject by Sir Hellsing, leaving the encounter with the impression that the woman was a " _monster-obsessed fiend_ ", to quote him.

Regardless, the lad now knew what he was dealling this and, in theory at least, the situation should be fairly easy to handle so long as they have the wolf-girl's cooperation. This, however, wasn't entirely the case, as the girl continuously hid from them throughout the day, much to the bluenette's annoyance. Charlotte continuously apologized for the girl, saying that she gets sort of excitable around the day of the lunar phase.

"It's alright, _we'll find her_." Ciel replied. "The real problem is how would we catch her if she were to run?"

 _"Put her on a leash?"_ asked his blonde companion as he assisted in the search.

"We'd still have to _catch_ her for that..."

 _"I've got nothing, then..."_ The bluenette simply rolled his eye at the other boy's silliness.

They searched both inside, and outside, splitting up and reuniting a few times, only to come up with nothing. It isn't as though the girl could completely conceal her supernatural presence, so finding her should have been easy, however the Manor's grounds covered a large area, and Amelie could be hiding in any single one of it's many nooks and crannies. Soon, it was just the lads who had came across one another, only to report that neither of them had anything to show for their efforts. At long last, though, the demonic duo was approached by a familiar face.

It was Sebastian, of course, and it seemed as though he had just come in from the outdoors, presumably from adding last-minute touches to the structure that the missing girl was supposed to stay in, as he smelled like the autumn air. He gave a polite bow to the bluenette boy and smiled before opening his mouth to speak.

"I'm finished with all of the preparations, my lord." he said. "Is there anything else that you require?"

"Yes, actually..." replied Ciel. "...Amelie has apparently decided to run off. Our search for her has proved to be absolutely pointless."

"She's _missing?"_ asked the butler. "But I just saw her, _sitting in the shed_ before I came in." The Earl couldn't help but feel a pang of annoyance at the news.

"She was there the _entire time?!"_ whined the blonde, asking the very question that Ciel wanted answered. "That _bitch!_ I could've been doing something worthwhile!"

"I'm pretty sure _looking up random videos on youtube_ hardly counts as 'worthwhile', Alois." said the bluenette. He rubbed his temples in order to fight off a headache and sighed. "That will be all for now, I suppose. Tell Charlotte that Amelie has been found."

"She _already knows_ , sir." replied the man clad in black. "She's _in the shed with Amelie_." Ciel's eyebrow twitched at the implication behind that before disregarding it. He began walking down the hallway again, on his way to his office.

"Then you're free to perform your other duties, Sebastian." he said, absent-mindedly waving the man off as he walked away.

He knew he was being followed by the blonde as usual, since he could hear the other boy's erratic footsteps that always seemed to change tempo every once and a while. Sebastian, however, did as he was told, and returned to his work, but not before watching the pair for a moment longer with amused eyes. It never ceased to amuse him how the blonde childishly clung to his master, and how his master held such attachment to the bizarre boy. As perverse as that may sound, it wasn't in the slightest. He simply found it somewhat endearing, if that makes any sort of sense. It was as though the demon had started to feel very _human_ emotions such as _attachment_ to this house and it's occupants, even though it was the very place of his imprisonment. Perhaps Sebastian was starting to come down with a severe case of _Stockholm Syndrome,_ but one thing is clear: he would never be able to let go of this place with any sort of ease.

Meanwhile, the lads were in the bluenette's office, actually working, of all things. On occasion, the blonde would help Ciel with his paperwork in relation to the Funtom toy company, or a modernized version of the original that Alois knew. The company was still prospering, even with the change in eras. It nearly had to be rebuilt from the ground-up when the Phantomhive boy returned from his supposed "death", but was doing extraordinarily well.

"Oh, yeah, when's your meeting?" Alois asked suddenly, recalling the bluenette mentioning something about it. He put down his pen for a moment and rested his cramping hand, shaking it like that would somehow shake the tension in his muscles, before passing the finished paper in his hand for the other boy to look over and sign.

"In a few hours, why?" replied Ciel, taking the paper from the other boy.

"I dunno... I get _bored_ when you're not around..." said the blonde as he picked his pen back up and began jotting down information on the appropriate documents.

" _Lonely,_ you mean?" said the Phantomhive boy, a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. "You're so _clingy_." he teased and the blonde pouted.

"Well, _pardon me_ for wanting some form of friendly interaction!" the blonde said back in a sarcastic tone. He knew his companion was merely teasing him. He was starting to get used to this kind of kidding from the bluenette.

"To be honest, I'd rather stay here and mess with you, but alas, I have to _work_ sometimes."

"You don't call _this_ 'work'?" Alois asked, holding up several papers that needed filling out.

 _"_ Not when I have _you_ to do it _for_ me." Ciel said with a smirk. He chuckled when the blonde tried to look menacing, but failed miserably. The Phantomhive boy was starting to see why the blonde enjoyed to pester people so much.

"Why am I even helping you with this!?" the blonde asked.

"Because you _offered?"_ replied the other boy as her looked over another document.

He heard a small " _hmpf_ " from his companion, and assumed that was the end of it and smiled to himself at his "victory". He hadn't however, noticed the other boy getting up and walking over to his desk until the lad placed his hands on it's surface and leaned forward, staring at the bluenette. Ciel looked up from his paper at the boy.

" _Yes?"_ he asked. "Can I _help_ you?" His smirk faltered a bit when the blonde placed a hand on his cheek.

"You're so _mean,_ Ciel." said the blonde menace. "I haven't gotten to play with you all day because of Amelie, then we have to do paperwork, and then you have to leave me for a meeting." Alois leaned in to whisper in the bluenette's ear. "Hey, remember the _last time_ we were like _this?_ At the costume party? I wonder, if you had _really_ _'seen through my female disguise from the beginning'_ like you said, _why_ did you allow me to touch you _just like this?"_

"Is this your feeble attempt _assert_ yourself, _Jimmy?"_ asked the bluenette, calling the other boy by his favourite pet-name. He never used any traditional nickames for the blonde because they both sounded silly and didn't press the right buttons.

"Could be..." replied Alois. "...Or I could simply be pointing out an observation. I _wonder_ about these things, sometimes, you see?"

" _Is that so?"_ now Ciel simply sounded amused. He didn't really perceive the blonde as a threat to his ego at this point, as he was usually capable of countering whatever the blonde said with his own wits.

"Yes, and I've also wondered... Why exactly do you _insist_ on being the pitcher? Is it to _make up_ for your own-, _ahem, short-comings?"_

Ciel stood up suddenly at that. He grabbed the boy's wrist and glared at him, a slight blush visible on his cheeks. He stayed like that for a moment longer, staring at the blonde's smirking face as he pondered his next move.

" _Maybe."_ he said finally. "Maybe _not._ Maybe I just like watching you _squirm_."

"That's a lot of _'maybes'."_ said Alois.

"Maybe I _like_ 'maybes'." Ciel let go of the blonde's wrist and walked around to the other side of the desk were his companion was standing.

They both simply stood there for a moment, both trying to stare the other down. For a moment, it looked as though they were evenly matched, but after a while, the blonde's gaze began to show signs of faltering. Under the bluenette's gaze, he couldn't help but feel somewhat vulnerable. That's how the Phantomhive lad made everyone feel, but this was different. This sort of vulnerability wasn't _frightening_ , per se, but rather, it bruised his ego a bit. As soon as he could no longer resist the urge to look away, the bluenette pounced, snaking an arm around the boy's waist, and holding his chin in place with his thumb and index finger.

"You know, you aren't that good at the whole _'menacing'_ thing." said the Phantomhive boy.

"And _you_ aren't that good and this whole _'maintaining composure'_ thing as you used to be." Alois said back, mockingly. "Tell me, why is it that when I'm around you that we always end up like this? Is the _'guard-dog'_ actually a complete _'horn-dog'?_ Pervert."

 _"I'm_ the _'pervert'?_ Who is it that's always relentlessly flirting with me and saying dirty things?"

"Only because you look like you'd appreciate it. Tell me, what's it like being trapped going through _eternal_ _puberty_ for _a hundred years?"_

 _"Infuriating;_ much like _you_ are. Exactly how long to you plan on _pretending_ to play this tug-of-war for dominance?"

"For as long as you plan to _pretend_ that it belongs to only _you_."

"I have _a few hours_ before my meeting, so why don't we play a _'game'_ to find out who's right?"

"Prepare to _lose_ , Phantomhive."

_"Not even in your dreams, Jim."_

* * *


	154. A Disturbing Find On The Thames

The city of London was veiled in fog on this day, and the remaining leaves left on the trees shook violently at the slightest cold breeze that autumn would so wickedly and unexpectedly puff out of nowhere. Police cars gathered around a bridge along with an abulance due to the unusual discovery that several local children came across as they played by the river. It was cold, pale, and completely devoid of life as it floated on the water's surface. It was a body; a body that the authorities were busily fishing out of the water before any other children saw it and went home crying, never to return to their play-place again. At first it had looked like an ordinary suicide, but no, upon further inspection, it became absolutely clear that this was not performed of the now deceased's will. It was _murder._ A certain detective stood, waiting for a certain " _specialist"_ to arrive, shuddering at both the cruel air an by the sight of the body bag on the ground.

Detective Bailey didn't like having to call "him", but what choice did he have? The nature of this crime, was simply too much for him. He had seen his fair share of gruesome crimes scenes, but _this..._ The person who had committed such an act of cruelty was obviously too freakish for even the detective to handle. He reached into his pocket before pulling out a cigarette, and lit it, scowling at how his supposed "specialist" was prone to taking his sweet time.

"Sir, what are we waiting for?" asked a voice behind him. He turned around to see a female coworker of his, and fellow detective, _Detective Smith_ , looking at him confusedly. The woman was intelligent, but inexperienced, and was a ranked below the senior detective. "We can't just leave this body out here in the open like this! Can't we just meet this _'Phantomhive'_ guy at the station?"

"I'm afraid not." Bailey said, taking his cigarette out of his mouth to speak. "It's best to let him see the evidence first-hand. He might find something that we missed, like he _always_ does." The Senior Detective perked up when he heard the sound of a car pulling up. The roar of the engine was unmistakable to the man's ears. "Well, _speak of the devil..."_

Smith looked past her superior, watching as a tall man clad in black stepped out of the car, and walked to open the door for his master. At first, she thought it was the butler who was the "specialist" that Bailey had spoke of until he did this. Se expected to see a serious-looking man about the age as Bailey, but was instead presented by someone completely different. While the male who stepped out of the backseat had the "serious" sort of look, he looked very young, far too young to be doing this job. He was but a mere child.

Ciel stepped out of the black Rolls Royce wearing a suit of a similar shade in everything but it's blue tie. Even the coat he wore to protect himself from the chilly wind was black. The boy who exited after him was dressed similarly, save for a violet-coloured tie. The second boy was blonde, and had a lighter, less businesslike air about him. The appearance of these two surprised the junior detective.

"What are these _children_ doing at the crime scene, sir?" she whispered to Bailey, earning an odd look from him.

 _"Show some respect_." the man said, putting out his cigarette. "That's _Ciel Phantomhive_ and _Alois Trancy_. They're higher up than any of us will _ever_ be."

" _Bailey."_ the bluenette lad said, giving a slight nod as greeting as the blonde next to him smiled and waved.

" _Phantomhive."_ the man said back. "This is Junior Detective _Karen Smith_ ; Smith, this is _Ciel Phantomhive and Alois Trancy."_ He gestured to each lad as he said their names.

" _H-hello..."_ greeted the woman.

 _"Pleased to meet you_." said Ciel. "I trust that this is a matter of great urgency for me to be asked to come out here."

" _It is_. This way." said Bailey as he gestured for the others to follow him. They walked over to the body bag that was carefully set out on the ground out of the immediate view of the public gaze. He didn't even have to say anything before the bluenette had already crouched down next to it and unzipped it, wrinkling his nose at the smell of decay before setting eyes on the body itself.

The bluenette lad looked back to the detective, as if confused by what he was looking at. When he heard that a body was found in the river, he suspected a drowning victim, or anything but _this_ , really. This person had died from _decapitation,_ of all things. That was unusual, to say the very least. Ciel gestured to his butler for a moment, holding out his hand.

"Gloves." he said simply, and in response, the man pulled a pair of rubber gloves out of his coat, and handed them to the boy. Alois simply stood behind the man, making disgusted faces as the bluenette poked the corpse.

From inspecting the body closer, he could see that around the stump of a neck from which the head had separated, were areas that had appeared to be _burnt,_ of all things in a most peculiar way. It was burnt and it was _mangled;_ not cut cleanly at all. Next, Ciel began digging around in the pockets of the body, in search of anything else. Identification, or anything that could lead to an explanation as to were this person was heading, like movie tickets or something. He found a wallet with the person's I.D., strangely full of things like money and credit cards as well as their cell phone.

"I'm not sure what to make of this." said the bluenette finally, as he pressed the "power" button on the device, knowing that it probably wouldn't activate due to the nautical abuse it had received prior. "Do you know where the _head_ is?"

"It's probably at the bottom of the Thames, by now." said Bailey.

"That's a shame..." said the bluenette, trailing off. He dug around in the inner pocket of the corpse's coat, finding something that was a bit out of the ordinary. A _walkie-talkie._ Ciel fiddled with the device as he thought about all of the possible reason's that this person had it on them. He flipped the switch that supposedly activated it, and nothing happened. All that he heard was static. He slipped it into his pocket anyway, thinking that it might come in handy before standing up.

"Is there anything else?" the boy asked without looking at the detective, and instead at the surrounding area. The blonde lad walked over to him and followed his eye, apparently understanding what the bluenette was doing.

"No. This is all we've found, so far." said Detective Bailey. "I just thought it would be the sort of thing that might _interest_ you."

"Where there others like this one?" asked Ciel, finally looking at the man. He knew that the man wouldn't call him if this was the only one.

"Yeah. They had walkie-talkies on them as well, with the head gone. So what now, 'Guard-dog'?"

"Now, I _ignore you_ and investigate." said the boy with an arrogant smirk. "Tell me, do you ever solve any cases on your own?"

"Not as often as I'd like." the man said back. "Go do your thing. Just make sure I don't _catch_ you."

"Will do. _Sebastian, Alois, let's go_."

With that, the demons walked away from the scene, climbing back into the vehicle before disappearing from the officer's view. They didn't even say goodbye. Detective Smith watched as the black car got smaller and smaller as it got further away.

"That's _it?"_ she said finally. "That's _all_ he needed to see?"

 _"He never does stick around for long."_ replied Bailey, lighting another cigarette.

"What good could a _child_ do with that information? Is it even right to let a child see _that?"_ Smith asked, folding her arms. She couldn't believe that her superior let children onto a crime scene and allow them to play with the body. Bailey paused before answering.

"He ain't a _child."_ he said at last. "That boy _... He's the devil himself_."

"What is _that_ supposed to mean?"

"When I retire and you take my position, _you'll find out."_ With that, the man decided it was time to wrap things up. Knowing full-well that the demonic duo was already finding answers to this bizarre case; almost as bizarre as the boys themselves.


	155. Evidence at Hungerford Bridge

"Where to, my lord?" asked the man in the driver's as the demons drove away from the crime scene. Ciel paused before answering to lean over and look out the windshield.

 _"There."_ he said, pointing at a bridge that crossed the Thames River. "The water runs _East to West,_ so that's _probably where the body was dropped_. Head that way."

" _Yes, my lord."_ said Sebastian as he turned onto the appropriate path. The bluenette sat back down in his seat, and folded his arms, thinking about the case.

"So what do you think?" asked the blonde seated next to him. " _Headhunters?"_

"I highly _doubt_ that." replied the eye-patched gentleman. "While it's _possible_ that the perpetrator may be _keeping trophies_ , I sincerely doubt it."

"Why's that?" asked Alois.

 _"It's only a hunch."_ replied Ciel. He looked out the window as they pulled onto the bridge.

"Would you like me to pull over anywhere in particular?" asked Sebastian.

" _In a few feet."_ said the Phantomhive lad. He had been looking at the river in order to deceiver the best location for the body to drop in order for it to reach the location where it was found. The railing on the bridge got closer as the car began to slow down. Ciel didn't wait for Sebastian to open the door for him, and did it himself, immediately turning his attention to the sidewalk that was between the railing and the road. He turned to his two underlings and gave them their instructions. "Search this area for any signs of a body being _dragged_ , or in the less likely scenario, a struggle."

"Yes, my lord." said Sebastian.

"Yes, my master." said Alois.

Thus, they split up along the highway, looking for anything of any interest at all. The lads shivered at the touch of the cool breeze, while the oldest of the demons paid it no mind. It was fortunate that they didn't have to search for long. It was Sebastian who found what they were looking for-well, not exactly, but it was _close_. The butler called over the demonic duo in order to get their take on such an odd discovery.

The concrete was stained with splatters of a sort of reddish brown colour, immediately recognized as dried blood. It covered the sidewalk, making it absolutely baffling how in wasn't noticed. The conspicuousness of the marks wasn't the only odd thing about it, but the _patterns._ The stains fanned outwards from one spot, or where the victims was standing at the time, but the odd part was that they didn't appear to struggle in the slightest, seeing as though there was one obvious, designational point. Moreover, it appeared as though they were alone when it happened. Moreover, judging by the quantity of the substance, and the fact that it could only be found in this one, single, solitary point, the killer, if there was one, was not here.

Had the victim simply decapitated themselves? No. That was an impossibility. A human being simply couldn't chop their own head of with out assistance, and since there was no sort of mechanism nearby, they couldn't have done this themselves. That is when the bluenette recalled the burnt and mangled appearance of the neck on the body. What could possibly have done that?

"Sebastian, take a note." said the bluenette, pausing for the man to pull out a small notepad and pen. "We must tell the inspector to have the neck examined for any kind of explosive substance." The butler smiled as the boy said this, the method that the boy was thinking about clicking in his mind.

"So, you think that an _explosive_ caused their heads to come off?" asked the blonde menace, placing a hand on his hip. "Kind of like those collars in _Battle Royale?"_

" _It's looking possible."_ Ciel replied with a slight smile, remembering when he made the other boy watch the film of that very name. Oh, how the Trancy lad squeaked, and coward at the violence. "What I want to know, though, is what the _walkie-talkies_ are for."

"Perhaps to give them _instructions_." said Alois. "Maybe they needed to complete a task or so in order to get it removed. Like in _Saw_."

"Now _that_ was a fun movie to watch with you." Alois frowned as the bluenette's smile widened at the memory.

 _"I will never forgive you for making me watch that_."

"Don't be such a baby. It was _just_ a movie."

"Well, judging by the evidence, it very well may _not_ be simply _'just a movie'."_ The blonde paused, and looked over the bridge on which they were standing, looking out at the city. He looked out and saw the massive Ferris-wheel that the boys had rode on together a while back. That was a far more pleasant memory he shared with the bluenette than watching movies with the boy.

Suddenly, however, the blonde stopped to think. He furrowed his brow in concentration as he gazed upon The London Eye, and after a while longer, he moved from his location to the very center of the messy reddish brown patterns. He looked straight ahead at the scenery from this new location and pointed something out.

"They weren't moving. They were standing still." he said finally, looking at Ciel to gauge the other boy's reaction.

"You're right." said the bluenette, not knowing why he didn't think of that. "From the patterns on the ground, they were standing still, and from where they ended up, we know that they were looking out from that point, but the question is: _why?"_ Now it was his turn to furrow his brow and think. " _Why_ would they stand _here_ , given the supposed scenario?"

"Maybe it's like in _Sherlock."_ said Alois. "Maybe they were solving a _riddle."_

"But why _the Eye of London?_ What is _there_ of importance?" asked Ciel.

"Who knows? Maybe they were told to ride it?"

"That's ridiculous, and it was a _rhetorical_ question."

"'Bout as ridiculous as the whole _'exploding-collar'_ theory." said the blonde with a grin.

" _You're_ the one who _brought it up_." said the bluenette.

" _You're_ the one who _made me watch the movie in the first place_."

It was right then and there that the lads' playful bickering was interrupted by the vibration of the Phantomhive lad's cell phone. Ciel always had it on vibrate so it wouldn't disturb anyone near him. The sound of a cellphone going off simply annoyed him. He swiftly reached into his pocket and pulled out the device before placing it next to his ear.

 _"Hello?"_ he answered, pausing while the person on the other end spoke. "I'm at _Hungerford Bridge_ , why?" He paused again. Alois looked at Sebastian questioningly, and in turn, the man simply shrugged, unable to hear the information that was being dispensed over the phone. Soon, the bluenette spoke again, saying: " _I'm on my way_." in a grave tone before ending the call and turning to his associates.

"We have to get to the _London Bridge Hospital_ , right _now."_ he said, motioning for the others to follow him to the car.

"What ever for, my lord?" asked the butler as he and the blonde followed the Phantomhive boy, both equally confused about the situation. The bluenette didn't slow his pace for a single moment, putting his hand on the handle to open the car door.

 _"It's Preston. They got Preston_."


	156. Hearing Voices

It was surprising that the demons didn't get a speeding ticket on their mad-dash to the hospital. They went up to the front desk, from which they were led down the long hallway of the building to the room where their friend was held. Upon entering the room, they were relieved to see that their friend was still _alive,_ but with further inspection, they discovered that he wasn't quite _unharmed._

Preston looked at them, allowing him to get a better look at his face, revealing that he had various cuts and scrapes, especially on his forehead, where it looked like he had been hit pretty hard. The boy had a black eye, and his lower lip was cut, but the most unsettling aspect on his face was his expression. He had an odd mix of worry, confusion, and terror on it, heightened by the fact that he looked rather ill. His skin had lost some of it's usual colour, as blood moved to other areas of the body that focused on fight or flight. What had the boy so frightened, wasn't the fact that he had taken an obvious beating-, no, _it was the device around his neck._

While the demonic duo had only been _joking_ about explosive collars, they found out that there in fact, was such a thing, as one of these devices was now attached to poor Preston. By some cruel twist fate, the boy was apprehended on his way from his violin lessons, only to become a random victim in this madman's game. The device was black, with bits of metal attached to it, along with plastic boxes that supposedly contained either the mechanism or the explosives themselves, along with a timer. When the demons walked in, it approximately read _eighty-one hours, forty minutes, and fifty-three seconds_ , and the number was steadily counting down. Judging by the lad's expression, he has been informed of his predicament.

Also in the room with him was Senior Detective Constable _Bailey_ , and Junior Detective Constable _Smith_ , both wearing grim faces. Bailey leaned against the wall while Smith sat in a nearby chair, both of them appeared to be waiting for the duo. The male detective grabbed a walkie-talkie off of a table, before putting it up against his ear and pressing the button.

"Alright. Phantomhive is here." said Bailey, obviously trying his best to remain calm. "Now tell us the _conditions_ you were talking about!" There was a pause before a the device made a sort of crackling noise, and emitted a voice.

 _"Simon says give the walkie-talkie to Phantomhive."_ it said. With great reluctance, the man obeyed, passing the device over to the bluenette, who hesitantly put it up to his ear and pressed the button.

 _"This is Phantomhive."_ Ciel said, not allowing his voice to waver in the slightest. "What are these _'conditions'_ Bailey mentioned?"

 _"Simon says that in order for the boy to live, you must solve puzzles_." said the voice on the other end. "These puzzles need to be completed within the time limit, or the collar will explode. Don't fret, however, for with every riddle or puzzle solved, _Simon_ will add _another hour_ to the time by remote."

" _Are there any other rules?"_ asked the bluenette, glancing over to the boy in the hospital bed.

 _"Yes."_ said the voice. It was muffled due to the crackling the the device itself, providing white-noise whenever there was a pause. "Simon says that the only ones allowed to play are the boys. _No one else can help_. Not the police, or the butler. Only the three boys in this room. Next, Simon says that no one _but the people who already know_ are allowed to know about the game." Ciel looked to the others in the room, who nodded in response.

"Is that all?" he asked.

 _"Yes. Would you like your first challenge?"_ the voice asked. The bluenette let go of the button for a moment to look at Preston.

" _Are you ready?"_ he asked. His voice was softer than usual at the question, as he knew the boy was already on edge as it is.

"I don't have a _choice,_ do I?" replied the Indian boy, his voice shaking slightly. It was obvious that he was trying not to break down at this point. It was surprising that he hadn't already. With his response, Ciel pushed the "talk" button again to speak to the voice on over the walkie-talkie.

"We're ready." he said firmly. There was a pause before there was an answer.

" _Good."_ said the voice. _"Simon says that for your first task, you must find the tallest person in London, and from his face, find the city's cyclops. Good luck. I will be watching."_ With that, silence. There was nothing more until a certain blonde lad spoke up.

"Well this is just great! How the bloody hell are we to find that shit?!" he demanded, flailing his arms about in an overly exaggerated manner. "The _'tallest person in London'?!_ The _'city's cyclops'?!_ What rubbish!"

"Now's not the time for _complaining,_ Alois." said the Phantomhive boy, scratching his chin and furrowing his brow. What could the voice be talking about? Surely he didn't mean an _actual_ person, but using some sort of personification of something. He looked to Preston, who simply sat there, looking down at his hands that were folded in his lap, without saying a word. He looked as though he was in utter despair at this point.

"Hey, cheer up, Preston." said Alois, walking over to the boy. "We're not gonna let anything else happen to you, 'kay?" He smiled.

"How can you be _sure?"_ asked the human boy. His voice cracked as his throat forced back a sob. He was doing his absolute best to put on a tough face, but now, he was starting to reach his limit. When he was first told that Ciel Phantomhive was going to be helping him, he couldn't believe it. There was no way that they would let a kid handle this. The Phantomhive boy was intelligent, but he wasn't _Sherlock Holmes_ by any means, so what use could he possibly be? Preston was still sort of hoping that this was all some sort of elaborate, cruel joke.

"Pardon my ghetto, but _bitch, please..."_ said the Trancy boy in an attempt to bring humour into the conversation. "We're _Phantomhive and Trancy_. We're not as incompetent as one would ordinarily think children to be." He smiled. "We've solved murders before, so what's the big deal? All we gotta do is _pick up the pace,_ is all."

"I just can't believe any of this..." said Preston, rubbing his forehead. The blonde was now losing his patience.

"Shut up and get out of bed. Get dressed, and let's go!" Alois turned to the bluenette. "Let's get to it! If the _'tallest person'_ isn't really a _'person',_ then what is it?"

"It _could_ be a _building_..." replied Ciel, still deep in thought. His eye widened when he reached a hypothesis. "Wait... could it be... _Big Ben?"_

"Yeah! And his _'face'_ is the _clock!"_ said the blonde, immediately allowing the bluenette's statement to click in his head. " _Which direction does it face, though?"_

"Like I know off the top of my head." said Ciel. He was about to ask Sebastian or the adults in the room, but remembered that it was against "the rules". With a sigh, he turned his attention back to the blonde. "Do you think it's against the rules for Sebastian to drive us?" he asked.

"Dunno. If it does, does calling a _taxi_ count as _'help'?"_ asked Alois. He furrowed his brow and glared at the Indian boy for a moment, unable to understand why he was still in bed. "Preston, get ready! _We gotta go!"_ Preston simply stared at them for a moment longer before Alois lost patience all together and decided to drag him along.

Perhaps saving Preston was possible, after all.


	157. Cyclops Found and Simon's Initials

The Taxi ride to the massive clock-tower was mostly silent, save for the sound of the vehicle itself. Preston simply kept his head down, staring at his hands nearly the entire ride over there, acting as though the demonic duo wasn't even there. He had already been through so much over the past few hours. His body still ached from the beating he had received, and his mind still trembled at the fact that he could very well be dying over the next few days. That was a heavy thought for any fifteen-year-old to bear, but Preston was doing exceptionally well. He hadn't broken down yet or emitted even the smallest whimper to convey his inner-torment. The demons simply left him to his own devices, as that's what they would have proffered if they where in his shoes. They were familiar with the sense of fear, anxiety, and anticipation that came with almost certain death, as they have been in worse situations. Preston was lucky, though. He had help, and even if they failed, his death was sure to be quick-, or that's the opinion of the demon-boys with their somewhat estranged and morbid thoughts on the matter. Neither Ciel or Alois were afraid to allow their minds to wander to the absolute worst-case scenario, as they often dwelled in the darkest recesses of the mind.

Preston finally opened his mouth to speak, but hesitantly closed it again. There was more than one thought on his mind, really, and that pertained to the duo themselves. At last, he worked up the courage to ask:

"So... _How long have you been working for the police?"_ Alois raised an eyebrow at the question before he answered.

" _A long damn time_." he said, folding his arms.

"We don't work _for_ the police." Ciel corrected from his own seat. "We work _with_ the police."

"Doing what?" asked Preston. "Solving murders?"

"Yes, among other things. We also work privately on other investigations for the government." replied the bluennette. "We're quite versatile."

"Why would the government call in you? Don't they have their own investigators?"

"They do, but their investigators aren't allowed to operate _outside the law_ like we are." said the blonde menace with a grin. This statement seemed to worry the Indian boy a bit, as make evident by the slight change in his expression. "Hey! Don't worry! We're not _bad_ people!"

"We're not _'good',_ either though." said Ciel. "We're just... ' _nice'_. We do what we must to please our superiors."

 _"'Nice'? You?"_ asked Alois. " _Really?"_

"You have _no right_ to say _anything, Alois."_ Said the Phantomhive lad as the car started to slow down. They had reached their destination. The three exited the vehicle, and Ciel told the driver to stay for a moment, as they'll probably need him again within a few minutes. Reluctantly, the taxi-driver complied, but kept the meter running.

The blonde pointed his finger upwards at the clock's face, before turning around while keeping his finger on that point before pointing in the opposite direction with his free hand. "It's that way." he said. "Which way is that? _West?"_

"It's _North,_ Alois." said the bluenette, following the blonde's finger.

"I found it! _The city's cyclops!"_ the blonde shouted, causing Ciel to turn around and look at the boy, who had moved his finger to be pointing at the bluenette.

"You're a real _comedian..."_ said Warwick's own "Blue Cyclops" while rolling his visible eye. His thought was interrupted by Preston.

"Is that it?" he said, pointing. " _The London Eye_. Is that what _'Simon'_ meant about a _'cyclops'?"_ The demonic duo stopped their picking at each other in order to allow that to sink in, and click with them. That was _so obvious_.

"Oh come on! _We just passed the bloody thing!"_ Alois complained as the three piled back into the Taxi. "Coming here was a _waste of time!"_

"Maybe that's Simon's game..." spoke Ciel, crossing his arms. "Think about it: Simon only said to _'find'_ the locations, he didn't say _'go to them'._ Maybe Simon knew we'd assume he meant _'go to those places',_ so we'd _waste more time_." The bluenette reached into his pocket, and pulled out the walkie-talkie before pushing the button. _"Did you mean Big Ben and The London Eye?"_ he asked, hoping to get some clarification from the voice. For a moment, there was nothing before the crackling sound of the device. Then the voice was heard.

"Very good." it said. "You were quick. I'm impressed, and as promised, you will be given an _extra hour_." The demonic duo looked at the timer on Preston's collar and watched the number go up from eighty-one to eighty-two, much to their relief.

"That was simply _warm-up_." the voice continued. "Are you ready for your _next_ test?"

"Of course." replied the bluenette, gaining confidence with every passing moment.

"Good." said Simon. "Simon Says that you must _go to the British museum_ and find _his initials._ There, you _will be given your next location_. When you find it, Simon Says _you must go_ , and from there, find ' _the tubes'_. Good luck." That confidence the bluenette had suddenly vanished. He looked to the others, as though they knew the answer.

 _"What the actual fuck?!"_ demanded the blonde. "That's going to take us forever to figure out! Like we know his bloody _initials!"_ They all paused to think while Ciel told the driver to head to _The British Museum_ on _Great Russell Street._

"Well, we know his first initial must be _'S'_ for _'Simon',_ but what about the _second?"_ asked Preston, thinking aloud.

"Another _'S'_ for _'Says'?"_ joked the blonde, trying to ease the tension in the atmosphere. _"'Simon Says'!_ Get it?"

Suddenly, the bluenette's eye widened. Something in the blonde's silly joke must have clicked with him. "You're right!" he declared. "His _initials_ have to be _'S.S.'!_ Do you know what else _'S.S.'_ stands for?"

"Something to do with boats, right?" asked the blonde.

"No-, well, _yes._ But I mean _something else_. Think about _history class_."

"The Nazis?" asked Preston. Ciel smiled.

 _"Exactly. 'S.S.',_ or _'Schutzstaffel'._ There's a section on _World War Two_ at the museum. That could very well _narrow down_ our search."

"We don't have time to go to _Germany!"_ argued Alois.

"We won't _have_ to." said Preston. "Remember _the Blitz?_ We just have to find the _locations in London_ that are mentioned."

"Still, we don't have time to search _every single one!"_ said Alois.

"Then we'll narrow it down _even further_ when we get there." said Ciel flatly. "We can do this. It shouldn't be _hard."_

 _"That's what she said!"_ giggled Alois, poking fun at the bluenette's choice of words.

 _"_ Who is _'she',_ you _blatant homosexual?"_ the other boy retorted. And thus, the ride to The British Museum was full of back and forth arguing between the demonic duo. Preston didn't mind, however. After all, it helped him take his thoughts off the bomb strapped around his neck...

* * *


	158. The Stakes Have Risen

It only too about seven minutes to get all the way from Big Ben to the British Museum. That was still seven minutes too long, as the clock was ticking downward towards zero with every passing second. Ciel payed the driver and got everyone inside which took a few minutes longer, and then they had to find the right section of the massive museum which took even longer than that. Alois, as curious as he is, was constantly stopping to look at exhibits when they were supposed to be searching, making him somewhat useless.

"Hey, Ciel! Ciel!" he called for the bluenette's attention. "Check it out!" he pointed to his face. " _Blonde hair and blue eyes_. I'm totally _Aryan!"_

 _"_ Or a _super-sayain."_ added Preston, jokingly. The Phantomhive boy himself, however, was somewhat less than amused. While he was glad that Alois was helping calm Preston's nerves, they still had a job to do-, a job with a _deadline._

"Stop fooling around and keep looking!" he said, looking around the various exhibits, specifically at the ones that were _pictures of locations_ , searching for ones that fit the critieria that the lads had discussed on the ride over there.

"Oh, _untwist your panties_ , and let me have some fun!" Alois received a look from the bluenette that told him to never suggest he wore women's underwear ever again. The blonde simply smiled and resumed looking. "How do you tell which ones are in London?" he asked, staring at a picture.

"There's _descriptions underneath the picture frame_." said Preston, inspecting yet another image.

"Well, _this one_ says 'London', but it looks nothing like it!" the blonde pointed out, staring at the image in front of him as he tried to figure out where in the city that was.

"Where? Let me see." said the bluenette walking over to the boy. He read the plate, and sure enough, Alois was right. It was a _rather famous image of St. Paul's Cathedral_ , a building that was still standing today. After seeing it, he was fairly convinced that this was the location that _Simon_ had been referring to.

He tried his best to build up an image of it in his memory. He imagined the building itself, and the Queen Anne statue pout front of it. He imagined the street it overlooked, recalling how it seemed to spit the building's apart like it was Moses, and how the statue seemed to permanently stare down it. Yet he could recall nothing about these so-called "tubes" that the voice over the radio had mentioned. He looked over at Preston who seemed to be punching something into his phone.

"What are you doing?" asked the bluenette. "We aren't supposed to have help, remember?" The Indian boy simply looked back at him.

"I'm not getting help, I'm pulling up Google-maps." he said. "I'm looking for _metro stations_ near Saint Paul's Cathedral."

" _Metro Stations...?"_ Ciel slapped his own forehead when it finally occurred to him. Another term for underground Metro Stations is "tubes", so it made sense. Of course it wasn't literal. Alois seemed to notice the bluenette internally kicking himself, and put his hand on the slightly shorter boy's shoulder.

"There, there..." the blonde said with a grin. "We all have our _silly moments..."_

" _Some,_ _more than others_." retorted the bluenette. "Have you found anything, Preston?"

"Yeah, _St. Paul's Metro Station."_ The boy replied, slapping his own forehead at how obvious that was. "Simon said that we need to go to the location that his initials pointed to, so we probably need to go to the cathedral _before_ we answer."

"How would he know the difference? Why can't we just answer now?" asked Alois, folding his arms.

"Because _Simon said._ " answered the Phantomhive boy. "With these types, it's best to play their game. Breaking the rules, even if they aren't _obvious,_ could end badly. Besides, he said that _'he'll be watching'."_

"So does that mean that he's got somebody following us around?" asked the blonde.

"It's possible. Let's get a move on, though. Even though we have lots of time now, who knows _how many_ of these riddles he'll make us solve." said the bluenette, pulling out his cell phone before calling a cab.

They rode to the Cathedral. It took only seven minutes to get there. They stood near the statue out front, taking out their walkie-talkie. They answered the question, doing exactly as Simon said.

"The initials are _'S.S.'_ and _'the tubes'_ are _Saint Paul's Metro Station_." said the bluenette into the device, earning a chuckle on the other end, much to his annoyance.

"Very good!" the voice over the walkie-talkie said. "You're doing wonderfully! You've been doing exactly as Simon has said! Let's _raise the stakes_ , shall we?"

" _What do you mean?"_ asked Ciel. He hated having to play this game. He hated being treated like a game-piece; that was his job to do to other people! He wanted to be the game-master, not a pawn. It infuriated him, and now this crazed individual was wanting to _add more rules?_

"I mean," the voice began to explain. " that in addition to the current rules, you will now have the ability to _have time taken away_ for _not doing as Simon Said._ For each failure, _two hours_ will be _taken away,_ and the interval for _succeeding_ will _remain the same_ , so your friend there will only gain _one_." There was a pause. "So, _are you up for the challenge?"_

"It isn't as though I have a choice, do I?" replied the bluenette with some hostility. He knew he had to be sensitive, just in case Simon decided to push the detonator early, but his anger just kept rising.

"Well _, no_." said Simon. "You don't. Shall I take that as a _'yes',_ then, Mister Phantomhive?"

" _What's the next task?"_ the boy asked through clenched teeth.

"Simon says that next, that _somewhere along the Thames that is famous for meat-eaters_ , _a little girl is trapped._ If you fail to find her in precisely _ten minutes after this message ends_ , _the collar around her neck will explode_. Simon says not to worry, though. Unlike your friend's collar, her's is equipped with a _release button that is located across from her in the room she is held in_." Ciel's eye widened at the task. This wasn't like the last two. Now there was another life at stake. The bluenette clenched his fist, his black nails leaving crescent-shaped marks in his skin.

" _You bastard..."_ he hissed before being interrupted again.

"Oh, and there is a catch." said the voice. "Simon says that _you aren't allowed to go there by vehicle._ You will have to go _on foot_. Good luck, _'Guard-dog'._ Your time starts _now."_ With that, the message ended, leaving the lads to their task.

* * *


	159. When Demonic Power Gets You Nowhere

"Since it's _'famous for meat-eaters',_ I assume he's referring to _'beefeaters'_. It's obviously _the Tower of London_." said the bluenette.

"That's pretty far! It takes _six minutes_ to get from here to there _by car,_ so how are we supposed to make it there _and_ find the girl in time!?" demanded Preston, talking ridiculously quickly. His nerves were obviously starting to get to him. His face was contorted in a way that can only be made by extreme fear and worry. He has done good so far in keeping his axeity under control, but now he was starting to unravel. He furrowed his brow when he noticed the demonic duo ignoring him in order to whisper amongst themselves. "Are you even _listening?!"_

"Preston, I'm going to have to ask you to kindly _calm down_..." began the bluenette, walking toward the Indian boy.

"How can I calm down?! We can't make i- wait, _**what are you doing?!"**_ he demanded as Ciel put both hands on the sides of Preston's head. The bluenette forced the boy to look at him directly in the eye, which oddly began to glow a strange _crimson colour_. Preston eyes widened, and he couldn't look away. The boy couldn't even _blink._ He didn't feel fear, but he didn't feel _anything else_ , either, as he stared at it. It was as though he was _bewitched_ by the crimson orb.

 _"Everything is completely fine."_ said the bluenette in a soft voice.

 _"Everything... is completely... fine..."_ repeated Preston, weakly.

 _"There is nothing to worry about. Everything is fine."_ insisted the demon as he continued to entrance the other boy with his hypnotic gaze.

 _"Everything... is fine..."_ echoed the Indian boy, now seeming to fully believe the demon. He was completely under the bluenette's spell. Demon's have their ways of bending humans to their will. It's a natural talent of theirs. Some can even do it without eye-contact at all, like a certain butler that we may know.

" _Now go to sleep."_ With that utterance, Preston nearly collapsed onto the pavement had the bluenette not caught him.

"What did you do _that_ for?!" demanded Alois, snapping from his own daze. "Now we have to _carry_ him!"

"Do you have any _better_ ideas?" retorted the Phantomhive boy. "We can't just randomly go running at _'demon-speed'_ while he's able to _see_. That would be yet another awkward moment of explaining everything."

" _Fine."_ said the blonde, crossing his arms across his chest. "What the _hell_ was that, anyway? Some kind of _love-beam magic_ or some shit?"

"Don't be _stupid_. Love has _nothing to do with it_." Ciel said while dragging Preston's unconscious body into an alley, motioning for the blonde to follow him with a nod of his head.

"A _**sex**_ _beam?!"_

 _ **"It is not!"**_ shouted the eye-patch-wearing gentleman as he swung the human boy over his shoulder. "Now _shut up!_ We have to get going! By the way, _how high can you jump?"_

"How can I answer that if I'm supposed to _'shut up'?"_

 _"Just answer the damn question!"_ The blonde smiled at the bluenette's barking of orders without even thinking about them.

"Are you _kidding?_ I can jump _higher than Spring-heeled Jack!"_ Now it was the bluenette's turn to smirk. The blonde's smile faded a bit at the other demon's actions.

"Well then, you should have no trouble _keeping up!"_ Ciel said, turning and running away, with the blonde in pursuit after.

It was difficult moving around with Preston on his shoulder, but Ciel was still able to keep his lead against the Trancy boy. He ran across rooftops as to not be as easily seen by the many Londonites below, leaping across alleyways, across streets, and avoiding the occasional bird groups of birds who were simply sitting on top of the building, peacefully minding their own business. The bluenette was greatly amused by the fact that the blonde was having some difficulty keeping up-, or rather, Alois figured out that even if he did pass the other boy, _he didn't know the way to get to their desired location_. Thus, he stayed behind by several metres.

The slight clicking of their shoes could be heard with every step they took, running high above the ground like some sort of assassin at dusk. The sun peeked over the horizon as it said " _good evening_ " to the city, painting it a picture of various yellows, oranges, and reds all bended together as a parting gift. When they had began around noon, the collar had read " _eighty-one hours_ ", but now it was reading " _seventy-five hours_ " and it still was ticking down towards zero. It would be a pain when Preston got tired and actually did require sleep. They would simply have to leave him and continue on their own, they assumed.

But first things first. _They had to save the girl._

They arrived on the lawn of the tower, making their way inside, once there, Ciel sat the Indian boy down on a bench before making an attempt to wake him. He knew that Alois would be able to think of a lie, or some kind of excuse as to how they got there so quickly. The Phantomhive boy raised his hand before using it to strike Preston's face; not hard enough to actually _hurt_ him, but enough to startle him awake. The blonde menace snorted while _trying to contain a laugh_ at the action, as the Omid boy jumped awake.

"Huh? Wha-? _Where am I?!"_ demanded the boy, waking up in a somewhat unfamiliar environment.

 _"What?_ You seriously _don't remember?"_ Alois asked with faux-sincereity. "We're here to save the girl, _remember?_ You totally _fell asleep!"_ The Trancy boy was as smooth of a liar as ever, able to convince the boy with ease. It sounded to Ciel as though even he believed it himself, but the bluenette had another task to focus on, so he didn't linger on the thought for long.

"We have to hurry. Time's running out." said the Phantomhive boy. "It's a pretty big area, so we should probably split up to cover more ground. We all have each other's mobile numbers in case they run into trouble, right?"

"Yup! Got you on _speed-dial."_ said Alois, placing his hands in his pockets.

"Yeah, I think so..." said Preston, rubbing his eyes. He couldn't quite figure out why, but they hurt for whatever reason.

"First one to find her wins!" shouted the blonde, before running off in some random direction. The remaining two followed suit and parted ways as well.

Now Ciel, being a demon who knows of his own abilities, knows how to detect _despair, doubt,_ _fear,_ and a plethora of other negative emotions in humans, even if they're far away. It's a natural ability used when finding _prey_ , but in this case, he was going to use this ability to find a _terrified little girl_. His instincts where telling him to go upward, into the tower itself.

He climbed the staircase, going ever upward to find this girl, before finally coming to a door that blocked his path. The scent of fear seemed to be coming from the other side, so he quickly reached for the handle and gave it a quick yank, only to discover that the door was locked. Without another moment's hesitation, he gave the door a hard kick, resulting in the heavy iron door to fly off of it's hinges. He heard a whimper at the sudden, loud sound, and quickly scanned the room to see there, tied in a chair with a collar around her neck, similar to the one on his friend, a young girl, who looked at least eight years old.

The girl was silent, for the most part, emitting only a few whimpers at the situation she was it. Her face was red, and the area underneath her eyes were puffy, as though she had been crying. The bluenette tore his eyes away from the girl to look across from her at a small table, and on it, an even smaller remote with a red button on it.

Quickly, he made his way over to it, and picked it up. Surely, this is the device that Simon had spoke of; the one that would disarm the explosives around the girl's neck, allowing him to remove it. Then again, the man who had put all of this together was obviously insane, and could very well have given him a _detonator_ instead. At this point, what choice did he have? The girl would die either way, _worst-case scenario_. The only difference was that _he would be the one to press the button,_ and he did _not_ need the guilt.

Ciel pulled out his phone and checked the time, in order to see how much was remaining until the collar exploded, decapitating the girl. It had been _nine minutes._ He had less than _one_ in order to make his decision. He looked to the girl again, at her hopeful eyes, overjoyed that she has a potential rescuer, and then he looked at the button in his hand once more. He braced himself, and he _pressed the button._

 _Nothing happened._ No explosion, _nothing._ There was not a single sound to be heard in that room at that very moment. The bluenette looked to the girl again, who simply looked at him confusedly, now. The lights on the collar had stopped blinking, and were no longer lit. Now he needed to check and see that those weren't the _only_ things that were deactivated.

He turned to walk towards the girl, before crouching down in front of her. Slowly, he unfastened the device, and removed it, allowing a sigh of relief to escape his lips. He then untied the girl.

"Are you alright?" he asked, his voice uncharacteristically kind. The girl simply nodded in response. He then took out his phone, and contacted the others, sending both of them a text in order to tell them to meet him by the entrance. "Follow me. I'll lead you somewhere safe." he said, convincing the girl to go with him.

Down the stairs they went, the demon stopping every once and a while in order to wait for the young girl to catch up, and toward the entrance of the popular tourist attraction, now empty due to the time of day. The girl hid behind the bluenette when she saw the other two boys, only to back away from him when she looked at his face, which wore his usual disinterested expression. Alois crouched down to her level for a moment.

"Hi there!" he said in a friendly manner. "I'm Alois, this is Preston, and the _pirate is Ciel_. What's _your_ name?"

" _K-Katie..."_ she said hesitantly, fidgeting with the edge of her shirt.

"Well, Katie, you're safe now!" Alois smiled. "We're gonna go find the bad guys who did this and _beat the crap out of them!"_ His random spouting of rude words made the girl giggle, and more willing to follow them out into the courtyard, where they met a semi-familiar face.

Junior Detective Constable Smith was standing there next to her car, in her odd, suit-dress and high heels, the sun being visible in some places through her long, curly hair. She looked as though she had been waiting on the boys. As soon as she saw them, she quickly rushed over to them.

"Oh, good heavens, you're all still alright!" she said. "I was afraid something terrible happened when none of you checked in."

" _Everything is fine."_ said Ciel, quickly glancing at Preston who rubbed his head at the familiar utterance of the phrase. "We've just had our hands full with running back and forth around the city. So, _what exactly are_ _ **you**_ _here for, Detective?"_ Smith seemed to look a bit uncomfortable at the question.

"I'm investigating a _missing child_ report." she said. "Her name is _Katie Grey._ Someone said that they saw her near here." The boys all looked at the small girl that they had just rescued.

"That sound like you?" asked the blonde. "Is your last name _'Grey'?"_ The girl nodded.

 _"I_ _want to go home..."_ she said, tears welling up in her eyes.

"If you go with this police lady, she'll help you find your parents so you can, okay?" said Preston, offering the girl a smile.

"Of course I will." said Smith with a smile of her own. "Don't you worry about a thing. We'll have you back home in no time, alright?" The girl still looked unsure if it's alright to really leave the safety of her saviors. Next, it was Ciel who crouched down and spoke to her.

"You need to find your parents and go home." he said. "That's _your mission_ right now. We have _a mission of our own_ , at the moment." He smiled. "You're a strong girl. I know you can do it."

"Okay..." replied the little girl, looking down at her feet for a moment before looking the boy in the eye again, this time her face was determined. "You do what you gotta do, _mister pirate!"_

Alois had to cover his mouth from laughing at the child's words, much to Ciel's annoyance. The bluenette stood up and shot his companion a glare that recommended that he not cross the Phantomhive boy as Katie got into Detective Smith's car. The boys were silent until they drove off, at which point the blonde could no longer contain himself.

 _"Bwaha-haha! 'Mister pirate'!_ She called you... _'mister pirate'!_ Oh, that's _awesome!"_ he said between fits of giggles and laughter. He clutched his sides in a vain attempt to quell it before getting punched in the shoulder by the bluenette.

 _"Shut up."_ said Ciel, pulling out the walkie-talkie. He pressed the button in order to contact Simon for their next task. "The girl is safe, Simon. _We didn't fail."_

"Oh, but you _did._ " said the voice over the radio. "As penalty, there will be a _two-hour reduction_."


	160. To The Max

_"What?!"_ demanded the bluenette _. "How did we fail?!"_ He looked over at Preston's collar, to see that the timer had gone from seventy-five hours to seventy-three. In that instant, all of the blood from the Indian boy's face vanished.

" _You broke the rules_." said Simon. "I said that you _aren't allowed to have help,_ yet _you let the detective take the girl off your hands_. Therefore, you _failed_."

"What were we _supposed to_ do with her, then? Leave her?" Ciel asked, gritting his teeth.

" _Beats me._ You could've _figured it out."_ said the voice over the handheld radio. "No one likes a _sore loser,_ mister Phantomhive."

"A sore _what?! You're_ the only one who is going to _lose_ in the end, Simon." threatened the boy.

"Oh, I'm positively _shaking_." mocked the voice over the phone. Ciel could hear the smile in the man's voice. "Simon says that for your next task, _you must solve a puzzle_ of mine. In six hours, a bomb will go off in the city, killing hundreds. Simon says that your task is to _find it_ , and put a _stop this from happening_. I'll give you a hint: It is in a place that is _constantly moving_ , only to _stop_ every once in a while. _It isn't in plain sight_ , yet _hundreds see it every day_. Good luck, mister Phantomhive. Have a _good night's rest_." With that, it finally registered to him what time of day it was.

The sun was barely visible over the horizon now as the day began to come to a close. When did that happen? He looked to the human boy, who by this time looked utterly exhasted, gaining no actual rest from his forced sleep from before. The bluenette decided that it was time for him to call it a day.

"Let's go home." he said to the others, finally. "Preston, you rest while Alois and I solve this puzzle."

"Huh? But _don't you need sleep too?"_ asked the drowsy human boy.

"We're used to _staying up and solving puzzles_. This is _nothing_." said Alois, putting his hands in his pockets as he fabricated a lie. His ability to pull lies out of nowhere and say them as though he, himself believes them was a useful skill, indeed.

"If _Daniel_ were here, he would've turned that into something _dirty_." said the Indian boy, yawning.

"Well, there's plenty of _that_ too _."_ replied the blonde, earning a glare from the bluenette. Alois simply shrugged it off as he always did, finding the boy's glares nonthreatening as of late.

Ciel pulled out his mobile and called for a Taxi to take them to his estate, while Preston informed his now _practically hysteric_ parents where he was going to be for the evening, them being informed of his situation by the police, since he's a minor. Preston didn't like hearing his mother cry, but there was really nothing he could do about it. The boy stayed on the phone, not stopping even when the taxi arrived and they climbed in, as he tried to get the woman to calm down, insisting that he was going to be perfectly alright. He wasn't entirely sure if he believed it himself, but what was important to him at the moment was that his parents weren't worried. The demonic duo sat in silence the entire time, feeling a little guilty for eavesdropping on the conversation, and feeling a bit of jealousy for the human's relationship with his parents.

They stared out the window on their side of the car; Ciel in the window seat and Alois in the middle while Preston was on the blonde's other side. While they didn't like lingering on the past, they simply couldn't help it, on occasion. Eventually, their hands somewhat found themselves with their fingers intertwined with those of their companion's in some odd, unconscious attempt to ease both their minds. As of late, they have found thoughts like these coming to the forefront of their minds, as their hearts were no longer completely numb to their pasts. It was quite unsettling to them. It was as though they were both just now beginning to mourn the deaths of their loved ones over a hundred years late. Finally, Preston managed to get off the phone with his mother, just as they were pulling up to the front of the manor. He felt even more tired than he did before, now. Fortunately for him, he would get to sleep soon.

They paid the driver and went inside, doing their best to ignore the wolf-girl's nosing around at the smell of explosives, informing her not to worry. While Preston found this odd, he wasn't entirely in the mindset to worry about it at the moment, as he was lead to a guest bedroom, where he immediately collapsed on the bed and drifting off to sleep. Ciel was sure to give the servants specific instructions to ignore the boy in hopes that they wouldn't accidentally break the "no outside help" rule that Simon had so annoyingly set in place.

Meanwhile, the demonic duo retreated to the bluenette's office, where they made an attempt to unlock the meaning of the radio-man's words. Alois was seated on the massively uncomfortable couch in the lad's office, borrowing the boy's laptop while he worked on this, playing around on the fascinating "Google-maps" thing that Preston had used at various points throughout the day, zooming in and zooming out of the satellite photo of their residence, and tracing the route they took to school every day and the like. Ciel, however, sat behind his desk on his office computer, working on his own.

Something was bothering Ciel. Something that didn't sit right with him. Instead of focusing on the puzzle Simon had given them, he found himself digging around in the police databases in an attempt to set his mind at ease. The question that ate at him so, was: " _Was Detective Smith telling the truth at the tower? Was she really there investigating a case?"_ It all seemed a tad bit _too coincidental_ to him.

He dug around and discovered that she, in fact, had been working on a " _missing-child investigation"_ like she had claimed, right down to the name of the small girl who was missing. The odd thing was, however, her claim that there was a witness who had seen the young girl near the Tower of London simply didn't add up. _There were no accounts of any sort of witnesses at all._ How did she know that the girl was going to be there?

He was broken from his trance by the blonde setting the laptop down in front of him. Alois pointed to a spot on the screen, where he had Google-maps pulled up. Ciel expected him to be pointing out some sort of nonsense, but to his surprise, when he saw the blonde's face, it was completely serious.

"Hey Ciel," said the Trancy boy, "I was playing around on this thing, and _I think I have an idea for what the answer might be."_

"Alright, let's hear it." said the bluenette, folding his hands on the desk in front of him as he stared at the blonde with piqued interest.

"Well, Simon said that it _'wasn't in plain sight, yet hundreds of people see it every day'..."_ Alois began, quoting the madman. "...And I was tracing the route we took today, and wondered: _could he mean a metro station?"_ Ciel raised his eyebrows in surprise. Alois Trancy really was worthy of being "The Queen's Spider" after all, it would seem.

"Yes..." said Ciel, standing up. "...That would also explain why he said it _'constantly moving, but stops every once and a while.'_ The trains _have to stop in order to pick up and drop off passengers!"_

 _"_ Yeah, but there's just _one problem..."_ Alois said. "... _Which train is it?_ He didn't give us any other hints..."

"Well, we know that all of the places so far have been _around one general area_ , so it could be assumed that the trains will pass underneath there, so that should narrow it down." Ciel said. Then, he smiled. "As for finding the _right one_..." he said, his eye glowing crimson. "...I'm pretty sure it shouldn't be too difficult for _two demons to pull off in the dead of night_."

"You're not trying to use your _freaky 'sex beam'_ on me, are you?" the blonde joked at his companion's gesture.

"No, now is not the time for that. _We can experiment with that later_." Ciel retorted, walking around the desk. He smiled at the blush on the blonde's face. "I'm only _joking_." he said with a chuckle.

"How do _I_ know that? You're a _massive pervert_ underneath that cool, indifferent exterior, you know."

"I blame you. Let's get going. We can probably really let loose on this one."

"Ooh~! _Demon-power to the max_ , huh? Sounds _fun!"_ the blonde menace said, following the bluenette to the door. They left the manor and disappeared into the night. They had a train to catch.

* * *


	161. Ninjas of the Metro

London, England; Now, the city that the lads had scurried all over in an attempt to solve Simon's riddles and complete his tasks was no longer the same beautiful spectrum of reds and yellows that it was before. The city now is veiled in a coat of blueish black, with not a single star in the sky to be visible from the brightly-lit ground, but it isn't the sky, nor is it the ground that we are concerned about on this particular evening. No, it is beneath the ground in the many subway tunnels beneath the streets that we focus on, as danger lurks on one of those many, many, trains.

Shadows lurked within the darkness, shifting, and crawling, and running while remaining invisible under the cover of night and within the darkness of the tunnels. Every once and a while, however, a faint red glow could be visible, and sometimes a purple one as well. The red and purple spots were eyes and they continuously got closer and closer to the rear of the subway train that was coursing through this particular tunnel. Black claws attached to a pale hand reached out and latched onto the train, as the demon's companion did the same with his own. They climbed up and crouched down on the roof of the train, making sure they didn't sit up too straight in order to avoid the rapidly moving ceiling that could most likely scalp them should either one accidentally touch it.

Alois had his eyes clenched shut, as cool wind hit his face, that in his current form, would cause him to freeze to death had he not been a demon. He wasn't used to the speed at which they were traveling, and the whole experience was both exciting and terrifying. Finally, he forced himself to speak.

"You're going to have to show me how to do this, real quick!" he shouted over the noise in the tunnel in hopes that the bluenette demon could hear him. He still wasn't entirely sure how to do all of the things that Ciel could, and wasn't sure how helpful he would be in this situation. He needed the other boy to give him some instruction in order for this to work.

"Alright, pay attention!" Ciel shouted back. "Watch carefully! I'm going to put a small amount of energy into this cable, which will temporarily cause the lights to go out! When that happens, I'm going to sneak on, and search the train before the lights come back on! Got it?"

"Yeah, I got that bit!" replied the blonde demon. "But how exactly do you search the train so quickly?"

"You use your sixth sense." said the bluenette. "Demons have a very strong sixth sense, and if used correctly, it can act as sort of a radar for misfortune."

"So you use your gut? That doesn't sound very reliable!"

"It is. You just clear your mind of everything, and let your senses guide you in that direction." Ciel wrapped his fingers around the cable that he was talking about. "Let me show you." He clenched his fist, forced his own demonic force into the cable. While it was hard to see, the other demon could sense it. Perhaps this is what the bluenette was talking about.

Suddenly, the lights went out, causing the passengers on the train to cry out in alarm. The screeching of the brakes assaulted the boys' eardrums, echoing throughout the tunnel as the cars tried to slow down, out of safety protocol. Everything was dark.

Alois blinked, closing his eyes for only a moment before opening them again to see that his companion had vanished. He wasn't entirely afraid, due to the fact that demons can still see in the dark, yet found being alone in the darkness slightly unsettling. He didn't question at all as to where the bluenette had gone. The blonde could sense him running about in the car below him. In his dazed state, he had unintentionally used his sixth sense.

The Trancy lad snapped back to reality when Ciel reappeared, and the lights came back on, causing the train to move again. The bluenette looked disappointed, yet held a gun in his hand. He sighed.

"There was nothing on there but a concealed weapon." he said, as the train began to pick up speed. "Do you think you can handle that?"

"Let me try on the next one." said Alois. The fair-haired lad wasn't entirely confident his abilities. Should something go wrong for him, he would definitely need Ciel's help. "If I think I got it, we can split up then, alright?"

"Sounds good to me. We still have over four hours left. If each train only takes a few minutes like this one, we should be done with time to spare."

"A'ight! Let's do it!"

With that, they made a daring leap off of the fast-moving train, disappearing into darkness again. The sounds of their feet hitting the below ground echoed, and they quickly made their way to their next stop. Ciel had printed a map of the tunnels, as well as a schedule, so they would know exactly where the train they were looking for was heading. Each of them had one of these on them for when they separated. They went left, then they went right, and before long, the bluenette slowed down his pace to look more carefully at his map.

"I don't understand..." he said. "It should be coming this way any minute!"

"Uhm, Ciel?" spoke the blonde, nervously, putting his hand on the other lad's shoulder for his attention. "Is it just me, or did it just get a whole lot brighter?" Ciel turned to see that Alois had found their train, or rather, the train had found them.

With cat-like reflexes, they leaped just in time, placing themselves horizontal to the ground in between the train and the ceiling, avoiding the train while boarding it, and nearly giving the driver a heart-attack all at the same time. Obviously, sixth sense didn't work when you were deep in thought, or the bluenette was simply too focused on the task at hand. They located the wire that Ciel had used to shut off the lights on the previous train, and Alois placed his hand over it, mimicking the steps that Ciel had taken before.

He gave it a jolt of energy, causing the lights to go out. The familiar sound of passengers screaming and brakes screeching gave the blonde a sense of deja-vu. With his first step taken, he had to move onto the next, and make his way inside the train. He had an incredibly uneasy feeling in the pit of his stomach, but shoved it to the back of his mind, before wiping it clean of any thought whatsoever.

Suddenly, he felt his nerves go haywire for a moment, causing him to automatically dodge the attack of a frightened passenger. He could see the passenger, but the passenger couldn't see him, save for his glowing, red eyes. He quickly fled and made his way to another part of the train, finding nothing that really sparked his senses again. The lights flickered, giving him the indication that he should leave. Alois fled the scene, returning to the bluenette's side, on the roof.

"I couldn't find anything." he said, feeling defeated. "You might wanna do a quick run-through to see if I missed it. Just in case."

"It should be fine. I'm not sensing anything from this train." the bluenette said with a smirk. "That was just a test."

"You're such an ass, you know that?"

"Quit complaining. We've still got a few more stops..." the bluenette trailed off as the train started to slow down as it approached the next station. "Get down!" he said, shoving the back of the blonde's head so that he would duck before doing the same himself. Neither of them wanted to be seen by the late-night travelers. He stared down at them from their hiding spot, anxious to see whether or not they'll be seen.

"Ciel..." the blonde said in a whisper, causing the bluenette to look in his direction. "Do you feel that?"

The bluenette looked confused as to what the blonde was talking about before seeing the expression on Alois' face. His eye were wide and he had the apparent look of concern and worry. Ciel took a moment to clear his thoughts in order to sense what the blonde was talking about. It was obvious that it had to do with this new group of passengers.

Then, he felt it; The danger. He quickly scanned around the crowd of faces that were waiting for the train to be inspected for a reason for it's sudden power-outage in order to find the source of this new feeling. With all of the people there, it was like finding a needle in a haystack, but he had ability on his side, narrowing down the results. The bluenette zeroed in on one woman in particular, with a suit-dress and a briefcase, long, curly auburn hair, and a solemn expression. He was even more disturbed to see who it was.

It was Junior Detective Constable, Karen Smith.

At last, the passengers were let on the train, and everyone simply filed in, Smith among them, and soon afterward, the train took off again. After going a bit of distance, the bluenette grabbed hold of the wire that Alois had used before, sparking confusion in the blonde.

"What are you doing?" he asked, tilting his head slightly. "I thought you said this train was fine?"

"I did, but that was until the last batch of passengers got on." the bluenette replied. "Change of plans: this time, when the lights go out, and we board, we will change back into 'humans' and talk to Detective Smith."

"Why? Do you still think she's involved?"

"Naturally." And with the utterance of that word, the lights went out again. The usual sounds of this occurrence echoed throughout the tunnel, and this time, both boys boarded the train, becoming "humans" again under the shroud of complete darkness. When the lights came back on, no one was any the wiser to the two extra passengers on board the train. Ciel saw the detective and made his way towards her with the blonde following behind him.

"Good evening, Detective." he said to the woman, causing her to jump in surprise.

"Phantomhive?" she said, looking at the lad in confusion. "What are you doing here?" She seemed nervous, her eyes darting around the general vicinity of the boy, but never quite focusing on his face.

"Working on that case, of course, and you?" asked the eye-patch-wearing demon with an unusually friendly smile.

"Oh, I was just... on my way home." she said, speaking as though she almost didn't know herself.

"Instead of beating around the bush, how about I simply ask you directly?"

"I-I don't know what you mean..."

"The briefcase. You didn't have it with you whenever we saw you today. Where did you get it? Or rather..." the bluenette paused, gauging the woman's response. "...What's in it?" Smith hesitated before answering. Shakily, she whispered shakily:

"I... I don't know... honestly, I don't..."

"What do you mean, 'you don't know'?" asked the boy.

"I can't tell you... If I could, I would, but..."

Then it dawned on Ciel. That's how Simon knew where they were, and what they were doing. That's why Preston was found with a collar on the same day that the body was found. The answer was obvious. It had been staring him in the face the entire time.

"Give me the briefcase, Detective." he said firmly, holding out his hand.

"I can't! I-if I do... I'll..." the woman's voice cracked, and tears began to build up in her eyes.

"I know. But if you don't, everyone on this train will die, Karen." the boy argued. Motioning to the oblivious bystanders around them. Suddenly, the blonde boy snatched the case from her hands, and opened it.

Explosives. The container was filled to the brim with explosives. He shut it back quickly before anyone else saw. The detective simply stood there, shocked and speechless on what she was about to do. She was not the only one in danger. She had put the lives of others in danger as well. The three of them stood in silence as the train began to slow down again. Passengers began to get off at the next stop, snapping them back to their senses.

"Uh... Guys? I don't think suitcases are supposed to beep..." commented the blonde on the "beeping" sound that the container now made.

"It's a countdown..." said the bluenette. "It's in response to being opened!"

"Oops..." the blonde said before having his arm yanked by the bluenette. He dragged him off the train and out of the station, pausing for a moment before thinking about where to dispose of the briefcase. He furrowed his brow as he thought, when suddenly, Alois shouted.

"The river!" he said, pointing at the Thames. "Throw it in the river!"

"Let's go!" Ciel nearly barked back, before tugging on the other boy's arm again.

They ran as fast as they could, evading people on the sidewalk and cars alike as they ran out into speeding traffic in order to make their beeline to the river. As the water got closer, and closer, the beeping got faster and faster, but no matter how fast they ran, it didn't seem like they were ever going to make it in time before the blonde had his arm blown off from being the one holding onto the device. Finally, he stopped, digging his feet into the dirt while getting a good, strong stance. He cocked back his arm, and threw the briefcase as hard as he could in the general direction of the large body of water.

It landed with a splash, and then, all was quiet but for the sound of waves. A light could be seen in the spot that the case landed, and the waves shifted ever so slightly. A muted boom was heard by only the demonic duo, they being the one's closest to it. With a sigh of relief, the lad's sat down and caught their breath, laughing a bit at the silliness of their disposal methods.

They hesitated before contacting Simon. Did they break the "no help rule?" Did they not "dispose of" the explosives in the way he wanted? Maybe Preston was already dead as they sat there, executed by the madman because they had tried to get information out of the detective. These thoughts weighed heavily on their minds.

Just as they were about to push the button to call, a Taxi pulled up onto the side of the road before driving away, dropping off a passenger. The boy's looked up to see Detective Smith looking down at them over the railing. She immediately began to run around it and climb down the steep hill at which the lads sat at the bottom of, and they simply waited for her to do so, standing up as she got closer.

"Hey!" she called after them. "Did you get rid of the bomb?"

"Yeah! It's in the river!" Alois shouted back. "It went 'boom'!"

"I'm pretty sure throwing bombs into rivers is illegal, so I'll just pretend I didn't hear that, mister Trancy." the woman replied. The blonde menace stuck his tongue out in response.

"Bringing explosives onto trains is illegal as well, detective." Ciel said, putting his hands in his pockets. "I assume that you had no knowledge of the contents of the briefcase, correct?"

"Right..." Smith said, looking down at the grass. She didn't want to make eye contact with the boy, and without anything else to say, she simply remained silent.

"You know him, don't you?" asked the bluenette. "You look like you're hiding something." The woman looked up, eyes wide at what the boy had just said.

"I can't tell you..." she replied weakly. "I just can't..."

"I understand." said the Phantomhive boy. "If you say anything, you'll only end up dead."

"It's not just that, you know." Smith muttered. "I care about him, you know? I don't want to see him get in trouble. After all, we are family..."

A long beep sounded off, and the eyes of all three detectives widened as they knew what it meant. The collar that had been around the detective's neck went off, separating her head from her body. The woman's head and neck became burnt and mangled where they had connected, and bits of tissue and blood went flying, painting a similar pattern to the one found on the bridge onto the grass. Ciel wrapped his arms around Alois, shielding him from the blast with his back, only to end up staining his coat with rogue droplets of the crimson substance. They couldn't bear to look at the body, the blonde hiding his eyes in the bluenette's neck so that he wouldn't see.

"You didn't need to shield me, you know..." Alois said into the boy. "I was going to shield you, actually."

"My reaction time is better than yours." the bluenette said back. While he was trying to joke, he didn't smile. He didn't even smirk. He just stood there, holding the blonde for a moment longer before letting go in order to pull out his phone.

"Who're you texting?" the fair-haired teen asked his eye-patched companion.

"Detective Bailey. I'm informing him about Smith's death." replied the bluenette, knowing that the blonde was watching him type. The blonde smiled a bit at the message, understanding immediately what the other boy was actually doing. When he was done, Ciel put his phone away and replaced it in his hand with the walkie-talkie. He pressed the button.

"We've disposed of your bomb, for you." he said flatly. "What is your next task?"

"You're not even going to mourn the death of your coworker? That's cold." said the voice over the radio. Ciel would have remarked about how killing your family members is  
"cold" as well, had Preston not still been in danger. "Very well, then. Simon says that now, you must find the giant, ornamental egg. Good luck!"

Oh, when would this ever end?

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There were so many italics in this shit that I just went through and got rid of all of them. I don't know why I used to use so many. I feel like everybody has done this before, though. If someone says they haven't, I'm pretty sure that they are lying. 
> 
> Until the next chapter, my duckies~!


	162. Ciel Says

More time had passed than what Simon felt the demonic duo needed. He started to become worried, since he now no longer had his eyes, Detective Smith, to report what they were doing. The man sat by his computer, clicking around on this and that, while waiting to be answered. He contemplated simply setting the bomb off, but what if he did that, and his worries were simply nothing? Then he wouldn't have his favourite playmate to send running around the city. He sat there, in his boxers and a beat-up T-shirt, waiting around one in the morning for the bluenette to radio in. He waited, he waited, and he waited. Minutes seemed like hours; hours seemed like years, but at long last he heard the crackling sound of the walkie-talkie. He rushed over, picking it up and placing the object to his ear with a big, wicked, smile.

"Is it City Hall?" asked the bluenette.

"Correct." Simon said, unaware that it was actually the Trancy boy who found the answer.

They were scrolling through pictures of famous buildings in London on Google, and the blonde stopped and pointed his finger at it. The building hardly looked like an "ornamental egg" to the bluenette. Perhaps it was just too abstract for the boy to see. The man smiled wider, happy that his playmate hadn't lost interest.

"Are you ready for the next question?" he asked, eagerly waiting for the boy to say "yes". This reply, however, never came. Ciel smirked himself a bit at what he was about to do.

"May I ask you a question first, Simon?" he asked politely, making sure his tone sounded indifferent. "Never-mind, Ciel says that you must." Simon furrowed his brow and waited. He wasn't going to press the detonator yet. No, he didn't want to accidentally ruin his own fun.

"Tell me, who lives in apartment 42C on the second floor of the Brompton apartment complex on King's Road?" asked the bluenette, unable to conceal the smirk in his voice at this point. Simon's eye went wide, and he began to sweat. He stumbled his way into the living room and stared at the door."I found something very interesting there. Would you like to know what it is?"

The man jumped when he heard a soft knock at his door. It didn't sound incredibly dutiful, or even sure if it were the right address, so there was no way it could be the police. He knew that the proud boy wouldn't knock in such a fashion. He took a moment to compose himself, before unlocking it, telling himself that it's only someone looking for a different apartment, or a package, or something as he slowly turned the handle. He let out a shout in surprise as he saw two boys dressed in dark suits standing there, one blonde, and the other with hair of a peculiar shade of blueish black, who had a walkie-talkie pressed up against his ear. Both lad's smirked at the man.

"That's correct, Simon. I found you." said the bluenette. Ciel simply let himself in, his blonde companion in tow, as Simon scrambled to his feet and ran back to his desk, picking up a small remote.

"So, you found me?! Big deal! I've still got an ace up my sleeve!" declared the man, holding the device out in the boys' view. "Simon says forget everything! As soon as you squeal to the cops, your friend goes 'bye-bye'!" He smiled, glaring straight into the bluenette's eye in order to stare him down, but he immediately lost all confidence in his ability to do so when the boy's sapphire eye began to glow crimson. When he saw that, he simply couldn't look away, or even think of anything else. It was as though he was bewitched by that eye.

"Wrong." corrected the demon. He spoke with dignified authority when giving his orders. "Ciel says that you will disarm the bomb."

As soon as that was said, Simon dropped the remote before getting on his computer, dazed in the way that he moved. His eyes were open, reflecting the light from the computer monitor in the dark room, yet it didn't appear that he was really seeing anything. Alois watched him closely as the man absent-mindedly clicked around on the program that he had designed to set the bombs off, as well as arm and disarm them remotely. Simon mover the mouses' cursor over the Indian boy's signal, and clicked "disarm" before snapping out of his trance. When he did, he shouted in alarm and jumped up, knocking his chair over backwards.

"Wh-wh-wh-what did you do to me?!" he asked, in a panicked sort of manner.

"That's classified." said the bluenette. "You, Simon Smith, brother of Junior Detective Constable Karen Smith, now deceased, are under arrest." Ciel motioned for the blonde to move in, and tackle the man to the ground. Alois turned the man face-down and forced his arms behind his back, twisting them when Simon made a move to resist. The full-grown man in his mid-thirties was strangely helpless against a boy who looked no older than fifteen.

"Would you like to hear what all charges you're being booked for?" Ciel asked with a smile, enjoying every moment of this. He pulled a piece of paper out of his suit's breast pocket and began reading it aloud. "Kidnapping, assault, assault on a minor, assault on a police officer, murder in the first degree, murder of a police officer, terroristic threatening, terrorism, disturbing the peace, and the list goes on. You will be tried for every single one of your victims, only Simon, and with the evidence we have here, you'll probably be sentenced for life."

"That's too good for him." Alois said, keeping the criminal pinned down. "Why not the capital punishment?"

"The capital punishment was abolished in the twentieth-century. I still think even that's too good for him." said the bluenette boy, placing the scrap of paper back in his pocket. "In all honesty, I think it would be fitting for him to be forced to go through the same fear and despair that his victims did. That's just not 'justice' these days, unfortunately."

"Wait a minute! Just who are you kids!? You're not cops!" demanded the man on the floor. He propped his face up on his chin in order to look up at the bluenette. "What are you?!"

"Demons." the bluenette said finally. "Demons from Britain's underworld, here to deliver you to your life in purgatory." He pulled up a chair and sat down, as though he were bored. "We're sure that Scotland Yard is just dying to meet you. Once the police arrive, you won't be our problem anymore."

"You told the police where I live?!" demanded the man. "You broke the rules! Simon said 'no help'!"

"Of course we did. Did you honestly think that we wouldn't take advantage of you loosing your 'eyes'?"

"How childish." the blonde mused. "In every game, once the rule-maker's back is turned, anyone would be willing to cheat! That's just how life works."

"How did you do it?" asked Simon. "How did you find out where I live? I was so careful!"

"Wrong. You weren't." Ciel said, folding his arms and looking down at the man. "Your 'eyes' were your biggest weakness. The very fact that you used your own sister as a tool proved to be your Achilles' heel. She said that the bomber was 'family' before you killed her. After she was gone, and no one was there to watch us, I sent a text to my butler, telling him to look into her family and present anything of interest under the guise of messaging Detective Bailey about his coworker's demise. The fact that you used 'Simon says' as your calling card made it obviously you. You just happen to have the same name? It wasn't that difficult at all. You really aren't as intelligent as you thought you were."

Simon gritted his teeth and furrowed his brow, internally kicking himself for miscalculating. He simply wanted to show his sister that he wasn't a "deadbeat" like she often accused him of being. That was the only reason why he even involved her. She was always the better one; better at everything they did. She had better looks, better grades, better athletic abilities, and just once, Simon wanted to prove that he was every bit as brilliant as she was. Ciel was right. Perhaps he really wasn't as smart as he thought he was. Suddenly, he tried to force all of his strength into his limbs, and free himself, only to wince at the feeling of being slammed back down to the floor by the blonde demon boy.

"Careful! You might make me accidentally break your arm!" Alois said with mock-concern. "You also don't want to add 'resisting arrest' to your list of charges, do you?"

Eventually, the police arrived, allowing the blonde to release Simon, only for the man to be handcuffed and stuffed into a police car. They confiscated the man's computer, and various other pieces of incriminating evidence. Ciel was busily sending a text to Sebastian, telling him that it was safe to forcibly remove Preston's collar without fear of causing it to detonate, as Detective Bailey walked up to him, smoking a cigarette. The boy sent his message before placing the object in his pocket, turning his attention to Bailey.

"Good evening." Ciel greeted the tired-looking man. "I'm sorry to have interrupted your sleep, detective, but I wanted to get this wrapped up as soon as possible."

"Honestly, I don't know how you do it, Phantomhive." the detective replied with a yawn. "You caught the guy we've been chasing for weeks in one day."

"Well, my kind are a bit different than the officers that you have on staff." said the Phantomhive boy. "I'm a bit disappointed, though. I thought he would have been more of a challenge."

"You must get really bored, kiddo." said the man with a chuckle. He always found it funny how that would never fail to bother the Guard-dog

"I told you to stop calling me that years ago, Bailey. I'm not a child, and you know that." corrected the demon.

"Yeah, I guess you're right. How long has it been since I've known you? About twenty years, maybe?"

"And you still call me a 'kid'..."

"I can't help it. I look at you, and it makes me feel old." said Detective Bailey. "I'm here, getting wrinkles and grey hair, while you haven't aged a single day..."

"You still seem the same to me." said the bluenette with a shrug. "You're just a little wiser and less of an irritant than you were before."

"Thanks, that really warms my heart." replied Bailey. "Is the blondie one of you, too?" he asked, pointing at Alois, who was currently pestering a bunch of officers about showing him how to make the blue police car lights flash.

"Yeah. He's an old rival of mine." the bluenette answered, using the term "rival" instead of "nemesis" in order to avoid giving a long-winded explanation.

"Seems a little goofy to be your rival. Are you sure he isn't just comedy relief?"

"Positive." said Ciel. "Now, was there something else on your mind, or did you just come over here to bother me?"

"Well, we're pretty sure Smith-, I mean, Simon Smith, didn't come across all of those explosives on accident." answered Bailey, putting out his cigarette. "We might need to call you back in to further investigate the matter."

"Sounds fun." replied the Phantomhive boy with a smug smile. "I'll be looking forward to it."

"Hey, Ciel~!" called Alois, as he assaulted the bbluenette with a hug, nearly knocking the other boy over. "Whatcha doin'?"

"I was just talking to Detective Bailey." Ciel replied, blushing slightly at the sudden contact in front of the detective, who simply looked at them, surprised that the Phantomhive boy would allow someone to even set their hands on him. "Did you get to make the lights flash?"

"No, the officers said that they couldn't let a kid play with their equipment." Alois said with a pout.

"I can see that. You'd probably find a way to break it." Ciel said with a slight smile.

"I would not!"

"Need I remind you that you ruined both a perfectly good toaster, as well as a semi-new counterspace by placing a lizard of all things inside of it?"

"That was one time!"

"You... put a lizard... in a... toaster?" asked the now even more-so confused detective, arching an eyebrow.

"I wanted to know if it could only toast bread." replied the blonde lad nonchalantly.

"But a lizard?"

"What can I say? I have a natural curiosity."

"You have a natural idiocy." said the bluenette.

"I love you too, darling."

"Oh, so you really do like boys, huh, Kiddo?" asked the detective, teasingly.

"How did you know that?!" demanded the bluenette.

"I'm a detective. It's what I do." replied the man. "That, and Blondie has been hanging on you the entire time, and you haven't tried to push him away even once." Ciel blushed.

"Yeah, and he even has his arms around my waist!" added the blonde with a smirk.

"Can you not go through one day without embarrassing me in public?" Ciel asked with an exasperated sigh.

"No. You're just too cute when you're embarrassed!" Alois said, causing the detective to laugh.

"Stop laughing! **I will end all of you!"**

"But you didn't say 'Ciel says'."

"Shut up!"

* * *

 


	163. That Manor, Old

Crimson. That crimson eye. The memory of it confounded Preston. The whole thing seemed so surreal. Surely he didn't see what he thought he did. Perhaps he was just so exhausted from the day's events that his own eyes were playing tricks on him. That was feasible. The only problem was that he saw it. He knows he did. It was too vivid to not be. He knew the bluenette was talking to him at the time, but Preston couldn't recall what Ciel had said. He had only registered the boy's hypnotic, crimson eye that seemed to see right through him.

With a shout in surprise, Preston shot right up out of bed, waking up from his nightmares. Was it a dream? The Indian boy brushed his fingers against his neck, feeling for any signs of the collar. He sighed with relief when the only thing there was his own skin. It was a dream, after all.

But he was mistaken; made apparent when the lad looked around the room, discovering that it wasn't his own bedroom at home. No, Preston was in one of the guest rooms of Phantomhive Manor, which was exactly where he recalled falling asleep that night. He wasn't dreaming. All of it was real. The bomb, the danger, the tests, his mother's tears, and his father's attempts to quell them behind a mask that hid his own, and most of all, that hypnotic, glowing, crimson eye.

He didn't get to dwell on this for long, however, since he discovered that he wasn't alone. Preston nearly jumped out of his skin when he noticed the odd, petite girl with long, silver hair dressed in her "borrowed" maid uniform. Her expression looked bored, even when she spoke.

"Bonjour; Good morning; Wake the hell up." the maid said to the boy, not caring at all how rude the last greeting was. "Breakfast is downstairs. You can borrow those clothes over there." She pointed to some of the clothes of the Trancy boy, generously providing pants instead of the blonde's infamous short-shorts.

"Uh... O-okay?" asked the startled and confused Preston. It took him a moment to realize that he had been wearing the same clothes for quite some time now, from his capture to that moment, which was about two days. He wrinkled his nose at how grimy he felt. "Do you think it would be okay if I used the shower?" he asked. The girl only nodded in response before turning to leave.

"Wait, one more question!" he said, causing Amelie to stop and look at him. "What... What happened to the collar around my neck?"

"Taken care of." was all she said, leaving, and closing the door behind her. That didn't answer his question at all. The boy wondered why the Phantomhive boy would hire such a person to work in his household, but then again, the bluenette did put up with Alois.

After Preston finished scrubbing himself, he donned the clothes that were offered to him, which simply consisted of a purple T-shirt and a pair of jeans, before heading downstairs to greet the others and thank them for their assistance. Hopefully, he would get some answers about what happened before he fell asleep as well. At this point, the lad ran into yet another problem: he didn't know how to navigate his way around this foreign household. He made several turns, only to end up in another hallway that seemed to only lead into many more hallways. How hard was it to find stairs? The boy wandered aimlessly before seeing a single, solitary sign of life in the thus far disturbingly empty house.

It was a young man-, or so he thought. Upon venturing closer, he discovered that it was in fact, a woman, who looked to be about nineteen or so. She had really pale skin, with freckles on her cheeks, and her dark hair pulled back in a ponytail. The reason that Preston thought she was a man at first was because she was wearing a butler's uniform.

"Excuse me," he said, walking up to the girl. "but I was hoping you could tell me where the dining room is. I'm lost..." he admitted.

"Of course!" the girl said cheerfully, regardless to the fact that she seemed somewhat lethargic. "I'm heading that way myself, so just follow me." The servant's quarter's were near the kitchen and dining area, so Charlotte was actually heading just a little ways past the boy's destination. She had been awake for a bit too long for her liking.

The guest walked along beside the nocturnal, cross-dressing maid, as they rounded a few more corners before actually reaching the stairs that Preston had been so desperately trying to find. They both walked in awkward silence, neither party being able to think of anything to say-, well, Preston had a few questions to ask, but didn't quite have the courage to speak up. Downward, they descended, and Charlotte led the boy to a large door. She opened it, allowing Preston access to the room. She waved him a quick farewell before closing it again and heading off to sleep for the day, leaving the boy in the dining room.

Preston turned to see that the others were here as well, Ciel at the head of the table, and Alois directly to his right, absent-mindedly eating as he waited for the bluenette to get off the phone. Ciel often took calls during breakfast, as "impolite" as that may be. If no one around him really minded, and the information being discussed wasn't entirely a "secret", then he didn't see the harm in it at all. Perhaps this was a rude trait that he developed after hanging around Alois for far too long, it couldn't be certain. One thing that was, however, was that whoever the bluenette was talking to seemed to make him quite annoyed.

Then, Alois noticed Preston and waved at him to come over and sit with them with a smile, probably glad that he had someone to talk to while his companion was busy. The Indian boy obliged, walking over to them and taking a seat next to the blonde. Sebastian appeared as if rehearsed and set food in front of the guest, which the boy happily accepted.

"Did you sleep well?" asked the man with a smile.

"Not really. I kept having nightmares." replied Preston, refusing to give any details. "Do you know what happened to the collar?" he asked, hoping that the butler would know.

"I removed it after the young master and Alois forced the perpetrator to disarm it." answered Sebastian. "I'm surprised you didn't wake up in the process."

"I am too." said the boy, turning his attention to Alois. "So how did you do it? How did you find Simon?"

"Well, that was mostly Sebastian. He's the one who did the looking into Detective Smith's family-, oh yeah, you don't know about that..." the blonde began, pausing to think about how to abridge the story. "Well, anyway, we found out that he was related to Smith, and then Sebastian found out where he lived from there. We basically just showed up and arrested him." Alois explained, hitting most of the important bits. "It only appeared to be more difficult than it really was."

It was at this point that the others began to register what the bluenette was talking about on the phone, as he began yelling at the person on the other end. Whoever it was seemed to have a talent of getting under the boy's skin that was even greater than Alois'. Ciel furrowed his brow and shouted:

"What do you mean you 'won't take them?!' A deal's a deal!" There was almost a childlike quality to the lad's voice that seldom went heard by others. It was almost a whine, as though hie target had cheated in a playground game. "'Basic training'?! You said nothing about that! How am I supposed to know these conditions if you don't tell me about them?!"

"Let me guess..." said the blonde to the butler with a grin, obviously amused by the boy's outbursts. "...is he talking to Sir Hellsing?"

"Yes, and by the looks of it, she no longer wishes to take those two off of our hands." replied Sebastian, referring to Charlotte and Amelie, of course. It was now the beginning of December, signifying that the pair had been working in the Phantomhive household for a full month. Sir Hellsing had agreed to take care of Charlotte and Amelie if they proved that they could work under the lad's comand for one full month; A deal that she now appears to be breaking.

"I am not acting like a child!" the bluenette argued against the unseen enemy. "I know it's un reasonable but-" Ciel stopped shouting for a moment, as he was obviously interrupted by Sir Hellsing, who, judging by the look on the lad's face, appeared to be making a sound argument. The demon took a deep breath to calm himself before speaking again.

"Alright, when is it?" he asked, pausing to hear the reply. "This summer?! It's in the middle of bloody winter! You expect me to put up with this for that long?! Don't you hang up on me, Hellsing! Hellsing! Integra-!" Then, all he heard was a dial tone. It seemed to mock him, only aggravating him more. "She hung up on me..." he muttered. "That no good, stubborn, cigar-chewing-!"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, calm down!" said Alois, preventing the boy from finishing his sentence. "Don't blow a gasket in the dining room. It's poor manners." Alois smirked at the glare that the Phantomhive boy gave him. "So what's this about 'basic training' and 'summer'?" he asked, taking a sip of tea and watching his companion compose himself again. Ciel sighed and slouched in his seat a bit.

"She won't hire Charlotte or Amelie until they complete basic training up to H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. standards." he said, resting his chin in his palm. "It starts in the summer, so we have to put up with them for a little longer."

"Amelie walked into the bathroom while you were in the shower one too many times, eh?" the blonde teased.

"Shut up." Ciel ordered. "That girl lacks any sense of common decency!"

"I know, right? It's almost like she's an animal, or something!" The look the bluenette shot at the blonde made Alois almost choke as he attempted to keep himself from bursting out into a fit of giggles.

"What's wrong with keeping them around?" asked Preston. "I know they're a bit... strange, but you guys seem to be very short-staffed around here." He was of course basing this off of his own observations of the house, which seemed almost deserted. The only servants he knew that they had were Sebastian and those two girls, who somehow managed to miraculously keep the mansion working like clockwork all on their own. The demons simply stared at the lad for a moment before saying anything.

"As you can guess from the events of yesterday, this house holds many secrets, one of which being my duty as The Queen's Guard-dog." Ciel began, folding his hands on the table. "This house is intentionally short-staffed. Allowing just anyone inside could be a threat to those secrets. However, that is not the case with that pair. Sir Hellsing is simply better apt to looking after them with their 'medical needs'."

"'Medical needs'?" echoed the human boy.

"Yeah, those 'needs' being one of those 'secrets'." Alois clarified, swinging his legs back and forth playfully underneath the table. "It's classified information."

"I see..." said Preston, not quite understanding. He couldn't help but think back to the crimson eye that he saw the day before, and wonder about it. Could that be a "Phantomhive Secret" as well? He didn't know, but with every second he spent in that house, he became more suspicious of the demonic duo. He wasn't entirely sure about trusting them anymore with all of these "secrets", but then again, they had saved his life. Perhaps he was willing to put up with this for a little longer.

"Have you called your parents yet, Preston?" asked the bluenette, bringing the Indian boy's thoughts to an abrupt, screeching halt. He had completely forgotten. Quickly, he reached into his pocket and pulled out his cellphone, asking to be excused so he could inform his mother and father that he was alright. He left the room, dialing the phone as he walked. As soon as he was out of sight, Alois turned to Ciel.

"So, what's the plan?" he asked, resting his chin in his palm.

"Plan? What plan?" asked the bluenette, taking a sip of tea.

"Oh, come on, he's obviously suspicious." replied the blonde. "You think he remembers you using your 'sex beam' on him?"

"First of all, it is **not** a 'sex beam', you perverse little weirdo..."

"But I'm **your** perverse little weirdo!"

"Well, that's true, at least..." said the bluenette with a slight blush. "Secondly, it is entirely possible that he remembers, if not entirely likely that he does. I wouldn't worry, though. Most humans get over it and believe that they couldn't have possibly seen what they thought they did."

"Because we 'don't exist'?"

"Precisely. It is impossible to see what you don't already believe in."

"But what if he begins to believe? Then they'll be yet another one in on our little secret."

"It could go either way. Either we remain friends, and gain an important ally, or he becomes a potential threat."

 


	164. Games

Warwick Academy; born anew from the ashes of it's rumours and poor reputation set by previous accidents, like _a phoenix_ at dawn. Yes, Warwick is once again, the creme de la creme of academic excellence, made obvious due to the fact that students have returned from hiding out in fear of injury or death in the hallways of this grand establishment. No, Warwick is now safe for all to learn and enjoy their time with friends to the fullest, with the academy's updated security system, and with the installation of a new part-time hall monitor, a petite girl with long, silver hair who goes by the name " _Amelie Garou"_ (which is an _alias_ , of course). With these changes, and with the positive new image granted by a young, aspiring fashion designer and his friends, Warwick is certainly on the right path for a bright future.

"What!? That was _you_ on the news, Preston?!" asked a certain brunette lad by the name of Daniel Westley, who was currently harassing the Indian boy while standing next to his desk. The boy of the hour, of course was less than thrilled about all of this attention he was getting from being a part of the terrifying wild-goose chase.

All he wanted was for things to get back to normal, but alas, it was not meant to be. He was still a little beaten up from the experience, making people ask him about his injuries. He was able to hide most of them underneath his uniform, but couldn't do so with the band-aids covering the cuts on his face. Preston gave an exasperated sigh, as he said for what appeared to be the millionth time that day:

 _"Yes, that was me."_ he crossed his arms. "I really don't feel like recapping the entire story _again_ , if you don't mind, Daniel. I'm tired."

"No problem." the other boy said, being oddly reasonable. "It must've been _exciting_ , though. It's like that one episode of _Sherlock,_ isn't it?"

"Probably, except _real_ , and way more _terrifying_." said Audrey from his own desk, which was next to Preston's. The boy was playing his _Nintendo 3DS_ in class yet again. The Baines lad had the device taken away from him a whopping _one-hundred and twelve_ times. Rumour has it that he even has spares. Audrey didn't even look up to talk to the son of a politician. "Give it a rest, Dan. He's had enough attention."

"Yeah, yeah. I get it, I get it." replied Daniel, now turning his attention to Audrey. "What are you playing, anyway?"

" _Castlevania: Lords of Shadow-Mirror of Fate."_ answered the boy in the skull beanie.

"What's with the super-long name?"

"I dunno. _I didn't make it_."

"Hey, _Ciel!"_ Daniel called to the Phantomhive boy, who lazily turned his head to pay him at least mild attention. "Has _Funtom_ ever thought about going into the video-game business?"

"Yes, actually. It's proven difficult to assemble a team in order to do so, however." replied the eye-patched gentleman. "If I'm going to waste time and money on such a project, I want to see _quality results."_

 _"Bargain-bin games_ aren't good enough for you, huh, Phantomhive? _I know that feel_." Bones spoke with a slight laugh, while the bluenette arched an eyebrow at the odd choice of words. Perhaps it was slang, or something. Ciel had difficulty keeping up with this sort of thing sometimes. Suddenly, the music coming from the small, handheld device changed, and the boys stopped talking for a moment to watch the cut-scene.

"Whoa! Is that the boss?!" shouted the brown-haired boy out of nowhere, startling Audrey and making him jump. "He's ugly! Kill it! _Kill it with fire!"_

"Stop talking. _I need to focus_." Bones said rather seriously. The bluenette listening in on their conversation simply rolled his visible eye. The others could be so _odd_ at times, and this was coming from a _supernatural apparition of darkness._

Ciel was starting to get used to having friends; something that he has in the past, avoided so he didn't have to cut ties with them or risk exposing his secret. The group who knew thus far, aside from Preston, who was only suspicious, and Travis, who's full knowledge was unknown, seemed to be quite accepting of the fact, and acted as though it weren't any matter of great importance, or a Daniel would jokingly put it: the lad's " _weren't racist_ ". Still, the fact remained that they would grow old, and eventually die, a fact that saddened the bluenette a tad, just as it did with Alois.

"That's so cool!" declared the blonde, moving from his own seat in front of the Phantomhive boy in order to view the mysterious device that Audrey possessed. "You can take the games _with you_ too?!"

He froze when it occurred to him that Preston was there as well as Travis, who knew nothing of the lad's " _time-skip syndrome_ ". He simply got excited about new gadgets and the like that he forgot. The four boys that were "in the know" stared at him, as they all scrambled for an explanation for the blonde's choice of words. Preston arched an eyebrow in confusion, as Travis said nothing. Suddenly, Daniel started talking.

"Yeah, _technology has sure come a long way_ , huh?" he asked, semi-convincingly in an attempt to cover for the boy. The others simply nodded in agreement.

"Does anyone remember what games _used to be like?_ They were all blocky and stuff, but now they've started to look very realistic." said Audrey in an attempt to keep the conversation flowing smoothly.

"Yeah, oh hey, _guess what?"_ asked Kristopherson, who had been oddly quiet due to his lack of knowledge in the area.

"What?" asked Daniel.

 _ **"The Game!"**_ said the boy in the pink tie, earning a playful punch to the shoulder by Daniel and a series of "boos" from the others as well. Alois simply played along and pretended to understand what that was.

Yes, it was just another ordinary day at Warwick...

 


	165. Only If You Look At It That Way

"Hey, Phantomhive, can I ask you a question?" asked Daniel, with a serious face, resting his palms on the bluenette's desk.

"I assume you mean after _that question_ , of course?" replied Ciel, eye straying from the worksheet in front of him for a brief moment. "What is it?" The Westley boy paused before he responded.

"How come I haven't gotten to go on any _supernatural adventures_ with you guys yet?" he inquired, gaining a questioning look from the bluenette.

"Are you _serious?"_ Ciel couldn't help but ask him that. "You act like we _plan_ that sort of thing."

"So does that mean you don't know?"

"I _mean_ you're an _idiot."_

In a huff, Daniel sat in the chair that was next to the bluenette, it wasn't his own, but he didn't care at the moment. "That's not nice. I just want something interesting to happen. I'm bored."

"Daniel, you claim that you're going to change the world, right?" asked the bluenette, putting down his pencil for the moment. "If you even want a chance of doing that, you're going to have to stop _waiting_ for something to happen, and simply _make_ something happen." Ciel picked up his writing utensil again and filled in an answer while the brown-haired boy gawked at him.

"Then what should I do? I know I said that, but how am I going to accomplish it?"

" _Figure it out_. You're a politician's son, right? You should know by now that this gives you quite a few options in attaining that goal."

"Are you saying I should become a politician? Seriously, _I don't understand you at all..."_

"I know, _but I really don't feel like justifying myself to you._ " said Ciel, glancing over at the other boy for a moment. Daniel furrowed his brow and pouted. He leaned back in the chair that he "liberated" and sighed.

"You're _weird_." he said simply before getting playfully bopped on the head by a certain blonde boy.

"Seat. Out. Now! You're contaminating my seat with your _ass-cooties!"_ declared Alois in objection to Daniel's commandeering of his seat.

"What? Maybe I just felt like sitting by Phantomhive today! We don't have assigned seats, so what's the big deal?" replied the Westley lad teasingly before getting bopped again. Alois playfully hit him over the head and on his shoulders until Daniel finally decided to move.

"Okay, okay! I'll let you _sit by your man!_ " the brown-haired boy said, getting up. He turned to the Phantomhive boy once again before returning to his own seat. "Help me come up with a plan, sometime. I'm no good at stuff like that. It always blows up in my face, as memory serves."

"Maybe someday." Ciel said back before Daniel sat down again.

"What's all of this about _'plans'_ and stuff?" asked the blonde boy. Alois had been elsewhere in the room while taunting Kristopherson, so he had missed the majority of the conversation.

"Remember what Daniel said about _'making the country safe for humans and supernatural_ beings' when he first found out about our secret?" asked the bluenette.

"Don't tell me he's _serious..."_ Alois said with a skeptical look. The claim was utterly ridiculous, even for the Westley boy, and seemed nothing but entirely impossible. The Phantomhive boy chuckled at the blonde's response.

"It would _seem_ that way." he said, looking at the blonde demon. "It will be interesting to watch him _try,_ at least. I think we've made friends with quite the _interesting_ bunch." Ciel extended his index finger, pointing out each boy in the room as he called them. "Daniel wants to unite both the human and supernatural worlds, while Kristopherson simply wants to make people happy with clothes. Travis wants to make jewelry, and Preston wants to take over his family's technological business and move it into the future, both seemingly for profit. Then there's Audrey, who wants to protect the human world from the very supernatural world that Daniel wants to be _friends_ with. It's quite _abnormal,_ don't you think? Most children at Warwick have nothing else in mind but to carry on their parent's legacy."

Alois listened intently to the bluenette's words, taking them in, and seeing what he is describing. He was right. Most children at this school want nothing more than to carry on the legacy of another person, while these lads seem to be wanting to shape their own paths for themselves, each for their own reasons. The more Alois thought about it, the more a certain question came to mind.

"What about _you?"_ he asked finally. Ciel simply looked at him with a confused expression across his face. "What do _you_ want to accomplish?" The bluenette leaned back in his chair, folding his arms across his chest as he thought about it.

"I don't really know yet." he said after a rather long pause. "I've never really thought about it. Well, I've got eternity to figure it out though, don't I? What about _you?"_ He looked at the blonde boy as though he didn't expect him to actually know. Demons seldom think about the "future". They only think about the "now". They focus on simply _living_ , rather than what they are _living for_.

"I'm not sure either." the blonde said, just as Ciel expected. What the bluenette didn't expect, however, was what Alois said next.

 _"I just know I wanna stay by you_." he said with a smile. "So I guess I'll just follow along with whatever _you_ do."

"Really? What if I become some _'overlord of darkness'?_ Would you stay with me then?" asked Ciel.

"Of course I would." replied Alois. "First of all: One does not simply _dump Satan._ Secondly, that doesn't matter to me. Even if you do, I'll still love you." Ciel felt his cheeks heat up at the "L-word". He rested his chin in his palm and looked away, focusing his attention instead on the scenery outside the window.

" _Whatever."_ he said, still feeling the blonde staring at him. Soon, he felt the boy put his arms around his neck.

"Aw, you're so _cute_ when you're embarrassed!" the other boy said, resting his chin on the top of the bluenette's head. "Hey, Ciel..."

" _What?"_ Ciel asked, his tone annoyed at the smile in the other boy's voice.

 _"Can I rape you?"_ the Trancy boy asked, feeling the other boy grab at his arms.

"What?! _No!"_ the bluenette insisted, his face getting redder. "Are you an _idiot?!"_

"Oh yeah, you like being the _dominant_ one, don't you?" asked the other boy, his smile never wavering.

 _"Shut up!_ And by the way, if you _ask_ someone, then it can't be classified as 'rape', you moron..."

"So I _can_ then?"

" _No!_ There's _no way_ I'm getting on _bottom!"_

 _"Red Card!"_ shouted Kristopherson, interrupting the demonic duo's shenanigans. He folded his arms as he invaded the conversation. "Last time I checked, that isn't an _appropriate_ subject to be talking about in class."

"You're no _fun..."_ said Alois, still not releasing the bluenette.

 _"No,_ I just have a sense of _common_ _decency."_ the boy in the pink tie replied, his cheeks a little red.

"Whoa! Wait, why're you _blushing,_ Kris?" asked the blonde menace. "Don't tell me! Did that Tamworth guy finally _top you?!"_ he teased in mock-surprise. Kristopherson's face immediately darkened in it's shade of red.

 _"He did_ _ **not!"**_ he protested. "Stop making shit up, Trancy! Cameron and I aren't like that!"

"Ah, sorry, mate. I didn't mean to bring up your little ' _frustrations'_."

_"TRANCY-!"_

"Alois, stop being an ass." said Ciel, finally. He didn't want the two blondes to start yelling about the vulgar subject matter and alert the attention of a teacher. He turned to face the blonde, forcing the other boy to loosen his grip around his neck. "I know you can't help it, but can you at least _try_ to tone it down while we're at school?"

" _Yes, my master."_ the blonde replied with a small bow, pecking Ciel on the forehead as he leaned forward. Kristopherson simply stared at them.

"That is _so wrong_." he said finally, commenting on the menace's reply.

_"It only is if you look at it that way, Kris."_

* * *

 


	166. Knights Of The Round Table

_The Convention of Twelve,_ also known as the "Round Table Conference", is a society comprised of individuals of political and economic importance, often nobles and military leaders, all of which are loyal to the English crown. At heart, this group runs the British Empire from behind the scene for her majesty. It is the Convention of Twelve and all related parties who are the holders of Britain's deepest, darkest secrets. One of which, being the house of Phantomhive.

Today, they meet in their usual, top-secret location. All twelve members have assembled around their oval table with one agenda in mind. A certain boy has been summoned to speak with them today after receiving a telephone call from Sir Integra Fairbrook Wingates Hellsing, one of the top members of the council. His subordinates were asked to wait outside as they conversed, yet the lad wasn't afraid in the slightest.

He showed not even the slightest hint of fear or intimidation when the door opened, and he walked inside in his black suit, one that he only wore for important meetings. The boy wore an eye-patch, covering his "evil eye"; the other one being of a deep sapphire, reflecting only his determination. His hair was of an awkward shade of blueish black, and his ears were pierced, but other than that, the boy seemed perfectly normal, aside from his otherworldly presence. He looked far younger than the others in the room, but there was one thing that truly set him apart from them, and that was the fact that the boy was not _human_.

" _Ciel Phantomhive."_ said one of the men at the table. "So glad that you could join us."

"It's good to see you all again, _Sir Islands."_ the bluenette greeted, a tad more politely than usual. While he didn't show it, he was slightly worried. "To what do I owe the honour of receiving an invitation from the round table?"

The man who had greeted the boy first, _Sir Hugh Islands,_ was the Council President and a serious man who was even more strict than Sir Hellsing. He clicked his tongue in disapproval of the boy's demeanor. Whle he appreciated the lad getting straight to the point, he felt that his tone sounded somewhat sarcastic and disrespectful; a preconceived notion that was simply his own imagination.

 _"Sir Penwood,_ would you like to fill in Mister Phantomhive in on his task?" Islands asked another council member, _Sir Penwood._ Ciel arched an eyebrow when he heard the word "task". It was extremely rare for him to receive a mission from the council.

Penwood was less threatening than Islands. He had a somewhat nervous demeanor about him that was odd for a Vice-Admiral of the armed forces. This man stood up, his mustache twitching a bit from his own nerves. Being around the demon boy made him somewhat frightened, for understandable reasons. Ciel never held it against him, but wished that the man would act like a man instead of a frightened child every time he saw him.

" _Ahem, yes, well..."_ Penwood began, struggling to find his words at the start. The Phantomhive boy waited patiently for the details of his assignment. "A-about your recent encounter with the serial bomber, _Simon Smith;_ Well, obviously, no civilian should have gotten access to that many explosives, and that kind of technology, so he had to get it from _somewhere..."_

"Oh, for crying out loud, Penwood! _Spit it out, man!"_ shouted another member of the conference, who received a mean look from Islands. Sir Penwood faltered and glanced over a few sheets of paper in front of him.

"O-oh, yes _... right_..." he said, finding his words again. "Well... After interrogating Smith, and doing much research and investigating, we believe we have found the source..."

" _An illegal smuggling ring."_ interrupted Sir Hellsing, lighting a cigar. "According to this new Intel, there has been a string of smuggling of weapons and explosives, as well as many other dangerous materials into the country by a particular source."

"Britain will not stand for this! We have done our best to keep distribution of firearms under control, and this new group threatens our peace!" said Islands.

"So what you mean to say is that you want me to _eliminate_ this source?" Ciel asked at last, tired of this sill game of beating around the bush that the Round Table so enjoyed to play. Sir Islands leaned back in his chair and folded his hands on the table in front of him.

"Yes." he said, his tone grave. "His name is _Victor Beatie;_ a weapons dealer. I'm aware that you've met his son, _Jonathan_."

 _Jonathan Beatie._ The name was still somewhat fresh in the bluenette's mind. Jonathan was the boy who had threatened the lives of the students of Warwick by smuggling his own arsenal onto the campus. He shot Amelie, and injured Daniel. Jonathan lost his own life by accidentally falling on his own knife while attempting to attack the Phantomhive boy. _Jonathan Beatie:_ the boy who Ciel allowed to wallow in agony in a pool of his own blood. The boy who made the bluenette feel guilt; guilt from stabbing his former nemesis, Alois Trancy, and sending him further to his own demise; guilt from beginning to care about the human condition. The walls of ice around the bluenette's heart were starting to melt to the extent that he felt pity for almost complete strangers.

" _We've met."_ replied the boy, refusing to acknowledge the fact any longer. "Is there any Intel on Beatie's approximate location?"

"The last anyone heard, he was heading to _New York City,_ in America." said Sir Hellsing. "The details are all right here." the woman said, holding up a folder, and passing it to the Phantomhive boy.

"As you can imagine, it is of utmost importance that word doesn't get out about this operation." said Sir Islands. "Should you fail, there would be a scandal of international proportions. Either simply arrest Beatie, or exterminate him on international waters, where the blame cannot be placed on Britain."

"I am aware. I will not fail." said the demon, looking over the files.

"Perhaps one day, you too could even retrieve the Phantomhive's position on the council, _Ciel."_ teased the Hellsing woman, much to the lad's annoyance. She mocked the Phantomhive household's loss of credibility from his disappearance a hundred years ago. Why, both the Phantomhive house, and the Trancy house were on the council at some point in history, yet that changed with the demonic duo's supposed "deaths". Not only had Hellsing pointed this out, she had addressed him with such informality that could only be taken as disrespectful of a person of his social standing. The bluenette hated it most of all, because she was treating him like a _child_.

 _"No, thank you."_ Ciel said with a smirk. "I have my _own_ group of _friends._ Is there anything else that I need to know about this mission?"

"Yes." said the Hellsing woman. "Your... familiar, _Jim Macken_ , will be needing a passport... I assume you have already forged all of the appropriate documents in order to get him one?"

"Yes, but they are in the name _'Alois Trancy',_ not _'Jim Macken'_." replied the boy without thinking.

" _Unacceptable."_ interrupted Sir Islands. "He must have his _true name_ on all of his passports, badges, licensees and the like from now on."

"He _prefers_ to be called _'Alois'._ What is the harm in leaving it as is?" the demon asked, causing Sir Islands and the others to look at him in surprise. It was uncommon for the boy to ask such a _childlike_ question. Sir Hellsing even paused to let that sink in, but in the end, she smiled.

 _"What?"_ asked Sir Islands. "He must have his true name documented _somewhere_ , Mister Phantomhive, you _know_ that..."

"It would appear that Mister Phantomhive is becoming more and more _human_ every day." interrupted Sir Hellsing. "In all of our recent interactions, he seems to have gotten _softer,_ somehow."

" _'Softer'?"_ asked Islands. "How so?"

"He seems to be somewhat more... childlike, even to the extent where he has seemed to make friends with other children at school, and aid them with various extra-curricular activities."

"Is this true?"

"Yes, I saw him participating in his school's Halloween festival as an actor in the haunted house." the Convention was silent as they tried to imagine that. They got close, but were completely unable to place the boy in that sort of setting. Ciel, however, was trying his absolute best not to blush or argue with the woman. The last thing he wanted to do was prove her right. Still, she continued. "He seems rather _protective_ of _Jim Macken_ , in particular."

 _"Well, if that is all of the information, I'll be getting to work on this assignment immediately."_ Ciel said abruptly, turning to walk about the door. "Gentlemen, Sir Hellsing, I bid you _farewell_." He walked quickly in order to escape the room, but it was too late.

"And just where do you think _you're_ going, Phantomhive? _We aren't done here_." the Hellsing woman said, stopping the boy dead in his tracks. "There is still the matter of your and your associates demonity to discuss. Any and all new developments must be brought to light in front of the council."

 _"Shit."_ the boy thought. He felt his face get hotter as he thought about his and Alois' relationship. _How on earth was he going to explain that to the council?_ They would _never_ let him live that down, and that isn't if they _weren't_ completely disgusted. Slowly, he turned to the others at attention.

"Yes?" he asked, doing his best to maintain a visage of indifference as he usually did. This was only put-off by the flush of his cheeks and his previous attempt of escape. This of course, didn't get past Sir Hellsing.

"Is there something you're trying to _hide,_ Phantomhive?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

" _Not at all."_ he lied _. "What is it that you wish to discuss, precisely?"_

"Your protectiveness over Mister Macken, is there any _special reason_ for it?" asked the woman, asking all of the questions that he _didn't_ want her to.

"W-well, I..." replied Ciel, struggling to find his words. He looked away from the group, paying more attention to the floor, rather than their stares. His face was red, and all of that uneasiness that he was able to hide so flawlessly before was surfacing. The members of the Round Table leaned forward in their seats as they anxiously awaited the lad's answer.

"I... Uh..." Ciel hated this. He hated being put on the spot and made a fool of in front of these people. Thus, summoning what was left of his pride and confidence, he took a deep breath to calm his nerves. Finally, he looked at them with the same determination he had when he first walked in _. "I love him."_ he said.

Silence hung in the air as the members of the Round Table Conference let that thought sink it. Ciel Phantomhive, a proud, strong, cold, demon was admitting to having feelings of a romantic nature for another boy, one that was formerly his nemesis. Now that was quite shocking to them. Even Sir Hellsing herself, didn't see that coming.

"So... your status report is... that you're a... _homosexual?"_ asked Sir Islands, recovering from his disbelief. "Demons... "

"That isn't what I find _odd_." said Hellsing, putting out her cigar in the ashtray on the table in front of her. "What I find odd is that he has... feelings of that nature for anyone at all. Demons don't love. They don't have sexual preferences. They hardly have any preferences at all! What I find _odd_ is that Mister Phantomhive, a boy who has never felt any sort of special attraction to anyone, and _a demon_ , a creature that feels neither love or lust, would suddenly find himself attracted to someone, especially a _former foe_."

"Does it have to do with the fact that he was human?" asked Sir Penwood.

"Who knows? This has never happened before, that I know of." replied the woman. "Mister Phantomhive, I trust that you will continue to prove your loyalty to the crown, correct? Whatever human emotions you feel, this is the one that you must honour above all else. Am I understood?"

"Y-yes, Sir Hellsing." answered the bluenette. Ciel was unbelievably embarrassed. He regretting saying anything at all.

"I believe that is all, for now, Mister Phantomhive." said Sir Islands. "You are dismissed to work on your assignment."

" _Thank you for your time."_ the bluenette replied. With that, Ciel quickly turned to leave. He didn't wish to make any greater of a fool of himself than he already has.

"Good luck with your blonde friend of yours, as well, _'Romeo'."_ Sir Hellsing teased the lad in an uncommon joke, calling after the boy as he left. The others at the table with her began to laugh as the demon slammed the door. All except Sir Islands, who simply folded his arms in disappointment.

"Honestly, I can't see how you all can be so _calm_ about this." he said. Islands was known for being sort of a "grumpy old man", at times, so it wasn't unusual for him to be disapproving. He wasn't entirely fond of the bluenette to begin with.

"If you are referring to Phantomhive's preferences, there isn't a problem at all." said Sir Hellsing. "I'm more concerned about his _mission_."

"He is defying the sanctity of courtship! That demon, he-!"

"My apologies, Sir Islands, for interrupting, but I believe he has _already_ defied the sanctity of most natural and moral laws." spoke Sir Hellsing, lighting another cigar, and pausing to puff on it for a moment. "I highly doubt that this new _'defiance'_ is harmful. If anything, it's making him _more human._ We should be _happy_ about that, wouldn't you agree?"

Islands ceased his bickering for a moment to pause and think about that. "You seem awfully friendly towards that boy, for someone who's job it is to exterminate his kind."

"Perhaps Sir Integra's _maternal instincts_ are taking effect." joked Sir Penwood. Hellsing's eyebrow twitched in annoyance, and with her good eye, she stared daggers at Penwood, causing him to sink down in his chair.

Elsewhere in the same building, a certain blonde was standing against the wall in the lobby, bored out of his mind. He perked up every time he saw someone walking down the hallway towards them, only to become disappointed when it wasn't the Phantomhive lad. He was a bit worried about him, since the lad was asked to go in alone to meet with the Round Table. He was terrified that the other boy was in some sort of trouble with them. The man standing next to him noticed all of this, and chuckled.

"I'm sure he's _fine_." said Sebastian in an attempt to stop the blonde's constant fidgeting. "The young master is perfectly capable of handling this sort of situation."

"What if he isn't?" asked Alois. "What if Hellsing flips out on him?!"

"Sir Hellsing is also of a 'cool-under-fire' nature, like the young master. I'm sure she wouldn't resort to violence. She would only do so if the young master launched an attack first." replied the butler in black.

"What if Ciel throws a fit, though?"

"I highly doubt the plausibility of that."

 _"It could happen_."

Suddenly, the blonde heard footsteps coming down the hallway, and looked over to see the Phantomhive boy at last. With a big smile, he pranced over to the boy, walking alongside him. He noticed immediately the scowl on the boy's face was more prominent than ever.

"What happened?" he asked.

"We got a mission. _A big one_." said Ciel, continuing to keep his pace as he walked towards the butler. Sebastian followed the bluenette as well, as they begun to exit the building and walk toward the parking lot.

"What else?" asked the blonde, knowing full-well that receiving a mission wasn't what had put the bluenette in such a foul mood.

" _Nothing else_." insisted the bluenette, recalling the humiliation he endured during his meeting.

"That's a lie..." said Alois. "Was it Hellsing? Did she call you _'short'_ again?"

 _"No."_ said Ciel as he climbed into the backseat of the Phantomhive house's black Rolls Royce, followed by the other demon-boy and then the butler, who sat in the front seat and waited for the boys to buckle their seat-belts. "Nothing happened."

"Ciel~! Tell me~!" whined the blonde, leaning on Ciel's shoulder. The engine began to roar and they took off toward the estate.

"Alois, stop bugging me about it."

"But if I don't bug you, I'll never know."

"There's nothing to report. Just being in the same room with Sir Integra annoys me."

_"'Sir Integra'?"_

"Sir _Hellsing,_ I mean..." Ciel corrected. The blonde menace paused to think for a moment before continuing the conversation, looking out the window for a moment.

"You know, if you weren't so stubborn, I bet you and Hellsing could get along pretty well." he said finally, smiling as he looked at the expression on his companion's face.

"Don't you dare even _suggest_ such a thing." said the Phantomhive boy, crossing his arms. Alois simply hugged the boy's side.

" _Or what?"_ he asked with a smirk. "Are you going to _'punish'_ me?"

_"Shut up..."_

" _I'll be looking forward to it then~!"_

_"ALOIS!"_

 


	167. Come Fly With Me

Somewhere deep within the bowels of the London International Airport, our lads are in the middle of embarking on their grand expedition to the United States of America. New York City, New York, to be precise. This was easier said than done, as the blonde menace was especially excitable on this day. He was smiling so much that his cheeks hurt, and was bouncing around like a buffoon as they went through the process of getting him a passport, and buying their tickets.

Alois had never been out of the country before. As a matter of fact, he had _hardly_ been out of _London_ before, aside from a random village or two. He had never flown before either, and was exited to finally see one of these so-called "aeroplanes" up close. He saw a big window that look out at the runway at all of the planes, pressing his hands and forehead up against the glass.

" _Whoa! It's so huge!"_ he said, comparing the size of the vehicle to the size of the cars and the people that were in the middle of loading luggage onto it. He wondered how a craft of that size was to ever make it off of the ground.

"Come on, Alois! We need to get through the security checkpoint!" shouted a familiar bluenette boy.

"Okay!" the blonde shouted back, forcing himself to look away from the wonderful machines to follow both The Phantomhive boy and the boy's butler.

This, of course, was the part of the trip that Ciel always dreaded. Getting past security. While most people dread this, at least most people don't actually have things to _hide._ The lad needed to get his _Zamiel_ anit-freak pistol past security, as well as Sebastian's knives. It was never a pleasant experience, but, they had a small trick up their sleeves to handle this situation.

They walked up to the metal detector, set their belongings on the conveyor-belt that led to the x-ray machine that would be searching for weaponry, and removed all (and by "all" I mean "most") metal items from their persons. Ciel even removed his _earrings_ , of all things, an act that provoked mockery from the blonde menace. Sebastian stepped forward to go first, knives still in his coat, to walk through the metal detector.

 _"Excuse me..."_ he said, gaining the attention of the guard working the detector. While he was talking to him, Ciel got the attention on the one working the x-ray machine, both demons being sure to get eye-contact with the humans as they did. Ciel and Sebastian's eyes began to glow crimson, bewitching the both guards at the same time. Sebastian walked through the detector, causing it to go off, but never breaking eye-contact with the guard working it.

" _Everything is fine."_ Sebastian said. " _We aren't a threat to you are anyone."_

" _Everything... is fine..."_ echoed the guard. " _Please... go on ahead..."_

"Why, _thank you_." Sebastian replied, walking through the machine. The alarm had stopped sounding a long time ago, but it appeared that no one paid any notice to it. Alois went through the machine next, while Ciel maintained the other guard's attention so the luggage would get through security unnoticed. Then, the bluenette followed suit. They had gotten through security with no problems at all. The guards resumed their duties as if nothing had happened.

"That _sex beam_ of yours sure is scary..." Alois commented as the group made their way to the gates to board their plane.

"How many times do I have to tell you? _It isn't a_ _ **sex beam!"**_ corrected the bluenette for what felt like the thousandth time as he put his piercings back in. The butler simply chuckled at the boys silly argument.

"It _is_ a form of seduction, as it leads humans astray." said the man, providing a definition for the word so the blonde would have a harder time tying it to something dirty. "It has nothing to do with intercourse, however."

"So what do _you_ call it, then?" asked the blonde, not willing to let go of one of his favourite jokes just yet.

"There isn't a specified term for it, but most humans would call it the ' _demon's whisper'_ , even though there isn't always speech involved, like you've witnessed."

"Sebastian has done it using just his _voice_ before." said the bluenette lad. "That's a higher-level technique, that takes some skill to master."

"Have _you?"_ asked the blonde.

"The young master _hasn't been practicing."_ said Sebastian, causing the bluenette to stare daggers at him. Alois giggled at the gesture.

Then, he simply stopped dead in his tracks when they got to the gate that lead to the plane. He walked over to the long window in the large hallway to look at the plane that they were be riding in-, well, the part of it that he could see at the weird angle they were at. It was even bigger than he thought. It was just like one of those crafts that somehow flew around in the sky on television in all of those "futuristic" settings. They were so big, yet by some miricle, they flew; some soaring, some simply floating. The twenty-first century never ceased to amaze him.

"What are you doing? Let's go, Alois!" called the Phantomhive boy, who was already more than halfway down the hallway, snapping the blonde from his trance. "Hurry up before I decide to leave you!"

" _You wouldn't dare!"_ Alois shouted back before running to catch up with the other boy. They traveled down the tunnel, it getting narrower and narrower until it finally led to the door of the plane. Ciel had to grab the other boy's hand and drag him along to their seats so he wouldn't stop in the middle of the path in order to attempt to take everything in again.

Alois insisted that he have the window-seat so he could watch as the plane took off. He was nearly jumping up and down in his seat, with the bluenette seated next to him, attempting to get the blonde to sit still long enough so he could help the boy put on his seat-belt. Sebastian sat next to his master with an amused look on his face at the bluenette's frustration.

This was the second part of the trip that Ciel was dreading. Having to put up with the boy in an enclosed space for about eight hours. Fortunately, they were in first class, so they could watch movies and such, in order to keep the boy entertained. It was only a few hours after that got boring to both of them, though. Ciel began reading, and Alois began staring into space, looking around at the insides of the odd vehicle.

They weren't packed in as tightly as in the other classes, and it was much nicer-looking. It reminded Alois of almost every science-fiction movie he's ever seen. Everything was crisp, clean, and white, with various shades of reds in various places, just to give the room accents. There were other people there, all businessmen and women in suits and such. They were all wondering why these two children were in first class, and Alois knew it, because he would catch them staring at them. It was either because they looked so young, or because of the blonde's shirt, which said " _Slutty Badass_ " across the front. Perhaps it was both.

"Hey, Ciel." he said suddenly, tired of the silence of the room. "You've ridden on a plane before, haven't you?"

"Yeah, why?" asked the bluenette, looking away from his book to give the blonde his attention.

"Where all did you go?" Ciel paused, and thought for a moment. He tried to think of all of the places he's been.

"Well, I've been to _New York_ , and other cities in America. I've been to Scotland, Wales, and Ireland. Paris, France; and Berlin, Germany. I've been to Tokyo, Japan as well. _All for business reasons, of course."_ Alois was nearly glowing with excitement, becoming even more so with every place the boy listed. He listened intently with a smile across his face.

"Surely you stopped to sight-see, though, right?" he asked. "That would be such a waste if you didn't!"

"I stopped if something was on the way." Ciel replied. "I was usually either on a mission, or on a business trip at the time, so I didn't feel like I should be wasting time."

 _"Ugh!_ How can you _not_ stop and enjoy yourself?!" asked the blonde. "Leave it to you to make an adventure _not fun..."_

"It was _business,_ it's not _supposed_ to be _fun!"_ said the bluenette. "Besides, the missions themselves were _enough_ excitement."

"What are you, _James Bond?"_ Alois asked.

"Only _sometimes."_ answered the Phantomhive boy.

" _Lucky~!"_ the blonde whined. "I _wish_ I was there!'

"Why? The meetings I go to are boring, and the missions are usually incredibly quick."

"At least you got to _go somewhere_."

"You're _going somewhere right now_ , aren't you?" asked Ciel. "Behave, and you might get to continue going places."

"Fine~!" the other boy whined. He went back to looking around, and Ciel went back to reading, paying no mind when he felt the blonde rest his head on his shoulder. He didn't even notice that he was being stared at. Alois watched the boy's face for quite awhile before he could no longer contain this powerful urge of his that continuously began to grow with every passing second.

" _Boop_." was the noise he made as he poked the bluenette's nose.

"That's not _'behaving',_ Alois..." the bluenette said, never allowing his eye to stray from the text in front of him.

"Behaving is _boring_." replied the Trancy lad.

 _"I'm so sorry about that."_ the other boy said sarcastically. Then, silence hung over the two for the longest time. Ciel was glad that the other boy was finally quiet, but his shoulder was starting to fall asleep.

"Hey, Alois..." he called, turning to the boy to ask him to kindly move. Only, he discovered the reason for the blonde's silence being that he was asleep. Perhaps he simply gave up on pestering the bluenette, and with nothing else to do, decided to take a nap to kill time. Either way, when Ciel saw the blonde's sleeping face, he couldn't make him move.

"...Never-mind." the bluenette said quietly.

Thus, the flight went on without incident...

 


	168. Idiots Abroad

New York City, New York: a city that is known to some as "the cultural capital of the world". It's famous for being the setting of many films, books, and television series, with a bustling entertainment industry and scene for the performing arts. Indeed, it could very well be the American equivalent to London in the United Kingdom in culture and business-, unless, of course, you ask a certain bluenette boy.

New York was busy. Too busy for the tastes of the Phantomhive boy. He didn't entirely care for people, and the city was absolutely crawling with them. Ciel felt as though he couldn't walk down the street without starting to feel claustrophobic. The air of the city even _smelled funny,_ in his opinion.

Yet his blonde compatriot was just as bubbly and excitable as ever, staring out the window of the taxi gazing up at the lights just as he did when he saw modern London for the first time. Somehow, New York seemed more lively than London, with busier streets and more lights than should ever be fit in one place. Alois pointed out animated billboards and was amazed at how they seemed to be stacked on top of each other in some places.

Even with all of it's lights, the city seemed darker than their own; edgier. There were far more greys and blacks that painted the blockier architecture than in London. It was so similar, yet so different, that it seemed as though the boy's had simply walked into an alternate dimension.

After checking in to their hotel, the blonde kept imitating the local accent to the best of his ability as they made their way to their room. He continuously repeated the little blurbs that struck him as especially funny for no reason other than the fact that it just tickled him to do so. He kept urging the others to do it as well, succeeding in making the butler speak in a New York accent, but failing miserably in his many attempts to get the bluenette to do so.

They parted ways with Sebastian, who's room was across from theirs in the hallway, and unlocked the door to their own two-bed room. Ciel, of course immediately kicked off his shoes and began turning the room into an office of sorts, taking out the files he had been given and his laptop. He hadn't even taken the time to get settled in before getting to work, much to the blonde's amusement. Alois wasn't even entirely sure why he thought it was funny, either. It was just so "Ciel", that he couldn't help but giggle at the bluenette's actions.

"All work and no play make Jack a dull boy, Ciel." said the blonde teasingly, taking off his own shoes and setting his bag down before taking a seat next to the other boy, sitting with his legs in a "Cris-cross" position on the bed with the portible computer sitting in his lap.

"How very unfortunate for _Jack."_ replied the bluenette, completely deflecting the blonde's statement. "We need to get started on this as soon as possible. Beatie will be arriving in a few days, and we need to find out where he is going to be so we can take him down."

"Aw~!" Alois whined. "We came all this way, and we're not going to bother looking around?"

"No, I was also going to check up on things at _Funtom's_ American branch as well while we were here." The bluenette glanced over at Alois when he said this, noticing that the other boy's face had suddenly lit up.

"No, it isn't a playground." he said, shooting down the blonde's hopes. "It's an _office-building."_

"How the _hell_ does that work?" Alois asked. "It's a _toy_ company!"

"Headquarters generally deals with the business side of the company." explained the Phantomhive boy. "The most _'fun'_ thing that goes on in the building is the designing of products and pitching ideas. In other words, the design departments and the marketing departments."

"Yet there aren't any _actual_ toys there?"

"Only if you go to the _testing room_. That's where they give prototypes to test groups to see how well children will like a product."

"That takes some major skill to make toys _not fun..."_ Alois commented, resting his head on the bluenette's shoulder again.

 _"I'm just that good."_ Ciel resumed playing around on his laptop, trying to find the most likely spot that Beatie would appear. He assumed that the man wasn't going to go through the hassle of transporting his goods by air, so he would probable appear somewhere along the Hudson river at one of the many docks in order to do so by sea.

"We should stake out these locations, here." the boy said, pointing out several locations on the map as he listed them off. "Pier fifty-seven, Pier fifty-four, and Pier one-hundred and one. We'll get started on inspecting them tomorrow."

"Why those three?" asked the blonde.

"Those aren't owned by private companies." the bluenette explained. "They would want to avoid any and all illegal activity, and parking their boat on private property would get them in trouble."

"I see..." the blonde said, absent-mindedly. "Hey, is that the island where the statue of liberty is located?" He pointed to a spot on the bluenette's screen.

"Yes, it's called 'Liberty Island'. You can take a boat to get there and back. _They're probably going to steer clear of that place too."_

"Why is it _green?_ Wasn't it _copper?"_

"It's called _'oxidation'_ , Alois. You would know this if you _paid attention in class."_ Ciel replied, pointing out the fact that the blonde seldom pays his teachers any mind, only to come to the bluenette for help when he doesn't understand the material discussed.

"What can I say? _Pestering you_ is just more _fun_." the blonde said, kissing the other boy on the cheek. "So why did you get a room with _two_ beds, hm?" he asked, smiling at the blush that formed on his compatriot's face.

"So I could _work_." Ciel replied, doing his best to ignore the blonde's implications and advances. "Obviously, however, you're going to do everything in your power to prevent me from doing so, aren't you?"

_"Naturally."_

"If you let me work, we can go see the _Statue of Liberty_ while we search tomorrow..." said the bluenette, watching the wave of thought crash over the blonde's face as he contemplated his next decision.

"Fine~." Alois whined, getting up and moving to the other bed in the room. "You're so _awful!"_

"For wanting to complete the very mission we were sent here for in the first place?" asked Ciel. "My apologies for prioritizing _national security_ over _the contents of your pants_."

"Who said anything about my _goods?"_ asked the blonde, a smirk appearing over his face. "I could have been talking about simply _cuddling_ , you pervert."

"You and I both know that the likelihood of that is incredibly slim."

"How do _you_ know?"

"Because I know _you_."

"I guess you're right..." the blonde said, leaning backwards until he plopped down on his own bed. He stared up at the ceiling for a while, before his eyes began to wander around the room, and he listened to the sound of the bluenette hitting keys, and clicking around on his laptop's tract-pad. Alois giggled when a thought occurred to him.

"It's probably for the best. Sebastian is _just_ across the hall, and that would be _super-awkward_. That knowledge alone is kind of a turn-off." he said, tracing the patterns on the ceiling with his finger.

"It _is,_ isn't it?" Ciel replied, much to the blonde's surprise. "You're so _loud_ , the _entire floor_ would know."

"I am _not!"_ Alois protested, sitting up.

" _Obviously, you can't hear yourself_."the bluenette said back, never looking away from the screen in front of him.

"You're just making shit up!"

_"It's true."_

_"You're a terrible person!"_

_"I love you too, darling."_

" _FUCK YOU!"_

 


	169. The Disappearance Of Alois Trancy

"This feels... _unnatural..."_ spoke the blonde lad. He was not familiar in the slightest with the sensation of rocking back and forth on the waves of a river.

The three foreign demons were currently on a ferry to _Liberty Island_ , the location of the ever-famous _Statue of Liberty_. Alois was hanging over the side of the boat, gripping tightly onto the bar with his eyes shut tight. He looked green in the face as he tried to stop himself from swaying with the ferry, but his legs simply would not have it. Ciel stood there with him, rubbing the boy's back in an attempt to help his compatriot feel better, occasionally looking to the side to glare at a chuckling butler.

"That's often the case on your first time on a boat." said the bluenette, looking out at the city that seemed to get smaller as they gained more distance. "I didn't expect it to be _this_ bad, however, since you're a _demon._ Do _try_ to show some sense of _dignity_ , will you?"

" _Fuck..._ _ **urgh...**_ _You..."_ the Trancy lad managed to say without vomiting. Ciel laughed at the reply as their destination grew closer, the statue seemed to frown at the display, as though she was embarrassed for the blonde.

With time, they reached land, and after a few minutes of sitting to allow the rocking sensation of being on the boat wear off, Alois was fit as a fiddle once more. Once his condition improved, he immediately tried to make a mad dash toward the monument, only to be stopped by Sebastian. The man grabbed his shoulder, gaining his attention.

" _Don't_." he said, and immediately, Alois felt compelled to stay with his designated party.

They, with a bunch of other tourists, entered the base of the giant woman's pedestal, and began climbing the narrow, spiral-staircase that reached toward the statue's head. While lady liberty was impressive in her exterior beauty, on the inside, she was quite unbecoming. Every support beam of hers was completely bare, exposed to the public, and it was a wonder that no one hit their heads on them. The Phantomhive boy began to feel an almost overwhelming sense of claustrophobia; even more so than in the city, as there was no alternate path to take inside the massive structure.

Up, and up, and up, they climbed, slowly, but steadily toward the statue's cranium. They dodged people coming down the other side of the stairwell, and rambunctious, unattended children who played on them. At long last, they reached their destination. Alois immediately darted to one of the windows that made up the woman's headdress, and gazed out it towards the city.

New York looked so calm from far away. In the light of the sun, it could be observed that the same buildings that all appeared to be either black or grey under the shroud of night were more varying than the lad's knew. There were tans, and browns, and blueish-greys, and greyish-blues as well as others. They were all the same shapes as before, but they were much more appealing under the light.

The blonde looked down at the Hudson River, at the waves of deep blue and the many boats. Some had sails, some were speed-boats, and some were shipping boats, all varying in sizes and colours. He was smiling uncontrollably as he tried to take it all in, unconsciously leaning forward.

" _Careful."_ said the bluentte, grabbing the blonde's shoulder to direct him back towards safety. " _Don't fall out, you idiot_." The blonde simply furrowed his brow and pouted at the other boy.

"Lighten up, I wasn't going to _fall out!_ I know what I'm doing!" said the blonde. He didn't like always being treated as though he were incompetent by the bluenette. It was unintentional on Ciel's part, of course, and the blonde knew this. That was just Ciel's way of talking to everyone. Alois just couldn't help but allow it to get to him at times, though.

"Please, your _entire torso was practically dangling over the edge_." he said, looking out the window.

"Was _not!"_ was the best the blonde could come up with.

"Now you're just acting _childish_." replied the bluenette. "Is that seriously the best you can do?" Maybe it was the sickness from before getting to him, but for some reason, this annoyed Alois. He couldn't come up with witty jests _all_ of the time, now could he?

"Probably. I'm just not as _posh and sophisticated_ as you are." he said, rolling his eyes.

"Obviously not. _Classy sophisticates_ don't _hang out of windows_."

"I was _not!"_ Alois insisted, stomping his foot in order to somehow emphasize his point.

"Relax, stop _being such a girl_. I was only messing with you." said Ciel.

"I'm _not_ being a girl! Maybe I just don't appreciate being taken for an _idiot_ all of the time."

"I don't think you're an _idiot..."_

" _You just called me one not even five minutes ago!"_ The blonde stopped talking when he saw the look on Ciel's face. He looked genuinely surprised, as though he simply had no idea he had actually said that. " _Forget it..."_ Alois said with a sigh. There was no point in arguing over something the other boy wasn't even aware he was doing.

He looked out at the water, and watched the waves and the many boats the rocked ovre them. Soon, he too began to feel the swaying sensation brought on by the waves. He started to feel dizzy from just remembering it. Soon, he felt nauseous, like his stomach was rocking back and forth like the ships on the water as well. Suddenly, the muscles in his abdomen contracted, and the blonde covered his mouth with his hand in order to prevent himself from regurgitating inside the statue's head.

 _"Alois?"_ the bluenette called, reaching out to the sick boy. Unable to speak, Alois simply fled, running down the staircase as quickly as he could on his currently uncooperative legs. "Alois! Where are you going?!" called the bluenette, unsure as to the reason for the blonde's escape. His shouts did reach the ears of the other boy, but he was on a mission to find the nearest restroom. He knew that he would have to explain to the bluenette the reason behind his sudden disappearance, but that would have to wait.

After he succeeded in his quest, he flushed his sickness and freshened up the best he could. Alois washed his face, making himself feel quite a bit better, but the horrible taste of sickness still lingered in his mouth. He wondered if there was a vending machine nearby so he could by himself a drink, but first, he had to call Ciel.

Exiting the restroom, Alois pulled out his cellphone, pressing the button to deactivate it's sleep mode, yet, the screen remained black. He held down the power button in order to activate the device, hoping that it was simply turned off, yet the screen remained black. He tried again, but the result was the same.

 _"Don't tell me I forgot to charge the damn thing..."_ he thought, furrowing his brow in frustration a the insubordination of the small, handheld device.

He looked around just to check and see if the other boy was anywhere nearby. No such luck. He was on his own. Alois looked more closely and noticed a small payphone near the restroom, and figured that he could just use that. He felt better after making his discovery, and walked towards the phone, reaching into his pocket for some change. His hope was shattered when he read the sign. He looked at the many different coins in his palms.

 _"Which one of these equals fifty cents?!"_ he thought frantically, eying the foreign currency. _"No, wait, calm down, Alois. You can do this. Show that cyclops he's wrong!"_

Thus, he began shoving coins into the slot, eventually discovering that two of the largest coins equates to fifty cents. Feeling proud of himself, he picked up the phone and placed it up against his ear, reaching out with his free hand to dial. Then, he simply stayed like that for a moment as he made his next discovery:

_"I can't remember his number..."_

It was only the first day of the New York expedition, and Alois Trancy had already gotten himself lost...

* * *

 


	170. A Chance Encounter With A World Traveller

_"I can't reach him..."_ said the bluenette, cell phone pressed against his ear in an attempt to contact the blonde menace. He couldn't even get a dial tone. Finally, he gave up on the phone, and shoved the device back in his pocket.

He and Sebastian we standing next to the entrance of the attraction as they pondered where Alois had gone. Ciel had his arms crossed, and his brow furrowed as he thought about the events preceding the blonde's escape. He thought about what the blonde had said:

_"Maybe I just don'r appreciate being taken for an idiot all the time!"_

The more he thought about it, the more the bluenette came to realize something: The frequency with which he did call Alois an "idiot" or something similar was quite often. He felt guilty about it, believing that it was _this_ that caused the other boy to run away, while the truth was the contrary. Ciel, however, wasn't to keen on apologizing, either. It was against his nature to admit he was wrong, and it was because he knew that in order to "mend" his relationship he would need to do so that the bluenette was now _pouting_ , much to the amusement of the man clad in black.

"I suppose we should start looking for him." Sebastian said, breaking their silence. Ciel wrinkled his nose, knowing that this would lead to him apologizing quicker.

"Come now, my lord. We still have work to do." the man continued, noticing the boy's resentment of the idea. "Wouldn't the best way to handle this be to simply _get it over with?"_ By that time, the bluenette knew that the butler was aware of his feelings on the situation.

 _"I suppose."_ was all the the bluentte could force himself to say in a dignified manner. He moved from his spot leaned up against the wall, and began to walk off in some random direction. "Let's split up. We'll meet back here in thirty minutes."

_"Yes, my lord."_

Thus, the two went their separate ways as the blonde menace in question performed his own search. He arrived only a minute after the older demons left at the entrance to the attraction. He spun around, in an attempt to better scan the area, but seeing nothing but a bunch of other tourists. He reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone once more, making a vain attempt at activating it.

 _"Shit."_ he cursed under his breath. Hastily, he put the phone back in his pocket, and began to walk again. The blonde was beginning to panic a bit. It was his first time abroad after all, and he was all alone. He hated being alone. He has hated it since he was small. Now he was without a familiar face at all. No friend, no acquaintance, not even an enemy to make himself feel a bit better.

Alois forced the thought to the back of his mind for a moment and thought. He began to try an think like the bluenette would in this situation in order to find him. If he were Ciel, and he was looking for himself, where would he go?

 _"Too much thoughtception..."_ he said to himself, rubbing his temples.

With no other ideas of where the other boy could possibly be, he went back to the scene from which he fled. He went back to the last place he saw Ciel, which was Lady Liberty's cranium. up the spiraling staircase he climbed, doing his best to ignore the much younger behind him who continuously shoved at his back, and the slightly older-looking teenagers who shoved each other in front of him, a stray body occasionally flying towards him. His frustration with this whole adventure was starting to build, and as he promised to the bluenette, he was doing his absolute best to be on his best behaviour. It was partially because he promised, and partially just to prove to the other boy that he, too, could remain calm, cool, and collected. He clenched his fists, trying so incredibly hard _not_ to punch a child.

It was all for naught, however, since his compatriots weren't even there. In fact, there was hardly anyone there. Those same teenagers and children quickly got bored and left, there being nothing out there but a spectacular view of the city, and being far to young in mind to appreciate it. The only one's there were Alois, and a man, who simply stood there, resting is arm on the window and putting his weight on it as he gazed out at the cityscape.

The man wore a brown suit with black shoes, and a blue dress shirt with the first and second buttons undone. He stood there, smoking a cigarette with a melancholy look on his face, which wasn't as noticeable as the scar that was slanted diagonally across his temple. Alois didn't like the looks of this man. He looked dangerous. Yet, the blonde couldn't seem to force himself to leave for whatever reason. It seemed like it would be rude, somehow.

Thus, he stayed, and gazed at the same scene as the man a few windows over from him did, resting his elbows on the windowsill and his chin in his palms. He watched the buildings change slightly as the sun began to go down, turning them an odd orange on one side and a blueish-purple on the other. It reminded him a lot of London, somehow. In this sort of light, it looked a lot like the city that he now called home, regardless of it's odd, blocky shape and alternate atmosphere. He could see birds flying across the sky, some occasionally ducking down towards the waters of the Hudson River before pulling back up again. For some reason, he didn't feel nausea from staring at the scene anymore. Instead, he felt somewhat at home, more so than he did earlier that day when trying to figure out the value of currency when trying to use the payphone, and when buying a drink from a vending machine in order remove the taste of sickness from his mouth.

Suddenly, he felt his elbow slip off the sill, as he had leaned too far forward. His torso was literally hanging out the window just as the bluenette had jokingly said earlier. His stomach did back-flips as he realized that he was about to fall several stories down toward the statue's feet. He felt someone gripping his shirt before wrapping an arm around his waist and pulling the boy back in.

Ciel? No, the arm was too large to be that of the petite boy. Sebastian? No, the butler wore gloves, and the hand of his saviour was far too worn to be that of the man clad in black. Once Alois' feet were firmly planted on the ground, the boy turned to see that the man who had been standing a few windows down from him had rushed over to save him from a rough landing.

"Be more careful, now, will you?!" he scolded, the blonde simply stared at him as he processed the man's speech. The boy lit up when he figured out why his accent sounded so _ordinary._

"You're a _limey_ too!" the blonde declared, pointing at the man. The man simply stared back at him for a moment, before letting out a big, hearty laugh.

"Well, will you look at that!" he said finally. "Who knew that someone could miss the sound of an accent so much?" Perhaps the man wasn't as frightening as the blonde had thought. "I shouldn't be surprised, since this is a popular spot for tourists, but it never ceases to amaze me when I meet a fellow Brit abroad."

"I wouldn't know, this is my first time out of the country." said Alois, oddly comfortable with talking to this complete stranger. For some reason, the man reminded him of _a certain politician's son he knew._

"What? _You need to get out more,_ then. Travel is good for the spirit."

"I dunno, it's kind of scary."

"That's just because you aren't used to it yet." said the man, putting his hands in his pocket. His smile immediately faded when he did.

"What is it?" asked Alois.

"Nothing... I just remembered something, is all." the man in the brown suit's face went solemn, similar to as it was when Alois first saw him. The man looked out at the city. "Funny, what you did earlier... _My son_ almost did that on his first time here, too."

"So I guess it's _pretty common,_ then?"

"No. No it isn't. _Be careful when hanging on windows, kid_."

"I guess it's a good thing he has a dad who's watching out for him, then." The man was silent for a moment after the blonde said that, looking out at the city while playing with the object in his pocket.

"Not really." he said softy. "I haven't seen him in a long time. About a year, now..." The man in the brown suit flicked the butt of his cigarette out the window, as he leaned against the windowsill again.

"Do you travel for work, or something?" asked the blonde.

"Yeah. I go all kinds of places." the man said. "I never liked leaving Jonny-, or, my son alone, but I do it all for him. _I don't think he's ever seen it that way_ , though."

Alois looked down at his hands for a moment, thinking about that statement, trying to see if he could relate. Maybe, just _maybe_ that's what Ciel is trying to do when he scolds the blonde, calling him out when he's acting a fool. Maybe he's just trying to help, only to come across as hateful. He could understand it that way.

"Maybe you should just _tell_ _him_ that." he said finally. The man standing in the window smiled sadly.

"I wish I _could_..." he said. Alois tilted his head slightly in confusion. " _He passed away while I was gone..._ I'll never get to tell him..."

" _I see_..." Alois said sadly, regretting saying anything at all.

"I don't really know what to do with myself now... The only reason I work as much as I do was for him, but now... Now I don't know what I'm supposed to live for-"

" _You'll find it."_ Alois said suddenly and surely, causing the man to look at him in surprise.

"I heard a long time ago that traveling can help you find yourself." he explained. "Since he's not here, maybe you need to start looking for what you're supposed to live for. Not just for you, but for him, too. I know I'd feel sad if someone I cared about was lost and confused." The blonde looked over to the man, who's smile went from sad, to somewhat understanding.

"You wanna know why that's _true?"_ he asked, receiving a nod from the boy. "It's because when you travel, _you meet all kinds of interesting people along the way to help you_." Alois simply smiled at the statement, feeling good that he could help this man out. Suddenly, the man's phone went off, and he had to reach into his pocket to check it. He furrowed his brow as he looked at the device before putting it back in his pocket.

"That means I have to get back to work." he explained, smiling again. He turned towards the stairs, pausing before turning to face the blonde again. "I hope you're able to travel more, yourself. It'll help you find your place in the world as well!"

"I will." replied the boy. "I'll travel to as many places I can!"

"Good! It was nice talking to you!"

"You too!"

And with that, he was alone again. He was alone in the head of the statue of liberty, now sure about some things, and unsure about others. He stared out the window again at the city as he thought, but soon, his thoughts were interrupted by the sound of footsteps coming from the stairs. He paid it no mind, however, as he was sure it was just an ordinary tourist.

 _"There you are!"_ Alois jumped when he heard the familiar voice and turned to see the bluenette standing there. He smiled at the boy.

"Here I am!" he replied, ignoring the rolling of the bluenette's eye.

"I searched this whole damn island and you were here the entire time _. Don't I feel intelligent..."_ Ciel said, taking a place next to the blonde.

"I only got here a few minutes ago, actually. _I_ was looking for _you_." Alois replied. He tilted his head slightly when the bluenette didn't answer immediately. "What is it?" Ciel paused before answering.

"Listen... All the stuff I said earlier..." he began, looking out the window rather than at the other boy's face. "...You know I didn't really _mean_ it, right? I was just... _I don't know_... I just don't _mean_ to say stuff like that..." The bluenette took a deep breath, forcing down every once of his stubborness for one mere sentence.

"What I'm _trying_ to say is _.. I'm sorry."_ Finally, he forced himself to look over at the blonde, his face immediately flushing at the look on the other boy's face.

"Stop looking at me like that!" ordered the bluenette. _"You look like I've just grown a second head or something!"_ His embarrassment only heightened when the blonde snorted, trying to hold in a laugh. The blonde put his arms around Ciel's neck, and quickly pecked him on the lips.

"You're so _cute~!"_ he said in a sing-song voice, as he did his best to hold in his giggles. "You're just the _sweetest little Satan ever!"_

"I am _not_..." the Phantomhive boy pouted, denying the statement in hopes to retain at least _some_ of his reputation. He furrowed his brow when the blonde finally couldn't hold in his giggles. "What's so funny?!"

"I wasn't really that _mad_ at you!" Alois managed to say between laughs.

 _"What?!_ Then why did you run away?!"

"I started feeling sick again, so I went to the bathroom! I felt like I was going to barf, so I couldn't speak!" Ciel simply stood and stared at the boy for a moment before finally answering.

"And you just _kissed_ me. That's just _lovely_." he said, relieved that he was never in any trouble with the other boy.

"Isn't it, though?" asked the blonde with a grin. "I know just how much you _love_ my _germs_." He licked the bluenette's cheek for no reason other than to bother him.

"What the _hell_ is wrong with you, Alois?"

"Well, mostly the same things that are wrong with _you_." Ciel sighed in exasperation at the explanation, knowing that it was partially true. Then, his facial expression changed suddenly, as though he just remembered something. "What is it?" asked the blonde.

"There was a man up here, in a brown suit, with a thin beard and a scar..." Ciel began. "I passed him on the way up here..."

"Yeah, and?" The bluentte's face suddenly became quite serious.

_"That was Victor Beatie; The weapons dealer."_

 


	171. Grown-ups Are Awful

New York City: City of culture and the headquarters of the United Nations. This is not our primary focus, however. No, while the lads are in New York, they are specifically in their hotel room, where the bluenette is trying to teach the blonde a technique that demons specialize in. The art of transformation.

Night had fallen after the events at Liberty Island, and the following morning they were going to pay a visit to the Funtom toy company's American branch. In order to do this, however, the bluenette would have to transform into his "adult" disguise once more, and as such, the blonde would have to as well. They had been practicing for several hours, now, and were starting to show some results.

" _Try it again."_ said the bluenette. He was seated on the bed in their hotel room, arms crossed. "This time, try to distribute your energy more evenly."

" _Can't I take another break?"_ Alois whined, resuming his default form again, and taking a seat in the floor.

"One more time, _then_ you can take a break." replied the Phantomhive boy, earning a groan from the Trancy. The blonde stood back up, and tried once more while following the bluenette's advice.

Focusing his essence, a diabolic mark appeared underneath the blonde's feet, glowing an ominous shade of purple. It was a pentacle with lines stemming from the points of the star, reaching toward it's middle, with what appeared to be vines outside of the star between it and the circle. It seemed to suck the light out of the room, the only source of illumination being the circle itself, and the blonde's glowing red eyes.

Black flames began to consume the boy, starting from the circle upward. Alois didn't seem to feel the burning sensation that the flames had given him the first few times he changed shape, which was a sign that he was improving. As the flames died down, the boy's appearance was changed to that of a young man around the age of twenty.

Alois looked the same as usual, but taller, with a more defined chin and broader shoulders, just like the bluenette when he altered his own shape to resemble an adult human. The blonde looked in the mirror, taking in his new appearance, his eyes wide for a moment. Then, he smiled and turned to the bluenette.

"What do you think?" he asked, a bit startled by the sound of his own voice. It was much deeper than usual, of course, which both he and the bluenette found odd for some reason unknown to themselves.

 _"Impressive."_ Ciel said, standing up. He opened his mouth again in order to say something, but immediately stopped when it registered how much taller than him the blonde was now. He hated how he now had to look up to speak to the boy. Alois, of course, noticed this, and felt the need to tease the bluenette.

" _Aw~! The top of your head is so cute~!"_ he said in his weird "grown-up" voice, causing Ciel to furrow his brow and cross his arms indignantly. His embarrassment was pushed even further when the other demon decided to pat him on the head like a small child. With a smirk, Ciel decided to get even.

A circle appeared before his own feet, startling Alois and causing him to cease his actions. The bluenette's pentacle was blue, with a smaller, upside-down star within it, and small circles in the gaps between the larger star's points. Ciel, too, underwent the process of bursting into the black flames as he underwent his own transformation. When it ceased, he was once again "Ciel Phantomhive: CEO of Funtom." The blonde stared at him for a moment, slightly intimidated by the boy's new appearance in the same way the he is only slightly intimidated by Sebastian. It was when the bluenette smirked, however, that he realized something; something very important:

_Ciel was slightly taller than him._

_"No fair!"_ he said, pointing at the other "man" accusingly. "You _cheated_ , didn't you!? You adjusted your height, I bet!"

"I did _no such thing_." Ciel said plainly. "Get used to it, ' _shorty'_." The blonde before him made an attempt at speach, opening his mouth, yet no words came out. All he could do was simply look at the gloating expression on the Phanomhive gentleman's face, helpless against the fact that the very thing that he had so mercilessly teased the bluenette about was just thrown back in his face.

Alas, it was then that his tiredness hit him from all of the excessive transformation, and he reverted to his usual appearance against his will. He looked up at the man in front of him, slightly fearful of this sudden turn of events. He saw the bluenette reach towards him, and flinched, shutting his eyes tightly as a natural response. When he felt his hair being ruffled, he forced an eye open before looking at the bluenette.

"What? Did you think I was going to _attack_ you or something?" Ciel asked, playing with the blonde's hair.

"N-no, I just..." the boy began, feeling awful that he gave that impression.

"I know. You just don't like adults." interrupted the bluenette. "I'm still _me,_ though."

"I know that. It's not like I _wanted_ to be intimidated..."

"It's fine. Maybe you'll get used to it someday." Alois was quiet for a awhile as he tried to think of a response, but no matter how hard he tried, his mind was completely blank.

"Hey, Ciel..." he said finally, taking a step closer to the bluenette. "...Lean forward for a bit." While a bit confused by the request, Ciel humoured the boy, leaning forward, just as he said. Alois stood on the tips of his toes, and rested his hands on the other gentleman's shoulders an hesitantly pressed his lips against the bluenette's, much to the surprise of the latter. Nevertheless, he kissed the blonde back as the boy moced his hands from his shoulders to the back of his head, tangling his finger's in bluenette locks of hair.

Black flames began to encase the Phantomhive boy once more, yet neither of them could feel them. Even Alois couldn't feel the flames that looked as though they would not only burn flesh, but curse it as well, as he was too distracted by the bluenette to notice, moving himself to adjust to the other lad's decreasing height. When he pulled away, he saw that the bluenette was back in his usual form, looking shocked that he was now back on a level similar to the that of the blonde.

"You made me lose focus..." he said, realizing what must've happened.

"Is that necessarily a _bad_ thing?" Alois asked playfully.

"No. No it _isn't."_ the Phantomhive boy answered with a smile. He tightened his grip around the blonde's waist.

"Good, but if that's really all it takes to do so, you may want to consider further training." said the blonde, sticking his tongue out.

"Don't stick your tongue out unless you're going to _use_ it, Trancy."

"What's wrong with it? Is someone regretting _working_ last night instead of _playing?"_ Alois leaned forward, forcing the bluentte to fall backwards onto the bed. "Tell me, was that a _threat_ , or was it an _order?"_ He smirked, but that quickly faded as the bluenette rolled them both over so that he was on top of the blonde.

"Who knows? It could be _both_." he said, looking down at Alois. "We have time before our appointment. Care to play now?"

"Why, I'd be insulted if you _didn't!"_

"Just be careful to keep the _volume_ down."

* * *

 


	172. A Stealthy Maiden Voyage

The Funtom Toy Co. dates all the way back to the 1800s, if you can believe that, and continues to thrive in a modern-era, adjusting with the ever-changing interests of today's youth. They continue to sell their "classic" toys such as their ever-famous "Bitter-Rabbit", but have now begun to branch out into selling things like action-figures and have sophisticated their play-sets and toy-design to stay ahead of the competition. Their most recent projects revolve around expanding that range even further, as the higher-ups discuss the possibility of going out into the video-game industry, and in fact, they have launched a marketing campaign in order to sell their newest line of action figures alongside a cartoon programmme about a super-hero team called the _"PhantomFive",_ much to the annoyance of the CEO.

Today, he paid a surprise visit to Funtom's American branch, who's headquarters is located in New York City. Some of the higher ranked members of staff in the office building were almost in a panic as the eye-patched gentleman arrived, as the "man" had quite the reputation for his intimidating presence, along with the fact that he could fire practically anyone in that building on a _whim,_ if he liked. All he had to do was say the word. Ciel always found these visits secretly amusing as he made the employees frightened for their careers. His " _new assistant_ ", however, paid no mind to conceal his amusement, smiling the entire time.

The blonde was introduced as _"Jim Macken_ ", much to his annoyance, yet it would be odd for him to deny it, especially to someone who was _supposed_ to be his boss. Thus, he politely said "hello" and pretended to be working, as he gazed at anything and everything. Ciel was wrong, there were quite a few fun things to look at. Perhaps it was just different at the London building.

There were many toys on display decorating the lobby. Some were simple plush animals, while some were complex play-sets and of course, Alois had to stop and look at every single one, hindering the progression of the trip inside. When they finally did get to the front desk, there was a bitter rabbit sitting on it to greet guests. He couldn't help but smile at the oh-so familiar toy. But then, his eyes wandered while the Phantomhive gentleman was talking to the receptionist in order to meet with the head of this particular branch. Alois instead focused on a plush seal that was sitting off to the side of the desk.

"Hey, Ciel!" he called, obtaining the bluenette's attention. "Can I see your eye-patch for a second?"

"Why?" the CEO answered, not having the faintest idea as to what the blonde could possibly want with the covering. The receptionist behind the desk simply looked at Alois like he was insane for asking such a thing of the bluenette.

"Just let me see it! I'll give it right back!" With great reluctance, Ciel obliged, removing his eye-patch and handing it to Alois with one hand while covering his contracted eye with his other. The blonde took it, and picked up the plush animal, putting the concealment on it before holding the faux-marine-mammal out to his compatriot.

"Look. It's _'Seal Phantomhive'_." he said. The spontaniousness of the blonde's joke nearly made the two other demons crack up. Yes, Ciel too. Fortunately for his reputation, the bluenette was skilled at maintaining the appearance of indifference, only allowing his poker-face to waver for a slight moment.

"Alright, you had your fun. Give it back." he said, holding out his hand expectantly. Alois smiled.

"Your face twitched. You almost _smiled_ , didn't you?" he replied while doing as instructed. The woman behind the desk was shocked that he wasn't fired on the spot. While the Phantomhive gentleman had never actually done so, it was rumored that he has done such a thing in the past, so most employees were on their toes when the CEO was around. Yet, this man had escaped completely unscathed, almost getting the rather serious bluenette to _smile_. Perhaps this was the reason why such a strange "man" was his assistant.

Hours passed, and the nerve-wrecking tour from the American branch leader had come to a close, much to the poor man's relief. The entire time it went on, Alois was looking at and touching things, cracking jokes, and other "Alois-ish" things while Ciel was discussing business. By the end of the day, however, both of them were quite tired from maintaining their "adult" forms, and reverted back to "normal" (if that is a semi-appropriate word) in the restroom, rather than in the elevator like Alois had originally suggested, due to the cameras in the ascending and descending box before returning to their temporary base of operations.

After a few hour's rest, they decided that it was high-time they got to work on their mission, after having wasted more than a day in the city. Their orders were to bring the weapons dealer Victor Beatie to the Scotland Yard either alive, or dead, and if the latter, make sure he is terminated in international waters, so his death cannot be linked to Britain. They geared up in their designated rooms, donning the usual outfits they used when working, their plain black suits and their coats and Ciel readied his pistol while Sebastian arranged for their luggage to be sent back to their estate, as they would not be returning to Britain in the fashion that they had arrived.

They would be stowing away on the Beatie's ship, waiting until it was out at sea before taking him down, just as instructed. They located the pier that the ship was located at the day before, and headed that way now, being sure to evacuate the taxi several blocks away so that it would be easier to sneak onto the vessel under the veil of darkness. Before they could even think about killing Beatie, however, they had to find a way to get part the few men out front. They were heavily armed, brutish-looking sort of folk, guarding the entrance.

" _Now what?"_ asked the blonde lad in a hushed tone, looking to his commander for further instruction. Ciel, in response, surveyed the area, examining the the nearby warehouse that was filled with shipping containers the day before, but was now empty, and at the crane that supposedly loaded them onto the ship.

" _There."_ the butler said suddenly before the bluenette could formulate a solution. He pointed at the roof of the warehouse. _"If we can get on the rooftop, we can jump to the ship." Sebastian then picked up a rock and pointed to some metal barrels._ " _If I throw this at those, it will make a sound, gaining the attention of the guards. That way, they'll be too distracted to see us."_ Having no other ideas, the bluenette simply nodded in approval of the hastily-fabricated plan.

The trio found themselves a decent spot to jump from, and tensed their leg muscles in preparation for their ascent before springing forth. Ciel and Sebastian landed on the roof with no problems, the only sound being heard being the small " _clicking"_ noise their shoes made when making contact. Alois, however, wasn't nearly as skilled. The distance he had to cover in order to make that jump was simply too great for him, far greater than the gaps between buildings in London when "Simon" said they weren't allowed to travel by car. Thus, only the front of his foot made contact with the roof. While he was trying to swing his other leg forward in order to right himself, the only grip he had slipped, causing the blonde to fall forward and land on his stomach with a _thud_. That wouldn't have been bad if the roof wasn't slick, but it was, and he began to slid toward the edge.

He clawed at the roofing in order to stop himself from falling, only to have his arm grabbed by the butler. Alois' legs hung over the edge. With a pull, Sebastian was able to get the boy up, and balanced.

"Thanks..." the boy said, recovering from his scare. He straightened up his clothes as the bluenette let out a sigh of relief.

"Anytime." replied the butler. He then turned to face his target, pulling to small pebble out of his pocket, and with a swing of his arm, released it unto the barrels. The impact of the stone against the metal caused a loud clang, startling the two guards in front of the ship. The trio watched as they paused to talk amongst themselves for a moment, before sending someone over to investigate, watching his back the entire time.

Meanwhile, the ship was being boarded by a few stowaways, visible only by the light of the moon above them. They repeated the procedure they went through while getting onto the roof of the warehouse, but this time, the blonde menace was carried over the shoulder of the butler like a sack of flour. He set the boy down, who pouted about being put in such an undignified position, and they proceeded in sneaking further onto the ship. The night was still young, and it would appear that they would begin their voyage at any moment.

* * *

 


	173. Cargo

_"Will you be quiet?!"_ asked a certain bluenette in a hushed tone, afraid that the blonde's constant asking of questions could put their entire mission in jepordy.

 _"As soon as someone explains to me what the hell we're going to do_ _ **after**_ _this guy's dead!"_ replied the other boy in a similar tone. _"Do either of you know how to drive this thing?!"_

The three demons of Phantomhive house were currently aboard a cargo ship somewhere in the Atlantic ocean, thousands of miles away from home. Now that they were out of the bay, and in international waters, now was the time to strike their target down. They had to locate him quickly, and most of all, quietly, as to not start a war with the entire crew. Alois was, however, making the second requirement slightly difficult.

" _We can probably keep the captain hostage in order for him to drive it."_ the bluenette replied in a whisper. " _Judging by the looks of him, I doubt Beatie is the one driving the ship. If we can't keep the captain, then I'm sure Sebastian can figure it out."_

 _"Indeed, I could."_ said the bulter, gracing the duo with his input. " _It might take me a few minutes, by I'm confident in my abilities."_

 _"No offense, but the uncertainty makes me feel skeptica-"_ the blonde was silenced by the bluenette's hand covering his mouth, and he was shoved against a shipping container. The bulter crouched with his back to the container, and Ciel held Alois in place while keeping his own back to it's wall. They all ceased their unnecessary breathing as they heard footsteps grow closer.

They saw a man step into the light. A tall, brawny man with a mean brow, who looked like his nose had been broken one too man times. He wore a short-sleeved Hawaiian shirt, which appeared to have the image of a bulldog peeking out, as it was inked into the man's arm. The thing that made the trio the most nervous, was the fact that he was toting around a machine gun. He looked around a few times, checking behind things in a manner that showed he meant business. The man looked behind container after container, getting closer, and closer to the one that the demons were hidden behind. Sebastian reached into his coat, gripping his famous silverware, ready to strike, when the sound of a walkie-talkie crackling to life stopped the man dead in his tracks. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the device, placing it up to his ear.

" _Floyd!_ Vhat are you doing?! Get over here! The boss wants to talk to us!" a voice shouted in a German accent over the radio, causing the frightening-looking man to place more distance in between it an his ear in response. The demons were able to hear the conversation loud and clear because of this, and their superb hearing. The man, who name was apparently "Floyd", placed the device back up against his ear in order to answer.

"Can you not yell like that?" said Floyd, his voice scratchy and grainy, his accent American. Apparently, Beatie had picked up staff members from around the world. "It hurts. I thought I heard something in the cargo hold."

"Impossible! There's no way someone could have gotten past us." said the voice. "If vas probably just cargo moving with the ship, or something."

"It sounded to me like _voices_."

" _Mein gott!_ First, you think you see _veird lights_ in the window of that _hotel room_ across the street from us, and now you're _hearing voices?"_ asked the man over the radio, still not lowering his volume. "Floyd, are you sure you're not going _crazy_ on us?" With a sigh, the other man replied.

"I must be getting _tired_ , or something." he said, turning to leave. "I'll be right there. Calm down, _Heinrich..."_

Once he left, the trio let relaxed their muscles a bit, getting out of defensive mode. Sebastian peeked around the corner in order to make sure he was truly gone, before giving the others the signal, expressing that it was safe. Ciel nodded at the gesture, only to cringe seconds later at the feeling of something warm and wet touching his palm. Quickly, he moved his hand away from the source of the sensation.

 _"Did you just_ _ **lick**_ _me?!"_ he demanded in a hushed tone, wiping the contaminated appendage on his pants' leg while giving the blonde a look.

 _"Yes."_ Alois replied. _"You didn't seem to be in any hurry to move your hand, otherwise!"_

_"You could have pushed it away!"_

_"I tried! You wouldn't move!"_

_"Young master,_ _ **the mission?"**_ Sebastian intervened, causing the bluenette to immediately snap back into "business-mode" after being reminded of his presence. He hated it when the blonde would make him act so childish in front of others. Embarrassed, Ciel cleared his throat before speaking.

 _"Yes, well, you both heard what the voice over that man's radio said, right?"_ he asked, and the two nodded, Alois trying his best to ignore the flustered nature with which the boy spoke in order to fulfill the mission's objective, while Sebastian did with ease, albeit smirking a bit at the bluenette's tone.

"He said that their boss wanted them to meet in order to tell them all something." Ciel continued. "I assume he meant Beatie. In other words, our target has all of his bodyguards in the same room as him."

"Sounds like a problem." the blonde commented. "So what's the plan? Wait for them to leave? Run in and kill them all? Have Sebastian _silverware-snipe_ him through an open window?"

"I'm... not sure..." the bluenette replied. He simply didn't know what they were going to do. With all of the man's guards with him, it was going to prove difficult exterminating him. It was moments like this were the bluenette simply felt awful. He didn't like knowing what to do. He didn't like not being able to formulate a plan. The frustration was visible on the bluenette's face, as he struggled to find a solution. The butler simply smiled at it.

"Well, we could take this opportunity to stake out the rest of the ship." he suggested, trying to appear as though he paid no mind to his master's irritation. Ciel would simply do this sometimes. He would have these slumps where he simply had no idea how to proceed with things, just as any "normal" person would. Unfortunately, however, they seemed to come at awful times. The bluentte looked at him for a moment, before conceding.

"Fine. I'm not sure what good it'll do, though..." the bluenette said, folding his arms. Every time he had one of these moments, he would kick himself quite hard for it.

"Maybe we can find the room he'll be staying in on the ship. " the blonde suggested, trying to scrounge up a reason. "Then, we can simply wait for him to come back there and finish him off when he's alone." He looked to Sebastian, who nodded, causing the boy to smile. The bluenette simply looked at him for a moment and sighed.

"Alright. Let's try it..." he said, not at all confident in this turn of events. His eye widened when the blonde put his hands on the bluenette's shoulders and began shaking him.

 _"Stop. Worrying. We. Have. A. Job. To. Do!"_ Alois said in between shakes. Finally, he released the boy, now dumbfounded by the blonde's actions.

And so, the hunt for Victor Beatie goes on...

 


	174. Sorry, Sorry, Sorry

_"I don't want to go by myself!"_ protested a certain blonde demon aboard a certain shipping vessel somewhere out in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean.

 _"Sssssh! Keep your voice down, moron!"_ ordered a certain bluenette. Having decided their next course of action, he had suggested that they split up in order to cover more ground. " _It'll be harder for us to get caught this way! If any of us finds Beatie's room, we'll call the others, got it?"_

 _"I still don't want to go by myself!"_ Alois said, and it was true. It was dark, and the area was unfamiliar, not to mention the fact that there are also guards roaming the ship with machine guns. If he ran into any of those men, he wasn't sure if he could take them on. The idea of engaging them in combat simply terrified the boy. He shuddered as his mind uncontrollably wandered to the _absolute worst-case scenario_. Even though it was freezing outside, he was starting to sweat, and his uncontrollable imagination combined with the oh-so subtle rocking to the ship was starting to make him feel sick again.

"Alois, you can handle it. As long as you're able to keep your mouth shut, you'll be fine." The blonde simply stared blankly at the bluenette, as though he didn't quite believe him. "Look, even _if_ you are caught, you're stronger than _ten_ of those men combined. If you get shot, you'll be able to get back up. You're a _demon_ , it's time to start _acting like one_." The blonde frowned at that final statement.

"I do _so_ act like a demon!" It peeved him. It peeved him that the bluenette was expecting this of him, when he was so new to demonity. Things that seemed so obvious to Ciel simply weren't to Alois. He still had a very human-oriented mindset, often forgetting his own capabilities due to the fact that he was used to being human.

The blonde knew very well that the other boy's intentions weren't harmful, but it still irritated him when he was talked to like that. He couldn't help it. He has a bit of self-esteem issues when it came to the bluentte. He had admitted that to himself, and to himself alone, and he didn't appreciate it when he was talked down to by someone who he already thought he wasn't entirely worthy of. All of these things simply seethed underneath the blonde's surface. Often, he pushed them back away from the forefront of his mind, yet they nagged at him, just as the bluenette did.

 _"Ssssh!"_ the bluenette hissed, ordering the boy to lower his tone. _"Are you_ _ **trying**_ _to get us caught?!"_ Alois felt his eyebrow twitch at the way the boy worded that.

 _"I'm sorry!"_ he declared in a hushed, angry tone. _"Sorry I don't know how to be quiet! Sorry I'm not that smart! Sorry I'm not that good of a demon! Sorry I'm not like YOU!"_ He shoved the other boy at the utterance of his last insincere apology, startling the bluenette and causing him to take a few steps backwards in order to right himself. Sebastian simply watched the exchange with raised eyebrows. He felt that it wasn't his place to intervene.

 _"What the hell's the matter with you?!"_ asked the bluenette in tone similar to that of the blonde's. He had to repeat what he had said to the other boy in his mind in order to catch on. " _You know I don't mean it like that..."_

 _"That's what you_ _ **say,**_ _but you don't even_ _ **try**_ _to change!"_ the blonde said, pointing at the bluenette accusingly. " _It's like you don't care what that feels like!"_

 _"I do care! It's just that I-"_ Ciel cut himself off, as he was about to admit that he was wrong. Oh, how he hated to be _wrong_. Remembering the mission, he stood up straight, resuming his usual stature. " _We don't have time for this_." he said. " _We have a mission_." Alois furrowed his brow, not believing his ears.

" _Fine."_ he said, straightening himself so that he stood like the bluenette. _"I'll cooperate in your stupid mission. I'll finish it!"_

With that, he turned, and left. He didn't run away, though. He walked away with a powerful stride, similar to the way which the ever-prideful Phantomhive boy walked in, as if to prove that he to, could be every bit as competent as the bluenette. That was what this was all really about. Alois felt as though he needed to prove that to the bluenette once and for all. He would prove that he wasn't an "idiot", or a "mediocre demon". He would prove it to the boy, the butler, to everyone, but most of all, to _himself_. He wanted to confirm to himself that he really was worthy of being by the bluenette's side. He wanted to catch up with the bluenette in a mysterious race of sorts that had no starting point, or ending point; one that cannot be won, or lost.

Ciel extended his arm in order to stop the boy, to stop him and tell him how foolish he was being. Alas, looking at the blonde's back, he couldn't find the words. The bluenette's heart wavered in that moment, feeling a pang of guilt, a bit of shock, and a rush of anger at both the blonde, and at himself all at once. If there was anyone who understood "pride", it was Ciel Phantomhive, and he knew that the other boy was feeling as though his honour had been challenged. He understood that, but at the same time, he felt as though his own had been challenged as well. That outstretched hand curled into a fist, and found it's way back to the bluenette's side, as he furrowed his brow.

" _Fine. Have it your way_." he muttered under his breath. He turned in the opposite direction and began walking. "What are _you_ waiting for?" he called to the butler, his tone annoyed. "Go and find a good place to strike Beatie!" The butler watched the bluenette walk away, his stride somewhat weaker than usual.

" _Yes, my lord..."_ Sebastian replied, watching the boy a moment longer, before turning in another direction of his own choosing.

His master knew he was wrong to talk to people in such a manner, but that was the persona the boy had constructed after his parents' death, and he simply didn't know what to do, otherwise. Ciel's pride summoned this massive amount of stubbornness in removing the wall of ice around his heart. The blonde had warmed it, causing the ice to melt, but it was still somewhat frozen for being encased for so long.

He simply didn't know. The Phantomhive boy absolutely didn't know how to talk to people normally anymore. He didn't know how to express his own thoughts and feelings in a way that could be understandable to others. In truth, the boy only spoke that way to the blonde, calling him a "moron" and such for the sole reason that he cared about the boy, and worried about him. He just didn't know how to put that into words properly. His own stubbornness and pride hindered his ability to do so, especially at vital moments like these. Ciel hated making himself look foolish or weak, so he was especially bad about it when he was nervous.

That blonde, that horrendously strong boy who went through _hell_ and had the _audacity_ to stand back up and smile again, was the sun that constantly beamed down on the bluenette's icy barriers, attempting to thaw his heart and make it beat again. Oh, how Ciel wanted to reach out to it and bask in it's warm rays, but he simply didn't know how. No matter what he did, his words would come out harsh, which was the exact opposite of their purpose, and it would cause the sun to drift away.

The bluentte furrowed his brow at these thoughts, and tried to shake them away in order to focus back on the search for Beatie's quarters. Alas, they would come crawling back again later, wasting his efforts. He tried as hard as he could in order to use that sixth sense of his, but his mind was just too foggy in order to feel it. He felt blind on this ship. He couldn't tell where he was going, or where he has been.

However, the blonde menace was abnormally sharp, paying attention to every detail of the ship as he navigated it. Alois was serious in his efforts, shoving his aching heart to the side for a moment in order to see clearly, just as Ciel would have done on a normal day. Every time the bluenette would begin to weasel his way back into his thoughts, he would shove him to the side for now, feeling awful for doing so, but not allowing it to distract him for now. It was this that made an uneasy feeling begin to bubble up in the blonde's stomach, like something was wrong. He knew what it was, so he ignored it, only causing it to grow without him hardly taking any notice. The anxiety helped him focus a bit on the task, firmly believing that completing it would put an end to this feeling.

Down a lonely corridor, he traveled, listening to every small sound, feeling every motion, and adjusting his travel accordingly. With his heightened hearing, he could hear voices coming from some of the rooms, so he was careful to step lightly without making a sound. Every time the air changed slightly because someone opened a door, he felt it now, and hid when it was close.

This was "being a demon". His mind almost felt overwhelmed by the amount of information it was receiving at once. He had ignored so many things in the past, but now, he could suddenly see them with vivid detail. It somewhat frightened him. Being a demon frightened him. He continuously ignored all of these things because it wasn't the "human" thing to do. It was a hard thing to accept, loosing his humanity. He still hasn't quite wrapped his head around the concept. It was foreign to him, thus it frightened him.

Once more, he shoved all of these thoughts away from the front of his mind, forcing all of these thoughts and feelings to take a backseat for now. Was this how the bluenette operated? He didn't know.

It was then when he cleared his focus one more time that he felt it. He felt something, a concerning presence of sorts coming from behind a door in the corridor. It wasn't a human, it wasn't a demon, it was something else. Something more _abstract_. Whatever it was, it was telling Alois that it was there, beckoning him to open the door. Hesitantly, he reached for the knob, and twisted it slowly, carefully, silently.

The blonde prepared himself to fight, but upon opening the door, he saw nothing. There was nothing there, not a single soul. Yet, the boy felt compelled to press onward, thus he walked into the room and closed the door behind him. He scanned the small room, looking for anything out of the ordinary, but saw nothing on the surface, so he pressed onward once more.

He ran his fingers across the surface of the desk as he walked by it, absent-mindedly feeling it's smooth texture, inspecting it. On the desk was a framed picture, and setting eyes upon it, the boy stopped. This item, this particular, mundane item that seemed to by smothered in whatever it was that the blonde had sensed in the hallway. Alois carefully picked it up and looked at it.

It was a picture of a man and a small child, or, more specifically of Victor Beatie and his son, Jonnathan when they were both younger. The deceased lad seemed to be around ten or so when this was taken, and they both seemed so happy. It was strange how such a happy image could hold such a melancholy aura about it. Alois took that in for a moment, thinking about why that would be.

Looking around the desk, and examining where the frame was placed, he imagined Beatie looking at it often. The way the man spoke about his son before made him seem as though he was hiding so much regret and sorrow from the public gaze. Perhaps it was when looking at this image, that the man would break down in privacy.

Alois moved to place the frame back down on the desk in precisely the position and location in which he found it, but his fingers rubbed against something on the back of it that made him curious. He flipped it over, examining what it was that he had touched, discovering that it was a piece of paper taped to the back of it. On it said:

_"Funeral on Dec. 12th 1:27 pm"_

The blonde raised his eyebrows when reading the date.

" _That's tomorrow..."_ he thought, recalling what day it was. He had remembered because he was counting down the days to the Phantomhive boy's birthday.

He felt a pang of guilt when remembering the bluenette boy, feeling his throat constrict as he fought off the urge to feel sadness. Alois quickly put down the picture and turned around, watching the door for a moment, making sure no one was there. His icy blue eye wandered around the deathly quiet room, over to the closet, which had a black suit hanging on the doorknob, no doubt the man was going to wear it to Jonnathan's funeral. Alois' heart ached even more when he thought about how he had to kill the man before he could even say goodbye to his son. It felt like all of the emotions that he was trying to ignore were resurfacing at last, and he still needed to contact the bluenette and inform him that he had found the room of their target. He pulled out his phone and stared at it for a long while, hesitating to send a text. He hated how he could be such a coward sometimes.

It was on this thought that he heard a small _click_ behind him, coming from the doorway. The boy quickly turned around in order to discover the source. There, stood Victor, pointing a pistol at the boy.

 


	175. It's Hard To Fight With Rigor Mortis

Alois was a bit stunned by the man's sudden appearance. His senses had been so sharp before, yet he didn't hear to door open at all. They had dulled when his mind became clouded by all of the sudden emotion, remembering Jonnathan, and the conversation he had with Victor at the Statue of Liberty, but most of all, about Ciel. Now, he was staring down the barrel of gun, held by that kind, fatherly figure he had met before.

Victor's brow was furrowed, a frown prominent on his face. He stood in the doorway of the room with a strong stance, ready to fight. The pistol in his hand was small, but it could definitely kill at the range he was at. It was aimed right at the blonde's head, the safety off, with a finger on the trigger.

" _You..."_ the man said finally, recognizing the boy. "What are you doing here?" Alois stood speechless for a moment, speechless. He couldn't think of anything to say. It wasn't as though he could simply spout out his true purpose for being there. He put his hands up in surrender, in order to convince the man that he wasn't a threat.

"Oh... Hello, again..." was all the boy could manage to say. Beatie seemed less than amused at the remark.

"You didn't answer me." he said, never lowering his weapon. "I asked you what you were doing here? How did you even get on my ship?"

"Oh, this was _your_ ship?" the blonde asked innocently. "I just knew it was heading back to Britain! I just wanted to get home! Honest!"

"I don't believe you. Judging by the way you're _dressed,_ you could have easily _afforded to travel_." the man said, pointing out the boy's black, brand-name suit and debunking his argument. "There's _others_ with you too, aren't there?" Alois smirked, as that was what he knew to do in a situation such as this. It helped him calm his own nerves.

" _Alright, you've got me."_ he said, finally. He was unable to convince this man, so he decided to just go with it. "You're right about others, too, _but I don't know where they are_. We split up."

"Keep talking." replied Beatie. "How many? What do they look like?" The boy opened his mouth to speak, but stopped just short of doing so. He paused for a moment before answering.

"You know, had you asked me several years ago, _I woud've ratted them out without a second thought,_ but I'm afraid I just can't do that anymore." He didn't quite know what he was saying or why, but it sounded good. It was like he couldn't control what he was saying.

"You're _a pretty noble kid,_ but I'm afraid that just won't cut it. I'm a weapons dealer; a criminal. Criminals have no use for things like that."

"They have no use for _emotion_ either, _but you still cling to Jonnathan_." The man's eyes widened in shock and he lowered the gun for a moment, his heart wavering. Victor held the gun up again.

 _"I never told you his name_..." he said, his expression conflicted with many, many different emotions all at once. Alois had found the man's weakness.

"I go to Warwick Academy. I've met Jonnathan before." the blonde replied. "I met him on the day he died."

" _And you didn't try to stop him?!"_ Victor shouted. "You were there and you still didn't-!"

 _"I tried!"_ the blonde shouted back, matching the man's volume. "I _tried_ to stop him! I _tried_ and I _couldn't!_ There are just some things that you can't stop!" The weapons dealer was completely silent at those words. He couldn't find any more words. "I couldn't stop him _even in your place, Beatie..."_

The man grit his teeth, remembering that he could've stopped all of it. If he had been there to talk to his son when he was being mercilessly bullied, if he had been there to intervine, maybe, just maybe, the boy would still be alive today. The gun was still in his hand, and slowly, _he put pressure on the trigger._

The sound of the gunshot could be heard all around the shipping vessel, alerting the attention of everyone on board, including the bluenette.

Ciel's stomach dropped at the sound, and he felt blood drain from his face, making his complexion even paler than usual. He knew it couldn't possibly have been the butler who had been caught, leaving only one possible explanation: _Alois had been caught._

The muscles in the boy's legs tensed, and he ran in the direction the sound had originated from without the slightest clue where exactly it was that he was going. He ran, he feet hardly touching the ground, fortunately, but unintentionally making no sound. The bluenette's mind was unusually absent of thought in that moment, making it easier to find the other boy with his sixth sense, and he ran off in that direction, the direction that he could feel the presence of the blonde. Finding Alois was the only thought that occupied his head in that moment. Down the corridors of the ship, he ran, following the scent of the blonde's presence.

At last, he felt as though he was getting close; really close. He erratically rounded one last corner without even checking to see if anyone was there like he ordinarily would and made his way down one last corridor before stopping in front of a door. He could feel that the blonde was just on the other side, and opened the door, freezing upon setting his eyes on the sight before him. Victor Beatie was now gone, presumably to find someone to help him remove the body from his room. Yes, _Alois' body_.

Blood was on the back wall from where the bullet exited, and just in front of the stain was the blonde in a lifeless heap. He was lying on his back, a clean hole in his forehead, and his eyes were opened wide as though he were surprised, yet it was obvious that he wasn't seeing anything. There was a crimson puddle on the floor where the back of the boy's head rested, staining the carpet an ugly shade of maroon as it began to dry. Ciel simply stood motionless as he took in the scene.

With a deep breath, he forced his legs to move forward, and walked towards Alois before crouching down next to him. His mind was completely blank at seeing the blonde's face up close. He felt completely empty upon coming across the sight. Silently, he raised a hand to move stray locks of hair away from the entry wound, examining it.

 _"Stop making faces at me and wake up_." he finally forced himself to whisper. _"Wake up. That's an order."_

Ciel stared at the blonde's icy-blue eyes and watched as the life slowly started to fade back into them, gradually losing their new glassy look. He felt a rush of relief at the sight, knowing that the other boy _wasn't dead_. It was Alois' first time getting shot in the head as a _demon_ , so it would take a while for him to _wake up_ again. Even though Beatie was a weapons dealer, he didn't sell weapons capable of actually _killing_ a supernatural creature of any sort, let alone a _demon_.

The bluenette removed his tie and wrapped it around Alois' injury before forcing his arms between the floor and the blonde's body, placing one arm around his shoulders and the other underneath his legs. He knew had to move the boy before Beatie came back with help, and they threw him overboard. But, by now, there wasn't any doubt that the crew was now aware of the presence of intruders, and would be hunting them down. They would have a hard time hiding from them, as most of them appeared to be ex-military specialists of sorts. Ciel lifted the the other lad with ease, and carried him out of the room, his tie preventing stray droplets of blood to drip onto the floor while the blonde's bleeding began to stop, hindering the possibility of their being a trail to follow.

With the knowledge that the blonde was going to be alright, Ciel's mind was now capable of processing information again, and he was able to use his senses once more. He was able to avoid several batches of guards this way, taking alternative paths in order to hide. As much as he didn't like too, he needed to stall until the blonde was capable of moving on his own again. He finally stopped on top of one of the many shipping containers in the cargo bay, and gently set the boy down, removing the improvised bandage and brushing his hair to the side in order to inspect his process.

The skin had healed up nicely with no odd discolourations, but sagged where the bone and muscle had yet to finish regenerating. It would probably tear if if he applied too much pressure to it, so the bluenette refrained from touching it. With one hand, he closed the blonde's eyes so they wouldn't get dehydrated from being open for too long, and with the other, he pulled out his cellphone and sent Sebastian a text, telling him what happened and asking him if he had found anything. Moments later, he received a reply.

_"Don't worry, young master, Mister Trancy will be perfectly fine._

_Be sure not to leave him in the same position for too long, or the_

_Rigor Mortis will effect him badly later. The captain will now be_

_heading straight to Britain, so we must hurry._

_-SM"_

With that, the bluenette assumed that the butler had used their little hypnosis trick on the captain of the ship, and didn't need to worry about Beatie changing their course. Before Ciel could send a response, however, he began to hear footsteps coming closer, as well as whispers. Quickly, he shoved his phone back into his pocket so the light of the screen wouldn't give away his location, and grabbed his pistol. _Zamiel_ was now loaded with ordinary bullets, as " _anti-freak_ " ones were expensive, and unnecessary for their task. This was also so if one of the bullets went haywire and ricocheted in the enclosed space, friendly fire wouldn't be a problem. Ciel inched his way over to the edge of the container and looked down, seeing the shadows of the approaching guards in the doorway, illuminated by the light of the moon.

"How many do you think there are, _boss?"_ asked a voice, the same one with the German accent that the lads had heard over the radio of one of the guards'. It belonged to a young man, with golden hair and green eyes that were visible even in the slightly dark environment. He carried a machine gun along with several others, all obviously older than him, and with them, armed with a pistol, was _Victor Beatie_.

 _"It's hard to say_." replied the weapons dealer. "Probably _not many,_ since they were able to sneak in so easily and catch us off guard." The frightening man from before was with them as well, and he shot the German a look for telling him to ignore the first signs of trouble.

As he listened, Ciel shifted himself so he was laying on his stomach, in order to disable the group from hitting him if they fired, all while aiming his own custom pistol at their leader. Suddenly, the younger German man took a strong stance and aimed in the bluenette's direction. He pulled the trigger, and the sound of repeated gunfire assaulted the eardrums of everyone in the room. Ciel had to duck his head back down as to not end of in a state similar to that of his companion's. Alois' eyelids twitched at the sound, but remained closed.

" _Heinrich!_ _What in blazes are you doing?!"_ demanded Beatie, uncovering his ears.

"They're there! On top of the shipping container! _Floyd!_ Turn on the lights!" shouted the other man, who was apparently known as " _Heinrich_ ", to the frightening-looking man in the Hawaiian shirt. Floyd did as he was instructed, and flipped the switch, illuminating the room. The hiding place of the demonic duo was still hidden, due to the angle at which the other group was looking at it from. Everyone was silent, as they listened for the first signs of life in the area that the German had indicated.

This sign, of course, came in the form of shots being fired at them from above, injuring several, some fatally so. The assassins who's names were known to the bluenette fired back as they retreated behind their own source of cover, escorting their employer to safety. Ciel ducked down again, as bullets bounced of the edge of the shipping container and denting it while some whizzed by over the boy's head.

He looked back at the blonde boy, making sure that he hadn't been hit. Ciel noticed that his position had changed slightly, his hand in a slight fist, rather than open like it was before. He shook away the thought and focused back on the task at hand, as the gunfire seemed to slow down. The bluentte knew that as soon as he lifted his head up again to fire, his opponents would fire, so he stayed down, and simply surveyed the situation. He had to wait for them to make that same mistake before he could take them down.

* * *

 


	176. I'll Never Die, Even If I'm Killed

Alois remembered being in Victor Beatie's room, talking to him, but then everything suddenly faded to black. He couldn't see anything, yet he knew his eyes were open. The only thing the boy could register was darkness, yet this wasn't the most disturbing thing. He couldn't hear anything, yet he knew he had ears, yet this also wasn't the most disturbing thing. While those two factors were more than just "a little" unsettling, the thing the frightened the blonde the most right now was the fact that he couldn't _feel_ anything, yet he knew he had _limbs_.

There was just nothing. He couldn't tell if he was sill standing, as he couldn't feel his legs, but he didn't know if he was lying down either, because he couldn't feel his back. His fingers, his toes, his arms; he couldn't tell if he still had them anymore, because he couldn't feel them. From the _air on his skin_ , to _his own heartbeat_ , he couldn't feel anything aside from the excruciating pain in his head. He didn't know why it hurt, or why it hurt so badly, but it did.

He wanted to cry out in pain, but he couldn't speak. He couldn't take in the oxygen to so much as _whimper_ , let alone form words while being unable to open his mouth. He couldn't tell if he was crying, because he couldn't feel his face or his eyes. It was only his cranium that ailed him so, as it began to feel _colder_ inside his head, _like all of the blood was leaving it_.

Alone, he drifted in the darkness for what seemed like ages, until he began to sense something. He couldn't entirely tell what it was, but it felt like he was being watched, and it began to frighten him. It felt like it stayed in the same spot for a moment before moving closer. This unknown presence began to scare him, until it was right up next to him. While he couldn't feel his body, he could still somehow tell that it was there; this familiar, and somewhat comforting presence.

It was then that the boy thought he heard a voice, however, it was muffled to the point that he couldn't understand what it was saying. In fact, he could barely hear it at all, and wouldn't have if he could feel anything else. It was brief, but he focused on the voice, trying to distinguish it. He realized that he knew this voice, yet he couldn't place who it belonged to.

His focus shifted briefly as he realized that he was moving again, but he didn't know what was moving him, as he knew it wasn't him. It must've been that presence he had felt before, whatever it may have been. He knew it wasn't going to hurt him, at least, and that was reassuring. Yet he still was immensely concerned by the fact that he couldn't hear, see, smell, taste, or touch anything. The only thing he could use was his sixth sense, and it wasn't very helpful in this situation.

After he felt like he stopped, he wondered a bit where he was, or who he was with for a moment before returning his focus again to the pain in his head. It didn't hurt as badly as before, but was still horrible. This focus on this feeling shifted again, as he felt something tickling his forehead, and then he felt his eyes close, which was odd, since he didn't instruct himself to do so. He was glad that he was regaining feeling, but was concerned about what was happened, a concern that grew as he hear the muffled sound of loud, rapid, booms, and hostile voices. He desperately tried again to move himself and get away from them; his arms, legs, _anything_. Alas, they would not.

There were others nearby, he could feel it, yet the presence from before was the one closest to him, being his only comfort at the moment as he regained his body. Gradually, the booms became clearer, and he could tell that they were guns of some sort, and they were coming from the others in the room, who seemed hostile, while the person next to him didn't. They didn't feel like a threat in the slightest.

But then that presence changed slightly, as though it were _damaged_ , causing his fear to return once more. He wanted to get up and help it, but couldn't. He felt so _helpless_ ; a feeling that he hated more than anything else in the world.

Alois always felt helpless, but never to this extreme. He felt helpless when he was human, he felt helpless as a demon, too, just in different ways. The blonde didn't like being fussed about since he wasn't used to using his power, or called an "idiot", since it only reminded himself of his faults. The boy was helpless. He couldn't do anything on his own. He always needed someone else to save him or give him aid. While he liked the _care_ that he was given, he didn't like being so _pathetic_ all of the time. While he loved Ciel, he didn't love making the boy worry about him. Was it so wrong to want to be able to stand on his own feet?

He couldn't though, _not in this situation_ , anyway. He couldn't move or see, yet he could still sense the presence of others and vaguely hear them. Suddenly, the gunfire stopped again, causing him to pay attention to whatever sounds came next, so that he may perhaps better understand what was happening. It was a voice. The same voice he had heard first, only slightly more clear, and less muffled. He listened carefully to what it was saying, as it appeared to be talking to the other people in the room, who answered back at it. Alois couldn't understand them, however, as he was only able to pick up small fragments of the conversation. The voice from before sounded confident and dignified, which he liked. That means that it's owner wasn't losing. That voice was so familiar, yet he couldn't place it. It was a voice that he knew well, yet his head was too foggy to process it. It irritated the boy to no end. Who's voice was it? Who's voice? _Who's?!_

_"I am 'The Queen's Guard-dog', my name is Ciel Phantomhive!"_

Alois' eye shot wide open at those words. The light above him was almost blinding, but he didn't care; Not even in the slightest. He just wanted to find it's source. He just wanted to see it's owner and his _haughty, arrogant face_. Slowly, he was able to move his eyes to the side, but that wasn't enough, so he forced his head to move as well, the stiffness of his neck hindering him the entire way. It was the _Rigor Mortis_ that was preventing him from seeing that _self-righteous, bluenette, rich brat._

The blonde's movement went heard by the bluenette's ears, causing him to turn around to check on the boy. When he did, Alois could see that the Phantomhive's cheek was bleeding, as a bullet had grazed it, but he was otherwise unharmed. Ciel noticed that the other boy was now awake and with a sigh of relief, he smiled at him, the bluenette allowing an uncharacteristically gentle expression grace his face. With this knowledge, he turned back to his opponents.

"You hear me, Beatie?" he said in his usual authoritative manner. "If you don't surrender now, you _will_ be eliminated."

" _He's just a kid..."_ Floyd said aloud to his teammates, all dumbfounded by the appearance of these child-soldiers.

"I can _see_ that!" replied Heinrich, before turning his attention to his employer. "Vhat do you want us to do, boss?" Beatie paused for a moment and thought. He didn't entirely like the idea of killing children. Why, he was even distressed over killing the blonde boy from before, but even still, there was something he had to do first; something that he couldn't do either in prison or dead. After thinking for a moment, he looked up with a determined expression on his face.

" _Not a chance, boy!"_ he shouted from behind his cover. "I've got places to go, and things to do! I can't surrender yet!"

" _So be it."_ the bluenette said, reloading his weapon by giving it a fresh magazine. He crawled over to the blonde, and gently rubbed the boy's head with his free hand.

 _"I'll be right back."_ he said, offering the boy a smile before standing up. He turned to leave, but suddenly stopped when he felt something grab his ankle. Ciel looked at the blonde again, watching the boy wince at the pain of suddenly using his muscles that haven't fully regained their flexibility from the Rigor Mortis. Alois had used a lot of willpower to do that, internally screaming at his limb to move, and Ciel simply bent down and unhooked the blonde's nearly frozen fingers from his ankle, perpetuating the feeling of helplessness that the boy had.

"I'm sorry, but I can't let you keep your promise to finish the mission." the bluenette said gently. "If I did, we would have made it all the way back home by the time you'd be able to move again." He paused to watch the boy's face twitch in what he wasn't sure was anger, worry, or something else. "When this is over, _I promise to listen to whatever complaint you have._ Alright?" He was answered with the sound of the blonde inhaling, trying to get his lungs to work again so that he could reply. Before he could, though, the bluenette had already stood back up and walked over to the edge of the container. Ciel jumped, landing on the ground gracefully, while a human-being would have definitely broken something.

The other group heard the sound of his shoes hitting the floor, and one of them peeked out to investigate. He was immediately stuck down by the demon-boy's bullet, being pierced right between the eyes. Ciel smiled a bit as the men gawked at their fallen comrade. One of them was so bold as to appear from being the corner, relentlessly firing at the boy, yet somehow missing with each bullet.

It was as though the boy could teleport, as he would be right in the line of fire one moment, and out of the way as soon as the man blinked, repeating the action whenever the gunman corrected himself. Even when he thought he had hit the bluenette, it had only been an after-image. The boy got closer, and the man got increasingly nervous, a feeling he felt up until the bluenette fired a second bullet, hitting the man just above his eye.

"Vhat the hell?!" shouted Heinrich, seeing the man fall. "How could he miss if he's right in front of him?!" The German moved in order to confront the boy himself, confident in his competence, only to be stopped by a coworker.

"Dumbass! He'll only get you too!" said the man. "We'll wait here until he rounds the corner, then we'll fire all at onc-"

He was stopped mid-sentence, and then dropped to the floor with silverware protruding from his head and neck. The others looked to see a man dressed in black several feet from them. He wielded silverware in his hands, and looked ready to fight.

"My apologies, my lord." said the man clad in black with a sly grin. "I had a bit of trouble finding you. Honestly, _what kind of butler does that make me if I can't do something so simple?"_ He threw a few more projectiles, taking out a few more of Beatie's men. The remaining few moved to find better cover from both sides, dragging their employer along with them. A few more fell during their retreat, regardless to the fact that they were far more heavily armed than the two demons.

 


	177. The Right Thing To Do

The blonde menace clicked his tongue in annoyance as he heard the gunshots go off around the vast room. He not only wanted in on the action, he wanted to be the one to complete this mission. The only thing standing in his way was his own immobility. He tried with every fiber of his being to get his muscles to move freely again, grunting as he moved his arms, flexing his back muscles as well. It hurt, but he preferred it to being the odd one out.

When he felt that he had the ability, he flipped himself onto his stomach and crawled towards the edge of the container, looking down at how far away the ground was. He knew that in his current state, he wouldn't be able to land that without injuring himself, so he simply waited, stretching his legs and listening to the orchestra of nearby gunfire as he knew the bluenette was no-doubt picking off Beatie's team. He felt utterly defeated by his inability, and thus began to plan what he was going to tell the bluenette the next time he saw him.

Ciel was meanwhile having a wonderful time completing his mission. He had a lot of frustration built up over the past few hours, and was keen to take it out on these poor men by ruthlessly exterminating them. He wasn't even trying to aim for Beatie at this point. No, he was now reduced to a monster who was killing simply for sport, smiling as he switched out the magazines of his pistol. While this may seem to be a horrible thing for the boy to be doing, it should be understood that this isn't quite normal behaviour for him, and is now only being used as a therapeutic means. He wasn't entirely "morally correct" to begin with, you see.

With both him, and the butler hunting them now, it was only a matter of time until their target's forces dwindled down to naught. As they ran, Victor thought about many things. He thought about his son, and the predicament he was currently in. Beatie desperately wanted to say his "goodbyes" to his son properly, like a normal father would have done, but with this turn of events, it slowly began to sink in that this was an impossibility. Thus, he stopped running, his two remaining colleagues passing him by a few feet, only to stop and turn around.

" _Boss, what's wrong?!"_ asked the frightening-looking man in the Hawaiian shirt. "Let's go!"

" _This isn't working."_ Beatie said. He put his hands up in the air. _"We surrender! We'll come along peacefully!"_ he shouted, hoping that their pursuers could hear him. His two remaining men looked at him in shock.

"Boss!" called Heinrich. "What about _Jonnathan?!"_

"It's impossible." said the weapons dealer. "I just can't do anything right. I can't save my son, I probably can't even save _myself_ , but if I can save _somebody_ , at least...Maybe Jonnathan might forgive me?" The two others looked at each other for a moment before looking back to the man.

"We can't do that, sir." said Floyd, finally. "We have a contract to protect our boss with our lives, and that's just what we're gonna do-"

"Stand down! _That's an order!"_ the man barked, startling his crew. "Don't you _get_ it? _You're all that I have left_... No matter what, you _have_ to make it out of here alive..." He reached into his pocket, pulling out an abject an handing it to Heinrich.

It was the man's most prized possession, a small, toy car that his son had given him on the first day of his around the world journey. Jonnathan gave it to him so he would always remember to visit whenever he had the chance. Victor had a bad habit of always placing his hands in his pockets, and that was the reason why. It was to make sure that he hadn't dropped that toy car. The German was speechless at the man's actions, staring at him with a shocked expression. He didn't need Victor to explain this to him, but the man did anyway.

"This will be your _last_ mission from me." he said, placing his hands back in his pockets. "Your mission is to get out of here alive, and _return that to my boy,_ alright?" He turned around in order to walk away from the crew. "I'm not that good of a father, or of a leader. I'm sorry that your mission has to be something selfish like this. But, if you can do this, I can leave you with no regrets." Heinrich clenched the toy in his hand for a moment before putting his arm at his side.

"Boss!" he called out, causing the man to stop for a moment. He turned his head to look at the younger man. When he did, he was greeted by a salute.

 _"Auf Wiedersehen!"_ the young man with the golden hair shouted. The American man with the scary face and the Hawaiian shirt did the gesture as well.

"Let's meet again someday, boss." he said with a smile. Victor smiled back at them whole-heartedly.

 _"Auf Wiedersehen. See you in the afterlife."_ he said, turning to walk away again. This time, he didn't look back at them. That would be the last time either of them would see Victor. He walked away to meet up with the bluenette, who stood behind one of the many shipping containers, arms folded with his back leaned against it.

"Are you done yet?" he asked, not even looking at the man.

"Yeah." said Victor, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a cigarette before lighting it. "It's awful _nice_ of you to wait on me."

"I can _respect_ a dying wish such as that. That's the only reason I'll allow them to escape." said the boy, moving from his spot against to wall in order to stand in front of the man, blocking his path.

" _Much obliged."_

"You seem a bit _too_ okay about this."

"True, but I knew from the beginning that you had no intention of simply _arresting_ me. You came to _kill,_ right? You wouldn't have gone through killing all of my men for _just_ an _arrest._ If that's the case, then _go ahead_. I've got nothing else keeping me to this mortal world any longer." replied the man, holding out his arms like he was inviting the boy to shoot.

"Not even a little bit of fear of the unknown?" asked Ciel.

"Nah. I've seen lots of death in my line of work, so I think about it a lot." Victor put his hands in his pockets again. "This world's a _damn ugly place_. I don't like looking at it. I could use a change of scenery."

"Well, then. Shall I _grant_ your _wish?"_ the bluenette asked, tilting his head slightly with a slight smile. His visible eye flashed crimson for a slight second, something that the man noticed, but paid no real mind to.

" _Be my guest_." Victor said, flicking his cigarette off in some unknown direction. He smiled, and closed his eyes, bracing for an impact that would never come to him.

Instead, he felt a swift yank at the collar of his shirt and a pair of lips on his. His eyes went wide when he realized what the boy was doing, and wanted to pull away, but couldn't. His limbs grew numb and went cold, and his vision began to blur before finally fading to black. His body fell to the floor in a lifeless heap, and unlike with the blonde menace, Victor Beatie would never wake up again. Ciel wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, staring at the man with his glowing, crimson eye. He really did wish that there was a better method for taking people's souls. He was really glad that the blonde hadn't seen that. Alois would have thrown an absolute fit if he did.

The bluenette felt nothing but guilt when remembering the blonde menace. He couldn't help but remember how he had left him in his immobile position on top of a high structure; how angry the boy was with him, and how angrier still he would be for leaving him like that. Even his high from obtaining a new soul couldn't over-shadow thoughts like these.

He wished that the blonde understood his reasoning for everything. He wished that he knew why it was that he called him names, and why he picked at him for being unable to do the things he could with his power. Ciel wanted Alois to know that it wasn't at all intended to put him down, but it was instead the bluenette's way of expressing concern for the boy.

_"Maybe you should just tell him that."_

Ciel grabbed the sides of his head as the phrase assaulted his mind. Sometimes he would get little tidbits from a person after consuming their soul, phrases, words, images, scenes; he'd received them whether he wanted to or not. Strangely, though, he knew that voice. It wasn't the voice of _Victor Beatie_ who spoke _,_ but the voice of none other than the notorious _Alois Trancy_.

The image of Alois standing by the window at the Statue of Liberty flashed before the bluenette's eyes, the blonde facing the window and looking at his hands, as though he were uncomfortable. It was obviously when the bluenette wasn't there, as he was in Victor's shoes in the memory. The scene replayed once more, the blonde repeating the words one last time before Victor's esscence dissolved and was suppressed by the bluenette's own.

" _Maybe you should just tell him that."_ he said before Ciel finally snapped back to his senses.

He stood there, pondering the image for a moment, realizing that they must have been talking about the man's son at the time, yet he couldn't help but relate it to his own troubles. He pulled out his cellphone, signalling the mission's completion to Sebastian, informing him to make the appropriate preparations for arriving home. When he received the "Yes, my lord" response, he went in search of the blonde, starting in the place he had last seen him.

His shoes made a small "clicking" noise as they hit the metal roof of the shipping container. Ciel had to stop and take in the sight of the blonde laying on his stomach, close to the edge of the container; obviously not in the position the bluenette had left him. The bluenette walked over to the boy, and sat next to him, legs dangling over the edge of the container. He hesitated for a moment before putting a hand on the other boy's shoulder. Alois simply groaned in response.

"Well, _'hello'_ to you, too..." the bluenette said, pausing for a moment. "The mission's over. We're going home." The blonde simply groaned again. "Can you not speak yet?"

 _"...I can..."_ the blonde answered, his voice somewhat airy, like he couldn't quite find all of it. His face was directed away from Ciel, the back of his head where his hair was all matted together from dry blood plainly visible. Ciel couldn't help but touch it, making sure it had healed up properly. " _What are you doing?"_

"Making sure there's not still _a hole in your head_." the Phantomhive boy replied. "You scared me..."

 _"I know... Sorry_..." the blonde replied, not moving. Ciel knew he was alright, though. Colour had returned to the blonde's face. " _I can't do anything right_..." the boy said, causing the bluenette to raise an eyebrow.

"That's not true. You're just _inexperienced_ , is all." Ciel said. He stopped playing with the blonde's hair, and leaned over him, balancing his weight on his arm, resting on one side of the boy while remaining seated on the other. His looked at the blonde's face, with it's unusual depressed expression. Alois' eyes moved to look up at the bluenette.

 _"Is that what this is about?"_ asked the bluenette. Alois moved his head so that his forehead was touching the roof of the container and that his face was hidden from the Phantomhive boy. Ciel knew he had hit the nail on the head. " _Alois..."_ he said, his tone a bit cross. The blonde groaned as his reply once again.

When he did, the bluenette forced his hands between the container and the blonde's body, flipping him over on his back so that he couldn't hide, just as Ciel wanted to right then. Summoning all of his courage, the bluenette shoved his pride to the side for a moment. He took a deep breath and spoke.

"It's not that you _'can't do anything right',_ or that you're ' _useless_ '." he said, forcing the blonde's hand out of the way so that he couldn't cover his face. "You aren't _'stupid'._ and you aren't a 'child'. I say those things but don't really _mean_ them. Do you know _why?"_ Alois shook his head.

"It's because I just don't know how else to show you how much I _worry_ about you." the bluenette said, moving a stray lock of hair out of the other boy's face. Alois' eyes were wide as thought he couldn't believe what he was hearing. "I don't worry about you because I think you're _'weak',_ either. I worry about you because _I love you_." The blonde's face immediately heated up at those three words, causing the bluenette to smile.

"I don't say it as often as I should, but I do." he continued. " _I love you_. I love _Alois Trancy_ , and I love _Jim Macken_. I love you when you act a fool, and I love you when you act serious. I love you _, even when you're mad at me_."

" _Sh-shut up..."_ the blonde said, desperately trying to hide his face. His voice cracked, like he was trying not to cry. _"How do you always know exactly what to say?"_

"I _don't._ Personally, I thought I just sounded _like a rambling idiot_." Ciel smiled. He leaned down to lightly kiss the blonde's forehead, but the blonde instead grabbed the sides of the bluenette's head in order to kiss his on the lips. It lasted for quite some time, but fortunately for them, demon's don't need _air_ in order to live.

 _"I love you, too."_ Alois said when he finally released the other boy. He smiled. _"Even when you're an arrogant asshole."_

 _"Thanks."_ said the bluenette with a smile of his own. " _That really means a lot_."

 


	178. Ghost Ship

It was another fine day at Warwick Academy. Specifically, the date was December the twelfth, some time around noon and the sensational seven were going about their usual daily routine, eating lunch before hanging out in the common's area before it was time to go to class. Yet, it wasn't like most days, as they were missing two key members to their ensemble, a pair collectively known as "the demonic duo".

They had been missing for most of the week, actually, which wasn't entirely unusual. The only odd thing about it was how the school was okay with that. While Warwick offers a few "working days" for students who have gotten a head-start in progressing their careers, it was uncommon for anyone to actually _use_ them. The four lads who were aware of the duo's "condition" simply shrugged it off as the two going off on some sort of supernatural escapade, like they would do on occasion. Preston, however, was suspicious of the two.

The Indian boy wasn't sure why they were in the business they were in, but he knew it wasn't right. It simply didn't add up, none of it did. How did they find those bombs with such vague information in such a short amount of time? How did they retrieve them? What was with that _red eye_ , and why couldn't he remember anything else about it?

Questions like these stirred up a storm inside the boy's head, doing nothing but further perpetuating his confusion over the matter. Preston's eyes slowly wandered over to the television that was in the commons, placed high above the ground in the corner, finding himself absent-mindedly watching the news while the others talked about whatever nonsense came to mind. Nothing seemed to be happening in the world today, that is, until a certain shot of the Thames River came onto the screen.

A news helicopter was recording from above, a scene of an odd shipping vessel lazily sailed up the river, apparently heading towards London. The shot then changed to the image of a bunch of police cars parked up by one of the local docks, lights flashing and everything as though they were somehow going to stop it. To his surprise, however, the boat began to slow down, and it pulled up to the dock before coming to a complete stop. Several officers ran out, ready to bring the "unknown criminals" on board to couldn't help but notice how little information there was on the matter. The person reporting seemed to have a hard time trying to come up with things to say. Obviously it must be a pretty big deal, whatever was going on.

He didn't notice, but the rest of the seven observed the television as well, putting their conversation on hold for a moment. Daniel, Audrey, and Kristopherson all had a gut feeling that any moment now, the demonic duo would appear. They silently watched the screen as well, waiting for it, observing every bit of it so that they may not pass by in the background unnoticed. Preston squinted his eyes at what he thought looked like the demonic duo.

"Hey, _is_ _that...?"_ he began, his thought brought to a screeching halt as the channel was quickly changed.

 _"What the fuck, Lawrence?! Change it back!"_ shouted Daniel, startling the actor as he stood in front of the television with his finger on the channel button.

"Oh... Sorry..." the boy in green replied, returning the television to it's previous setting. "I didn't know anyone was watching it." The image of the boat on the Thames returned again, but the small glimpse of the demonic duo had already passed, much to the five's disappointment. They let out a series of groans and a couple of them smacked their foreheads at Lawrence's unwitting faux pas.

 _"Police report that they cannot release any further information as of yet as to what was on the ship, or why it was so sparsely manned. It is, however, apparent that there has been a severe amount of cassualties due to the amount of ambulance's on the scene..."_ the reporter on the screen droned on as images of body-bags being taken onto the boat passed by discreetly in the background. The only way one could have noticed is if they weren't paying attention to the reporter at all, and instead focused on what was going on behind them. Audrey looked closely at the blurry images of people working on the scene, sitting up in his famous chair to point.

"Look at that!" he said, noticing an pair of individuals that looked much shorter than the adults on the scene, one blonde and one with dark, almost black hair. He couldn't tell if it was an odd blue shade or not due to the quality of the video, but he was sure it was Ciel.

Over the bluenette's shoulder, the arm of the blonde was swung around as he limped slightly, having not fully regained the strength in his legs yet. Ciel had the arm closest to the other boy in the small of his back, helping prop the boy up as they walked off the boat unnoticed, concealed by the other people running on and off of it. They were followed by Sebastian, who followed closely behind. The man had offered to be the one to help the blonde along, but Ciel utterly refused, much to the older demon's amusement.

They walked off-screen, disappearing from the Warwiccan's sight again. They then began conversing the possibilities of what could have possibly happened, being sure to leave out anything that might tip off the ignorant two in their group on the lad's secret. Preston, however, was almost dazed as he listened to them, replaying the image of the two boys walking off of the boat, and coming up with his own theories, keeping them to himself, of course.

Ciel helped the blonde into a taxi, and they went home. It was a relief that the driver hadn't asked what had happened or why the back of the Alois' head was all bloody. When they arrived home, they paid the pleasantly apathetic driver and went inside, where they had made their next big discovery.

The house was still standing, even though they had left the troublesome supernatural maids there on their own. It wasn't quite as clean as usual, as they had obviously missed a few spots, but it was surprisingly well-kept. That was when they made yet another discovery. _There was an exhausted vampire laying in the floor in the middle of the foyer._ Slowly, she turned her head to face the trio, offering them a rather tired smile.

" _Welcome back, my lord..."_ Charlotte said, almost wheezing. _"I'm sorry about the mess... I couldn't do everything, even with Mister Michaelis' instructions..."_

"Where's Amelie?" asked the bluenette, adjusting the blonde on his shoulder.

 _"Oh, that's the other bad news..."_ replied the girl. _"I was trying to find her, but then the sun came up..."_

"Ah, well, _I'm sure she'll turn up_." said Sebastian, a little _too_ enthusiastically. His _hatred of canines_ obviously ran deep, judging by the way he acted around the wolf-girl. "Why don't we all get settled back in? You did very well, Charlotte, especially for someone who can only work at _night_."

"Of course..." said the girl. " _I'm just a bloody good maid,_ aren't I?" And with that, she passed out in the middle of the foyer floor, tired from both doing the task of a full staff on her own, and from the horrible daylight sapping her strength. The three demons simply walked into the house as if nothing had happened. Apparently this sort of thing was "normal" around here.

"I'll collect her from the floor after making sure everything is in order." said the butler, removing his outer coat and hanging it up. "Would you like help getting mister Trancy upstairs, my lord?"

" _I'm sure I can manage_." the bluenette replied, walking slowly so that the blonde lad could keep up. "Just make sure that _French Poodle_ hasn't _chewed on any of the furniture_."

"Understood." the man said, giving a slight bow before going off to do just that. After he left, the blonde let out a giggle.

"A ' _French Poodle'?"_ he asked, questioning the other lad's silly choice of words while making his way up the stairs at what seemed like an _ungodly_ pace. Even with help, it was quite difficult, since his nerves weren't completely "reactivated" yet.

 _"It seemed fitting when I said it."_ the bluenette replied. "Are you making _fun_ of me?"

"No, it was just _unexpected_." the blonde said with a smile as they reached his room, formerly a guest bedroom on the second floor. He reached to grab the knob, but had difficulty grasping it, as his hands were more worse off than the rest of him. The sophisticated inner-mechanisms that enabled any person able to perform precision work with ease, simply weren't working. Alois furrowed his brow in frustration as he tried harder to clench his fist, but when he failed again, the bluentte put his free hand over the blonde and applied the amount of pressure needed to perform such a mundane task.

" _Thanks..."_ Alois said with a slight pout, displeased with the fact that he had to rely on the bluenette yet again.

"Anytime." Ciel replied, helping the boy over to the bed and sitting him down. "Your fingers are the _last_ thing to regain feeling; That's how it was for _me,_ anyway. How is the rest of you feeling?"

" _Gross._ There's _blood all in my hair_ , and I feel groggy as _hell_."

_"Take a shower, then."_

"Oh, yes! Good idea! Let me just _untie my tie_ and _remove by button-up dress-shirt_ with my _immovable fingers_..." the blond said, holding up his hands, his words dripping in sarcasm. In response, the bluenette simply rolled his visible eye.

" _Need help?"_ he asked, realizing the alternative way that could have been taken from the blonde's smirk.

"Not in a _dodgy_ way, you pervert..." he quickly added so the blonde couldn't turn it into a joke.

"I will inform you when I begin to _believe_ that, good sir." Alois replied, stretching out his arms a bit.

"Something is telling me that you just simply _want_ it to be _suggestive_."

 _"On second thought, will you look at that? I can totally undress myself after all."_ the blonde said suddenly, standing up. He began to move his hands at the bluenette as if he were trying to shoo him away. _"Well, I'm going to go scrub the rubbish off of me. See you later-"_ he was cut off by the Phantomhive boy grabbing onto his tie.

"You can't do that without hands. Don't worry, I'll help you." With a gentle tug, the bluenette was leading the blonde to the bathroom that connected to the guest room by the strip of cloth around his neck.

"Whoa! Hey! Wait, I-I thought this _wasn't_ going to be 'dodgy'?!"

"No, no. You _wanted_ it to be. What's wrong? Not up for it anymore?" Ciel flashed the blonde a smirk, only becoming even more amused when the other boy pouted in response. "Oh, _I get it._ You only like suggestive things when _you're_ the one doing the teasing, right?" Alois' face turned a deep shade of scarlet at the remark.

"I-it's not like that..." the blonde said, looking away. "You just... You make it feel so _awkward..."_ Soon, the piece of cloth around his neck slipped off and he was pulled into an embrace, arms around his waist with his own on the other boy's shoulders.

_"I love you too, muffin."_

 


	179. La Venganza

While December is considered the a major part of the holiday season, that day wasn't entirely festive for a certain duo. No, I'm not talking about the two young demons, either. No, yet this pair was still of an unusual sort, while not in a supernatural sort of sense. They were foreigners stuck in a European island nation, one being a German, and one being an American. While their predicament was unintentional, they still had a task to complete in Britain; a task that wouldn't earn them any money to return home, but it would help a friend out immensely, as it was his dying wish.

Just as instructed, they would "return" to the son of their employer something that the man held very dear to his heart. Thus, they ventured out into a cemetery somewhere on the outskirts of London in search of the grave marked _"Jonnathan Beatie_ ", walking along the path of the reasonably well-kept cemetery for what seemed like hours under the dreary, grey sky and in the painfully cold air. While It was well-kept, it didn't appear to be organized in a certain way, making it incredibly difficult to navigate. They didn't like being here, but it was just something they had to do. They had to do it for the sake of their employer; their friend; their family member.

They found what they were looking for; a stone cut in the shape of a rectangle that seemed to match most of the others. The dirt on the grave was fresh and decorated with flowers and things as the funeral for the boy buried there was only two days ago. Heinrich knew that his employer would probably say something about how his contribution wasn't impressive in the slightest, but that wasn't true. The token that the blonde man placed on the grave amoungst all the flowers was perhaps the most meaningful of contributions. He crouched down and set the small, toy car in front of the grave, making it stand out better among the flowers in a way that made them look shabby, almost.

"You know vhy Victor _really_ sent us here, Floyd?" the younger of the two men asked, standing up. He brushed the dirt off of his pants while he waited for an answer.

"Yeah." the American man said. "He wanted us to say ' _goodbye_ ' for him."

"That's right, but I've been thinking: is that _really_ necessary?" Heinrich inquired. "The boss vas a good man. He was a _criminal_ , but he vas a _good man_. He everything in his power for his son, und even though he said he'd have _'no regrets'_ , I think he only said that so _ve vouldn't vorry."_

"That's just the kind of man he was _, Hein_. So, are you saying that he'll be able to see Jonny again someday?"

"Yeah, he vill. I _know_ he vill. I just don't know about _us,_ though."

"Who knows? The lord works in _mysterious ways_. We're not exactly _noble_ like _Vic,_ but hey, anything's possible."

 _"The lord's a fool_ for letting a man like him die. You don't see people like that every day. To throw avay someone like that is a _crime_ greater than simply smuggling weapons."

"So what do you wanna do about it?" asked Floyd, wondering where this was going. "We've got all the time in the world, and nothing to lose, _so what do we do with it?"_ Heinrich turned to face his comrade, and looked him in the eye.

" _Ve correct the mistake_." he said, expression and tone completely serious. "Victor is _gone,_ Jonny is too, und that vill never change, no matter vhat ve do; but we can still destroy that vhich took him avay from the vorld, telling God that he vas _wrong_."

" _Revenge_ , huh?" asked the American in the Hawaiian shirt. _"I like it._ I dunno if God was _'wrong',_ but I do know one thing: Vic had his heart in the right place. I can't let the guy who _stopped_ him from finishing his mission just _live_. That's just the _gentlemanly_ thing to do."

"That's right." Heinrich said, looking determined. "That monster boy has to pay. Victor said that visiting Jonnathan vas our final mission from him, but that's not true anymore. Now, ve must take out the one who called himself _'The Queen's Guard-Dog';_ The one named-"

 _"Ciel~!"_ called a familiar voice, elsewhere in the city, startling a certain bluenette boy while he sat at his desk. Alois waltzed around the side of the desk and wrapped his arms around the other boy's neck, kissing him on the cheek. _"Happy Birthday~!"_

Yes, the date was now December fourteenth, Ciel Phantomhive's _one-hundred and twenty-seventh_ birthday. At least _someone_ was excited. Ciel never liked his birthday; not since that was also the day his parents died, throwing him into frey of this mad world, and was thus reluctant to celebrate it. The last time he celebrated his birthday was against his will over one-hundred years, as his fiancee insisted. He hadn't celebrated it since then, and was somewhat reluctance to begin to do so now. The bluenette wasn't even sure how the blonde knew when his birthday was, since he didn't recall ever mentioning it to him. Secretly, he suspected the butler was responsible for the other boy gaining this knowledge, but he lacked evidence. Ciel gave a small grunt in order to convey that he had heard the boy, placing his free hand on the blonde's arm while continuing to fill out documents with the other.

"You have to _work_ on your birthday?" Alois asked with a pout. "That's dumb."

"Well, I missed a few days' worth while we were gone." the bluenette replied, moving a recently finished paper off to the side in a neat pile that he had been working on. "It's not a big deal. It's just like any other day, isn't it?"

"No, it's not. If it were ' _ordinary'_ , why would it have a special term?" He had to admit, the blonde had a slight point, but still, Ciel wasn't convinced.

"Then what's so 'special' about it, then?" Alois opened his mouth to speak. " _Other_ than the fact that it has a _title_." Alois closed his mouth again. He thought for a moment about this.

"It's the day where the people who care about you show you how much they're glad you exist." he said finally, giving the bluenette the exact reason why the event is recorded in the first place.

It wasn't a day for simply receiving gifts. It wasn't something you're entitled to. Really, someone's birthday has more to do with the people who one celebrates it with, rather than oneself, giving others the chance to show their appreciation and care. Really, living another year isn't that much of an _accomplishment_ in the first place _,_ if you think about it, _especially_ if you're a _demon_. Ciel couldn't help but smile at the blonde's unusual innocence.

" _Do what you want."_ he said, giving in somewhat. A wide grin plastered itself across the face of the other boy. Alois' hands moved from their place around the boy's neck, and moved to grab at his arm.

"Alright! _I'm going to have to have you come with me, then!"_ he announced, pulling on the bluenette's arm a bit.

" _What?"_ the Phantomhive boy asked.

"There's no time to lose! Don't question me, just go with me!"

With a swift yank, Alois forced the confused boy out of his chair, and into the hallway. From there, Ciel was lead down the corridor, and down the steps to the first floor, where everything was oddly quiet. They walked briskly, further perpetuating the bluenette's confusion by heading to the dining room. Alois opened the large door for the boy, ushering him inside the vast, empty room. He then quickly stepped out of the doorway. Ciel watched him with a questioning expression on his face.

 _"Ready?"_ called a voice, making the bluenette to whip his head back around to look at the room, which was now full of people. They had come out of their hiding places when the boy wasn't looking.

_"Fire!"_

The Phantomhive boy was hit by a barrage of orange, foam darts, some actually sticking to his skin, as he was fired upon by these familiar assailants. When it stopped, he forced open his uncovered eye in order to look at their smiling faces. The unknown group of assailants who so viciously took him by surprise, were none other than Warwick Academy's own _sensational seven_. With them were the two maids, armed with Nerf weapons as well, the shorter one looking somewhat triumphant, while the taller one looked a bit guilty. Finally, one of the lads in the room spoke up.

"That was _awesome!"_ shouted Daniel, throwing a fist up into the air. " _We got the cyclops!"_

"That was just a little revenge for Alois' birthday." Audrey said with a grin.

"Don't worry, _we'll get him too,_ eventually." spoke Kristopherson.

"Sorry, sir... _They made me do it..."_ said Charlotte, meekly.

 _"To arms, monster!"_ shouted Amelie with her usual bored expression.

" _You're one to talk..."_ spoke a certain butler as he entered the room through the kitchen. Sebastian was carrying a cake and once he sat it on the table, he looked up at his master. His face twitched ever so slightly as his lips wanted so desperately to smile at the sight if the bluenette; bewildered face, covered from head to toe in orange foam darts, looking like he wanted to throw a childish fit.

"My apologies, young master," said Sebastian, "but you've instructed me to respect the wishes of mister Trancy, have you not? It was _he_ who organized this."

Ciel felt his eye twitch at the fit of giggles that sprang forth from behind him. He turned around, a handful of darts losing their grip on his skin in the process, to find the blonde menace in the doorway, clutching his stomach while erupting into an absolute fit of laughter. There was a moment when it began to slow down, but then Alois looked up and saw the bluentte's face, causing it to return. Ciel began plucking the darts off of his skin while listening to both the blonde's giggles behind him, and the snickering of the others in front. At last, he moved again, this time actually heading over to the blonde, before pinching the other boy's cheeks and staring at him with the most menacing face he could muster.

"Hahaha-haha! D-don't look at me like that!" the blonde pleaded blonde between laughs, his speech slightly hindered from the other boy pinching his face. He knew full well why the bluenette was making that face at him. Ciel was embarrassed beyond belief, having been made a fool of.

 _"Tell me, was all of this completely necessary?"_ the bluenette asked, his tone grave, but off-put by the blush on his face.

 _"Yes."_ Alois said plainly and simply. "I couldn't resist! I needed _revenge,_ too for the way you _teased_ me the other day!"

 _"Too much information..."_ said Kristopherson, interrupting the duo's quarrel. He set his gun down on the table and took a seat. "If you two are just going to bicker all day, can _we_ have the cake?" Ciel's ears perked up a bit at the word, his interest obviously shifted. It came right back when he heard the blonde snort at the boy's behaviour, earning him a scowl.

" _No_ , if I'm going to be _forced_ into having a party, _I get cake_." the bluenette answered, letting go of Alois' cheeks, leaving them a bit red, and grabbing onto his hand before leading him over to the table as well. With his free hand, the blonde rubbed his face as he walked along.

They sat down and began conversing to the others, dancing around the true nature of their mission from two days prior, as they simply weren't allowed to give details. They talked and ate horrendously unhealthy foods, played games and socialized. Occasionally, one of the lads would say something that earned them a scowl from Ciel, or a growl from Amelie, which was absolutely nothing out of the ordinary. They rediscovered that Daniel was a complete failure at multilayer video-games, and that Alois could randomly burst out into song at inappropriate, yet humourous moments, earning a laugh from the others. All of this spanned over the course of several hours, only ending when Audrey looked up and realized that it was almost eleven-thirty at night, causing the other boys to nearly go into a panic at the realization that most of them were on the verge of breaking their curfew. Five of the seven hastily said their goodbyes and left, leaving the demonic duo alone again at last. As per usual, the bluenette was worn out from being around people for so long, and reclined on the couch in the entertainment room, joined by the blonde, who absent-mindedly played with the other boy's hair.

"Is that an okay birthday so far?" he asked finally, earning a small grunt from the bluenette in response. " _Tired?"_

" _Quite_." Ciel replied. "Still, I had fun."

"What do you mean you _'had'_ fun?" the blonde said, smile prominent. "It's only _eleven_ , your birthday doesn't end until _midnight_."

"What do you mean?" the Phantomhive boy asked, unsure if the blonde was using an innuendo or not. It really was hard to tell, sometimes.

" _You know what I mean."_ Alois answered, shifting on the couch so that he way now laying on top of the bluenette, who simply looked up at him with a surprised look as the blonde leaned down to kiss the boy. They stayed like that for a while, hands roaming, breathing beginning to become heavy, and pulse quickening.

 _"No!"_ shouted a voice, frightening both lads and causing them to separate. They looked over at the sound's point of origin, and discovered that a certain wolf-girl had walked in, garbage bag in hand.

" _Out_." she said, face not changing, her big, blue eyes staring at them in a way that made both of them even more uncomfortable than they already were. _"I have to clean. Do that elsewhere."_ With that, she began picking up debris from the party and shoving it in the plastic bag, now pretending that the demonic duo didn't exist.

What was with the servants in this house and casually interrupting them?

* * *

 


	180. Well, That's Certainly Good News

Warwick Academy is a place of extraordinary stature and grandeur that both it, and it's students exceed the expectations of most other schools in the country. It's students are cultured, intelligent, and above all else, of such breeding that gives them the inherent air that they are above most children in some kind of economic aspect.

Not all students meet the final requirement, and that suits Warwick just fine. Why, one of Warwick's most famous students originated from such mundane genetics; a mister _Alois Trancy_ , who's current place of residence isn't exactly a secret from the eyes of the public, but the secrets of that household are. The boy, commonly known as " _The Blonde Menace_ " to students and staff, resides within the Phantomhive household, under the guise of the adoptive brother of the master of the house. The romantic nature of their relationship is no secret, regardless of this fact. Why, almost the entire campus is aware of this, yet they are blind to the actual history that this relationship stems from, and the darkness in which it resides.

There are a select few students aware of this history and it's dark nature, along with the fact that the two lad's are a whole different species from them, yet they don't seem to mind in the slightest. It does occasionally lead to some confusion, however, with some of the lad's habits. Things like "aren't you tired?" or "don't you get hungry?" There is no "Demon Biology 101" class, therefore elaboration on the answers to these questions is at a minimum. Almost all of the sensational seven are aware of the demonic duo's paranormal status; all but two.

Preston, however, was beginning to get suspicious of the two boys. He began to have these thoughts ever since the "Simon Says" incident, and they nagged at him relentlessly. He thought about it at school, he thought about it at home, he thought about it at violin practice, and he especially thought about it at the Phantomhive house. Why was there such a small staff for such a massive house? Why were they allowed to take on obviously dangerous, and possibly deadly missions for the government? Why are they able to perform such tasks so absurdly quickly? What was with that vision of a glowing, crimson eye that seemed to stare right through him?

It was the last one that disturbed him the most, and the more he thought about that, the crazier he felt he was. He began noticing strange things about the duo, things that didn't seem to matter, but they were odd. The fact that the duo never went to the bathroom during school, the fact that they both had black fingernails, that didn't fade or appear to be polished, and the fact that they, unlike the rest of the children, possessed a sort of air about them that gave you chills down your spine. He felt silly for noticing these things, and shook them off quickly after catching himself pondering them.

Those who knew began to fear that the Indian boy was starting to figure it out. Often, when the boy wasn't around, they would discuss the possibility and the consequences of that being the currently sat around in a circle in the Warwick commons' room, somewhat off to the side in their usual spot, so that no on may hear. Preston was taking a make-up test, and Travis had a gardening club meeting, so it was safe to converse about such confidential subjects.

"So what are we going to do?" asked Audrey, peeking out through his bangs. "He keeps asking us if we noticed anything _'weird'_ about you two lately."

"So he's been asking all of you then?" the bluenette answered with a question of his own. "What all does he know?"

"He keeps talking about how you two solved that _'collar-bomb'_ mystery so _quickly_." Kristopherson stated, folding his arms. "He says that it's also _'suspicious'_ that there's not nearly enough staff at your house."

"We told him that was because of our _job,_ though." said Alois, arching an eyebrow.

"That's also ' _fishy_ '." said a certain politician's son. "Though I have to admit, it doesn't really make sense for two _'kids'_ to be doing the police's job."

"A valid argument. I'm not sure if there's really anything we can do about it." Ciel said. "If he finds out, he finds out. We can't quell his suspicions, either. They've become too deeply-rooted for that to be able to work anymore."

"So, we wait and see if he figures it out?" asked Audrey. "That can't _possibly_ go _wrong_." He rolled his eyes even though the others couldn't see them that well. His tone was sarcastic, so they still got the joke.

"Well, if we simply come out and tell him, he's probably not going to believe us." spoke the blonde menace, feeling as though he had been quiet for far too long. " _Most_ people stopped believing in that sort of thing a long time ago."

"Yeah, that's true." Daniel said with a grin. "I mean, who's going to believe that their friends are actually _demo_ -" He was silenced by a swift punch to the shoulder by Kristopherson, as he and the others didn't fail to notice one of the so-called "ignorant two" walk up behind him.

Travis stood there with a surprised look on his face, eyebrows raised and his lips pursed into a small frown. The five others simply stared at him in silence for a moment as they all wondered if he had heard their conversation. The tall Sullivan boy's face relaxed from it's surprised state, and shifted into his normal, somewhat neutral expression.

 _"'Demons'?"_ he echoed. Daniel looked away from the others, feeling guilty for even putting that out there. While it was doubtful that the boy would believe that from just a small fragment of a conversation, it was still possible. The others all internally scrambled, trying to formulate an excuse, but as it turns out, that wasn't nessecary.

"So... _You all knew too?"_

" _Huh?"_ was the only thing that the others could say. They were completely dumbfounded by the the usually silent boy's statement.

"What? Knew what?" asked Daniel nervously. " _Whatchoo talkin' 'bout, Travis?"_

" _That Ciel and Alois were demons?"_ Travis replied, arching an eyebrow. He didn't entirely appreciate the blank stares he was getting, but he could somewhat understand, all the same.

"Wait, wait, wait." said Kristopherson, rubbing his head. "You _knew?_ Since _when?"_

"Since last year. I didn't really think it was any of my business, though. If they didn't want to tell me, I wouldn't bring it up, and since none of _you_ did, I figured I was the only one who figured it out."

None of them could argue with that. How could they? They were all stunned. Not only did Travis know, he had known longer than any of them. He had always known, but simply didn't bring it up.

"How'd you figure it out?" asked Audrey, curious as to how the taller boy could have accomplished such a thing, just as everyone else was.

"Well, It actually started _before_ I even met them." the boy began, trying his best to articulate his tale. "Going through class pictures of some family members, I noticed a few times that there was one boy who was always the same in several of them; same name and everything. I didn't get it at first, but I thought Ciel always looked kind of familiar, and after awhile, I remembered that."

"But why _demons?_ Maybe he's a _time-traveler_ , or something." stated Kristopherson, folding his arms.

 _"I saw Alois form a contract in the library, one day._ He _said_ he was a demon. _"_ said Travis. Immediately, all eyes shifted away from him and to the blonde. Alois looked around nervously, deliberately avoiding the bluenette's gaze, as he knew the Phantomhive boy was giving him an angry look.

" _What?!"_ the blonde menace asked. "I was _hungry!_ I hadn't eaten yet _ever!"_

"You _ate_ another student's _soul?"_ asked Daniel. "That's pretty _sick..."_

"It's not like we're your _'fairy godmother'_ who'll grant wishes for _free!"_ added Alois. " _Human food_ isn't _filling_ at all!"

"You can't just go around eating people's _souls!"_

"That's why I formed a _contract!_ Duh! It's fine if it's _consensual_ soul-snatching!" Daniel was about to say something else, but Audrey placed a hand on his shoulder and stopped him.

"They're _demons_. That's what they _do,_ Daniel." said the boy in the skull beanie.

"Do you want us to _starve to death?_ " asked the bluenette, folding his arms. "It's alright, once and a while. It's only necessary once every one-hundred years, or so."

"Still, it's... _creepy_." Daniel said with a small shudder.

"You think that's bad? Try being there for the actual _signing_. I had _nightmares..."_ spoke Travis, rubbing his forehead.

"Don't worry, we won't eat _your_ souls..." the blonde said with a grin, "...Unless, of course, you _want_ us to!" The others looked at the two demons for a moment, all taking that in fir a moment before Audrey spoke.

 _"How_ exactly _do_ you take someone's soul?" he asked, causing the demonic duo's faces to immediately change to a slightly more pinkish hue. This reaction, of course, simply sparked further interest in the others.

" _You sick freaks..."_ Daniel said, causing the bluenette to immediately stop him from saying anything else.

"What the bloody _hell_ are _you_ thinking?" asked the Phantomhive boy, furrowing his brow and firing an "ice-beam" off in the direction of the brown-haired lad's direction. "It's called a _demon's kiss,_ for a r _eason_ , you know."

"You're also _dementors?"_ asked Audrey.

"Oh, so you didn't get Alois' first kiss, then, did you, Phantomhive?" asked Kristopherson.

"No, no! Those two things _aren't the same at all_ , so that time _didn't count!"_ Alois intervened before the bluenette became tempted to _tear someone's head off_.

"Maybe I was wrong," said Daniel. "Maybe _Alois_ is the one who has _Ciel_ on a leash."

" _Do you want to die?!"_ demanded the bluenette.

"Whoa, whoa, heel, Ciel! Stay! That's a _good boy!"_ the blonde said while jokingly stroking the Phantomhive boy's hair.

" _Stop it..."_

 


	181. Dance of the Horribles

As the holidays grow nearer, Warwick gets ready by decorating the parts of the campus that the snow had missed. Depending what teacher you had, you may walk into a classroom with a Christmas tree, only to walk into another with a manora. Other Warwiccan traditions include the "Holiday Dance" that students from both Warwick, and their rival school, Tamworth academy would attend. This tradition was set in place due to the spirit of unity that most holidays of the season seemed to embody or encourage, hopefully to promote peace between the two schools.

Alas, this is usually not the case. Usually, the festivities would end as soon as fights began to break out due to the bitterness of unclear origin between Warwick and Tamworth. The students of Warwick were known to the Tamworthians as being stuck-up and pretentious, while Tamwortians to the Warwiccans were considered brutish delinquents.

No one really knows why the schools have such a spiteful history. Rumor has it that the founders of each school were old friends who had a falling out of sorts, and that is the reason for this long-lived hatred. A certain bluenette boy, however, had no interest in such a feud, as it was "childish and silly".

"You're not going to the dance, Ciel?" asked a certain politician's son, leaning with his hands on the seated boy's desk, as he interrogated him.

"Probably not." replied the bluenette. "I don't really care for dancing..."

"Not even with _me?"_ called the familiar voice of a certain blonde, wrapping his arms around the bluenette's neck in a loose hug. The Phantomhive boy somewhat faltered at recalling the memories of the two dancing together. Ciel cleared his throat and furrowed his brow at the question.

"It can be fun _sometimes_ , I suppose..." he said, causing a small giggle to bubble from the blonde's throat. "I'm still not quite a fan, however."

"People don't really go to dances to _dance,_ anyway." said Daniel. "Most people just go to hang out."

"Surely there's better places in _London_ to _'hang out'."_ replied the bluenette while pawing at the blonde's hands. Alois apparently thought it would be "funny" to play with the boy's hair and tickle his neck.

"I guess that's true, but from the looks of Alois, I'd say he'd like to go." Daniel said with a smile. He was simply trying to pin the bluenette into a corner for his own amusement.

"Why don't you focus on trying to find your _own_ date?"

"I just can't seem to find any takers. I wonder if Anastasia would like to go..."

"Probably not. She's with _Lawrence_ now." said the blonde menace in a matter-of-fact tone. The son of a politician seemed taken aback by this.

"You've got to be _shitting_ me!" he said to the blonde at an unnecessarily loud volume.

"Go ahead and ask around. There's Kris right now. He'll tell you." Alois replied, gesturing toward the boy in the pink tie.

"Fine, but if I find out you're lying, I will fuckin _' end you!"_ the brown-haired boy said, leaving to walk over to their friend. As soon as he was gone, though, Alois began to giggle. Ciel immediately knew what that meant.

"You _lied,_ didn't you?" the bluenette asked.

"Yeah, but it was _funny,_ huh?" replied the blonde, causing Ciel to smile a bit.

"You do know that as soon as he says that you told him that, Kris is going to play along, right?" he asked, already knowing the answer.

"Naturally! If everything plays out right, he'll tell Daniel to ask Anastasia directly! _That'll be a laugh, won't it?"_

"You're _horrible_."

"I know, but that's just one of the many things you _love_ about me!"

"It feels like I'm only _encouraging_ you by doing so."

"It's okay, because you're _'horrible'_ too. We're _horrible_ to our friends, we're _horrible_ to each other, we're just _horrible_ people!"

"You seem almost _proud_ of that fact."

"Of course." said the blonde. "That's just my way of showing _affection_."

"I'd hate to see how you treat people you _don't_ like." replied the bluenette. "So, about this dance... Do you want to go?" Alois thought for a moment, and the looked to the bluenette again to answer.

"Maybe. It could be cool to see what the modern-equivalent to a ball is like." he said before adding: "Only if you're willing to go, though."

"How could I not? Leaving you alone at a dance would be absolutely _absurd_." Ciel said, turning his head around to face the blonde. When he did this, however, the blonde took the opportunity to peck him on the lips.

 _"Public displays of affection_ are _against school rules_ , Trancy." said a familiar, cynical voice. Ciel turned his head back the other way to see a faux-blonde boy wearing a pink tie standing in front of his desk.

"You're _no fun,_ Kris!" the naturally fair-haired boy said, his grasp around the bluenette's neck never wavering.

"Too bad. _I'm not even sorry_." Kristopherson said. "Why'd you tell Daniel that Anna is dating Lawrence?"

"For _my own sick, twisted amusement_." Alois replied. "Wha'd you tell him?"

"I told him to ask _her_ , of course. Watching him fail is sure to be _funny_."

"You're _both horrible_." said the bluenette. "Is it a blonde thing?"

"Who knows? Does that make Kris _less horrible_ than me since he bleaches his hair?" asked Alois.

"Almost _everyone_ is _'less horrible'_ than you, Alois." commented the boy in the pink tie. "Oh, I was wondering, will Amelie be acting as ' _security_ ' for the dance? She'd probably be great at breaking up a fight."

"That can be arranged, but do realize, if she _bites_ anyone, we may have to kill them." said the bluenette.

"That's _harsh_. Are you going?"

 _"Possibly_. I can't leave Alois there on his own, and I'm not sure if I trust Amelie by herself either."

"You know some pretty _troublesome_ people, Phantomhive..."

"You have _no idea,_ Miles..."

"Oh! Are you going to the dance, Kris?" Alois asked suddenly. "You gonna go with that rugby player from Tamworth?"

" _Cameron?_ N-no. Why would I go with _him?"_ the faux-blonde asked, crossing his arms.

"Dunno. It just seems like you might _fancy_ each other or something."

"I do _not!"_

_"Can~ You feel~ The love~ Tonight~?"_

_"Shut up, Trancy!"_

_"That. Girl. Is on fire~!"_

_"What the hell?! That doesn't even make sense!"_

"Ladies, please..." began the Phantomhive boy. "... _You're both pretty."_

 


	182. A Discussion of an Amorous Nature

The next day came around, and the demonic duo once again found themselves at Warwick Academy. They walked to their classroom in no particular hurry, as always. Mr. Irons was usually a few minutes late anyway, so it didn't entirely matter if they arrived at the chime of the bell. Up the staircase to the third-floor, they went, taking care to avoid those students who were actually _concerned_ about being tardy, but when they got to the third-floor hallway, they began to her the erratic _thumping_ of feet hitting the linoleum floors as someone ran straight at them after walking for a short distance.

Alois looked over his shoulder to see who it was while continuing to keep his pace with the bluenette, only to discover that they knew the one who was currently breaking one of the most well-known school rules by running in the hallway. It was Daniel Westley who was charging straight at them. The blonde saw this coming, of course, as a result of the lie he told the politician's son the previous day. He and the bluenette stopped for a moment to allow the lad to catch up, since continuing to walk would only postpone the inevitable.

Daniel tried to slow down, managing to bring himself to an abrupt stop, yet passing the two demons by a foot or so in the process. He quickly turned to face the pair, yet oddly, he didn't appear to be angry, like the impression he had given. No, instead of a frown, a large, stupid grin was plastered across his face, much to the confusion of the others. Had he not threatened Alois just the day before that he would "end" the blonde menace had he found out that the information he was giving was in fact, a _lie?_

"In your _face_ , Trancy!" Daniel declared, pointing with his finger annoyingly close to the blonde's visage.

"What?" Alois asked, arching an eyebrow. He hadn't the fainest idea as to what the human boy was talking about.

"You tought you could make me look like an ass with your _lie,_ but guess who came out on top, instead? That's right! _I did!"_ replied the son of a politician. "Kristopherson might have played along and told me to ask Anastasia directly, and maybe I did, but even still, everything worked to _my_ advantage, because _I_ have a _date_ to the dance!"

"Oh, I thought you were talking about something _important_." the blonde said.

"How is that _not_ count as _'important'?"_ Daniel asked, putting his hands in the air. He followed as the demonic duo began to walk again.

"It's not _my_ date."

"Is _'the cyclops'_ even going?"

"I'm not a _cyclops..."_ interrupted the bluenette. While he got the joke, he didn't especially appreciate being compared to such a _brutish_ mythological monster. "...I'm a _demon."_

"But does _'the devil'_ dance?" asked Daniel, doing some odd, awkward "fast-walk" in order to keep up with the other lads.

" _Seldom."_ replied Ciel in what almost sounded like a " _hiss_ ".

The Phantomhive boy had arranged for the two "maids" of his household to work as security for the dance, as dances between Warwick and Tamworth famously end in someone getting hurt, and he simply didn't trust the two on their own at such a large event. One of them was a nearly-starved vampire, and the other was a vicious, ill-manered werewolf, and they would be in a crowded area filled with human-beings for several hours. Charlotte would listen to Sebastian, but Amelie would immediately feel compelled to rebel, and the wolf girl only saw the blonde menace as a "playmate" rather than an authority figure. Thus, Ciel had to go, being the only person who both girls would listen to. He didn't particularly care for going, but the bluenette's presence alone seemed to encourage them to behave, it would seem, and while he wouldn't admit, as it made him feel silly, he was partially going because Alois hinted at wanting to.

"Are your _dancing_ skills like your _swimming_ skills?" the brown-haired human-boy asked, earning a playful punch to the shoulder. He continued to rub the now sore spot as they walked into the classroom, where the others were already waiting.

Audrey was sitting at his desk, playing some game on his _Nintendo DS_ while Preston watched, shouting advice over the lad's shoulder, and Travis appeared to be doodling in his notebook as he waited for something interesting to happen. Kristopherson simply sat at his own desk, messing with his cellphone, which was famously of a pinkish hue. None of them really seemed to be having that great of a time as they were, so of course Daniel went up to them in order to stir up some trouble while the demonic duo took their own seats.

"What are all of you doing, moping about? It's almost _Christmas,_ you sad-sacks!" the politician's son said. " _You'll make Jesus cry!"_

" _Sorry, Jesus."_ Kristopherson said, pressing one final button on his phone before carefully placing it on his desk. He kept it close to his hand, specifically because Daniel might begin to feel mischievous, and take it. "I'm just not that into the holidays."

"Yeah, Christmas isn't as _fun_ , once you figure out _Santa_ isn't real." said Audrey, his green and yellow eyes never straying from the small screen in his hands.

"I know, right? It takes most of the excitement out of it." said the boy in the pink tie, tapping his fingers on the desk.

" _Santa isn't real?"_ asked Daniel, immediately earning the shocked looks of his friends. "Calm down! I was _joking!"_

"We wouldn't put you _above_ that, Dan." said Preston, tearing his eyes away from the Audrey's screen for a moment in order to shoot the brown-haired boy a patronizing look, something that the boy. in turn, frowned at.

"Piss off, Preston! You're getting coal!" Daniel said back, pointing a finger at the Indian boy in an accusing manner, an action that only earned him a rolling of eyes.

The discussion was immediately dropped when the phone on the faux-blonde's desk began to vibrate. Kristopherson had it set that way, so as to not disturb others when it went off, an action that was performed in vain, as the small, handheld device shuddered violently, clattering against the desk. The boy in the pink tie quickly grabbed it before Daniel could, knowing full-well that the boy's intention of lunging at the device was to take a peek at his messages. His face immediately reddened when he read the text he had received. His friends simply stared at him.

"What is it?" asked Alois, unable to contain his curiosity. If something was able to fluster the faux-blonde, he definitely wanted to know what it was, as did everyone else. They had seen the lad's face turn _pink_ before, but never _red._ Kristopherson's widened, brown eyes strayed from the device in order to answer, but became even more hesitant as he saw that the other six were staring at him intently.

" _Uh... I-I, uh_..." he began, trying to remember how to speak again. " _C-Cameron just asked me to the dance..."_ The others were silent for a moment _,_ pausing to look at each other before looking back to the faux-blonde.

"Isn't that a _good_ thing?" asked Audrey, pressing the "pause" button and resuming his game.

"Yeah, you've moved up from _'bootycall',_ to _'date'!"_ said Daniel with a grin.

 _"I was never his bootycall!"_ the boy in the pink tie insisted. "Wh-what am I supposed to say, though?"

"Just say _'yes',_ you _half-wit."_ Alois said, oddly being the voice of reason in this situation.

_"It's not that easy!"_

"Chill out, Kris, it totally _is_ that easy on your end." spoke the boy in the skull beanie. "Think about how _he_ must be feeling, being the to _ask_. He's probably freaking out."

" _I-I guess..."_ Kritopherson said reluctantly, looking back to the pink mobile in his hand.

"You should probably _hurry_ , before he thinks you're going to say _'no'_." Preston added.

"You know you'll just regret it if you let this chance slip." the eye-patched bluenette spoke up, his insight causing the blonde menace to look at him with a stupid grin. Alois immediately understood what Ciel was talking about.

"Want me to send it _for_ you?" asked the fair-haired demon, extending his arm to the pink-wearing human-boy and flexing his fingers.

"No! I can do it myself!" Kristopherson said defensively. He didn't trust _Alois Trancy_ to play with his phone, and _wisely_ so.

" _Do it! Do it! Do it!"_ the Trancy and Westley lads obnoxiously chanted as Kristopherson furrowed his brow in frustration an typed.

"There! I sent it! _Happy?!"_ the boy in the pink tie snapped.

 _"Ecstatic."_ said Alois, leaning back in his chair and facing the bluenette. "I find your silence _disturbing_. Plotting _world domination,_ are we?"

" _Definitely."_ Ciel joked back. The dance was only a matter of days, and everyone simply knew that it would be a night to remember.

 


	183. The Envelope

Ciel sat in his office, in the early evening, it an ordinary black suit with a blue tie, as the event they were going to was semi-formal, while he waited for the blonde menace to get ready. In truth, Ciel was quite nervous. He had never actually gone to a school dance before, as it has never held any actual interest to him. He didn't know what they were like at all. It was all so foreign, the social territory of modern teenagers. In a way, it made him feel old, but at the same time, wasn't that perfectly alright?

Refusal to waste time on such frivolities was standard Phantomhive practice, yet all of this seems to be slowly abandoned as of late, due to the arrival of a certain blonde lad. To Ciel, it was a complete anomaly, how his former nemesis had gone from making him feel nothing but anger and spite, to feelings of affection and whimsy. Maybe these were all just signs of the _Queen's old Guard Dog_ going _soft,_ and losing his _bite_. This was a thought that the bluenette grimaced at, knowing nothing but cold, bitterness and detachment for so many years. His thoughts on the matter were brought to a halt, however, as he heard knocking at the door.

"Come in." he said in his usual disinterested tone, arching an eyebrow at the somewhat early-appearance of the blonde menace from behind the door. He had expected the blonde to dawdle for ten more minutes at the least.

"Hullo~!" Alois greeted, smiling at the bluenette as he entered the office. Ciel grunted in order to acknowledge the boy's existence in his usual manner, trying his best to uphold the illusion of indifference, but struggling somewhat due to the blonde's attire.

It wasn't anything outrageous or anything of the sort. No, it was in fact the opposite, being a plain, black suit, similar to that of the bluenette's, only instead of a blue tie, his was purple. They were both simply wearing their "mission clothes", as they didn't see the point in going out to buy something new for the event. Still, Ciel never could resist ogling the blonde lad a bit in his unusually masculine attire. The bluenette kicked himself slightly whenever he caught himself doing this. Alois was supposed to be the "girl", right? So, how was it that whenever he dressed in an unusually boyish manner, the bluenette found him to be especially attractive? It always made Ciel question his sexual preferences a bit. He had never planned on being a homosexual, and figured that if he were at least _bisexua_ l, he would be at least somewhat " _normal"._ Perhaps this was still his old Victorian-era values hindering him once more.

"Ready to go?" asked the blonde, bringing the bluenette's thoughts to an abrupt halt yet again. Judging by the grin plastered on his face, he was aware of where the other boy's visible eye was focused on.

"Yes," Ciel replied, standing up from his seat and walking toward the door. "Have you remembered everything?"

"Yup. I got my mobile, house-keys, and etcetra on me!"answered Alois, trying his best to contain his excitement.

"Then we should get going, then. I don't trust _those two_ on their own for long." the bluenette said, walking down the hallway with the blonde to his side. It was quiet for a few moments, but then, that silence was shattered to pieces by the blonde menace.

"You're wearing _that suit_ , huh?" he said with a grin.

 _"What_ suit?" asked the Phantomhive boy, confusedly. "What are you talking about?"

"Oh, I didn't tell you, huh?" the blonde asked innocently. "I like that suit. It looks good on you." he said, causing the other boy to blush slightly.

 _"It also makes your butt look cute."_ Alois continued, making the bluenette's blush darken, and encouraging him to shoot him a mean look that was only laughed off. With a giggle, the fair-haired demon began to dash down the halls in a race that only he seemed to know about until the bluenette began to chase him.

Eventually, they made it downstairs and met up with the man who would be driving them to the school that evening. Ciel immediately reverted back to his "serious" self upon reuniting with the butler. He never liked showing that he could in fact, act like a child in front of Sebastian. Perhaps it was because he was supposed to be the supreme authority of the household, and wanted to be taken seriously, or perhaps it was because he was self-conscious about never maturing physically, either way, the boy didn't like it. While the man in question did, in fact, notice the bluenette's childish outbursts that he would occasionally let loose, Sebastian pretended not to notice, keeping his own amusement at the sight to himself in order to respect the young lord's wishes.

The trio of demons piled into the car, and set course for Warwick Academy. The school looked exactly the same as it did last time they were there at night, only there was a lack of outdoor lighting, due to the fact that the event wasn't held outside in the cold. The shadows that seemed to reach up the walls of the building's exterior the previous time, now completely enveloped the campus, aside from a portion of area near the dance hall. As they got closer, they began to hear the muffled sounds of the pounding music that seemed to shake the walls of the building.

As they walked even closer, up to the doors, to be exact, they began recognizing a few faces, while being completely lost at the identity of others. They simply assumed that the ones that didn't look familiar were Tamworthians, and that was the only thing they could do in order to distinguish between students of the two schools, as none of them were in uniform. Some of them wore their school colours in order to distinguish between their two "teams", however, and those were generally the people that security was instructed to keep an eye on, as they were considered to be the most likely initiators of "trouble". They were generally also the ones who were performing- _ahem_ , " _inappropriate"_ dance moves on the floor, much to the disgust of the demonic duo.

Even Alois, who was considered to be quite perverse, was offended. In fact, it was _Alois_ who wasn't sure were to put his eyes upon entering the establishment. If he looked in one direction, he was nearly blinded by flashing, multi-coloured lights, and in another, there was borderline pornographic dancing between minors, which he found to be more than "a little" disturbing. His disturbed feelings were only made worse with the obnoxious sound of heavy bass assaulting his eardrums. It was so heavy, he couldn't even consider it "music" due to the fact that it was the only thing he could actually hear from the speakers, causing the ground to quake slightly underneath his feet, much to his confusion.

He simply covered his ears and closed his eyes, not knowing what else to do with himself. All he knew at that moment was that he wanted this anxious feeling he was experiencing to stop. This wasn't "fun". It was frightening. The ground was shaking, the music that was less than such, and more of a series of displeasing sounds, were deafening, the lights that ironically failed to properly illuminate the room were blinding, and the people around him had turned into wild animals. It was as though he had stepped into some twisted, alternate dimension, or even _hell,_ rather than a social event.

Closing his eyes only lessened the impact of the harsh lights. He could still see them through his eyelids. Covering his ears only slightly muffled the thunderous sounds. He could still hear them. He could even feel the vibrations in his feet. The only defense he knew existed at that moment had failed, leaving him to ponder what he was supposed to do next.

The blonde was snapped back into reality by the feeling of slight pressure resting on his shoulder,pressing the fabric of his wardrobe against his skin, and radiating faint heat that barely made it past his jacket. He forced open an eye in order to look in the direction the feeling was originating from, setting his sights on a certain bluenette boy, who looked at him with a concerned look on his face. It was then that the blonde realized how odd he must've looked at that moment; how out-of-place, and out-of-character he must have looked. The blonde forced his hands away from his ears, and his eyelids open in order to look at the other boy with a faux-smile and a nervous laugh.

 _"Are you alright?"_ Ciel asked, leaning a bit closer to the boy so he could hear him over the music.

"Huh? O-oh, yeah... It's just a little... _Overwhelming_ , is all." replied the blonde menace, trying his best to speak in a tone that would ease the other lad's worries, but failing miserably.

"We don't have to stay, you know." the bluenette said, grabbing onto the blonde's hand and squeezing it lightly.

"But what about Amelie and Charlotte?" Alois asked, remembering the excuse that Ciel had fed him. He too, was uncertain as to whether or not leaving the Vampire and werewolf on their own (,Or as he would call them: " _the leech and the poodle",)_ was a good idea or not.

"Well, then why don't we try to find the others, so we can ignore this racket?" the bluenette answered with a question of his own. "I really don't understand modern teenagers anymore..."

"Neither do I, but that sounds like a pretty good idea..." the blonde said, carefully watching the other boy's face as the lights flashed different colours on it's side, casting odd shadows every now and then across it. He unconsciously leaned closer, and the bluenette did the same, watching the same phenomena take place across the blonde's visage.

"There'll be none of that!" called a harsh voice, startling the duo. They looked to their side, and saw Mister Irons standing there, giving them a stern look. The man held up two fingers and pointed at his eyes for a second before rotating his wrist so that the fingers pointed at the lads. He did this as if to say "I'm watching you." It was then that the boys had realized that school rules probably applied here as well, yet it begged the question as to why he wasn't stopping the provocative dancing taking place on the floor. Perhaps the problem was just at too great of a scale in order to realistically tackle.

The duo simply each gave the man an awkward smile and nodded in order to acknowledge that they understood. They then retreated to parts unknown in the large dance-hall in search of the rest of the sensational seven. They found Kristopherson, but left him be, as he was busily talking to Cameron with odd enthusiasm. They felt happy for the boy, and oddly disturbed by his unusual behaviour at the same time. They found Daniel, but left him be as well, as he was dancing with Anastasia, them being one of the few pairs on the dance-floor who seemed to show common decency. Last but not least they found Travis and Audrey, and began conversing with them, only to discover the whereabouts of the final member, Preston, who was apparently in the restroom. Much to the demon's relief, simply conversing seemed to tone down the feeling of chaos in the room.

Meanwhile, just as a certain lad was exiting the bathroom, he was approached by a strange man, the likes of which he has never met. The man wore an olive-coloured turtleneck, and a denim jacket, along with cargo pants and heavy-duty boots; certainly causing him to stand out more than just "slightly". He appeared to be in his early twenties, with golden hair and bright green eyes, but it was the way in which he spoke that really surprised the boy.

"Excuse me, but do you know someone called ' _Ciel Phantomhive'?"_ the man asked in a slight _German accent_.

"Y-yeah, I know him. Why?" inquired Preston, hesitantly. If such an odd person was looking for the Phantomhive boy, it certainly couldn't be _good_. Yet, the man smiled happily at the lad's answer, and reached into his pocket before pulling out an envelope.

"Can you give this to him for me?" the man asked, holding the object out to the boy. "It very important." The boy took the envelope, noticing that it wasn't particularly heavy or anything, most likely only containing a small note. However, the mysterious contents of the note was what worried Preston, knowing that it could have anything to do with murders, or spy missions, or terrorist threats, or practically anything grave and dangerous.

"Alright..." he said finally, eying the plain white envelope. "I'll give it to him."

"Thank you, so much!" the man said with a smile. "I'll be counting on you." And with that, he turned and left the building as if he were never there.

Preston stared at the envelope for a moment, contemplating what could be inside. He considered opening it, but then the bluenette would probably kill him for looking at some top-secret documents or something. He couldn't help but have a feeling that this dance was going to take a turn for the worse at any moment.

* * *

 


	184. A Deliquent's Wrath

Although the night hadn't started off that well, the demonic duo was having a pretty decent time just talking to Travis and Audrey. Now they were able to ignore the obnoxious atmosphere in the room and occupy their interest, rather than simply stand around and feel awkward. When the conversation turned to the dance itself, however, they learned a few important tips.

"...Just be sure you don't drink the punch." said Travis, folding his arms. "The kids from Tamworth spiked it early on. Several of them have already been kicked out."

"What on earth is _wrong_ with them?" asked the bluenette, shaking his head.

"Who knows? Tamworth kids are just _weird."_ said Audrey, putting his hands in his pockets. "Notice that the majority of the _pervs_ on the dance-floor are from _Tamworth_ , not _Warwick."_

"Just as long as no one starts anything, we should all be fine." Ciel said. "Unfortunately, from the stories I've heard about previous dances _, that probably won't be the case."_

"Yeah, apparently, about ten kids on both sides got kicked out last year because of a brawl. Someone supposedly looked at someone else's girlfriend ' _the wrong way'."_ spoke Travis.

"What a bunch of _idiots_..." The bluenette said before noticing yet another familiar face out of the corner of his eye. Following his eye, the others saw Preston trying to navigate the treacherous crowd and make his way over to his friends, experiencing nothing but absolute difficulty in the process.

He tried to politely squeeze in between other individuals, but they seemed to pay him no mind, causing him to begin forcing a path. Mysterious envelope in hand, he made haste in reaching his destination, only to be blocked by a human barricade of Tamworth students. Now, Preston had heard all of the rumors about the school, about how it was simply for all of the rambunctious children who managed to get kicked out of Warwick, yet he pressed on, forcing his way through the barrier in order to deliver the message in his hand to the Phantomhive boy. In the process, however, he accidentally shoved one of the Tamworth boys a bit too roughly, and being the polite individual he is, he immediately turned to the boy in order to apologize for his lapse of judgement, only to look up and see that he recognized the boy. His name was Walter; _Walter Hackett._

Yes, Walter Hackett, the child actor famous for his role as the antagonist in the popular film _, "Devil Butler",_ and it's sequel that would be released the following year. He was also the lad who had so viciously bullied Preston and the rest of the sensational seven earlier in the year, harassing them with his team of accomplices, only to be kicked out when his shenanigans were brought to the attention of Warwick school officials by the demonic duo. He was still apparently trying to pull off that "punk rock" look he was going for, the only difference in his appearance now being that the highlights in his hair were gone, presumably due to the fact that filming on his recent movie had just ended, and they obviously didn't have pink hairdye in the 1800s.

The boy obviously recognized the Indian boy as well, scrunching his nose at the boy and furrowing his brow, almost to the point were it looked like he was snarling. Preston quickly spouted a quick "sorry" before trying to escape to the safety of his group, only to be brought to a halt by the menacing boy. Walter had grabbed his shoulder and spun him around before giving the Indian boy a shove.

"What was that?!" Walter asked in a harsh tone, "You said _'sorry'?_ No, no, no! _'Sorry'_ doesn't cut it from Warwick-rubbish like you! _You shove me, I beat you."_

"I didn't mean to!" said Preston, holding up his hands in surrender. He wasn't going to be able to fight a bunch of Tamworth boys on his own, and he knew it. He saw his friends begin to move towards them, setting his nerves at ease, slightly to know he had backup. Still, that didn't change the fact that their was a rather irate actor in front of him and his thugs, threatening to flatten him.

"Hey! Pay attention to me when I'm talking to you, _'Whorewick'!"_ the Tamworth boy shouted, raising his leg to kick the boy while he was down. Yet, he stopped. Why? _Because the scent of roses had suddenly filled the air._

"What are you doing, _Wally?"_ a familiar voice called to him. "You do know if _security_ catches you, you'll be shown to the door, right?" It was none other than the Tamworth lad's co-star and _former_ friend, _Lawrence Rose,_ famous for his role as Cecil Hauntington, the protagonist of the movie " _Devil Butler"_ and it's upcoming sequel. He was dressed as dashing as usual, with his favourite combination of red and green in his attire, mixed in with more subtle colours in order for it to not be so flamboyant. The Tamworth boy furrowed his brow at the lad's appearance.

"Piss off, Rose! I've had enough of you on the set! Furthermore, this is none of your business!" he replied, causing the other actor to raise his eyebrows in surprise. Then, with a sigh, Lawrence gave his answer.

"I know we haven't been on the _best_ of terms, as of late, but I would appreciate it if you would begin to _think_ about the consequences of your actions every once in a while." He discreetly waved his hand at Preston, signalling for him to make his escape while Walter was distracted, and with a slight nod, the boy heeded the actor's advice, and retreated toward his friends.

"Are you alright?" asked Audrey, his eyes slightly visible through his bangs.

"Yeah." replied the Indian boy, trying to catch his breath. "I really need to remember to _thank_ Lawrence later!" He looked back over to the actor, who was still speaking with his agitated co-star, trying to make the best of the situation.

"What's _that_?" Travis inquired, pointing at the slightly crumpled envelope in the lad's hands. Preston quickly tried to flatten it out, managing to straighten out the major wrinkles.

"O-oh, I forgot..." he said, holding out the paper container to the bluentte. "This is for you. Some bloke came up to me and told me to give it to you." He released the envelope only when he felt that it was secure in the eye-patched teen's hand, and watched as the boy eyed it before slowly opening it.

"What did they look like?" asked Alois, wondering if he knew the stranger that Preston was referring to.

"Well... he was blonde-, golden-blonde, not pale-blonde. He looked older than us, and was dressed completely wrong for a dance." Preston began. "He also had a German accent. Do you know him?" Alois furrowed his brow in thought for a moment as the bluenette read the message to himself.

"Nope. _Doesn't ring any bells_." the blonde said. "What about you, Ciel?"

Ciel looked up for a moment with an expression that made it obvious that he wasn't really listening to the conversation. He was too busy reading, in order to understand what they were saying with much clarity, especially over the horrible music that was blaring in the background. He lazily folded the piece of paper and slid it into the inner-pocket of his jacket.

"Yes, I've met him." he said, not looking the least bit concerned. "We didn't speak directly, but he was working under our _target_ during our previous mission, Alois." Ciel turned to the others. "Something has come up. We're going to have to step out for a bit." The others immediately knew that it was something of importance.

"Alright. Take care." said Audrey, giving the demonic duo a small wave.

"We'll inform _'security'_ to watch the students while you work." said Travis.

"If you would be so kind?" replied the Phantomhive boy. "That would be extremely helpful." With that, he turned to walk away fro the group, blonde menace in tow. Before they could make their escape, however, they were stopped by Preston.

"What is it?" he asked, a concerned look on his face. "What's going on?"

"We'll tell you later, _maybe_." Alois called back before turning to follow the bluenette again. This didn't do one single thing to calm the human-boy's nerves. Thus, the demonic duo left the dance hall.

They walked away from the deafening music, the blinding lights, and the animal-people inside the building into the crisp night air, looking up at the murky sky without being able to see one single made their way to their destination, the roof, were they would be meeting their appointment. Ciel had simply informed the blonde boy on their way up the situation and who they were most-likely meeting, along with the potential dangers that came with attending this meeting.

With every word the boy spoke, Alois only became more and more excited, eager to prove once and for all his worth. No matter how many times he was told by the bluenette that it was unnecessary, the blonde would never accept that. That was simply too easy for someone who was so " _nearly perfect_ " to say to someone who was not. Alois had an inferiority-complex when it came to the other boy, that was too deeply rooted in order to budge. He was simply itching for a chance to reaffirm himself, and would try at practially any given opportunity.

They made it to the dimly lit rooftop of the gymnasium, just as the note had instructed, and came face-to-face with two shady figures who they presumed had sent him the note. One was the German man who had given Preston the message, and the other an older man with a somewhat flat face. Both men were familiar to the bluenette, as he had seen them on the smuggling vessel, guarding his target at the time, _Victor Beatie_.

"You called for me?" the bluenette asked the two men in a bored tone that matched his expression.

"Yes." said the younger man with the golden hair. "Ve have business vith you, _'Queen's Guard-Dog';_ Ciel Phantomhive."

"Let's hear it, then. I don't have all night." the eye-patch-wearing demon said with a smirk, knowing full-well what the duo were after. He knew the look in their eyes. Even though they were hardly visible due to the darkness, his demon-eyes could see them. He knew that look, and he knew it well. Only one type of person had eyes like those. Those were the eyes of men who lusted after _revenge._

The younger man's eye twitched in annoyance at the lad's expression, yet he smiled a sort of haughty, arrogant smile that gave the impression that he truly believed in his victory. He reached both hands into the insides of his jacket, pulling out two large pistols, each with a bayonet-like projection on the bottom of the barrell, like there were knives attached to his guns. The other man reached into his pockets, pulling out nothing fancy, but a weapon that required nerve to use. The man in the Hawaiian shirt revealed brass knuckles with small rounded spikes on the end, slipping them on like rings onto his fingers. The two men assumed their own unique fighting-stances, and the younger of the two spoke.

"Even if you're only a child, ve vill never forgive you for vhat you did to Victor!" he shouted, readying himself for battle. "My name is _Heinrich Stumer_ , and this is _Floyd Hopkins._ Remember our names vell, because those vill be the names of your _killers!"_

With that, the man lunged.

 


	185. It's My Right To Fight

Ciel moved just in time to dodge the bayonet on the end of Heinrich's pistol. The man attacked from below, swinging upward, but cutting nothing but air. He aimed his weapon's twin at the boy, defending his torso which was otherwise open to attack from his swing, and pulled the trigger, narrowly missing the bluenette's head. He shifted his feet underneath him, preparing his stance for his next set of attacks. The Phantomhive boy reached for his own weapon, the Zamiel, grabbing it's handle and swiftly moving his arm to reveal it.

But then, the scarce light from the moon was blocked. The German's almost gorilla-sized accomplice cocked his arm back and prepared to strike the boy down, distracting him for a moment. Floyd immediately stopped his attack, however, when he felt a weight on his own back. He couldn't see what it was, as the blonde menace had covered his eyes, nor could he shake the boy off, as Alois had his legs wrapped around the man's torso, securing himself.

" _Guess who!"_ the blonde shouted playfully as the man in the Hawaiian shirt flailed his arms about.

 _"Get off, kid!"_ the man roared in his own odd accent, that sounded American to the lad's ears.

"Wrong! _That's not my name!"_ the boy joked, causing the already agitated individual to become more so. "Don't worry, Ciel! _I totally got this!"_

"Like _hell,_ you do!" the bluenette retorted, dodging another slashing movement from his own opponent. Alois opened his mouth to speak, but the man he was currently battling reached back, grabbing the fabric of his coat, and forced him off, tossing him. Alois landed on his feet, and stood up straight again in order to face the man.

His eyes widened when he got a good look at the man's face. Floyd's nose was flat, his eyes were beady, and his chin was square, his face wrinkled, with a scar or two. He looked as though he had to be in his forties, at least, with a bulky build that was mostly muscle. His silhouette alone was enough to put Alois off, and all of it combined really made his blood boil.

The blonde furrowed his brow and grit his teeth, his own eyes becoming sharp at the sight before him. It wasn't "Floyd" who Alois saw before him. No, it was _someone else_ ; someone from his past; someone by the name of _"Trancy_ ". His mind because fogged with the memories of the man, the one who he had once called " _father"._ All of the blood drained from the blonde's face and went to his limbs as he prepared for fight or flight.

Which would he choose? Fight? Flight? _Fight._ The man who he had seen before him was a mortal foe of his, one that wasn't a "beloved" one like the Earl of Phantomhive. No, this foe was one whom he wanted nothing more than to destroy completely. One who Alois would fight until he was ground into dust beneath the blonde's heel.

It was for this reason that the blonde lacked fear when confronting this enemy. He no longer felt the fear he would have when he was human. Now, he felt absolutely nothing but seething hatred for _that_ man. It was for this reason, that Alois _smiled._ At last, he could vanquish this foe of his, and be at peace. He would vanquish this man, who had made him _dirty;_ this man, who had made him _unworthy_ _of being at Ciel's side._ He would expel this force of doubt in his heart. He would tear it out, and destroy it.

Yes, this is why Alois _smiled._ That is why he charged blindly at the man. It was this belief that caused the blonde to not fight as " _Alois Trancy",_ but as _"Jim Macken_ ". He was no longer that frail human boy who couldn't fight against the forces around him, and only be able to work _with_ them in order to achieve his goals. At long last, he would fight; not with tricks or manipulation, but with his _own_ force; his own _will_. He would fight in the way _he_ saw fit. He would fight with _dignity_ , and defend his _pride_. He would fight, and he would _win._

He cocked back his arm and clumsily expelled it forward, striking only the air. He adjusted his footing and swung again, yet the man was able to dodge with ease. In turn, Floyd swung his own arm, hitting the boy on his first try.

The brass knuckles left large, dark purple marks on the boy's skin, due to the driving force behind them. While such an injury would heal in mere moments, that didn't change the fact that the boy still felt pain from it, fortunately dulled due to his supernatural physiology. That single blow completely banished the air from Alois' lungs. He couldn't help but feel discouraged from it. That burning hatred and unyielding confidence he felt before was now replaced with fear as he was, in his mind, reduced to that helpless little boy he was ages ago.

The bluenette was having troubles of his own, as his own opponent was somehow able to keep up with his speed. The German failed to waste even a single movement, never leaving himself open for attack. It was as though he had the entire thing choreographed, the way he fought.

He seldom swung too wide as to keep himself guarded, but when he did so, the weapon in his free hand would prevent entry, and fire at the bluenette while it was difficult for the boy to dodge. He didn't especially want to go all out on the human, but Heinrich was making it extremely difficult for him to do so. He wanted so desperately to look over at the blonde in order to see how the boy was faring on his own, but knew that as soon as he looked away, he would get slashed or shot.

Ciel fired shots from his own pistol at the short range they were at in hopes of at least hindering the man. The German, however, shattered that hope to pieces by deflecting them with his bladed weapon. This thing that was supposedly " _human"_ was the senses and reflexes of _anything but_. The bluenette began to dash sideways in an attempt to cover a larger area, but Heinrich was keeping up, annoyingly mimicking the movement.

Fed up with the game of tag, the bluenette finally decided that he ended it. His eye glowed red, and everything it saw seemed to slow down. They both seemed to do so, and it was because of this, that he was able to register fine details. From the glint in the golden-haired man's green eyes, to every tiny movement he made, Ciel was able to now see it. He extended his arm in order to fire, but waited. He waited for Heinrich to aim his gun at him again. When Heinrich complied, the bluenette pulled the trigger, signalling for time to move normally again.

A bullet ricocheted off of the man's gun. Startled, he dropped it, and it fell over the side of the building onto the lawn below with a small _thud_. The German quickly swung his other arm around in order to compensate, but the weapon in that hand was quickly lost as well, diving to join it's twin.

"You're good, _'Guard-Dog'."_ the man said, turning from watching his gun fall in order to look at the boy again with a smile.

"As are you, _'War-Dog'."_ the bluenette replied, gun still aimed at Heinrich. "Tell me, why exactly is it that you seek revenge for your employer? Is it your own integrity on the line?" Heinrich's smile faded at those words and furrowed his brow.

"You don't know anything, do you, _'Guard-dog'?"_ he asked, almost snarling. "Victor... was a good man. The _best._ He wanted nothing more than for his son to be happy and taken care of, so he worked constantly. He blamed himself up to the very end for what happened to Jonnathan..."

"But why? He wasn't there. _There was nothing he could have done_." the boy replied.

"That is exactly why he blamed himself!" the German shouted angrily. "He regretted not being there to help his son more than anything else! He was desperately trying to find a way to move on, like Jonnathan would've _wanted_ him to! He was still trying to uphold his son's wishes even after he was gone! Victor loved Jonnathan more than anything else; not money, not power, but his own son with all of his heart! A man like that-!" he paused for a moment, looking down at the ground before speaking.

"A man like that... who does horrible crimes, sells weapons that cause nothing but death and destruction, dooming nations, and damning himself to hell, all for the sake of one, single, solitary little boy's happiness and future... is at the very core, _good_ in every sense of the word..." he continued, his voice softer. "All us... we looked up to a man like that... he was proof that in this chaotic, cruel world, that there could be a human being who was still _genuinely kind_. For someone like that to suffer so much... losing that one thing that they were constantly fighting for... and to be cut down before even getting the chance to say _'goodbye'..."_ He looked up, eyes determined, yet on the brink of tears.

 _"...That proves that there really is no hope for this goddamn planet after all!"_ he shouted, clenching his fists. His fingernails left small, crescent-shaped indentions in his skin, yet he didn't care. All he could focus on was the bluenette in front of him. Ciel, lowered his weapon for a moment and said:

" _God doesn't exist_. No matter how much someone prays, nothing will happen; not until they stand up and _make_ it. Human beings must fight for they things that they desire, because God won't simply set them in front of them on a silver platter. It's those human beings who fight for something _more_ , who truly _live._ Should they fall in the process, they will have lived to the fullest, giving life everything they had." Ciel raised his weapon again and continued.

" _That_ was Victor Beatie. _His_ fight was a noble one, as his intentions were pure. He only the happiness and welfare of _others_ in his heart, but is _your_ fight noble? Are you fighting for _Victor,_ or are you fighting for _you?_ Is this what _he_ would have wanted? He told you to _escape,_ correct? He told you to _live."_

Heinrich blinked, astounded at the lad's words. He was absolutely dumbfounded by them. He stood on the roof of the Warwick gymnasium, completely open to attack, yet that wasn't on his mind at all. No, it was the care with which the boy spoke, that had his attention. Perhaps, the boy _did_ understand, after all.

The German was snapped out of his daze by a voice. This voice wasn't that of the bluenette, nor was it his own. It wasn't that of his accomplice, or of the blonde boy who was currently fighting him. No, this voice was familiar. This voice was kind and playful, yet somewhat cross.

 _"Are you going to go against your orders, Heinrich?"_ it asked, and finally, the man recognized it. It was the voice of his employer, _Victor Beatie._

There, before him, stood the man, just as if he were still alive. He was wearing his usual brown suit, with a blue dress-shirt and no tie, the top two buttons undone. On his right brow was his scar that he had gotten when a deal had gone bad. His face looked slightly scolding, yet still held it's usual, somewhat playful nature, but in his hand, he held the bluenette's gun, and it was still aimed straight at Heinrich.

" _Boss..."_ was all the German could choke out. " _Why_... Why did you _leave_ us? We could've _helped_... _We could've_..."

"No, you _couldn't."_ Victor said, with a gentle smile. "If you continued to fight, you would've all _died,_ and I didn't want that. _I didn't want any more people I care about to die_."

"But it's our _duty_ to _protect_ you! _You're_ not supposed to protect _us!"_

"I know. But I don't _care._ I protected you because I _wanted_ to. Do you think you can forgive me for being so _selfish?"_

 _"It wasn't selfish! There's nothing to forgive!"_ Heinrich said, nearly in tears. His voice began to crack as he spoke, and he looked down at the ground again. _"_ If I can't protect you... or be by your side... what am I supposed to do?" The weapons dealer raised his eyebrows in surprise at the statement, before relaxing them again and smiling.

" _You figure it out_. You have to shape your _own_ path now, Heinrich." he said. "You have to continue _fighting,_ no matter what happens. Do the one thing that I _couldn't_ do."

"But boss-!" began the German, looking up. Only, his employer was no longer there. In his place, was a bluenette boy, wearing an eye-patch.

 _"What will you do, 'War-Dog'?"_ asked the boy, his weapon still aimed. " _What. Will. You. Do?"_

Heinrich hesitated before hesitating, as though he had to think about it. He raised an arm, and wiped the tears that threatened to fall before letting it rest again at his side. Suddenly, he clenched his fists and looked the bluenette in the eye, more determined than ever, and he assumed a fighting stance.

 _"I'm going to fight_." he said, causing the bluenette to smile slightly.

"Very well, then." said Ciel. " _Give it everything you have."_

With that, the German blindly charged forward, making a beeline for the bluenette as if ignoring the fact that the boy had a gun, and Ciel simply let him. He waited for him to get at a certain distance before pulling the trigger, wounding the man in his leg. Heinrich only winced at the sharp pain, yet continued on at a somewhat slower pace than he would have liked. He was going to charge until the bitter end, hole in his leg or not.

A gunshot sounded, and it was then that he felt similar pain in his other leg, causing him to fall forward onto the unyielding rooftop, hands cushioning the fall somewhat, and face scraping against it. He looked up, glaring at the boy who stood only a few feet away, snarling at the fact that he was being looked down upon. Ciel simply turned away from him, focusing his attention elsewhere.

" _You're a bloody fool_." he said, finally. "You get offered the chance to _live_ , and then you _throw it right back_. You're such a _fool."_

"I may be a fool, _'Guard-Dog',"_ Heinrich said. "But at least I can say that I _'lived'."_

"Why in the _past tense?_ You're _still alive_ , aren't you? _Keep it that way."_ Ciel said, focusing his attention on his own associate, feeling somewhat less worried, knowing how he is faring, but still so as he saw the condition the boy was in.

Alois had blood coming out of his nose, and the corner of his mouth, smeared slightly across his face from the boy making an attempt to wipe it off, and stains on his suit. He appeared to have taken quite a few hits, yet he was healing quite quickly, which was reassuring. Yet at the same time, the bluenette couldn't help but worry about the fact that the boy was refusing to change into his demonic form in order to defeat his adversary, choosing to instead remain as his "human" self, making the fight last longer. The expression on the boy's face was also alarming, as it wasn't one that Ciel was entirely familiar with. It was an odd mix of determination and anger that graced the blonde's features, as Alois was starting to figure something out.

He was swinging too wide when he attacked, leaving him open to counter-attack. He simply needed to attack _faster_ , hitting with more _frequency_ than _power_ in order to wear his opponent down. He needed to remain calm and think about his attacks, rather than swinging blindly. Alois didn't need to change his _form_ to win, but his _strategy._

The blonde wouldn't be able to explain it when asked, but he didn't _want_ to change forms. In his mind, this was a " _human_ " problem of his, therefore he needed to be _"human_ " to expel it. It was as simple as that. He didn't feel like he would gain any kind of closure, if he didn't. So he needed to do it this way, for his own " _human" pride_.

Feeling as though it would only get in the way, the blonde removed his suit jacket and tossed it to the side, not giving the slightest care as to where it landed. He was simply focused on his opponent. Alois rolled up the sleeves of his white dress shirt, and assumed a stance similar to that of the man he was fighting against, seemingly mimicking a boxing stance.

With a deep breath, he began to calm down, clearing his head of any thought that wouldn't contribute to any sort of victory. Then, he forced his legs forward; forward to the source of his anger and his uneasy feelings about himself. Alois knew full-well that this was not _really_ the man he knew, yet he still wanted this. He wanted to crush him with all of his might, and he wanted no one to interfere; and they wouldn't.

Ciel was far too perplexed by the boy's abnormal seriousness in order to help. No, he knew that he _shouldn't_ help. He knew that for Alois, this was somehow a matter of _pride,_ and therefore, he would _wait._

So far, the blonde's change in thinking was working, as he was now able to land several consecutive hits on the burly man, causing large bruises to appear on his skin. Occasionally, his opponent would swing, but with the change of stance, Alois was now able to block with ease. Unfortunately, however, blocking didn't do much good with the man's weapons, as they still dealt some damage, leaving those ugly, dark brown and purple marks on the blonde's skin, now fully visible for the world to see with the rolling up of his sleeves. At the same time, this also made the blonde's healing process apparent, the markings shrinking, and then finally disappearing without a single trace.

Floyd stopped momentarily to gawk at this. He had never seen anything like that before, and he had seen some pretty strange things. No wonder this boy wouldn't collapse from his blows. No wonder this boy wouldn't _die._ Any normal human being would have died long ago, or have suffered permanent damage at the very least from the brutal assault.

This young boy in front of him was obviously abnormal. His injuries healed almost instantaneously, and he wouldn't die. Despite his much smaller frame and stature, he was knocking the wind out of the fully-grown, battle-hardened man. Floyd was actually starting to become frightened by the boy, and it showed in his eyes, much to the lad's twisted amusement.

Alois cocked his arm back one last time, hitting his opponent square in the jaw. The man in the Hawaiian shirt stumbled backwards before landing on the rooftop with a thud. He didn't get back up. He was out cold, but even then, the demon was not satisfied with that. _For Alois to feel content, the man must die._

 _"Floyd!"_ called Heinrich from his own location, ignoring the painful sensations in his legs for a moment to call to his friend. " _Floyd! Get up!"_

There was no answer. There wasn't even a weak groan, or a small twitch. Floyd was out. With a twisted grin, the blonde's eyes glowed crimson, and he stood over his unconscious adversary, arm cocked back upon high, aimed directly at the man's head. The impact would crack the cement, and send droplets of red in varying sizes flying outward. It was obvious to everyone there that Floyd wasn't going to wake up ever again.

Yet, the demon prepared to hit the man again, raising his fist back up. Right when he was about to bring it crashing down again, however, he was stopped by a hand gripping his wrist, bringing his attack to a screeching halt. The blonde furrowed his brow and turned to confront the hindrance, only to find the bluenette standing there with a somewhat surprised expression on his face.

" _Alois?"_ he called, yet the blonde didn't answer. With his free hand, Ciel held the blonde's head in place in order to make the boy look at him. "Come on. Calm down. You're alright." The crimson of the blonde's irises faded, being replaced with their usual icy-blue colour, and his expression relaxed, his angry visage being replaced with a guilty one, as though he were ashamed of his display.

Paramedics and police arrived discreetly, as not to alert the students who were still enjoying the festivities of their presence. They were all blissfully unaware of the violence that had taken place only moments ago, and it was preferred that it remained that way. The only students who would know of this, were the sensational seven, as they would be informed later.

The ambulance that carried one of the assailants, a mister Heinrich Strumer, zipped through the city on it's way to the hospital. The man had bullet wounds in both legs, and would need surgery in order to remove the projectiles. This, along with the fact that he was wanted by the Scotland Yard for being an underling of the international weapons dealer, Victor Beatie, it was doubtful that anyone from Warwick would be seeing the German any time soon.

He reflected on the days events, nearly speechless as to what to say, and confused as to how to feel. His vision of Victor, the sight of his only surviving coworker killed right in front of him, it was all so surreal. He knew one thing, though. He wanted to keep fighting.

" _You just wait, 'Guard-Dog'."_ he thought, grinding his teeth. _"Next time, I won't let my emotions get in my way. I'll kill you and your blonde minion in cold blood. You'll see. I'll fight you until the bitter end..."_

Meanwhile, still at Warwick, the demonic duo waited for their ride to pick them up, as they couldn't go back into the dance with their current blood-covered appearances. After the gunfire had died down, they could still hear the pounding of music coming from the dance-hall, muffled due to the barriers and distance between them. The December air was cold, so Alois put his coat back on, while he attempted to act as though nothing had happened, but in reality, he felt quite _odd_.

He didn't know whether he was happy that he "proved himself", or ashamed of killing that man with such brutality. He didn't know what he was feeling. Externally, he was quite cold, but internally, he didn't know, _and it felt odd._ Suddenly, he was pulled out of his thoughts by a warm hand resting on top of his own. Looking over to the bluenette, he saw a concerned expression across the boy's face.

"Are you _sure_ you're alright?" Ciel asked, referring to Alois' previous actions, and to the dazed look he was giving off. The blonde blinked a few times before answering.

"Yeah..." he said. "...Pretty sure."

"But is that sure _enough?"_

"I dunno..." With that response, they sat in silence for a while, Ciel unsure whether or not to press on the matter any further, and Alois unsure of what else to say. That is, until he suddenly did.

"Hey, Ciel?" he asked, getting the other boy's attention.

"Yes?" the bluenette replied, turning to Alois.

"...Nevermind _... It was stupid..."_ the blonde said, shaking his head.

" _Who cares? Go ahead."_ Ciel leaned in closer, in order to hear the other lad as he muttered.

"W-well... I was just wondering..." Alois began, somewhat bashfully. He muttered and looked away as he spoke. "I-if you could... Say _my name_... You know... My _real_ one?" The bluenette had to admit, he was a bit taken aback at the odd request from the blonde, especially since he knew that the name bothered the boy immensely. Yet, he was willing to comply regardless, opening his mouth to speak.

 _"Jim."_ he said, plan and simple.

It was just a word; a short, and somewhat plain one. It still seemed to make the blonde react somehow, causing the blonde to whip his head around and face the bluenette. His face was flushed, and twitched as though he was either trying not to smile, cry, or both.

" _Jim Macken."_ the bluenette said again in order to see what sort of reaction he would get. This time, the blonde quickly looked away.

"I..." he began, hesitating to speak again. "...I-I guess it... _doesn't sound so bad after all..."_

"What? _'Jim'?"_ Ciel asked with a smile, simply toying with the sorts of responses he would receive for repeating the word. He leaned in to whisper in the blonde's ear. "I thought you didn't like it?"

"I _don't."_ Alois said. "It sounds _alright_ coming from _you_ , though..."

 _"'Jim Macken',_ you mean?" the bluenette asked, causing the blonde to shiver, slightly.

"On second thought, _stop that_." he said, hunching his shoulders defensively. " _It's embarrassing..."_

"I like it though." replied Ciel. "Especially if it makes you act so _cute."_

" _Shut up..."_ said the blonde.

"But why, _Jim?"_ the Phantomhive boy teased.

"I'm _warning_ you-!"

"What is it, _Jim?"_

 _"Shut up!"_ Alois said, covering his ears with his hands. The bluenette simply grabbed his wrists, however, and removed them.

"Care to talk about it, _Jim?"_

" _You're such an ass!"_

 _"I love you too, Jimmy_."

 


	186. Trust Me, I'm The Doctor

Alois was currently panicking. He had never gone to the doctor's office before, and hadn't even the faintest idea as to what was going to happen to him. It didn't help at all that the doctor was with H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. either. The very idea that he was going to be examined was terrifying, but in addition to the fact that the person examining him worked with _monster-killing fiends_ was even _worse._

No matter how many times the bluenette had insisted that he would be fine, Alois simply couldn't help but think otherwise. He was required to have a check-up every so often, and this would be his first one. H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. required all of the demons to have one every so often, just to be fully aware of their physical state and abilities. Should the demons ever go rogue, it would be best to have all of the information possible on how to terminate them. It was perfectly reasonable to the eyes of both sides, really. While it was unlikely that the trio we know would do this, the state could never be so sure, and thus it was somewhat of a way of reaffirming their loyalty. The blonde, however, couldn't see it that way at the moment, as he was too busily focused on the strange environment around him.

The room was plain, too plain. It was almost completely absent of colour, aside from the few charts on the wall and some of the various containers on the counter up against the wall. He stared at the charts for awhile, tilting his head at the illustration of the innards of a human being. He couldn't help but marvel at diagrams like those, as he had never seen them before arriving in this time period. His attention moved to the various containers on the counter, wondering what on earth could their contents be for.

He could somewhat understand the use of cotton-balls, but the purpose of things like wooden Popsicle sticks and these small, black, _odd_ , disposable-looking plastic cones were a complete mystery. Other items somewhat frightened him, like the box of syringes, and the plastic bin next to the counter with a large, orange sticker with the "toxic" symbol on it. He had no idea what went in there, but it couldn't be anything good.

Every time he moved, the flimsy, disposable paper on the table he was told to sit on ' _crackled'_ , which he found extremely annoying. Alois was somewhat afraid that he would rip it, so he did his best to remain still, unaware that there were no consequences for doing so. It _'crackled'_ again, though, when Alois moved his head in order to look at the Phantomhive boy, somehow causing a small shift of his weight on the table.

Ciel sat in a chair up against the wall in the room, as Alois didn't want to be left alone in this strange environment, absent-mindedly fiddling with his mobile. He was checking his own appointments for that week while the blonde looked around the room. He looked up, however, when he heard the noise of the paper in the otherwise disturbingly quiet room.

"You're going to be _fine_." said the bluenette, reading the blonde's expression. "Do you want _me_ to go first?"

"If you don't mind..." replied the other boy. "...I don't even know how this is going to work..."

"She's just going to run a few tests. There's absolutely nothing to be afraid of."

"What _kind_ of _'tests'?"_ the blonde asked, nearly jumping out of his skin when he heard the door behind him open. He whipped his head around to see a kind-looking bespectacled woman looking at him with a confused face, one that was simply a response to the boy's sudden movements.

She wore a white coat that had the Hellsing family crest on it, and a pink turtleneck paired with a grey skirt. Her almost shoulder-length hair was greying, evidence of her age, and her face was slightly wrinkled, by had a warmness about it that was disarming. She didn't look like she belonged in a place like H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. in the slightest. She instead looked like she would be running the local library. She walked in and closed the door behind her before taking a seat on a small, rolling stool in the room and grabbing the clipboard on the counter.

"Good morning." she said pleasantly, earning only a nod from the boys as a response. "Now, what are you here for again? Just a check-up?"

"Yes, we're both here for one, Doctor Ackerman." the bluenette replied. He gestured over to the blonde menace. "This is Alois Trancy, he's the main reason we're here, actually. It's his first check-up."

 _"'Alois Trancy'..."_ the woman said, as though she were trying to place the name. "Oh, yes! Silly me! He's written in as _'Jim Macken',_ but I heard that he preferred to be called _'Alois'._ Sorry, sorry, sorry!" Doctor Ackerman smiled again, and looked at the blonde. "So, are you going first, then?" Alois quickly shook his head from side to side without even the slightest bit of hesitation. "A bit _nervous_ , are we?"

"I'll go first." said the bluenette with a sigh. With that, the doctor put on her stethoscope, inserting the earpieces and holding up the sensor.

"Alright, I'll start by checking your heartbeat." she said, placing the sensor on the lad's chest. "Take a deep breath, now." Ciel complied, and the woman closed her eyes and furrowed her brow as though she were concentrating really intensely. Finally, she removed the sensor from the bluenette's chest and set the stethoscope aside, picking up her clipboard instead.

" _Barely audible_ , like _always_." she said, making a note.

The doctors of H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. specialized in both human, and supernatural physiology, even though they knew little about the latter. They learned all they could about supernatural anatomy through researching the corpses left over from hunts, and they were able to scavenge the little knowledge that they did have. They're specialty was vampires, and after that, ghouls. Then they knew some about werewolves, but next to nothing about Grim Reapers or Angels. Fortunately, they had a little knowledge of demons, though. It wasn't much, but they knew what they needed to look for. While that primarily consisted of gauging a demons' "strengths and weaknesses", it was still _something_.

Next, the woman opened a drawer, and pulled out a stopwatch and a scapel, the latter of the items causing the blonde's face to go pale. Yet, Ciel simply rolled up his sleeve, knowing what the woman was going to ask him to do next. She gave him a comforting smile, mixed with a little bit of a guilty expression.

"I'm sorry. This is my _least favourite_ part, too." she said, scalpel in one hand, positioned above the bluenette's outstretched arm and and stopwatch in the other.

"It's fine. It doesn't really hurt." the bluenette replied, looking at the blonde, who was currently panicking.

With that, the doctor made a small insission in the boy's skin, simultaneously hitting the "start" button on the watch. The cut bled slightly before starting to close right before everyone's eyes. When it did, Doctor Ackerman pressed "stop", and read off the amount of time it took for the injury to heal.

" _Two point eight seconds."_ she said, recording the time. From that, they would be able to calculate the exact healing time for most other injuries. "Alright, on my mark, please _change your shape._ Ready?" Ciel simply nodded in response. " _Three, two, one, go!"_

She hit the button and black flames quickly enveloped the boy, shockingly not catching fire to anything else, including the chair that Ciel was seated in. Just as quickly as they appeared, however, they died down, revealing the boy's demonic form; from his pointed ears and black military-style coat, to his crimson eyes, black claws, horns, and his tail. The woman pushed the "stop" button and announced the time.

" _Three point six seconds."_ she said before marking it. After that, they went through a series of other tests that involved things like measuring his horns and having him try and lift a weight with his tail. Alois wasn't sure at all how that could give the monster-killers any useful information at all, but all the same, when the woman announced that the bluenette was done, he jumped, dreading his own series of trials.

"Don't worry, I won't bite." Doctor Ackerman said. "If it makes you feel any better, we don't have to measure your _healing time_ today, if you don't want to."

Admittedly, that did make him feel better, and thus they went through the process of testing him, first checking his heart-rate as well as other things. They discovered that his transformation time was slower than the bluenette's by about _two point three seconds_ , and Alois made a face at the other boy when they discovered that his horns were smaller by several inches; a fact that the bluenette was oddly somewhat proud of. The blonde, however, was less clumsy with his tail.

It seemed like hours had passed when the appointment was finally over. They said their farewells to the doctor, and met up with Sebastian in the lobby. Alois had apparently felt embarrassed with the idea of possibly being in his demon form in front of the man. It wasn't as though he disliked the butler; in fact, they got along quite well. It was just that the blonde felt somewhat awkward around the man for being the one responsible for his eternal imprisonment, and for the fact that he was currently romantically involved with the man's master. The fact that Sebastian's form was that of an adult male didn't help either, but Alois was far less intimidated by him in comparison to the majority, which was slowly starting to fade as well.

"Now, was that _really_ as _bad_ as you thought it would be?" asked the Phantomhive boy after they had all gotten into their car. Alois looked away from the passing scenery on the other side of the window to look at the other boy.

"Nope. It was okay, actually." he said. "I was afraid I was going to get shot, or something..."

"You mean _'_ _ **a**_ _shot'?"_ corrected the bluenette

"No... I mean _'shot'..._ "

 


	187. That Master, A Grinch

The date was December twenty-fifth, and it seemed like all of London had shut-down almost, a phenomena that seemed to be taking place all over the world as shops were closed; restaurants too, and people stayed indoors and socialized with family and friends. Nobody seemed to be walking the streets on that day because of this, but this seemed to happen every year as the holiday came around. As you ventured away from the city, you would begin to see that it's outskirts seemed to be even more barren. While Phantomhive manor was always somewhat desolate, it seemed even more so today, oddly.

A strange atmosphere came over the household as it was the first time in almost a century that Christmas was being celebrated again. After much begging from the servants of the manor, and by a certain blonde menace, the head of Phantomhive house reluctantly agreed to allow a celebration. While the exterior of the manor was destitute, the interior was quite lively as the trio of servants made their final preparations. At last, Sebastian sent one of the girls to go and fetch the young master, particularly Charlotte, because he knew that the wolf-girl would most likely do something silly to make the bluenette angry.

The vampiress climbed the stairs to the second floor, carefully trying not to get the tails of her coat tangled in her legs again. (In her eyes, the uniforms biggest design flaw.) Down the vast, empty hallways she trekked, making an attempt to remember which door lead to the master bedroom. It was quite confusing, when there were so many doors that lead to many different rooms, all mostly looking exactly the same. Charlotte finally arrived at the one which she believed to be correct, and gently knocked on it, hearing slight rustling on the other side.

"My lord?" she called, pausing before continuing. She didn't dare try and open the door, as instructed by Sebastian. Though, the stories of what Amelie had walked in on were enough to keep her at bay on their own. "It's time to get up. Everyone is downstairs waiting."

With a grunt, the Phantomhive boy sat up and wiped the sleep out of his eyes, taking a moment to wake up a bit more before speaking. "Alright." he said, acknowledging that he heard the maid. "I'll be down in a moment."

"Alright then." Charlotte replied, and with that, she simply turned around and left, having completed her task.

After listening to the sounds of the footsteps in the hallway grow further away for a moment before looking over at the blonde next to him. Alois was curled up in a ball, having lost his " _meat pillow_ ", as he would call it (a term the bluenette finds _disturbing_ ), after the other boy had sat up. Ciel reached over and lightly shook the blonde, as the boy did his best to pretend he was still asleep.

"I know you're awake, Alois." the bluenette said, knowing his attempt to wake the fair-haired demon wasn't in vain. "Get up."

" _Nnnnnn... Don't wanna_..." the other lad whined as a reply. He wasn't quite ready to leave the warmth of the bed just yet.

But, then, his eyes shot open and he sat up abruptly, startling the Phantomhive boy a bit. He leaned over and began to shake the other boy's shoulder, playfully rocking him back and forth with a smile.

"Holy shit! It's _Christmas!"_ the blonde declared, letting go of the bluenette and jumping out of bed. He walked over to the dresser and pulled out the spare set of clothes he kept in the other boy's room and began changing out of his sleepwear. Ciel simply rolled his eyes at the blonde's silliness.

"You shouldn't swear like that, Alois." he said, jokingly. " _You'll make Jesus cry."_ Alois simply laughed at the comment and said:

" _Christmas_ isn't about _Jesus_ , silly goose!" Ciel simply gave him a look that made it appear that the bluenette was questioning the other lad's intelligence, as well as his own hearing.

"Alright..." he said, getting up and walking over to his closet. "Then what _is_ it about, pray tell?" He was answered by a long pause.

 _"I haven't decided yet."_ the blonde said finally, smiling when he heard the bluenette snort while trying not to laugh.

Once they were decent enough for the public eye, the demonic duo trekked downstairs in order to meet with the others. Ciel had completely forgotten the date. He was even more surprised when they discovered the massive tree in the middle of the foyer. It wasn't there when he went to bed the night before, after all.

 _"That is the biggest goddamn tree I have ever seen in my fucking life..."_ spoke the blonde menace, his eyes as big as saucers, staring up at the decorated plant. He didn't notice the look that the others gave him for his language, that look quickly shifting from a disapproving one to that of amusement at the bewildered expression on the boy's face.

He was snapped out of his stupor, the attention of the others in the room shifting as well, when a certain wolf-girl stepped forward, stomping her feet as she walked. She was dressed as father Christmas himself, with a red coat trimmed with white, and a hat to match. Amelie even had on a false-beard, and stood stroking it like some mystical kung-fu master like one would see on television.

" _Ho, ho, ho..."_ she said, her expression the same as always. While Alois and Charlotte were incredibly amused by the rather short Santa's antics, Ciel and Sebastian simply wore questioning expressions on their faces.

 _"Where did you get that?"_ the bluenette asked, obviously referring to the werewolf's attire.

In response, she stroked her "beard" again and said: _"I found it_." thus ending the conversation.

Moments later, the posse of supernatural apparitions were going through the items underneath the tree, reading the labels on the packages and dispensing them to their appropriate owners. Now this is were problems started to arise. Obviously, no one really took any of this seriously.

"It would appear that you both have received gifts from _Sir Hellsing_ , my lord." spoke the butler, handing the boys each a wrapped package. " _I apologize in advance_..."

"Apologize?" echoed the bluenette, curiously. "Why?"

"Just read the labels..."

Ciel looked down at the gift in his hands, furrowing his brow, his eyelid uncontrollably twitching. Written in elegant handwriting were thw words: " _To 'The Blue, Satanic Ankle-biter', From H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G."_ Immediately, the boy looked over at the package in Alois' hands, and read the label on it, only to discover that it simply said " _To Jim_ " on it.

"What is it?" the blonde asked, wondering both why he was being stared at and why the bluenette looked so irate. Ciel took a deep breath and tried to calm down. He did his best to conceal the label on his own package from the other's gaze, knowing that Alois would definitely laugh until he was in stitches over it.

 _"It's nothing."_ the Phantomhive boy insisted between clenched teeth. He quickly tore up the decorative paper, intentionally destroying the offending label in the process. When he opened the box, however, his anger returned with amazing intensity. The Hellsing woman, in her odd way of messing with the boy, had giving him a package containing nothing but _pink, wool socks._

It was unknown what first began this bitter rivalry between the Phantomhive boy and Sir Hellsing, but they would often pick at, and make fools of the other at every given opportunity. This was just one of many times the beastly woman had made Ciel so furious. He had struck first on many occasion, but was often thwarted with a counter-attack, much to his irritation.

" _Hell... sing..."_ he growled, his nails digging into the cardboard box as he shook with fury.

Alois was busily trying with all of his might not to laugh. The corners of his lips twitched as they threatened to morph into a smile, but he knew better. He watched as the Phantomhive boy closed the box, and shoved it into the grasp of the butler.

 _"Burn these."_ the bluenette ordered, almost in a bark. The man clad in black simply bowed slightly.

"Yes, my lord." he said, finally allowing himself to smile once he was completely out of the sight of the enraged noble.

He would never reveal to the lad that he later discovered that the box also contained a lump of coal. The other servants were somewhat afraid of the evil aura that the boy was radiating. If you asked them, they would most likely claim that it was not only something that they could sense, but that it was also _visible to the naked eye._

Alois was hesitant to open his own gift. There was the possibility that a prank would be played on him, or in the worst-case scenario, there wouldn't be, causing the bluenette's anger to rise. Slowly, he peeled the wrapping off, finding a black box underneath it. It was heavy, so he could only guess what was inside. The blonde touched the lid, preparing to open it, all while feeling the glare of the Phantomhive boy causing the hair on the back of his neck to stand up.

Just to get it all over with, he suddenly opened the lid and laid eyes upon the object inside. There was a note on top of it in that same, nice-looking handwriting that said:

_"You are of no use without the ability to defend yourself._

_Have Phantomhive teach you how to use this._

_-Sir Integra F.W. Hellsing."_

It was perhaps the one of the most irresponsible items one could possibly give to the blonde, yet that was simply Sir Hellsing's preferred method of "training" employees. It was the blonde's very own _anit-freak weapon_ ; a pistol.

Unlike the bluenette's, it was a _revolver-style_ pistol. The gun had a guard on it's handle like one on the handle of a rapier, just like the bluenette's, but Alois' was gold-coloured as opposed to his companion's silver. The name " _Kaspar"_ was engraved on the side of the barrel in white, just like the name " _Zamiel"_ was on the Phantomhive boy's weapon. It was similar in it's onyx colouring, weight, caliber, and length, however, obviously made without the intention of it ever being wielded by a human being.

Alois was completely blown away, as was Ciel. The eye-patch-wearing gentleman stood, mouth agape upon setting sight on the weapon in the blonde's hands. Finally, he spoke again.

"That's it. _She's dead_." he said, marching back upstairs.

"Ciel? Where are you going?" called the blonde menace.

_"I am going to get that beastly woman on the phone, and I am going to give her a piece of my mind."_

"Don't do it! You know she'll only find it _funny!"_

"I won't allow myself to be made a fool of any longer!"

" _Noooo! Ciel! Don't be a hero!"_

And that, is Alois' memory of his first Chirstmas in the twenty-first century...

 


	188. That Blonde, Bickering

_"What?! Why do I have to go too?!"_

Yet another school year had come to a close at Warwick Academy, bringing summer break to the rejoicing students. One, however, did _not_ rejoice. Alois felt like there was nothing to rejoice about.

As promised, the head of Phantomhive was surrendering his two new maids to the H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. organization in order to work under new command, but first, they were required to go through some training. Now, what did this have to do with Alois? Well, the Council of Twelve thought it would be wise for the blonde menace to undergo training as well. He did not like this idea.

He did not like the idea of going to a "boot camp", of sorts. He did not like the idea of getting yelled at by scary men. He did not like the idea of having to crwl in the dirt. He did not like the idea of getting "broken" in order to obey a commander that he wasn't really loyal to. Most of all, however, he did not like the idea of leaving Ciel for a month.

The _H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. Youth Training Academy_ was for children of H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. operatives and staff, as well as "younger" supernatural beings and children who are aware of the presence of said beings. It only lasted for a month, but it was said to be treacherous. Ciel Phantomhive himself was an alumni, and he knew what it was like.

They would all have to learn to stay awake during the night and sleep during the day, which wasn't entirely difficult, given his physical state. They also had to learn how to shoot to kill, by use of a certain excersise that caused most of the other children to cry. They would cry, even though they were perfectly safe from harm the entire time, specifically because it involved shooting actual ghouls, or what are commonly known as "zombies", targeting their heads and hearts as they shot down into a pit full of them. The excercise had the specific goal of getting them used to the horrible things that H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. agents would see. Ciel thought it was somewhat cruel to make otherwise "normal" children see that, but it was their choice to be there.

While the bluenette found no difficulty in either of those tasks, the verbal abuse was what really bothered him. Commanders would constantly be shouting, shouting insults, and shouting orders, as though they knew not how to speak in a lower volume at all. Ciel, being the prideful, and somewhat arrogant person he is, was constantly hearing this, as he didn't like to take orders from others. He was always the one who had to run laps, or do pushups, and because he was a demon, they would give him an ungodly amount to complete. Sometimes, he was forced to clean the bathroom with a toothbrush, in most cases, much to his humiliation. Perhaps this was just one of the many, many reasons that the Phantomhive boy detested the H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. organization.

Alois wanted no part of it. Not at all. He didn't know how he was going to survive for that long. He wasn't very independent, and he knew this. He knew he needed Ciel in order to "function", and now he was put in a position where that was going to be an impossibility. He pleaded for the bluenette to not make him go. He pleaded with the boy from the few weeks leading up to the camp, to the few minutes in the car while they were on their way to the camp, to the several seconds that it took for them to walk up to the door. He was terrified, and it made the bluenette's heart ache to see the blonde so frightened, but their was nothing he could do. If he refused, The Council of Twelve may reconsider the blonde's status as one of their demonic "errand-boys" and revoke his special privileges, making him a "threat to the crown". That was something that they simply did _not_ need to happen.

Fortunately, there would be a few familiar faces there with him. There would be Charlotte and Amelie, of course, but much to the blonde's surprise, a mister _Audrey Baines_ was going to be there too. He even rode in the car with them on the way there, somewhat surprised by the usually bold and confident blonde's begging.

He did that all the way up to the door. Ciel had to literally pry the blonde off of him and push him inside. He actually required _help_ from Sebastian in order to do so. Then, the two boy's were on their own. They sat in silence as they waited to receive their physicals.

Now that was a nightmare that neither of them wanted to go through ever again. The reason for this being specifically that the doctor was _male_ , and had to _touch_ the blonde in order to gauge his status. Alois didn't like that one bit. He almost snapped, but fortunately, Audrey was there to help him calm down.

Then, they received their uniforms, which consisted of a grey T-shirt with the Hellsing crest on the upper left pectoral, tucked into a pair of olive-green pants with many, many, pockets, the legs of which were then tucked into black, ankle-high boots. Yes, they had to wear them precisely like that, or suffer having their ears chewed off. They knew this, yet the blonde felt compelled to "enhance" the uniform anyway.

It wasn't anything major, but it would be considered extremely disrespectful. He somehow managed to acquire a permanent marker and before putting on his shirt, he drew on it. The Hellsing crest was on the left side of the shirt, on the upper pectoral, so in the position opposite to it, he drew the crest of the _Phantomhive_ household to the best of his ability. He drew the shield and the two predatory birds on each side, drawing it right down to the motto at the bottom: " _Potentia Regere",_ roughly translating into " _To Rule With Authority_ ". When, and only when he was satisfied with his handiwork, did he don the uniform. He didn't quite know why he did this, he just simply wanted to rebel somehow.

He met up with Audrey again and they went on to their final task before entering the camp, and it involved _getting a haircut._ No personnel in the camp were allowed to have their hair in such a way that it could potentially get in the way, and thus, they had to get it trimmed. Girls had the option of simply putting their hair back in a ponytail or a bun, but the boys could not. It had to be cut, much to the dismay of Mister Trancy and Mister Baines.

Audrey couldn't look as his hair was cut, so that his bangs were short, and wouldn't hang in his face, and the ends where cut as well, so the boy wouldn't have a mullet. He felt naked without his barrier between the world and his eyes. He couldn't hide them. Everyone would stare at his weird-looking eyes, and immediately know he wasn't entirely human, a thing that at a H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G base, put you at a disadvantage.

The blonde, however, was fussing a lot more, refusing to cooperate with the stylist. When asked to turn his head one way, he'd turn it another, when asked to stay still, he'd keep moving. Alois didn't want to be there, and he was taking it out on the poor stylist, who was only trying to do their job.

Finally, his hair was short enough to be passable. His blonde locks now no longer in his face. It looked much messier than usual, since it now lacked it's usual weight that held it in place. He got out of his chair and walked over to a mirror, horrified at what they had done to him.

 _"I look like a bloody pillock!"_ he shouted to no one in particular.

"Hey, Alois..." called Audrey at his side, forcing the blonde to look away from the mirror for a brief moment.

"What?"

_Click!_

The blonde blinked for a moment, processing what had just happened. Bones began playing with his cellphone, the source of the odd 'clicking' noise. Alois put two and two together and realized what had just happened.

" _Hey! Don't take pictures!"_ he shouted, reaching for the device. The Baines lad simply moved so that his body acted as a barrier between the blonde and his mobile. "Delete it _now!"_

"Why? I bet _Ciel_ would like to see..." replied Audrey with a grin. His smiling face was noticeably different with his entire face visible. It was somehow more mischievous.

"Don't you _dare_ send that to Ciel!" Alois ordered, reaching for the phone again. With his free hand, the reaper boy held him at bay.

"Aaaaand... _It's too late."_ he said, pushing the "send" button.

"You ass! Wha'd you do that for?!"

"Well, for one, Ciel asked me to send him updates on how you were doing, and two: it was _funny_." Alois opened his mouth to speak, but closed his mouth as the other boy's phone went off. Bones opened the message, reading it aloud.

" _'Thank you for the new wallpaper'."_ he quoted, reading the Phantomhive boy's reply. Hearing this only made the blonde flush slightly.

"He _didn't!_ He better not have set that as his wallpaper!" he shouted, furrowing his brow and trying his best to look angry, rather than embarrassed.

Meanwhile, back home, a certain bluenette was sitting in his study, waiting for his phone to vibrate again. He didn't know why he was so anxious about the endeavor. He knew that the blonde was most likely to be fine, but still, he couldn't help but fret about how the blonde was on his own at an academy designed specifically for killing his kind.

He paused for a moment before setting down his pen and picking up the device again, pressing a button to turn on the screen. When it revealed itself again, there was the blonde making a goofy face with his even goofier hair. Ciel couldn't help but chuckle at it. He swore he could almost _hear_ the blonde complaining about it.

* * *

 


	189. Welcome To HELLSING

It was the first night at the H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. Youth Camp, and all of the children were lined up at attention in the yard, which was brightly illuminated by a large light posts, like one would find at an outdoor sports stadium. The girls were lined up on one side, including Amelie and Charlotte, the latter of which fortunately unaffected by artificial illumination, and on the other, were the boys, including Alois and Audrey. They were the only non-human campers there, seeing that supernatural members of H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. were few, for understandable reasons.

There was an aisle between the two rows for their superior to walk through, an angry man with a shaved head an a mustache. He appeared to be in his late forties, obviously doing this instead of retiring. Unlike the children, he wore a full H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. uniform, but without the coat, being replaces with a tan button-up shirt with the sleeves rolled up, and the Hellsing family crest on the fron pocket and on his dark red beret. As he walked through the "new recruits", he immediately noticed Alois, and walked right up to him, getting uncomfortably close.

 _"You! Care to explain the state of your uniform, cadet!?"_ he barked, referring to the changes the blonde had made previously.

Alois, being the disrespectful individual that he was, thought it would be humourous to draw the _Phantomhive_ family crest on his uniform shirt, for no reason other than to rebel. He didn't like the idea of uniforms. He only tolerated the ones at Warwick because students were able to select the length of their pants and the colour of their tie and the trimming on their jackets, giving them some freedom with their appearance. He just wanted to be unique.

It should also be noted, that the haircut he had been given that day hadn't stayed. Being a demon, he is able to change his appearance, and since his "default" appearance was altered, it simply fixed itself, returning to it's usual state. This was also considered being "out of uniform".

"What seems to be the problem with it, sir?" he asked innocently.

 _"What is that on your shirt?!"_ the man barked again, causing him to reflexively jump slightly.

"That is the crest of the house I work for, sir. The house of Phantomhive." Alois replied flatly.

" _'Phantomhive',_ huh?" the angry man echoed. "You must be that _demon_ kid I was warned about." The others immediately began whispering amongst themselves upon hearing the " _d-word"._ They couldn't quite wrap their heads around the fact that he looked just like an ordinary human being. They hadn't suspected him of being supernatural in the slightest.

" _Quiet!"_ the man barked, immediately rendering the children quiet. "I don't care what you are, who you are, or who you work for! You're on Hellsing property now, so you have to follow H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. rules! Now, next time I see you, I want that uniform in order and that mop trimmed, got it!?"

"I _did_ trim my hair! It _regenerated!"_ the blonde argued, obviously not understanding the "no back-talking" rule.

"I don't care! Keep it out of your face!"

"How am I supposed to do that?!"

" _Ponytail."_ spoke Amelie. She slipped one of the extra ponytail-holders off of her wrist, and snapped it so it went flying toward the blonde menace, smacking him in the forehead. Fortunately, the Alois' hair was just long enough to wear one.

"Lads don't wear ponytails!" shouted the man. "Don't you do it!"

 _"Don't you know who I am?!"_ the blonde shouted back, putting his hair up.

"That's it! _Ten laps around the base!_ No, wait, you're a _demon..._ Make it _fifty!"_

_"FUCK!"_

_"Do you want it to be a hundred?!"_

That morning, a certain bluenette was somewhat restless. He was confused upon waking up as to why the blonde wasn't there until he remembered. While he was working, he continuously found himself looking to the door as though he knew the boy was going to waltz through it like usual, and checking his phone for any messages from either Alois or Audrey. Ciel was simply so accustomed to the blonde being around, that it didn't feel right with him gone. The manor was simply too quiet.

He sat down at his desk again in a huff, somewhat irritated at this fact. If this was how he was reacting to them being separated, he could only imagine what the blonde was going through.

 


	190. Soldiers Of Iron

_"There's no goddamn privacy around here..."_

The H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. Youth Training Programme takes place during the summer holiday, when the children are off from school. It is were the children of H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G operatives go in order to learn about the job that their parents perform in order to ready them for a potential career as a member of " _Her Royal England Legions of Legitimate Supernatural and Immortal Night Guard",_ or otherwise known as _"H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G."_. It was founded, and is run by the Hellsing family, of which the current family head is named Sit Integra Fairbrook Wingates Hellsing, a rival of the head of Phantomhive that made his blood boil. But that is neither here, nor there.

Because Sir Hellsing, along with the rest of the Round Table Conference, had decided that it would be wise to send their newly acquired demon errand-boy to learn how to properly obey a chain of command and carry out orders, Alois was now forced in this dark camp. Cadets were required to sleep during the day, and go through their drills and exercises at night, wear gastly uniforms, and march in time with one another. The blonde however, was discovering that the sleeping arrangements were rubbish, as he and the other lads had to sleep in the same quarters. He even had a bunk-mate, who had commandeered the top bunk of the bunk-beds they had to sleep in. Alas, it was not Audrey Baines, as he had been assigned to a different bunk, fortunately, the one right next to the blonde, though.

"You probably shouldn't say that around here." the random boy said, looking down at the blonde from his box high in the sky.

"Why not? I thought the military was _made_ for _swearing."_ the blonde joked, looking back at the other lad.

He had short, reddish hair, cut in a way that showed a lot of forehead, somewhat large ears, and pale skin. Freckles dotted the boy's face, and they moved whenever his expression changed. They even did when he spoke.

"True, but it's not the _swearing_ that can get you in trouble." he explained. "It's the _'taking the lord's name in vain'_ thing. The H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G motto says _'We are on a mission from God'_. It's even on your shirt; On the crest. They get kind of pissy about that."

" _Whoop-dee-doo."_ Alois said, still somewhat upset over the way he was treated earlier that evening. "Didn't you hear? I'm a _demon_. That shit shouldn't _apply_ to me." The other boy just laughed.

"I know, right?" he said with a smile. "My name's Nigel. _Nigel Irons,_ you?"

"I'm listed as _'Jim Macken',_ but I go by ' _Alois Trancy'_."

Nigel raised his eyebrows at that. He asked: "Do you happen go to Warwick? Warwick Academy?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Oh! You must be the one _my dad_ talks about!" the redhead said excitedly. "He teaches _world history_."

" _Your dad is mister Irons?!"_ Alois asked, sitting up in surprise. He didn't know the man had a son. Then, he concocted an afterthought. " _Mister Irons knows I'm a demon?!"_

"Yeah. He said he figured it out pretty early into your first year." said Nigel. He smiled. "He knows your _boyfriend's_ a demon too~!"

Alois' face turned red at the mentioning of the bluenette. Naturally, their teacher would notice something like that, as it wasn't a secret, but it still felt odd. It felt odd knowing that mister Irons worked for H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. at some point. Some to think of it, that could very well have been how the Council of Twelve found out about Alois' existence in the first place. He wasn't sure how well the others would take this news, so he tried to change the subject.

"Shouldn't you be like, _cowering,_ or something?" asked the blonde. "I'm an evil apparition from _hell_ , you know. Isn't that _weird?"_

"Kind of. You seem ordinary enough, though."

"I could steal your soul at any moment, though."

 _"Pssh."_ scoffed the Irons boy. "I'm a _ginger_. I don't _have_ a soul." he joked, causing the blonde to chuckle a bit. "Just as long as you aren't _watching me sleep_ , I really don't care."

 _"Shut up..."_ groaned the boy in the bed next to theirs. Audrey glanced over in the general direction the sounds were coming from, the gold in his eyes reflecting the minimal amount of light in the room, giving the illusion that they were glowing. "I had to run laps... and do push ups... and jumping jacks... and other shit... I'm tired... I wanna sleep..."

"You're probably one only ones _capable_ of doing so after this kid suggested that I might be _watching people sleep."_ Alois said, pointing upwards toward the top bunk.

 _"I would,_ except it's _too noisy_..." Bones almost growled. He was somewhat scary when he was tired.

 _"Fine~!"_ the blonde whined. He lied down and tried to get settled, but couldn't. He tossed and he turned as he tried to get comfortable, becoming simply unable to. It was odd not having the bluenette with him. He hadn't even remembered to bring _Steven the Platypus._

"Alois..." called the ginger's voice from above.

"Yeah?" asked the blonde.

_"You're shaking the entire bed..."_

" _That's what she said."_ spoke Audrey, before beginning to nod off. Alois simply rolled his eyes.

"Sorry..." he said, now doing his best to lie still. He still had a hard time getting to sleep, a problem that a certain bluenette was having as well, elsewhere.

"Young master?" called Sebastian, peeking through the partially open door to the Phantomhive boy's office.

"Yes?" Ciel replied, not even bothering to shift his eye away from the computer screen he was working from.

"You usually aren't up this early..." the butler said absent-mindedly. The bluenette simply looked over to the clock in the corner of the screen for a moment before blinking in surprise. He hadn't intended to, but it would appear that he had stayed up all night.

"I never went to bed." he said, rubbing his tired eye. When he looked up again, he saw that the butler had a sly grin on his face.

"Your _reason_ for going to bed is _gone_ now, hm?" the man asked, chuckling at the blush that began to crawl across the bluenette's visage.

 _"It's not like that!"_ the boy insisted, furrowing his brow. He made an attempt to look angry in hopes of covering his embarrassment at the man's words. _"I just had a lot of work to do and lost track of time!"_

"But master, if I remember correctly, you got done early _yesterday,_ did you not?"

_"Shut up!"_

* * *

 


	191. Slumberparty From HELL

It was early in the morning at the Phantomhive estate, and the head of the household was not at all happy about what he had received in the mail. It was an invitation to a meeting in Cornwall-, well, less of a "meeting" and more of a "party" with some business aspects to it. It was a get together specifically for England's nobility to get together and converse their recent exploits and business endeavors while simultaneously plotting their own transactions together. Ciel didn't like it; not one bit.

Not only would he have to stay in his "adult" form for a long period of time, but he also simply didn't want to talk to the other nobles. They were no longer the way they used to be. Now, they are simply rich families, mostly. There are some like the _Hellsing familiy_ and the _Midford family,_ however, who actually served a purpose.

Oh, the Midford family. They were still going strong, after all of these years, as one of Britain's trusted defenders. While they no longer fought with swords, they were all extremely high up in military rank. The current head was descended from the Phantomhive lad's cousin, _Edward Midford,_ the older brother of his former fiancee, _Elizabeth_ , and was a member of the Council of Twelve, therefore he is _fully aware_ of the bluenette's history.

 _Rupert Midford_ was the least of his concern, though. The person who he absolutely did not want to see was _Sir Integra Hellsing_. Ciel had known her for almost twenty years, meeting the woman when she really was as young as he _looked_. He was somewhat more able to tolerate her then, but as the years went by, they had become adversaries.

He didn't want to go, but it was quite necessary that he made an appearance. If the Queen's Guard-Dog didn't show up, the lad's image in the eyes of the other nobles may suffer, yet even with that logic, it didn't make it any easier to force himself to go. He didn't want to talk to a bunch of useless aristocracy that served no purpose other than absorbing the nation's money, nor did he want to see his _nemesis_ , Sir Hellsing. Moreover, the blonde menace would still be in London, and Cornwall was over two-hundred miles away. He felt silly for worrying about that last bit, but in the entirely possible event that the blonde should land himself in some sort of trouble, he wouldn't be able to help. Thinking about it again, however, Amelie, Charlotte, and Audrey would be there to assist, but pondering on it even further, he wasn't entirely sure of their competence.

Ciel shook his head, trying to stop worrying about it. Alois had only been gone for a few days, and yet he found his thoughts drifting to the boy often. The texts he would occasionally receive didn't help, either. Alois and Audrey would contact him about the silliest things, like how the blonde had gotten himself in trouble by shouting _"Hail Satan!"_ during the daily recital of the H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. oath, and was forced to clean the bathroom by himself with a toothbrush as punishment, or how Audrey was apparently incapable of performing more than ten push-ups at a time without falling flat on his face.

Perhaps going to that silly get-together would set his mind free for a while. It would be either that, or it would make his worry grow. Regardless the outcome, he would have to go.

Thus, he summoned Sebastian and they packed their bags to go to Cornwall. He sent the blonde a message, explaining the situation, knowing that he wouldn't be able to reply right away, seeing that the base he was on only operated at night. While he was packing, however, he came across a familiar face.

There was a platypus on his dresser. As to why, he didn't know, yet there it was. He assumed that it was Alois who was responsible for this. The blonde must have been having a hard time without the thing. Ciel took a moment to gently stroke it's soft, faux-fur as though it were a living being before returning to the task at hand.

It took over four hours to get from London to the county of Cornwall, give or take, and when they arrived, the sun was beginning to set. Ciel and his butler were making their way into the hotel that they would be staying in, and it was about then that the bluentte received a reply from the blonde. Quickly, the bluenette pulled out his phone to read it, much to the amusement of Sebastian.

_"You better send pictures!_

_-AT"_

Ciel rolled his eyes at the blonde's message and sent his own response before shoving the mobile communication device back in his pocket. So far, this whole adventure was going quite smoothly. They had arrived at a decent time, there was no complaining from the blonde about "missing out", and they received their room key without any problems. It was then, however, that things took a turn for the worse. After he and Sebastian had parted ways, the man going to his own room, and just as the bluenette was about to walk up to the door of his room, he came face to face with the absolute _last_ person he wanted to see.

 _Sir Integra Fairbrook Wingates Hellsing_.

The woman looked just as surprised as he did at that moment, both simply pausing to stare at each other. It was quite shocking to both of them that they would pick the exact same hotel to stay in. Finally, the bluenette furrowed his brow and spoke.

 _"Hellsing."_ he greeted, just as he usually did.

 _"Phantomhive_." she said back. "Fancy meeting you here..."

"Oh, no. _The pleasure is all mine."_ Ciel replied sarcastically. "So, how have you been? _Bully any local children on the playground, lately?"_

"No, I've only come across _one_ today." the woman verbally jabbed at the boy. "Unfortunately, _he wasn't that great of company."_

"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't quite hear you. I was a bit _distracted_. It would appear that there's _something on your face_... Oh, my apologies! It's just a _wrinkle_."

"No offense taken! _It must be hard to see things that are so high above your head_."

Ciel felt his eyebrow twitch in annoyance at that remark. Still, he did his best to remain composed, and civil. He began to head toward the door of his room, grabbing the doorknob and pulling his key-card out of his pocket.

 _"What are you doing?"_ asked the woman, causing the lad to look at her in a patronizing sort of manner.

" _Going into my room?_ I would love to stay and catch up, but I need to set down my bag." he replied. The expression on Sir Hellsing's face looked both confused and annoyed.

" _'Your'_ room? I'm afraid you must be _mistaken_." she said. "This is _my_ room."

"Impossible _. I_ have the key." the boy said, holding up the card. " _Room 109,_ see?" His heart dropped when the woman held up her own card.

" _Room 109..."_ she echoed, reading the number on her card. Ciel's hand slipped off of the doorknob and he turned to walk back to the lobby.

"I'm going to file a complaint. This is completely _unacceptable_." he growled, almost stomping his feet as he walked.

"So the room is _mine,_ then? _Much appreciated_." said Hellsing, reaching for the handle on the door. The bluenette immediately turned back around and stopped the woman from entering.

"Oh, _no._ It's _my_ room." he insisted. "I was simply going to tell them to supply you with your _own_."

"Why don't _you_ get _your own?"_

"Because I already _have_ a room!" he growled. They both stood in silence for a moment, simply staring at each other- that is, until Sir Hellsing simply unlocked the door and waltzed right inside.

"Hey! What did I _just_ say?!"

"I don't know. _I couldn't hear you from down there_." she replied, causing the bluenette to follow as he continued to argue.

"Liar! My _height_ has nothing to do with this!"

"Oh, so you really _are_ touchy about your height..."

That was the final straw for Ciel. He threw down his bags, and folded his arms. Had he a pout on his face instead of a scowl, he would've looked childish.

"I'm not letting you have the room." he said.

"What a coincidence. I feel exactly the same way." replied the woman. "What happened to being an _'English gentleman_?' Wouldn't it be the chivalrous thing to do to let the _lady_ have the room?"

"I'm sorry, but you are perhaps the most _UN-effeminate_ woman I have ever seen in my life." The bluenette began ignoring the infuriating other individual and unpacking his things.

Meanwhile, a certain blonde had been awake for a about an hour now, and was currently lined up with his drowsy fellow lads. He was right about it being hard for them to sleep. Because the Irons boy suggested that he could be watching them sleep so loudly, the thought silently hung in the minds of most of the children in the barracks. They all eventually managed to nod off eventually for staying up for so long. They were all nearly exhausted from raining the night before and from being awake that day, so they were all on the brink of exhaustion.

The girls weren't that well off either, seeing as though they were trapped with a vampire and a werewolf, either one likely to injure or _eat_ them. While neither Charlotte or Amelie were likely to do either of those things, the others simply didn't know that. When the captain came up to call role, he was displeased.

"What's all this, then?!" he barked. "Why're you all so tired?!"

"You'd be tired too if you were sleeping in the same room as a demon..." said one of the boys with a yawn.

" _Racists!"_ shouted Amelie, shaking her fist in the air in a playful manner. The captain, known by then as Captain Hayes, frowned.

"Tough!" he shouted. "You gotta get used to it! None of you'll ever survive this camp if you don't! None of these supernaturals will dare lay a finger on any of you, knowing that as soon as they do, they'll have their heads blown in!"

"I've _already_ been shot in the head!" said Alois, raising his hand.

"Not with an _anti-freak bullet,_ you haven't!" barked Hayes.

"You've been shot in the head?" asked Audrey.

"Yeah. It sucked, _and not in a good way_." replied the blonde demon, causing a vein to protrude from the temple of their superior.

"Quiet, before I shoot you both right now!" he shouted.

"But sir, shooting Audrey will send you straight to _hell!_ He's a _'divine being'."_ argued the blonde. Captain Haye turned his gaze to Bones.

"Baines! What exactly are you that makes you _'divine'?"_

"I'm half _Grim Reaper_ , sir." replied Audrey, still at attention.

"A Grim Re-?! How the _hell_ does that even _work!?"_

"His mum's human, sir." said Alois.

"Ain't Grim Reapers supposed to be _skeletons?!"_

"That's just a _stereotype."_

 _"Racist!"_ Amelie shouted again, earning stifled giggles and chuckles from the children. The captain's attention then shifted from bones to the wolf-girl.

"And what the _hell_ are you?!" he barked.

" _Je suis un loup garou!"_ Amelie barked back with a salute, her expression remaining the same as always.

"What?! Speak _English!"_

"She said, _'I'm a werewolf'."_ Charlotte clarified, that being one of the only full sentences in French that she could now understand. Amelie had apparently said it so many times that she was able to pick it up.

"I didn't ask you, _vampire!"_ Hayes shouted.

"Don't talk to _my wife_ that way, _fathead!"_ Amelie snapped back.

"That's it! Both of you! Drop and give me _five hundred_ push ups!"

Ciel smiled to himself at the text he got, conveying to him the story. He was glad Alois and the others were having fun messing with their superiors, at the very least. However, that soft smile of his faded when he looked up and noticed he was being _stared at._

 _"What?"_ he snapped, furrowing his brow at the woman in the room with him.

"Nothing." replied Sir Hellsing. "It's just that I don't think I've ever seen you _smile_ like that before."

" _Problem,_ Hellsing?" the bluenette retorted.

"It's _disturbing."_

Ciel scowled at the woman as hard as he could while making his reply. "Why are you still even _here?"_

"Because it's _my_ room."

The bluenette opened his mouth in order to make some snarky comeback, but simply couldn't come up with one. Thus, he was only able to grumble a small "No it isn't" before turning his attention back to his mobile in order to send his reply.

"Who are you messaging?" the woman asked.

_"Alois."_

_"I see..."_ There was a pause, the only thing being audible were the soft "beeps" that the Phantomhive's phone made whenever he hit a button. It was finally broken by the Hellsing woman as she emitted a small chuckle.

" _What is it?"_ the bluenette asked, his tone harsh.

"It's _funny_." said Integra. "The very idea that a _demon_ can fall in _love_. I never expected that, especially from _you,_ of all people."

"Neither did _I..."_ Ciel replied, stopping his typing for a moment. "I'm glad that I can _amuse_ you." There was another awkward pause. The atmosphere in the room was completely _sour._ Once again, it was Sir Hellsing to break the silence.

_"So what exactly is your relationship with him?"_

_Click!_

"What are you doing?"

"Alois told me to _'take pictures'_ while I was here." said the bluenette, resuming his typing.

"Don't you _dare_ send that!" Sir Hellsing barked. "How _dare_ you take pictures of a lady in her _pajamas?!"_ Ciel stopped typing in order to look at the woman again, his face confused. She was wearing a dress shirt and a black pair of pants.

 _"'Pajamas'?"_ he echoed. _"I had just thought you had simply taken off your coat._.. Wait, what are you doing in _sleepwear?!"_

" _Getting ready to go to bed,_ what did you _think?"_ the woman said flatly. "I'm now simply waiting for you to _leave_."

"You're going to be waiting _awhile,_ then." the bluenette said. He wasn't going to budge. He deleted the picture of Sir Hellsing he had taken, and resumed typing. Finally, he finished his message and sent it.

"Suit yourself, then." said Hellsing. Ciel felt his eyelid twitch as she removed her own eye-patch and crawled into bed before curling up and getting comfortable. "If you do leave, _please lock the door on your way out."_

"What makes you think I'm just going to just up and _leave?!_ This is _my_ room!" shouted the bluenette.

"You're _noisy."_

"I have every _right_ to be! _Some crazy woman has just stolen my bed!_ Where the hell am _I_ supposed to sleep?!"

" _Goodnight, Ciel."_

_"Don't go to sleep, and don't call me 'Ciel'!"_

"You can sleep in _that chair_ you're sitting in. Honestly, I don't see why you're so concerned; _demons_ don't _need_ to sleep..."

"I'm starting to think that _you're_ the _demon_ here!" the boy shouted, only to receive no answer. "Hellsing?" Still no answer. " _Hellsing?_ Hellsing! Don't fall asleep on me, Hellsing! Hellsing! _Integra!"_

The already irate demon became even more furious when he thought he heard _chuckling_ coming from the other noble's side of the room...

 


	192. Melancholy of a Lone Platypus

Ciel's back was killing him. He had slept uncomfortably in a chair all night, thanks to an unfortunate predicament involving one of his greatest rivals. While he could have simply gone to the front desk and requested that the hotel fix their mistake, his pride wouldn't allow himself be bested by the Hellsing woman, and the same goes for her. Losing to the Phantomhive demon simply wasn't an option on her part.

The bluenette awoke, scrunching his nose in disgust at the smell that polluted the air in the room. He forced his eyes open, adjusted them to the light of day, and sat up, pinching his nose with his thumb and index finger in order to hopefully block out the foul oder. He adjusted himself in the chair, looking around the room before grabbing onto his "blanket" that had somehow materialized over the course of the night, a long, olive-coloured coat that obviously was to big for him.

" _Are you smoking!?"_ he called out, knowing that wherever his "roommate" was, she would be able to hear him. Naturally, Sir Hellsing was there, fully dressed and puffing a cigar as she often did.

"And if I am?" the bespectacled woman asked. "These aren't non-smoking rooms."

"I don't care! You're going to make everything I own stink!" barked the Guard-Dog. He grabbed onto the collar of the long dress-shirt he slept in and sniffed it. "My clothes already smell like smoke..." Ciel flinched slightly when the coat in his lap was pulled off of him by the other noble before she proceeded to put it on.

"Your butler called for you already." she said. "It was over thirty minutes ago."

"What?! _Why didn't you wake me?!"_ the bluenette asked, nearly jumping out of the chair and scrambling to get his things together.

"I _tried_. You wouldn't move. Amazing, how someone who doesn't need sleep can sleep so well..." The vampire-hunter turned, and began to walk toward the door. "I'll be seeing you at the party, then?"

"If you do, it will be _too soon_..." the bluenette grumbled, trying to locate his eye-patch.

Finally, he somehow managed to get himself ready, and met Sebastian in the lobby. The bluenette was immediately irritated by the smile on the man's face. He looked absolutely tickled by the boy's predicament.

" _Not a damn word."_ Ciel nearly growled, walking past the man toward the exit. The butler silently followed, keeping his amusement mostly to himself.

The time they had before the party was spent simply exploring the area. The two demons spent a few hours in a local art gallery, occasionally finding something that tickled their fancy, and talking about it before moving on. The bluenette could almost picture the blonde menace running around and wrecking havoc in such a place. He would have sent the lad a few photos, but there was no photography allowed in the museum. It was just as well, though, since the best part wasn't indoors.

It was simply the scenery that enraptured the bluenette. There were many cliffs that looked out over the sea, the water being a greenish blue, yet at the same time being so clear, that you could see down to the bottom in places closer to the shore. There were many green hills and flat-lands that seemed so empty, yet full of life, that the very image seemed to somehow contradict itself. Occasionally, one would come across what looked like the remains of what was once a castle, but it was really only a mill. Cornwall was the kind of place that looked as though you would find a faerie in any flowerbed, or a pixie under any pebble. Why, it was even said to be the place that the legendary King Arthur was said to have originated from. Naturally, these are the images that the bluenette sent, saving them onto his phone in order to send them later that evening when he knew the other lad would be awake.

When the hour arrived to begin to head off to the party, the bluenette found a secluded location and transformed into a more mature visage while Sebastian kept a lookout. The circle with the blue pentacle that had appeared during the previous time he changed his shape so drastically, and his somewhat exhausting adventure began.

It was about then that the children of the H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. summer training camp were waking up and getting ready; putting on their uniforms and getting in line for roll call. Today was a special day for the children, as today, they would be learning how to shoot. Most of the children there had held a weapon in their lives, due to the line of work that their parents were in, but that simply wouldn't cut it. Here, they needed to know the proper way to use a firearm without any tips or tricks, like their fathers or mothers had most likely taught them.

Alois, fortunately, had some experience in this area as well. He had been taught how to shoot by none other than Sebastian Michaelis after the blonde had received a firearm from Sir Hellsing for Christmas. Sebastian was not one to take shortcuts, and as such the Trancy lad had already received proper training when it came to guns. That said, he was still having fun on the firing range with the others.

It took him a few tries to get used to the feeling of firing a foreign pistol, as he was used to his own, _Kaspar_ , but when he finally did, he was hitting the target with near-perfect accuracy. He wasn't as good as either of his demonic compatriots, of course, but he was certainly doing better than some of his fellow campers. They could shoot, but pulling the trigger at a stationary, inanimate target is easy. Their aim was simply horrible, hitting neither the head, or the heart almost every shot. They got close, but "close" does not result in a dead ghoul.

There were two boys in particular, who only seemed to be aiming in the general vicinity of the target, rather than directly at it, simply wasting bullets. They tried to hold their pistols one-handed, like characters in video-games and action-movies and such, only to fail miserably, as their human arms couldn't handle the recoil on their own. Alois didn't know their names, but quickly assumed that they'll learn their lesson eventually when they accidentally shoot themselves. It's like they knew nothing of proper procedure, even after having it explained to them.

Audrey and Nigel were doing well, both calmly taking their time to line up the target in order to hit it with the least amount of bullets. Bones' aim was slightly off, due to the fact that he was completely new to firing weapons. Sure, he had shot and killed the she-demon, _August,_ but that was out of pure _luck_. He had never held a gun in his life up to that point. Audrey was doing his best to not lose his cool and get frustrated, knowing full-well that doing so would only hinder his ability, yet between the frequency of missing his target, and the annoying sounds of gunfire ringing in his ears from the children around him, he was starting to become irritated. He was even wearing protective covering on his ears to block out some of the sound.

He looked to his left, watching Nigel shoot for a few moments, trying to figure out what he was doing differently. He couldn't see it, whatever it was. It was some kind of minute detail that wasn't visible to the naked eye. Audrey then looked to his right at Alois, who seemed to be having a bit too much fun. But then again, he was hitting the targets with little effort, both being a demon and having proper training prior. The boy was beginning to get fancy and shooting one-handed, as he _did_ possess the physical strength to do so.

Then, they heard it. A pained scream mixed in with the sounds of guns. The children stopped firing when they heard it and looked in the direction that the screaming was coming from, all except Alois, who had a pretty good guess at what happened, and didn't have the slightest bit of care about it. He continued to fire at his targets while the others stared at one girl who was on the ground, gripping her leg and screaming in agony.

One of the reckless boys had accidentally shot her. He was trying to twirl the gun in his hand, which wasn't a good idea to be gin with, all without even the safety turned on. He was just lucky that he didn't hit himself, or even kill somebody. It was only when the boy started desperately apologizing that the blonde allowed to let his eyes stray from his task to look at him. Immediately, Alois wrinkled his nose in disgust. It was obvious to the blonde, that the boy wasn't sincere in the slightest.

Just from his previous behaviour and the way he carried himself, Alois knew that the boy couldn't care less about the condition that the girl was in. The boy only began to apologize when the adults came over to help her. The boy wasn't apologizing because he felt empathy; it was because _he didn't want to get in trouble_. And to think that such a _sociopath_ was allowed in a place like this.

The blonde menace lowered his weapon for a moment and thought about that. Wasn't he the same way, at least at some point? Yet why did he feel superior to the careless boy on the other end of the range? Was it hypocrisy, or something else? What was it that made a sociopath, again? The blonde distinctly remembered the bluenette tell him something about it when discussing dangerous criminals.

 _"A sociopath is different than a psycopath, in that sociopaths are_ _ **made**_ _, while psychopaths are_ _ **born**_ _."_ the other demon had said. _"Psychopaths are simply born estranged, while sociopaths were made that way by their living conditions or by some sort of trauma. We are very good examples of this, Alois."_

" _I see..."_ replied the blonde. _"Is that the only difference? Surely that isn't."_

_"No. One of the most important differences between the two, is that sociopaths_ _**can** _ _feel empathy, while psychopaths_ _**can't.** _ _Sociopaths can feel empathy and understanding to select people of their choosing. Psychopaths can't understand anyone. They also kill in two very different ways. The psychopath will methodically plan out every fine detail in their crime, while the sociopath will most likely strike in the heat of the moment."_

_"I don't understand..."_

_"Meaning we can lash out. Even I recall nearly slapping Lizzie when she accidentally broke my family ring."_

_"Oh. Yeah. I can remember doing that several times..."_ the blonde said bashfully. _"But still, are we really 'crazy'?"_

_"Legally speaking, no. If we were in court, we could claim that it was a 'crime of passion', and get off..."_

_"No, no. I mean are we_ _**really** _ _'crazy'? I don't feel that way. In fact, I'm feeling pretty good about myself, lately."_

_"Perhaps you're making a recovery."_ the bluenette said with a small smile.

_"If so, then I blame you!"_

Alois somewhat smiled at the memory. He missed the Phantomhive boy. While he got to hang out with Audrey, and even Nigel, the boy still missed his bluenette cyclops.

The bluenette was feeling the same way as he mingled among the other nobles at the party. He didn't like most of them, feeling as though they were mostly useless or simply ignorant. Granted, Sir Hellsing was there, but he didn't really want to talk to her either, especially since she would no doubt tease him about his current sleeping arrangements. The evening wa mostly filled with faux-smiles and half-hearted attempts at small-talk.

He did, however, talk to one person with some interest; a mister _Rupert Midford_ , the current head of the Midford family. Rupert was tall, taller than Ciel in his adult form by about an inch, and had blonde, curly hair and emerald green eyes. It occurred to the bluenette how much the man looked like a certain vengeful German that he knew of, only slightly more masculine, but he kept these thoughts to himself. The head of Midford was wearing a military dress-uniform, as it was a special occasion, and he was more used to uniforms than suits, even though he was in his late thirties. As a member of the Council of Twelve, he was also aware of Ciel's history, as well as the fact that he was engaged to a Midford at one point, and that there was some Phantomhive blood in the family of knights.

 _"Ciel!"_ the man shouted, waving the bluenette over and reluctantly, the Phantomhive "man" headed the invitation with a slight rolling of his visible eye.

"Hello, Rupert." he said, greeting the man with an unusual amount of respect and familiarity. "How have you been?"

"Ah, not too good. One of my sons has up and decided that he wanted to go and check out the H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. summer training camp, rather than going to an actual acredited military school." the Midford replied, folding his arms.

"Well, once a teenage boy hears about zombies being real, of course they're going to want to see them." said Ciel. "Why didn't you simply tell him _'no'?"_

"He insisted relentlessly. I think they should be able to live the way they want to, but at the same time..."

 _"I wouldn't want my kid working for Hellsing, either, Rupert_."

"Oh, so you _do_ understand?" asked the golden blonde. "It's nothing personal against Integra, or the Hellsing family, I just think he should have some pride as a Midford!"

"I know the feeling..." Ciel trailed off as he had received a message from a certain blonde menace. He pulled out his mobile and checked it. It was an image.

It was a picture of a target at the camp's shooting range. It was shot ever-so carefully so that the bullets would spell out the French word " _MERDE",_ meaning "shit _"_ on it. Next to it was Amelie in her uniform with her hair in a ponytail posing next to it in a silly fashion. The caption that Alois had put with it had simply said "skillz". Ciel couldn't help but smile slightly at it.

"What's so funny?" asked the "other" man, leaning over slightly in order to see the image.

"Alois sent me a picture of one of our maids being stupid." replied the bluenette, as he sent one of the images he had taken before the sun had set. It wasn't funny, or especially exciting otherwise, but still, he wasn't quite sure what else to say.

The blonde received the image, and simply sat in the barracks staring at it for a long while. He never thoguht he would ever miss sunlight, now having to be awake during the night, and sleep during the day. While it could be argued that the blonde didn't require sleep, he would most likely get in trouble for running about after curfew, especially because he's a demon.

The image that was on the small screen simply placed the blonde under aesthetic arrest. The place Ciel was in didn't seem real, almost. It was so surreal, and beautiful, that the blonde simply couldn't look away. He didn't know if he actually wanted to go there, or just look at it.

Ciel, on the other hand, had decided that two hours was enough time to mingle. While two hours might not be considered worth the four-hour drive and the night spent trapped in a room with one of his greatest rivals, he was tired of people. He didn't want to be there in the first place, and he was exhausted. Immediately upon getting in the car to leave, he unintentionally changed back into his usual form, much to the butler's amusement.

Remaining in a different form for long amounts of time was exhausting. It was easy, once learned, but tiring, unless a demon sets that shape to their "default" form, but even then, it wasn't advisable. On some level, after having discovered the fact that demons don't have a sense of self, like he somehow miraculously has, he didn't want to lose it. If he were to change his shape from that of his "human" self for a long while, would he finally lose what little amount of "humanity" that he clung to? He thought about things like this often, and has yet to figure it out, even after all of these years.

 _And it scared him_. Ciel Phantomhive, the human, was a boy who had pride, and dignity, and a presence that commanded those around him, and he wasn't afraid of death, or of ceasing to exist, yet Ciel Phantomhive, the demon, after having fulfilled his initial objective, and after having been given another option, he didn't feel the same way any longer. All the Guard-Dog had for awhile was his self, his pride, his dignity, his nobility, and now in addition to that, he has the one type of power that he lacked: physical strength. He could fight for himself now, but at a price: _losing_ that self.

As he stared at the inside of his eyelids as they rode back to the hotel, he thought about these things, resting but not asleep. He didn't need to sleep. He wasn't human, after all, even if he felt like, and behaved like one. Being confronted with these things bothered him. His meeting with the current head of Midford reminds him of his lack of humanity, and that part of his life is gone. Talking to Sir Hellsing reminds him of his lack of humanity, and that he will never get it back. He will never be human again, even though he still felt like one. He will never be human again, even though he still felt like one. Thoughts like these made an odd, war with himself wage on inside his head, causing him to wonder things like what did it really mean to be "human"? If he felt like one, doesn't that make him one? "Cogito, ergo sum"; "I think, therefore I am"? Or was it something else? Was it not a concious thing at all?

Was it mental, psychological, or philosophical? Was it physical, biological, or anatomical? What makes a human being a "human being"? Even other creatures like Grim Reapers, vampires, and werewolves acted human, had feelings and identities like humans, yet they were not "human". Ciel opened his eyes, ceasing his pondering as the car began to slow down.

He and the butler arrived at the hotel, and walked inside. They parted ways and headed to their own individual rooms. Ciel was incredibly thankful for leaving the party before the horrible Hellsing woman, finally having the room to himself. The bluenette quickly took a shower and got ready for bed, stealing it before the bespectacled vampire-hunter could do so.

It was another hour after that, when the door of the room came open and someone walked in. Ciel didn't even notice. He was simply far too out of it. It was only in the morning when he actually noticed, since there was someone in the bed with him.

 _"What the bloody hell are you doing!?"_ he demanded, bolting up out of bed and glaring at the woman who was facing the wall on her own side.

"You're too loud, Phantomhive." the Hellsing woman replied. "You're English, have some _manners_."

"You think _I_ need manners?! _You're_ the one crawling into other people's beds!" retorted the bluenette, not taking his eyes off the human for even a moment as she sat up and put on her own eye-patch.

"What? Did you expect _me_ to sleep in a _chair?_ I see no harm in it, with your current form. I'm not afraid of _children_."

"What?!"

"Do you have some sort of _problem?"_

"How _dare_ you treat me like a child?! I have lived nearly _four times_ as long as you have!" The woman paid no mind to the boy, and prepared to get ready for the day. "Do you hear me?!"

"I _hear_ a little _brat_ who never stops _whining_ about his little _insecurities_." replied Sir Hellsing. "Why don't you spend less time focusing on what you _lack,_ and more on your _pride? Or are you simply embarrassed that you shared a bed with a woman?"_

_"I... Hate... You..."_

"So I'm _correct,_ then? I thought you were a _homosexual?"_

" _Shut up!"_

It was that exchange that made the bluenette's attitude completely sour for the rest of the day. It was so severe that the very air around him was sour and unbreathable. Fortunately, for Sebastian, demons did not require air to breathe, especially since he was trapped within an enclosed space with the boy for the four-hour drive back to London. Sebastian knew that whatever Sir Hellsing had said to him had seriously crushed his ego.

Immediately upon returning home, he shut himself in his room and unpacked his things, still somewhat fuming. That ego of his is what helped him maintain his humanity, yet that same ego caused him so much frustration whenever it had been questioned, or forced to budge, especially by a person with a similar amount of pride. It made him feel powerless, and he did not like that feeling. Not one bit.

While unpacking he looked to his dresser, and saw a familiar, furry face; the visage of _Steven the Platypus_. He had forgotten it was there, were Alois had left it. The bluenette's thoughts strayed from their origin onto the subject of the blonde menace for a moment.

Has was a human too, at some point, right? So does he ever think about his humanity as well? If he is still "human", in some aspect? Demons don't have identities, they don't function like humans do, they don't feel like humans do. They don't feel affection. They don't do that, so wasn't the fact that the bluenette felt something towards the blonde a sign of his humanity? All of these questions and thoughts made Ciel's head hurt, as well as the rest of him extremely uncomfortable.

An idea occurred to him. The bluenette quickly took his phone out of his pocket and readied the camera, aiming it at the odd plush animal that had been so carelessly abandoned in his room. He then typed in a message, and sent it.

 _"Someone misses you."_ he said along with the image of the lone platypus.

He didn't expect the blonde to message him back right away, seeing that it was daytime, and H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G.'s operations primarily take place at night. Thus, he was quite surprised when he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. Reading the message he got, he smiled.

_"I miss you too, Ciel_

_-AT"_

* * *

 


	193. A Heartwarming Moment, Or Some Shit

_"I heard that some big-shot's gonna come and inspect the camp tonight."_

_"What?! Who?!"_

_"I heard that he works for the government."_

_"It's probably bullshit."_

Rumors spread about the camp as the children spoke while they performed their usual tasks of doing laps and drills and such. It was during their equivalent of "lunch" (around twelve-thirty at night), that they really started to get out of hand. They spoke of how the person was actually Sir Hellsing herself, and that she was there to give them some bizarrely cruel and unusual test.

_"What do you think it'll be like?"_

_"Who knows? We don't even know if it's her, if anyone is coming at all."_

"Hey, can I sit here?" asked a certain ginger cadet to a certain pair of supernatural beings. One of them was a blonde, with his hair pulled back in a tiny ponytail and the other boy had odd, multi-coloured eyes. The two simply looked at each other for a moment before speaking.

"Sure." they both said, confused at this anomaly before them.

The boy who sat down at their table, the table were all the "supernatural" kids sit, the table that no one else dared to sit at, was the son of the two lad's world history teacher, mister Irons. Nigel, although he shared his father's reddish-orange hair colour and eyes, he was nothing like the man. While mister Irons' had a mean face, Nigel had a round, childish face and he smiled a lot too. While mister Irons' presence was intimidating, Nigel's was approachable. While mister Irons was a frightening, angry man, Nigel was a friendly, happy young boy. The lad's simply couldn't believe the two were directly related.

"Aren't you scared to come over here?" asked Audrey, picking at his unappetizing, mess-hall food. He didn't eat much, but was still at least partially human, therefore required food. "We're _'evil monsters',_ you know."

"Hm? You don't seem that way." replied the human boy, sitting down. "Besides, aren't Grim Reapers still 'divine' beings, anyway?"

"Yeah, but they still _kill_ people..."

"Well, you're not going to kill me, right? I don't think any of you would. At the very least, Amelie would try and _scare_ me, right?" the boy said jokingly, commenting on the time that the wolf girl had changed her appearance, giving herself a "dog-head" while chasing around some of the other children.

" _They deserved it_." the girl said, shoving food into her mouth.

 _"I apologize in advance_..." Charlotte added.

"See? I'm not worried." Nigel said, picking at his own meal. "I'm more worried about the _'test'_ everyone's talking about. I don't know if it's true, but if it is, it must really be _something..."_

"It's probably _bullshit_." spoke the blonde menace, at last. "Ciel told me that there was a test that was supposed to be difficult for new recruits, but it was completely safe."

"Really? Was he talking about the test where we're supposed to shoot _ghouls?"_

"Yep. Think you can handle it?" asked Alois with a smirk. He really wanted the boy to doubt in himself for a moment.

 _"Hell_ no! An _Irons_ isn't afraid of anything." said the human boy with a determined look.

"Really?" the blonde asked, slightly amused by the boy's words. "As long as you know that playing those zombie-themed video-games aren't anything like the real thi-" The blonde stopped talking. and simply stared over the boy's shoulder, not looking at him, but at the person on the other side of the mess hall, standing in the doorway.

It was a boy, who looked about fifteen, with an eye-patch and what appeared to be a permanent scowl on his face. His eyes were a brilliant shade of sapphire, and his hair was an odd shade of blueish slate, while his suit was completely black. With him, was a tall man with a sly look on his face with garnet eyes and raven-coloured hair with a suit of a similar shade to the lad's, and there was also a rather serious-looking woman with tan skin and long, pale blonde hair, in a dark-grey suit with a red ascot. She also wore an eye-patch, but it was on the eye opposite to the boy's. With her, was another woman, another blonde with red eyes, and a dark red uniform with a short skirt and long, somewhat torn-looking stockings. Her left arm looked odd, as it simply appeared to be a black, shadowy mass. It was a rather interesting group of people. Following the blonde's eyes, Nigel looked over his shoulder and set eyes upon them as well.

"Whoa... Who're they?" he asked, unaware of the identities fo the out-of-place individuals. He looked back at the blonde when he heard the sound of the boy's chair scraping against the floor as he pushed it back and stood up. Nigel was even more confused when the blonde began charging straight at the group; at the bluenette lad in particular.

" _CIEL~!"_ he shouted, immediately alerting the lad of his presence before assaulting him, nearly knocking the bluenette over as he hugged him. The Phantomhive boy unconsciously found his arms around the blonde's waist as he tried to maintain his balance.

"Do you _have_ to attack me?" he asked, his cheeks slightly pink at the fact that the blonde was being so affectionate with him in public, especially in front of Sir Hellsing. The woman simply snorted at the display, trying not to laugh at the bluenette's embarrassment, and especially at the fact that the lad was now shooting "ice-beams" in her direction.

"Yes. Yes I do!" Alois declared, refusing to let go of the Phantomhive boy for even a second. "I haven't seen you in _forever~!"_

"It's only been a few weeks..." the bluenette insisted.

"Ah, you say that, and yet you're here~! Was someone getting _lonely~?"_ Both of the HE.L.L.S.I.N.G. women with them now snorted, trying not to laugh at the darkening redness of the bluenette's face.

"I was _not!_ I only came to _make sure you weren't getting yourself into trouble!"_

_"I missed you too, darling~!"_

"Shut up!" Ciel nearly jumped when he heard the clapping of the Hellsing woman's gloved hands, followed by her voice.

"As much as I'd hate to break up this ' _heartwarming reunion'_ , there's still business to take care of." she said, not looking phased in the slightest. "The matter of the Ghoul Test..."

"I see... Are the rules still the same?" asked the bluenette. "Participants _must_ make a hit or be pentalized?"

"Yes, and as always, supernatural beings _aren't allowed to use a scope_." the woman replied.

"No scope?!" demanded the blonde menace. "I might have good vision, but it's not _that_ good!"

"Use your _sixth sense,_ then." said Sir Hellsing, lighting a cigar. "I've been informed that you've already had some practice with it, therefore you should be fine."

"Yeah, but what about Audrey? Grim Reapers can't see too good at all."

"What do you mean?"

"Grim Reapers are incredibly _near-sighted_." explained the bluenette. "He's probably going to be needing a scope at that distance."

"And what about you, _Jim?"_ the woman asked Alois, calling him by his real name. He furrowed his brow at this.

 _"I'll be fine either way. It's just a small handicap_." said the boy, who had been complaining about the condition he was to be tested under. It was amazing what power his name had over him, merely mentioning it provokes such odd responses from the boy. "When does the test start?"

"As soon as the others are finished eating." the Hellsing woman replied, smiling somewhat at the boy's change in attitude.

"Oh? Is it really wise to make them see _that_ right after eating?"

"It's better than them eating _nothing_."

Ciel simply stared at the blonde for a moment, processing all of this. He was speaking to Sir Integra Fairbrook Wingates Hellsing, a woman who had intimidated the boy during the last time he saw her, and was getting excited over the fact that he would be killing ghouls. He seemed to have resembled his old self, the self that the bluenette had known over one hundred years ago. The Phantomhive boy's visible eye then caught a glimpse of the emblem that the blonde had drawn on the front of his uniform.

"Is that my family's crest?" he asked, obtaining the attention of the blonde. Alois blinked for a moment, trying to figure out what the other boy was talking about, but then it hit him.

"Huh? Oh, yeah." he replied, grinning. "I don't work for the Hellsing family, after all."

"You moron. Don't you know that you aren't supposed to deface your uniform?"

"Yeah! They gave me lots of shit for it and told me to change it, but I didn't, so they just gave up, eventually."

"Was it really worth it?"

"Of course it was!" said the blonde menace. "I knew you'd get all possessive and stuff, if I didn't do something."

"I would _not..."_

"Yet have you noticed that you haven't let go of me this _entire time?"_ Alois smirked at the dark blush on the bluenette's face as the boy quickly tried to separate them in vain. He furrowed his brow as the blonde simply held onto him tighter as not to be forced off, giggling at the bluenette's embarrassment.

"Shut up!" the Phantomhive boy ordered. " _Let go!"_

"I can't! I haven't been able to hug you in _weeks!"_

"I don't care! _We're in public!"_

"Oh, so it's being flirted with in front of you arch-rival, that embarrasses you?"

_"Idiot!"_

_"I love you too, muffin~!"_

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Honestly, this fic could have been halfway uploaded on this site if I would just remember to do it everyday. Unfortunately, I'm not really in the habit of using AO3. I'm like an old lady who's just learning how to use a computer for the first time. Get off my lawn!
> 
> When was the last time I even watched Kuro? I don't remember. It's sitting on my DVD shelf, cold, alone, and without any love. Instead I've been trying to get back into anime by watching stuff I haven't seen before. I'm in the middle of watching Ghost In The Shell for the first time, but I can't decide what I want to see next. Akira? Black Lagoon? The last anime I watched was very strange in that it was just a bunch of highschoolers talking about and debunking some of the dumb things teenagers believe about sex. I, being the classy sophisticate that I am, have a deep appreciation for a well-written period joke. Amazing. Ah... And I still need to catch up on Drifters... 
> 
> Basically, I have several shows that I've started and haven't finished yet. To top it all off, I feel the need to add even MORE onto that! Maybe I should just focus on copying and pasting fanfics onto here, huh?
> 
> Until the next chapter, my duckies~!


	194. Being Human

Ciel sat with a frown on his face as he stared down at the fenced-off area below him, and at the children across from him looking down at the same area from their small towers, almost identical to his. He wasn't scowling at the seemingly twisted test that was about to take place, but at the woman seated next to him, smoking a cigar with a small smirk. He knew that she wasn't smirking at the test, as it wasn't in the woman's nature to be so sadistic. No, he knew that Sir Hellsing was smirking at his behaviour from earlier while interacting with the blonde menace, also known as "Alois Trancy", or "Jim Macken".

"You're never going to let that go, are you?" he asked, twitching an eyebrow in annoyance.

"It was too funny not to." replied Sir Hellsing, prompting a small giggle out of her own blonde, vampiric servant seated just to her left.

The bluenette scoffed at the woman's statement, glaring at the butler to his right for chuckling. He set his sight on the tower directly across from their own, approximately two stories up off of the ground. He couldn't help but ponder the sickness of the examiners, as he watched the children carefully load their rifles, and begin aiming at the large shipping container in the center of the small, fenced off section of the camp, located right at it's center. Even Sir Hellsing seemed slightly irked by this.

They were children, yet they were being burdened by such a task, the task of shooting a ghoul in the head. Most human beings aren't able to kill a living thing, let alone something in the shape of a human. Even hardened solders have difficulty taking a life. It is just the way that society is made. You aren't supposed to kill, no matter what. It was a very human morality.

After the children were all ready, they waited, their sights set on the container, nervously anticipating it's opening. Sweat began to bead on their foreheads and some were even shaking, wondering what a ghoul really looks like. Only three of the tests participants weren't fearful, as they had seen them before. Charlotte, Amelie, and Alois. Audrey hadn't seen one, and with his little experience with the supernatural world, and with firearms, he was nervous, just like all of the others. Everyone seemed to hold their breath as one of the examiners placed in each of the towers counted down.

"Ready?" he barked, children preparing themselves mentally for what was to come. "Begin!"

A small explosive connected to the doors of the container went off, breaking open the lock so that no one had to be down there in order release the monsters. It was when the bang stopped, and the children could hear the groaning and gurgling of the walking corpses, that they all became very, very afraid. This fear was heightened when the smoke cleared, and they became visible.

Not one single shot was fired, even though their targets were in plain sight. Some children closed their eyes to escape the sight, some threw down their weapons and hid in the back of the tower, some simply stood frozen in fear at the sight. They just couldn't bring themselves to fire.

Real, bona fide ghouls; walking corpses that feasted on human flesh. Real ones. It wasn't the same as playing a video-game. No video-game or horror movie in the world could have prepared them for this. No story from their family members who had seem them, no matter how vividly they described the creatures' garish appearance could have prepared them for seeing the real thing. These ugly, rotten, horrifying things were at one point, human beings, and they were expected to shoot. If they didn't, they would have to do push-ups, or scrub the bathrooms with a toothbrush, and some of the children preferred that over this. Anything but this.

BANG!

Suddenly, a shot went off, and a ghoul feel, it's decaying grey matter splattered all over the ground that it had stood on. The others looked to find the source of the shot, wincing as they heard the loud booming of another. It was the blonde demon-boy. Of course it was. Only a demon could be so viscous.

But then, another shot went off, and another, and another, all from different locations. The other supernatural beings had joined the frey, completing their task. They had quickly gotten over the initial shock of seeing the creatures, and began to wipe them out. Even Audrey, who was unused to such things, joined in.

He wasn't fond of killing these things. It was fun in a game, but in real life, it was difficult, in a emotionally draining sort of way. It was difficult to get over the fact that these were people at one point, but he remembered H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G philosophy that had been drilled into their heads before the test.

"These people didn't want to end up like this. Killing them is the only way to put them to rest. Killing them is an act of mercy." he said aloud, reminding the others around him. It seemed to help them out, as they, too joined the frey.

Slowly, ghouls began to drop, although it was mostly their limbs, as they were shot off by the children's poor aim. Even Nigel Irons, who did well in practice, was having trouble now, his nerves getting to him. Training was one thing, reality was another. His eye widened when he noticed something.

"They're... getting closer..." he muttered weakly. The ghouls were beginning to flock toward the towers, as that is were the humans were. It was a natural thing for them to do, and Nigel knew this. He also knew that they were high above the creatures, with a fence preventing them from even getting close to the towers, but it still terrified him.

Nigel stood up in order to take better aim at the approaching ghouls, firing several shots at his knew, odd angle, taking out several ghouls. Unconsciously, he leaned forward in order to aim with even greater accuracy, but then the foolish boy had lost his balance, and fell. Thank God, that the ground was soft, cushioning most of the impact, but as he tried to stand up, a horrible, piercing pain shot up through his leg. He looked down at it, to see his ankle twisted in a manner that it definitely should not be in.

This new observation terrified him, but then, he heard the groans that had chilled his blood before become oddly louder. It was at that moment, that his terror became that of such a magnitude that no child would ever have to experience. Slowly, he looked up, and realized where he was. He was on the inside of the fence.

He couldn't run. He couldn't get up. He couldn't climb the chain-link fence to freedom. There was no escape. The Ghouls saw him, the sound of his fall alerting them of his presence, and trudged toward him. All H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. operatives grabbed a gun and began firing, preventing the creatures from getting any closer to the boy. They didn't need to wait for Sir Hellsing's order to do so. The woman stood up, horrified at what had just happened. She even reached into her coat, tightly gripping the handle of her personal pistol before beginning to open fire herself.

"Someone get that boy out of there!" she commanded.

The Phantomhive boy stood up, readying himself to get down there and rescue the human lad, even though he knew he wouldn't be able to make it in time. The ghouls were too close. Far too close. They were almost right on top of the boy, arms outstretched, ready to grab him and tear him apart.

It was over for Nigel Irons. He couldn't escape this. No one could help him. He shut his eye tightly, tears streaming down his face. Every muscle in his body tensed up as he simply waited, whimpering, ready as he ever would be to accept his fate.

But that wasn't the case. The Irons boy felt some cool, foul-smelling liquid splash on his face, and a simultaneous gasp from the people above him. The gunfire stopped for a moment, even though the sounds of the creatures groaning didn't. Time passed, and he felt nothing else and thus, he forced himself to open an eye, and see before him a blonde boy with his hair pulled back in a rather small ponytail, blood on his clenched fist, his back to the human boy. At his feet was a dead ghoul, it's head smashed. What he didn't see, however, was that the blonde lad's eyes were glowing red, with his pupils slit.

Alois looked to the tower that the bluenette was at, as though asking the boy for permission for what he was about to do next. When his silent plea was answered with a nod, he smiled, raising the rifle that was still in his free hand. He gripped the barrel of it, holding it up like a cricket bat, and swung it, striking another ghoul in the cranium with the butt of the weapon. It wasn't a close-range weapon, so he improvised.

He did this again and again until the weapon fell apart, the wood of the butt splintering, leaving him only with his fists. He continued to strike, but the creatures were still getting to close, so he did the only logical thing he could think of, and burst into flames. The black substance caught fire to several surrounding ghouls, burning them. Nigel almost couldn't bear being so close to the heat, clenching his eyes shut again and shielding his face with his arms. When he opened his eyes again, when the heat had vanished, the boy that he had been bunked with for about three weeks was gone too. In his place, was a demon.

A demon with horns sprouting from the sides of his head, bending forwards like a bull's, and a blonde tail, like that of a monkey. He had pointed ears, read eyes and sharp canines that were plainly visible with his smile. The blonde's black fingernails had grown into claws, and his uniform was replaced with a bizarre, black outfit. The demon's shirt stopped at his ribcage, revealing his abdomen, with no sleeves so that his shoulders were also bare. There was a metal plate that fastened the front shut with the word "JUDAS" etched into it. He wore long, fingerless gloves that reached past his elbows, and black thigh-high boots with short-shorts, revealing only a small strip of skin were they failed to meet.

So, this was a demon? This boy, who had been so kind before, and who had jumped in to rescue the Irons lad, now radiating a corrupt, spiteful aura that didn't at all match his smile? Alois held out his arms, as if he was going to embrace the creatures before him, before quickly moving them forward, seemingly dragging along with them vines that burst forth from the ground behind him on either side of the human boy leaning against the fence. The vines acted as a barrier between them and the other monsters for a moment before the blonde opened his arms once more. They moved as though they were his arms, slapping away the ghouls that so threatened to surround the two boys.

The blonde flexed his wrists slightly, willing the vines to wrap around the human boy who was trapped down there with him, before stretching his arms upward, propelling Nigel over the fence again and into the tower from whence he originated. It took a moment for the examiners to snap out of their stupor, but when they did, they immediately began tending to the injured cadet. Alois, however, let his hands drop to his sides, sweating slightly and furrowing his brow. That would be his limit on the vines. If he continued to use them, he wouldn't last long.

Much to his displeasure, the ghouls that he had forced back had begun to rise again, as he neglected to pierce either their heads or their hearts. He simply didn't have the energy or accuracy to do so. The gunfire had stopped, leaving him to fend for himself.

"How rude..." he muttered. "You save someone's life, and no one even lifts a finger to help you?" Still, he smiled when he looked up at the ghouls closing in. "I guess that means I can go all out."

Alois charged the horde before him with a roar. This was him venting all of his frustration from the past three weeks. From all of the drills, all of the screaming of orders given by some incredibly intimidating older man, which opened some old wounds. From all of the lack of privacy due to sleeping in barracks, and all of the discrimination for being a demon. From the low-quality food in the mess hall, causing him to go without eating human food, and from all of the madness brought on by the conformity forced upon all of the children by denying them both opinions and individuality by several means. From being forced away from his home, and happiness, and into this place that made him feel claustrophobic and trapped. That in itself was a punishment. With every swing, punch, and kick, he vented, taking out all of his frustrations on something that he wouldn't get in trouble for.

With a sigh, the bluenette sat back down in his seat as he observed this. He would have stopped the blonde, but Ciel knew full-well that the boy kind of needed this. Sir Hellsing, however, stood in horror as she watched the boy violently wipe out the undead masses.

"What...?" was all she could say, not entirely sure what she was asking. That boy who had been so affectionate and weak-looking before was now single-handedly decimating dangerous flesh-eating monsters.

"Just leave him be." the Phantomhive boy said, snapping her from her daze and grabbing her attention. "He's alright. If things go too far, I'll stop him."

"'Too far'?!" asked the woman. "What exactly qualifies as 'too far', in your eyes?!"

"When he begins to lose sight of himself, he's gone too far." replied the other noble.

"Can you stop him, at that point?"

"Most likely. He's simply throwing a tantrum, at the moment. It's probably best to let him run out of steam."

"You call this a 'tantrum'?!"

"Yes, I do." said the boy, pausing to meet Sir Hellsing's gaze. "That's just how Alois is. He harbors a lot of pain, and a lot of loathing, for himself, mostly. It's from the past that he's had. Even if one is the strongest of people, if one doesn't let out their hidden emotions every so often, they'll break."

Sir Hellsing paused for a long while before speaking again. "Why hide them in the first place, then?"

"You know full-well that is an impossibility. Everyone hides their emotions at times, whether they are human, or not."

"But why like this?" asked the woman. She looked back out at the field as the others were vacating, leaving behind only H.E.L. .N.G. soldiers. "Surely, there's another way..."

"If there was, he wouldn't be lashing out like this, would he?"

"He's a sick boy..."

"Yes, but he's just as sick as I am." the bluenette said with a slight smirk, prompting the woman's attention. It was so easy for her to forget what this petite boy really was at times, but it was at times like this when she remembered. The bluenette before her was a human-like monster.

But then, something else dawned on the Hellsing woman. That was why. That was why the bluenette had allowed such a person to be so close to him, even thought they were obviously so fundamentally different. It was because, at their very core, they were the same, sharing that same "sickness".

"Are you sure that you can stop him?" she asked, looking back to the blonde on a bloody rampage below. "Right now, he doesn't even resemble a human..."

"True..." the Phantomhive boy said, standing up and looking out at the sight below. "But even humans, at the very center, are animals. What makes humans special?" He smirked as he waited for an answer from the woman, believing to have stumped her with the very question that had stumped himself.

"Our will and tenacity." she said finally, genuinely surprising the demon-boy. Ciel simply raised his eyebrows at the statement.

"What?" he asked.

"True humans don't kill for their own pleasure, or satisfaction. That's what monsters do. A human will fight a monster, knowing that there is a high probability that they will die, or even knowing that they will die, because it is their duty. A human will never give up, no matter what."

"Is that how you justify killing for her majesty?"

"No." the woman said. "I am directly responsible for my own actions. I destroy agents of evil specifically because it is my duty as a human, not because I am ordered to." She fiercely glared at the boy, somehow managing to send a chill down his spine. "I'm no dog like you."

Ciel could do nothing but let all of that sink in for a moment, blinking a few times. After it did, he felt a chuckle bubble out from his throat before erupting into laughter. This, of course, made the other noble furious.

"Just what exactly is so funny?!" she demanded. "Answer me!" The bluenette did his best to stop his laughing, managing to stifle and contain it again.

"So that's what a 'human' is?" he asked, smiling. "They refuse to give up even in the face of death and defeat?"

"And? What of it?"

"Then Alois is human!" the boy said, chuckling again. The eyes of everyone in the tower widened at the statement, the eyes of Sebastian doign so before he smiled his signature grin. It was an incredibly interesting thing to say.

"What..?" the woman asked, somewhat dumbfounded by the boy's statement. "That... thing?"

"He isn't a 'thing'. According to your philosophy, he's 'human'." the bluenette repeated. "Alois is 'human', specifically because of the fact that he refuses to die; to simply give up on life. He is 'human', because he has escaped hell, and has the audacity to pursue happiness from a life that gave up on him." Sir Hellsing was made speechless by that accusation.

"Yes, but at the same time, he appears to be having a good time massacring ghouls at the moment, doesn't that make him a 'monster'?" she asked finally, smirking a bit, herself.

"He's only following orders, and taking revenge on those who had threatened his comrade. Relieving stress is simply a bonus." Ciel stopped talking for a moment in order to glance over at the one-sided battle below, watching as the blonde demon began to slow down.

Alois was covered from head to toe in blood, and was beginning to actually get somewhat tired of rampaging. No matter how many he killed, their seemed to be more. He was beginning to wonder if he could really do this on his own. He was 'running out of steam', just as the bluenette had predicted. While he wanted to finish this all on his own, he was beginning to think that this was an impossibility. Regardless, he continued to flail about, but his punches seemed to be having less of an impact as they had before, making it harder to fight.

He turned as heard heard the sound of something hitting the ground somewhere off in the distance in the arena, seeing black flames draw some of the attention away from him. When the flames disappeared, there, stood another demon. One with hair of an odd shade of blueish black, and black horns sprouting from it's head, bending backwards. This demon showed far less skin than the blonde did, being in a more military-style get-up of a similar shade. While he was happy to see the bluenette, and receive help, the blonde was also a little disappointed that he wouldn't be able to handle this himself.

Ciel simply waited for the ghouls to get closer. He waited for them to step on his shadow, which was to his advantage, duplicated on four sides by the angles of the harsh lights that illuminated the camp at night. As soon as the walking corpses got close enough, the bluenette smirked. He had learned new magic, and was glad to have a chance to use it.

The shadows impaled the ghouls, sprouting up from their places on the ground in multiple directions, piercing the bodies in many different locations, "killing" them. He grabbed his gun off of his belt, aiming it while repeating his attacks with his shadow. Alois was awe-stricken by this power.

Even here, after all of the training he had gone through, after growing so much stronger, he was still no match for the bluenette. He knew this. He knew it well. Yet, even so, he stood back up and began to fight again, refusing to be out-done. He did this, because on some level, somewhere beneath his demonic exterior, and past his warped mind, he was still very "human".

Sir Hellsing simply watched from above as the demonic duo fought along side one another, trying to best each other in their own ways. She watched as she dwelled on what the bluenette had said about them being "human". The more she watched, the more she began to wonder whether or not he was right, as much as she hated to admit it. Were they human-like monsters, or monster-like humans?

At long last, the final ghoul fell at the hands of the boy-demons. Alois simply fell to his knees, sitting on his legs awkwardly while trying to regain some energy. He was tired, covered in filth, and his image with the children was completely destroyed, them probably being terrified of him by now if they already weren't. Worst of all, Ciel seemed further away now than ever, with that new ability. He sat there, simply feeling hopeless while the other boy crouched down in front of him.

"You alright?" the bot asked, the blonde only answering right away with a sigh.

"I guess..." Alois said, scratching his head. "My ego's a bit bruised, though."

"Why's that?" Ciel asked, tilting his head slightly.

"Why do you have to get a new power?" the blonde whined slightly. "It's hard enough keeping up with you as it is..."

"You're still on about that? You're fine as you are, already. Get that through your head."

"That's easy for you to say..."

"I only learned it to keep up with you, moron." Alois nearly jumped at the statement, looking up to gaze at the face of the other boy in order to determine whether or not he was serious. Ciel simply furrowed his brow and continued.

"You learned that plant ability of yours in no time, so of course I wanted to develop an ability of my own..." he said, blushing slightly. The blonde simply continued to stare at him, dumbfounded by all of this.

"You... wanted to keep up... with me?"

"Yes. Now cut it out with all of this whining about looking weak." Ciel scolded, lightly flicking the other boy's forehead. "Open your eyes and see how strong you are, already. It's annoying."

"I-I can't help it! You're Ciel Phantomhive, and I'm just..." the blonde hesitated before saying it, as though he would it would bring the dead ghouls around them back to their un-life. "I'm just... Jim Macken..." The bluenette bopped the boy on the head for saying that, startling Alois.

"Idiot. Is that what this has been about? That's so stupid." the Phantomhive boy said, furrowing his brow. "I don't care if you're Alois Trancy, or Jim Macken. I don't care about your past, either. I love you, don't I? Just how many times do I have to tell you that you're more than good enough?!" He stared at the blonde, who simply stared back with a shocked expression on his face. "It's the first time we've seen each other in a few weeks, and it has to end up like this, again... damn..."

The bluenette immediately stopped talking when he saw tears streaming down the blonde's cheeks. Alois was crying, his lip quivering and his eyes red and watery. The blonde looked at the ground when he noticed.

"...I'm just... scared..." he said softly, his voice cracking. He didn't trust it to go any louder. "...I'm scared... I'm scared you'll... leave... I need to be as good as you... so I can stay by your side... What if you change your mind? What if you get bored with me? I'm scared... I don't want to be alone-" He was cut off when he was grabbed and pulled into the arms of the bluenette.

"Stop it." the other boy ordered.

"Ciel? What are you doing?!" the blonde asked, trying to wiggle his way to freedom. "I'm all gross and stuff! You'll get dirty..."

"I don't care."

"But Sir Hellsing will see-" he was cut off again by the other boy's lips.

"You're more important. I won't let you be like this." the bluenette said when they parted again, maintaining his iron-grip on the blonde.

"But-"

"I won't let you argue about it, either." The blonde simply pouted.

"Then what will you let me do?"

 _"I'll let you stay by my side, right where I want you to be."_ the bluenette said, with one of the softest expressions he's ever made. "I don't _joke_ about stuff like this. You know that."

"But won't you be pissed when Hellsing teases you about this, later?" Alois asked.

"Probably, but that doesn't really matter. Just smile like you always do, and everything will be fine. Stop being _scared_."

"...Why do you always know exactly what to say?"

"I don't know... I think I sound like a _rambling mess..."_

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The amount of italics I used in this thing disturbs me... Why did I write like this? Not everything needs to be in italics! They're meant to be used for emphasis! Maybe I just thought all of it was important? I dunno. I just removed all of them from this chapter, and might start doing that in the future if I remember.


	195. A Cadet In Trouble

"That little shit!" shouted a certain blonde cadet to no one in particular. "How dare he say all of those things to be and then just leave?!"

"You're still on about that?" Bones asked, lacing his boots. "That was almost a week ago, Alois..."

"I don't care! I'm gonna show him what for next time I see him! That stupid midget!"

"Hey, from the looks of him, I'm around the same height as Sir Phantomhive." Nigel chimed in, grabbing his crutches. His ankle was broken, and thus he had to forfeit the top bunk and sleep on the bottom so he could get in and out of bed by himself.

"'Sir'?" Alois echoed in a questioning tone. "Since when is he a 'Sir'?"

"My dad said that he was knighted after the war... You didn't know?" The blonde menace furrowed his brow and pouted at the new information.

"How dare he not tell me these things?! I'm gonna kill him for his insolence when I get home!" he shouted a bit too loudly. The other boys who were straggling behind with getting ready were definitely in a hurry to escape now.

"A bit vicious there, mate..." said Audrey, trying to figure out how to put on his beret.

Today would be the lads' last day at the H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. Youth Training Camp, and today, they would be taking part of a ceremony in order to commemorate the occasion, a sort of "graduation" event of sorts. For this, their usual uniforms were replaced with a more ceremonial version. No longer did they wear their scummy white T-shirts that had turned an ugly light shade of brown, the shade that specifically came from a mixture of sweat, dirt, and dust. Now they wore dark grey, suit-like uniforms, trimmed in dark red, with a choker-collar and a strip of leather reaching over their shoulder, connecting to it's matching belt. Looped around that same shoulder was a piece of coloured rope, indicating their "ranks", which was more appropriately their "species". White was for humans, red was for vampires, blue was for werewolves, silver was for reapers, and finally, black was fordemons. Additional chords were added when they moved up from "cadet" to "private" later when they entered real basic training. On their heads were berets of a deep crimson hue, with the Hellsing family crest on them, the same crest that decorated the back of their white gloves. It was much too hot outside to be wearing such an outfit, but thankfully, everyone was still on their usual "night-schedule", so they wouldn't overheat.

The trio of lads met up with their female friends, Charlotte and Amelie out near the stage before taking their seats. Amelie complained that the suits that they wore were too difficult to move around in, as she preferred looser clothing. The female suit wasn't all that different, the only changes being that the coat had a women's cut, and that their hair had to be pulled back in a bun, yet another thing that the wolf-girl detested.

"It's stupid." she said, sticking out her tongue.

"You'll only have to wear it for a few hours." said Charlotte, completely comfortable in her new wardrobe. "You'll live."

"Pointless."

"I said 'you'll live'..."

"So what are you going to do after this?" asked Audrey. "Are you going to join H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G.?"

"Probably. It's easier to get food, here." said Charlotte, scratching the back of her head sheepishly. "That way Amelie doesn't have to nearly pass out from anemia."

"At least someone enjoyed the food, here..." Bones joked. He looked at the smaller girl with the silver hair, noticing her expression twitch a bit. Finally, it changed from his usual expressionless state to a sort of cute, childish one. She ran up and hugged the blonde menace, startling him.

"I want to play with blondie more!" she said. "No one else plays 'kung-fu warriors'!"

"Calm yourself, grasshopper. Let us not waste the essence of friendship with tears." Alois said back. It was hard to tell if he was joking, or if he was serious. "You have my phone-number. You may summon me whenever you wish to battle once more!"

"Blondie!"

"Poochie!"

"What the hell is going on, here?" asked the Irons lad, unaware of the true extent of the pairs oddity.

"Who knows? Those two are weird..." replied Bones. "Oh, I almost forgot. You should give us your number too, Nigel, so we can keep in touch."

"Okay!" the boy said, giving the other a childish smile that contrasted greatly with the image of his father. The thought sent chills down the spines of the demon and the reaper. Regardless, they all exchanged numbers. Perhaps the upcoming school year would be easier, being friends with the son of the strictest teacher in the school. They still wondered what they were going to do with the knowledge that Mister Irons was a former member of H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G.

Speaking of which, the area was now starting to fill with such people, some active members, and some retired. The parents of the cadets all filed in, sitting in the rows of chairs lined up along the sides of the rectangular space that the stage and the cadets took up. Some of them looked quite ordinary, while others had scars and other disfigurements from combat. Mister Irons sat in the first row, as he had gotten their early, wearing a somewhat nicer suit than he usually did. Seated next to him was a familiar face, the "black butler", Sebastian Michealis, with his young master seated next to him. Ciel was simply relieved that Sir Hellsing didn't make an appearance, as she had a meeting to get to, leaving him to simply be able to gawk at the blonde in his uniform.

Soon, the children took their own seats, seated in alphabetical order. Audrey was in the front row, close to the "A's" as his surname was "Baines", and Charlotte was seated next to him, as her name was "Bellamy", a fact that had remained unknown to any of the others until then. Amelie sat off on her own, away from her friends due to the fact that her alias was "Garou", and none of the others were "G's", leaving her alone to pout and make faces at her slightly intimidated neighbours. Nigel was on his own as well, being the only "I", as was Alois.

The blonde menace was placed under "M", much to his annoyance. He would be called as "Jim Macken". Oh, how that name peeved him. He didn't like the way it sounded. It was just so plain, and boring to the lad. Alois folded his arms and scoffed, making the others around him jump slightly. They were still afraid of him for the incident with the ghouls from the previous week. The blonde, of course, ignored this, as he ignored the staring of one boy in particular. That boy had been staring at him ever since Ciel had visited him, for whatever reason. He looked as though he wanted to ask something, but didn't have the courage to do so. He was in the "M" section as well, it would seem.

At last, the ceremony started, and row, by row, the children received their certificates and their patches of the Hellsing crest. Audrey was the first of our group to receive his, proudly accepting them with a smile. When he sat back down, he took a peek at the small shield, separated into fourths. The upper-right corner was a solid black, as was the lower-left. The two remaining corners were red with designs in them. There was what appeared to be a white rook in the bottom right corner. Why a chess-piece was on the shield, was beyond him, but then he looked in the upper-left corner, reading the motto that was embroidered into the small patch.

"We Are On A Mission From God" it said, causing the boy to smile somewhat. Since creatures that were considered "evil" would be receiving them too, did that mean that they are now agents of the divine? He wondered if the person running the ceremony had thought about that, or not, but then he doubted it.

Soon the others went up on stage and received their own certificates and patches, Charlotte right after Audrey, and Amelie after a gap filled with other children. Nigel struggled somewhat, getting on and offstage, the latter of which hindered even more so by the fact that he had to carry his prize while still using his crutches. He was offered assistance, but politely declined the offer, claiming that "an Irons doesn't need help with something so small".

Alois went up on stage as well, reluctantly answering to the name "Jim Macken" just this once. Just as a little revenge, he made his eyes glow while shaking the hands of his captain for the sole purpose of frightening him. smiling the entire time. He giggled as he walked back to his seat, almost able to feel the bluenette rolling his visible eye at his actions.

His opened the folder he had received that contained his patch and his certificate, scrambling to grab the unknown object that fell out upon doing so. He flipped it over in his palm, realizing from it's texture that it was a patch, but oddly, it wasn't a H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. patch, but one of the Phantomhive crest for some odd reason. He opened the folder again, this time making sure that nothing else fell out, looking over it's contents. Both the certificate and the H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G patch were in there, indicating that he was now done with training, but in addition, a note.

"I respect your loyalty, Macken. Don't ever betray it.

-Sir Integra"

He couldn't help but smile at this. He kept smiling throughout the ceremony, until it's end, all while still playing with the small patches that he had received. He wasn't exactly sure what he was going to do with them, but he knew he wanted to keep them safe. When the last childen walked up and received their items, they ended the ceremony by having all of the cadets rise and salute.

"In the name of God, all impure souls of the living dead shall be banished into eternal damnation. Amen." they recited, their young voices almost sounding like chirps. They were then dismissed to find their guardians.

Alois went in search of the bluenette, trying to navigate his way through the crowd of people without getting shot by a disgruntled retiree. Fortunately, it was hard for people to tell that he was a demon, as most people are unfamiliar with the meaning of the colouring of his rope. Audrey and Amelie escaped as well, but they were mostly occupying themselves by guarding Charlotte, as everyone there could tell that she was one of H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G.'s number one targets. At last, he found his bluenette companion, charging up to him like he had done previously, and assaulting the slightly shorter boy with a hug.

"Do you have to do this every time?" asked the Phantomhive boy with a sigh.

"Yes. I just can't help it!" the blonde replied with a grin. "You're just so cuddly!"

Sebastian accidentally let out a chuckle at the fact that his sour young lord was just called "cuddly". When most people looked at the boy, "cuddly" was probably not among the first things to come to mind. The butler continued to smile, even after the bluenette began glaring daggers at him, trying in vain to freeze the older demon with his famous "ice-beam".

Before he could even open his mouth again to dismiss the claim, the blonde's lips were already covering the bluenette's, rendering him completely incapable of speech. Alois pulled away again, grinning as he took in the bluenette's blushing face. The bluenette didn't like it when he was so intimate in public, especially in front of certain people. Sebastian was one of those people that Ciel never wanted to see him show any sort of affection. He didn't have a real reason for this at all, other than his pride. He cleared his throat before making an attempt to speak, trying to calm himself down a bit.

"Whatever." he said plainly, while he tried to think of a way to change the subject. "Is there anything else that you need to do before leaving?"

"Not that I can think of-" Alois was cut off by the sound of someone getting slapped. Quickly, they turned their heads in order to discover the source, just as many other people did.

There, they saw Audrey, touching his pained cheek in order to soothe it somewhat, standing in front of an angry-looking woman. She looked familiar, somewhat, but none of the demons could place a name to her face. She stood there, glaring at the reaper-boy for a moment, pausing before speaking again.

"Audrey Gareth Baines!" she shouted, voice scolding and harsh. "How could you do this to me!? I told you I didn't want you anywhere near this world!"

The boy put his hands up in response, as if guarding himself from another attack. The look on his face was absolutely guilt-ridden. He didn't look scared, or angry, even though he had just been struck across the face.

"Please, calm down..." he pleaded, hunching his back slightly as if he were defended himself. What he said next made things so much clearer to the demonic duo.

"Just let me explain, Mum..."

 


	196. Frustratoin And Embarrassment

"Just let me explain, Mum..." Bones had said. That made the situation much clearer.

"There's nothing to explain!" the woman barked back. "You told me that you and your friends were going to space camp, bloody space camp! Then, I receive an invitation in the mail telling me that you've been here the entire time?! What were you thinking?! I told you that I didn't want you to associate with the supernatural!"

"But mum, I am supernatural!" the boy argued, furrowing his brow and protesting.

"No you are not! Not a full-one!" the woman answered, curling her fingers into fists. "I said 'no', Audrey, and that is final!"

"Why aren't I allowed to even look into this?! Don't you know how amazing this world really is?! All of these things that humanity has forgotten are real! I can't just forget about that!"

"You're just a child who doesn't understand!"

"Understand what?! That you can't stand any of it because of whatever my real dad did?!" Audrey asked, losing his usual calm. It was all just so frustrating to the boy.

This was the only way that he could get all of his questions answered; questions that kept him up at night. That woman wouldn't let him slip into that realm of the night, where he could learn more about himself, and be more at peace with himself. It was frustrating, not quite knowing what he was. He knew bits and pieces, but that simply wasn't enough. He had to know it all, and he wasn't going to let some woman's past grievances get in the way of this, even if it was his own mother.

"If you hate the supernatural world so much, then why don't you hate me too?!" The reaper-boy stopped, awaiting the woman's reaction. That anger and frustration he felt was immediately quelled, and replaced by that sharp pang of guilt he had felt before, but worse. He had made his mother cry.

Mrs. Baines sat down in one of the many chairs that lined the area, fighting her tears, and ignoring the stares of the many people around them who had watched the display. She ignored the many whispers about what an awful parent she was, but couldn't quite dampen the ache of hearing her son being called a "monster" by others. She tried not to look Audrey in the eyes when he walked up to her. She wasn't used to Audrey being so rebellious. Her sweet, laid-back son had never behaved this way before.

"Mum... Mum... I'm... I'm sorry... Please don't cry..." the boy pleaded. He didn't want to give up, but he also didn't want to see his mother cry. No child does. No adult does, either. "I'm sorry..."

"Audrey Gareth Baines..." she said, startling the boy by pulling him into a hug. "You just don't understand... That world is so scary... It's scary and it's dark... I just don't want my baby boy to get hurt... Why do you want to go so badly?"

"Because I want to know more about what I am..." the boy said softly, hugging the woman back. "I can't live my life in ignorance... I want to know... I have to know..."

"Why can't you just live like a human?" Mrs. Baines asked. "Surely, it must be so much easier..."

"I'm not human, though. Now that I know that, I can't go back to being 'human' ever again..."

Ciel and Alois began clearing away the spectators along with Charlotte and Amelie, giving the Baines family some dignity. This was a really rough moment, and the soldier's comments about how it was weird for there to be a child that is part anything supernatural, and part human. They also simply detested the fact that they were calling Bones "despicable" and such, for simply feeling duty to himself. He didn't mean to make his mother cry, and he was currently trying to console her, yet they had the audacity to claim that he was a "monster"? Were they blind, or simply stupid?

"Go away, you fiends!" shouted the blonde. "Let them have their moment with dignity and shit like that!"

"Evil disperse! Evil disperse!" chanted Amelie, shooing away the masses.

"Please be respectful of other people's private affairs." said Charlotte politely.

Ciel simply sighed at the sudden turn of events. So that was why Audrey wanted to hitch a ride on the way up there. The bluenette had also found it suspicious that Bones was "allowed" to participate in such a camp by his mother, who seemingly had some grudge against the supernatural world. He hadn't expected Audrey to be lying to his gaurdians, as that wasn't something that Audrey would ordinarily do. Yet, he could also understand the complexities of moral duties one must perform, so he couldn't say that he was "mad", exactly.

"Are we done here?" he asked finally, tired of all of these shenanigans. "I want to go home..."

"Does this place remind you too much of Sir Integra?" Alois teasingly asked.

"Yes, it does, actually- Wait, 'Sir Integra'?! Since when do you call her that?" the bluenette demanded.

"What? That's what she signs her notes with."

"'Notes'? Are you pen-pals or something?"

"Oh no! Blondie's a spy!" Amelie shouted excitedly.

"Relax, mate. I'm not 'working with the enemy' or anything." the blonde insisted.

"How do I know you weren't brainwashed?" the Phantomhive boy asked jokingly. He blinked a few time in surprise when an object was held up in front of his face. It was a patch.

"Because, I have your crest." the blonde said with a grin. "I was given hers too, but this one's more important." Once again, the bluenette found himself assaulted with a massive hug from the blonde. "There's no way I could ever betray my darling little cyclops!"

"Your pet-names are horrible..." Ciel uttered in response, simply letting the other boy embrace him.

"You know you love them~!"

"Cyclops! Look out!" declared the wolf-girl, forcing her way back into the conversation. "He said he was going to kill you the next time he saw you!"

The demonic duo froze at the comment, their cheeks turning pink. Alois had completely forgotten he had said that. Moreover, he wondered how Amelie was able to hear that, since he was in the boys' barracks when he said it. He laughed nervously, and looked at the bluenette.

"What? No way! I never said that!" he lied; unsuccessfully, at that. The look on the bluenette's face told him just how unsuccessful he was.

"Okay, so I might have said it! I was only joking, though!" Alois corrected himself.

"We're leaving." Ciel said coldly, gesturing for the other two demons to follow.

Charlotte and Amelie would be taken to their new residence that evening, and it was assumed that Audrey would be going home with his mother. Thus, it was the trio of demons left once again in Phantomhive manor. They said their farewells, promising to contact the two girls every once and a while, and Alois promised to still play "kung-fu" with the wolf-girl when he or they visited.

The car ride home was nearly silent. Alois simply sat and twiddled his thumbs as he waited for the bluenette to scold him, but the boy never did. He was afraid that the bluenette was really angry at him for saying such a rude thing about him. He couldn't read the boy's expression, so he had no way of even guessing. The car began to slow down, lulling itself to a complete stop in the driveway.

Oh, how Alois had missed this place. Even though it was in the wee hours of the morning, the dimly lit building still seemed welcoming to him. He briskly ran inside and just took it all in. Who knew that being away from home for a month could make the place seem so wonderful when you returned? Yet, this feeling was overpowered when the bluenette silently walked in, and began to walk up the stairs to his room. Alois followed him, silently asking him if he was angry, which went ignored. Finally, he summoned the courage to ask.

"Ciel? Are you mad at me Ciel?" the blonde asked, with a somewhat worried expression. "I didn't mean to offend you, I was only joking..."

"Of course you were joking." the Phantomhive boy said finally. "You, kill me? What a laughable concept."

"So... You're not mad, then?" Alois asked again in order to clarify the other boy's response.

"No, I'm not mad at your obscene remarks." the bluenette replied. He turned to look at the blonde with a smirk. With his thumb and his index finger, he held the chin of the blonde menace in place so he would look the bluenette in the eye as he listened. "However, I will have to punish you for your insolence." Alois' face immediately turned a dark shade of red.

"W-wait, you don't mean..."

"You know precisely what I mean." said Ciel, grabbing the blonde's wrist with his free hand, and dragging him down the hallway. "That suit looks good on you, by the way."

"Don't tell me you have a uniform fetish..." the blonde remarked, trying to embarrass the other boy and gain the upperhand.

"If you keep saying things like that, I might just have to double your punishment."

"Wh-wh-what?! You're really a bigger pervert than I am, aren't you?! Horn-dog!"

"Triple?"

"Pervert! This is what you want to do first thing when I get back?!"

"Luckily, demons don't need to sleep..."

 


	197. Poor Nessie

"Gentlemen, I welcome you to paradise!" shouted an overly excited Daniel, waving his arms in the air.

Approximately one month had passed since Alois and the others had returned home from the H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. camp. The blonde somehow found himself missing the two odd maids that had lived with them for so long, but fortunately for him, the pair would visit on occasion, much to the annoyance of a certain bluenette and his butler. Sebastian didn't find the vampire an irritant in the slightest. In fact, Charlotte was one of the Phantomhive household's more competent workers in a long while. It was Amelie that annoyed him so, as the man's hatred of dogs runs deep.

In that time, Audrey had patched things up with his mother, keeping the entire affair a secret from his step-father, of course. It took a while, but once they sat down and talked it out, they seemed to reach some sort of understanding. Mrs. Baines accepted that the lad's pursuit of the supernatural was simply something he had to do, and Audrey accepted that his mother simply wanted him to be careful and not get hurt. It was amazing what good communication could solve.

Speaking of which, Audrey also had been keeping in touch with Nigel Irons. They would sometimes come over to each other's houses and play video games, like Audrey often did with Preston. Thus, the Indian boy had become acquaintances with the Irons boy as well.

Now, it was decided that before summer ended, that the sensational seven would have to take their annual trip to the beach, declared "annual" by a certain politician's son, of course. This time, they wouldn't be at Preston's beach house, as it wasn't big enough to accommodate the amount of people on their expedition this time. Now, they ventured to the Miles family's property, as it was the only one both big enough, and the only one that was permitted, as Daniel's father said "no" to his silly request.

"Shut up, and stop acting like you own the place." said Kristopherson, twirling the key around his finger as they walked up to the door. "Just promise me you won't break anything..."

"I solemnly swear!" replied the Westley lad with a salute. The other boy simply rolled his eyes as he unlocked the door and stepped inside. Immediately, the others gawked at the interior.

"It's so... stylish..." Preston said aloud, gazing around the room. It was similar to the faux-blonde's house in it's modern-style interior, only slightly less open. Kristopherson almost seemed to light up at the comment, forgetting the tiredness from an excruciatingly long car-ride.

"Of course! Did you expect anything less?" he asked, almost glowing.

"Oh my God!" Alois shouted suddenly, startling the others, making some of them jump. He raised his arm to point at their host, making the pink-loving boy somewhat wary.

"What?" Kristopherson snapped. He was about to go on a full-out speech about modern-style interior decorating before the outburst of the blonde menace inturrupted him. The others were thankful for this, but at the same time, were quite confused.

"I just noticed..." the blonde began, his tone serious. This made the others somewhat nervous, including Kristopherson, for whatever reason. "Did anyone else notice it?"

"What are you talking about?" Bones asked, looked at the faux-blonde as he tried to figure out what on earth the fair-haired demon was on about this time.

"I just noticed... Kristopherson got his ears pierced."

There was a long silence after that. It was as though no one was sure exactly how to respond to that. They weren't sure if they should ask the Miles boy about his piercings, or the Trancy boy as to why he was so downright odd. There was one person, however, who did respond. Now, it could be debated as to whether or not his response was appropriate, of course, simply due to the fact that the one who spoke first was none other than Daniel Westley.

"Bwa-ha-ha-ha! You pierced your ears? Haha!" he said with outstanding volume. "I swear, Kris, you just keep getting gayer and gayer!"

He stopped talking when he felt a sudden chill down his spine. Slowly, he turned around to see a certain bluenette glaring at him with his "ice-beam". It was then that Daniel noticed for the very first time, that the Phantomhive boy too, wore earrings.

"Oh, well... Uh..." Daniel quickly began to scramble for a way to save his skin, becoming only able to speak in small fragments and thinking noises.

"It's how you wear them!" he said suddenly, yet the chill didn't subside. He had to fix this soon, or he would most likely get frostbite. "Kris always dresses really girly, and you don't, Ciel! On you, it only makes you look mysterious!"

"Now, being the son of a politician, Daniel, I would expect you to be much better at bullshitting." the bluenette remarked. It was taking every fiber of his being to be intimidating while ignoring the blonde who was currently pinching his earlobes for no other purpose than to annoy the bluenette.

"Alois, how are you not dead yet?" Preston asked, cowering from the Phantomhive boy's frightening aura like most of the people in the room.

"Oh, I am." the blonde said flatly, causing the others stomachs to drop. Preston was already suspicious of the true nature of the demonic duo. What if Alois had just alerted him of their secret.

"How on earth does that work?" the Indian boy asked, arching an eyebrow.

"Because I'm secretly a timelord." Alois joked, causing a sigh of relief to escape the lips of the other lads. Of course he was only joking around.

"Okay, but what happens when you run out of times you can regenerate?" Preston inquired, playing along. "How many times have you already?"

"Turn to page three-hundred and ninety four." the fair-haired demon replied, finally having his hands swatted away by the bluenette, bringing his pestering to a halt.

"What? That doesn't make sense!"

"Your face doesn't make sense!"

"Preston, just don't question it." Ciel finally intervened. Who knows were that conversation could have gone if he hadn't?

"Alois is as mad as a bag full of ferrets." said Audrey. The others simply nodded in response.

"I am not! I am perfectly coherent. " argued the blonde."You all simply lack the capacity to understand my genius!"

"What 'genius'?" asked Kristopherson, taking a seat on the couch. He looked up at the lad with a smirk, amused by the blonde's pout. "Anyway, what's the plan, now? Do we assign rooms, or piss around a bit longer?"

"I bet Daniel would like us to tell scary stories again!" joked Preston.

"Sod off! No scary stories!" the brown-haired teen declared. "Anyone who starts telling scary stories will face my wrath!"

"So, this one time, I was out and about looking for ghosts, like I used to..." Audrey began, completely ignoring the other boy's threats. "I heard about this one abandoned house in the city that was said to be inhabited by several ghosts, so of course I had to check it out. I'll never go back."

"It was terrifying." he continued after a short pause to gauge his audience's reactions. "I walked around for a few minutes, and was about to give up, but then I started to hear barking. It sounded like dogs. At first, I just figured that somebody living nearby had dogs, but it just kept getting louder."

"I kept looking around, but the barking got louder! It got so loud that it felt like my ears were going to fall off! Then I started to hear other noises too. I heard footsteps, like someone was following me, but every time I turned around, there was no one there. In addition to that, I started hearing a crying baby, and little kids laughing. Every noise that I heard just kept getting louder as I went upstairs. By that point I had to cover my ears. I still don't know why I didn't just leave at that point, but he more I walked in a certain direction, the louder the sounds would get. I knew better, but I just had to find out what was at the end."

"I rounded a corner, and it all just stopped. All of it. I could only hear the ringing of my ears. That wasn't the major thing I noticed, though. When I looked down the hallway, there was a door cracked open slightly, with a light peeking out. I was terrified, but I still forced myself to go check it out." Bones was starting to go pale as he continued the story. He stopped for a moment to gather himself before resuming it.

"I walked up to the door, and peeked through the crack. I got my camera ready just in case, but I wouldn't get to use it. I was too distracted by that woman standing there, looking out the window. She was just there, she wasn't doing anything. Just standing. I guess I moved my foot or something, because the floorboard creaked, and she started to turn around. Her face... It was hardly there... It was all mangled... Now, I think that she must've been attacked by a dog, but then, all I could do was stare."

"Then she screamed and ran at me! I high-tailed it out of there! I slammed the door in her face and nearly fell down the stairs as I ran!" the boy claimed. Ordinarily, one would think that such a tale was made up, but the fact that Bones seemed actually frightened by his own story made it semi-convincing.

"You're... Your're making that up, right?" asked Daniel. He swallowed when the boy shook his head.

"I dropped my camera on the way out. I can show you the address and you can go get it, if you don't believe me." the boy in the skull beanie replied. The Westley boy quickly shook his head back and forth, indicating his response. There was no way that he was going to get that camera.

"So you used to go to haunted houses a lot, then?" asked Alois, tilting his head. "Have you seen other stuff too?"

"Yeah, but nothing that actually tried to attack me!" Audrey replied, scratching his neck. "Usually I just hear a noise or two, or see little glimpses of something, if I see them at all. Sometimes they'll look at me, too, which is really freaky, but until then, I've never heard a bunch of scary noises and was attacked by one!"

"Have you ever tried to find the Loch Ness Monster?" asked Preston, the only one sort of doubting Audrey's credentials.

"Don't be silly. The Loch Ness Monster isn't real."

And thus began the second annual summer beach getaway of the Sensational Seven.

 


	198. The Sun, The Sea, and The Seven

Somewhere along the coast of the United Kingdom, there is a beach house. There, the Sensational Seven stay while they frolic along the shore and play to their heart's content while under the watchful eye of a certain butler. Now as a member of the seven, Audrey joins ni the fun as well.

It actually took the others a moment to recognize Bones while in his swimwear. He wasn't wearing his beanie, and his hair hadn't grown back to it's usual length, making his eyes visible. Kristopherson almost thought he was a trespasser, and almost accidentally asked him to leave.

"Alright, Bones, listen up. There's another tradition that we must perform while on holiday, and you have to join in, too." said Daniel, in an unusually serious tone. Everyone simply knew that he was going to mess it up by saying something absurd, though.

"And that would be...?" Audrey braced himself for whatever nonsense that the brown-haired teen was about to lay down. Slowly, Daniel swung his arm in a different direction, pointing at a certain bluenette.

"Tossing Phantomhive into the water!" he declared enthusiastically. Immediately, Ciel tried to escape, but alas, it wasn't to be as the blonde menace grabbed him, holding him in place while the others helped him drag to boy over to the water.

"I will destroy all of you!" the irate bluenette demon-boy warned, struggling every step of the way. He could have perhaps escaped the lads' grasp, but he didn't want to hurt the boys with his superior strength. Holding back, however, was a mistake on his part, as the others also had Alois and Audrey on their side, both having above human-level brute force. "Let me go at once!"

"Alright, lads! You heard him!" Alois shouted, smiling as he gripped his designated portion of the bluenette's mass. "Ready? Eins, zwei, drei!"

Ceil hated this ritual, and cursed the group as he soared through the air and into the cool water below. Fortunately, his swimming ability had improved some, thanks to the preivious times they had done this to him, and he didn't sink like a rock like usual. The other lads laughed, and joined him by diving into the water as well while he swore practically every foul word that he knew at the top of his lungs.

They all took turns trying to shove each other underwater and splashing the less-than-sanitary, salty sea-water into each other's faces, stinging their eyes slightly. It was all fun and games until they found seaweed, and then they took turns slapping each other with it for some reason unknown. It would appear that "going swimming" was simply an excuse for the boys to try and kill each other, but, this is simply how they "play".

Soon, things escalated when Alois hatched a devious idea, one that was risky to execute. While his lower half was concealed by the water, he partially transformed into his demonic self, gaining access to his tail. No one was any wiser, so he wrapped the appendage around Daniel's ankle and gave it a swift yank, pulling the boy under the waves with a yelp before letting him go. Poor Daniel hadn't the faintest clue as to what was attacking him, and frantically slashed about and shouted, convinced that there was a snake or something assaulting him.

"Holy shit! What the fuck was that!?" the boy exclaimed, his frightened voice cracking a bit. "A s-s-snake?! It felt like a snake! But snakes don't pull you underwater! What the fuck was that?!"

While the others were searching around for the mysterious serpent-like assailant, the blonde menace simply laughed, and laughed, and laughed at the scared lads, being the only one aware of it's true identity. Well, one of the only ones. Naturally, the Phantomhive boy caught on right away, knowing full-well that the blonde menace was obviously the culprit. With a smirk, the bluenette reached into the water, and grabbed hold of the offending tail, causing the blonde to squeak in surprise, his face immediately turning red at the contact.

He turned to look at the smirking boy, knowing full-well what the bluenette was planning on doing next. He rapidly shook his head back and forth, but his denial was ignored, and with a swift yank, he too, ended up beneath the water's surface. When the blonde came back up again, he had reverted to his ordinary, tailless form after having learned his lesson.

"That hurt!" he exclaimed, not at all keen on the rough handling of the temporary extention of his spinal chord.

"Then keep your appendages to yourself!" the bluenette scolded. "In case you don't already know, not everyone here is 'aware', remember?"

"Nobody saw. It's all good." Alois replied.

"I saw. Now, please don't try that again."

"What makes you think I should obey that request?"

"I said 'please', didn't I?"

"Fair enough."

"Hey! Mister and Missus Phantomhive!" called Daniel, waving his arms at them. "Quit bickering! It's time to go!" The demonic duo paused to glance back at each other for a second before the blonde was shoved back into the water one last time and then, with much reluctance, they began to make their way back to shore. Even then, however, the conversation wasn't over.

"I still don't see why I'm 'Missus Phantomhive'." Alois said as they all walked back to the house. The others simply gave him an odd look before continuing to silently walk again. "What!? What kind of reaction was that?"

"We all know what you did, Alois." spoke Audrey, trying to get some of the water out of his ears.

"What did I do?!"

"Absolutely nothing. It was Phantomhive who did you." joked Daniel, earned punches from practically all of the others for that image.

"We don't want to know about that!" said Preston.

"How do you even know these details, Dan?" asked Kristopherson. "On second thought, maybe I don't want to know..."

"Too far, Daniel. Too far." said Travis.

"What? Just look at them! It's so obvious who the 'man' is!" Daniel argued. His legs collapsed and he fell when the blonde kicked the back of his knee for that remark. Alois looked down at him for a moment before walking onward.

"Sod off!" he said. His cheeks red and his ego bruised. "That's for Ciel and me to know, and for you lot to never find out!"

"Good. We don't wanna." said Audrey. The sun was setting on the first day of their trip, but the evening still held quite a few surprises.

 


	199. Nigel And...?

"Ugh, sea water is so bad for my hair..." said Kristopherson, as all of the lads simply sat in the living room after a long day of playing.

"So is bleaching the absolute shit out of it." Audrey replied. He was back in his signature hat, but still looked somewhat odd, as his bangs still lacked their usual length. As of that moment, he had the remote to the television after the boys spent an hour or so fighting over it. Because of this, the channel they ended up on was Sci-Fi, and they were currently watching Face-Off. Kristopherson couldn't really argue with the choice, since the show was about Hollywood monster make-up, making it at least slightly interesting.

"I bet when Kris get's older, he's going to go bald." said Preston, earning the laughter of the others aside from the pink-loving faux-blonde.

"I am not going to go bald!"

"You could always just shave it off." Alois suggested, making a motion above his head as though he were pretending that his hand was an electric razor.

"I can't even imagine Kris as a skinhead." said Audrey.

"Leave me alone!"

"Hey, Bones, do you know when Nigel is supposed to get here?" asked Preston. The Irons boy was invited on the trip as well, but couldn't come with them on the first day, as he had a doctor's appointment, so he was going to arrive late on the second day.

"I dunno. Shouldn't be too much longer, though." the boy in the skull beanie replied, looking at the clock on the wall. It was somewhat hard to read because of it's overly "stylish" design. Everything in that house was that way. It was almost uncomfortable due to the fact that it looked as though they were in the future, or something to that extent.

"Is his dad bringing him? That would suck." Alois chimed in. He was perhaps the most familiar with the teacher, as Mister Irons had sent him to detention and to the headmaster's office countless times. He, like the others, wasn't to keen on the idea of having to spend time with the grouchy man, especially when they were supposed to be on vacation. Fortunately, the man wouldn't be able to give him detention for acting up.

"Yeah. I think so. I think the plan was that he's going to stay for the night, and drive home in the morning. Nigel's going ride with us on the way back."

"Just the night?" the blonde asked. "That's not so bad, then."

An hour or so passed after that, and a war for the remote control broke out once more, the only ones wisely staying out of it being Travis, Ciel, and shockingly, Alois, who apparently preferred snuggling up against the bluenette and embarrassing him, over fighting. When it seemed like someone finally had it, someone else would take it away, and those two would sling insults while a third party swiped the device while the first two were distracted, only to repeat the process again. Yes, this happened for almost an entire hour. It would seem that this is going to occur whenever it was time to switch "turns" in order to select a show. The others simply watched as this occurred, including Sebastian, of all people, who found the endeavor to be especially amusing. It was as though he would never cease to be amazed by the silliness of human beings.

The butler's attention shifted elsewhere, as he heard the sound of a car pulling up to the beach-house. He got up out of his seat and straightened himself before walking over to the door, opening it, precisely as Mister Irons was about to knock. The other man simply stood there for a moment, as though he needed to process how he did that, but, remembering the butler's true identity, it didn't take him long.

"Ah, Mister Irons! So glad you could make it. Please, do come in." Sebastian said, going through the usual script he would perform in order to greet guests with hospitality.

"Don't mind if I do." the teacher replied, taking up the other man's offer, his son following suit. "That drive seems much longer than it really is. Probably even longer for you, though, right?"

"Yes, it can get a little on the tedious side with children yelling in the backseat." It was at that moment when Sebastian realized that his job was making him behave more and more like a parent, rather than a demon.

While the adults conversed, Nigel quietly made his way over to the other boys. His prescence brought the "remote-wars" to a temporary cease-fire, as they all stopped to look at him. He shyly smiled at them, only knowing three out of the seven. The rest were strangers, really. Still, that could be fixed, and it was, as Daniel was the first to introduce himself.

"Hullo! I'm Daniel. I'm the guy in charge around here." he said with a smile, walking up to the boy.

"You wish!" shouted Kristopherson. "It's my house, you pillock."

"Hey, you should watch out for that guy, mate. He's a major homo." Daniel not-so-quietly whispered to the Irons boy.

"Just ignore him, Nigel. He's an idiot." said Audrey, silently offering the boy a seat on the couch. "Kristopherson won't hurt you. The most he'll do is criticize your fashion-sense."

"Oh, okay?" Nigel said nervously, still unsure about the new environment and acquaintances.

"That over there is Travis." the boy in the skull beanie continued, gesturing to the boy. "He doesn't talk much, but he's a nice guy. The one in pink is Kristopherson. He owns the place, so don't piss him off. The one that Alois is hanging all over is Ciel, and Daniel already introduced himself, so he's not worth mentioning..."

"Hey!"

"Oh. He's kind of whiney, though..."

Nigel simply smiled at each boy as they were introduced, unsure of what to say. It was odd; the boy was usually more outspoken than this. Now, it was as though he was acting like a totally different person. Before the "remote-war" could break out again, Alois quickly picked up the remote and handed it to the ginger.

"Here, pick something." he said, not wanting to sit through another hour of the others bickering and fighting over the small device. He held it out to the boy for a moment longer before Nigel took it, eying the buttons. What he said next truly shocked the blonde.

"Yes, your highness."

Alois' eyes went wide at the words. The words themselves, the expression on the boy's face when he said it, the and his tone; everything about the way Nigel had said that completely shocked the blonde. He sat there frozen for a moment, staring at the boy who was just sitting there smiling at him. The moment only ended when the Irons lad felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked up to see his father standing behind the sofa, looking at him with a rather serious expression.

"Can I have a word with you for a moment, 'Nigel'?" the man asked. The lad's smiled wavered for a moment, but he complied.

"Okay." he said, his voice sounding somewhat nervous. He stood up and followed his father to the kitchen, where they hoped to converse in private. Naturally, this made the others curious.

"What was that about?" asked Daniel, being the one to break the silence first.

"Who knows?" Kristopherson replied. He turned his head to face the demonic duo. "Hey, can you hear anything?"

"If you all will shut up for a moment, maybe." answered the bluenette. The room got deathly silent, save for the mumbling sound of the people on the television. The duo listened carefully, trying to pick up the conversation currently going on in the kitchen.

"Why did you come out?" asked the teacher, putting his hands on his hips and looking at the boy with a stern expression.

"I dunno! I can't control when I come out. It just happens!" the boy replied, slightly more animated than usual.

"You need to give Nigel back his body." Mister Irons said.

"I would, but I don't know how!"

"What the fuck?" mouthed Alois back in the living room. The others looked at the duo, silently asking what it was they were hearing. All they could do was simply shrug in response, as they hadn't the faintest clue as to what the pair were talking about.

Mister Irons sighed, and rubbed his temples. They had gone through this discussion many, many times in the past, and it never got any easier. Finally, he opened his mouth to speak again.

"Alright, just... Just do your best to act like Nigel when you're around the others, okay?"

"I'm tryin'! It's really hard!" the lad replied. "I dunno how long I can do that until Nigel comes back!"

"I know. I know you're doing you're best, but you can't go around acting like an eight-year-old inside of a fifteen-year-old's body."

"Why not? My big brother's here, so it should be fine, right?" Mister Irons simply crouched down and put his hand on the boy's shoulder. He shook his head with a sad expression before speaking again.

"But Luka, he doesn't know it's you."

* * *

 


	200. Little Brother Is Watching You

The demonic duo simply sat there in silence for a moment. Alois' eyes were wide, and his jaw had dropped at what he had just heard. Could it be possible? How? How could Luka, is beloved little brother who he would do absolutely anything for, be alive after all of these years, and in the body of another person?

A wave of emotion crashed over the blonde at that moment. Feelings such as sorrow and regret, as well as fear; fear that it was all a lie. Yet underneath all of that, he felt unrequited joy. He was so happy that his brother was here, rather than in some form of purgatory, even if he wasn't quite himself. Alois didn't care if he was in a different body. Luka was Luka, and Luka was here, alive and well. That's all that mattered.

Immediately he tried to bolt up and run to the kitchen just to confirm this, but was held back by the bluenette. He yelled and shouted but the boy wouldn't let him go. He wouldn't let him go see Luka.

"Calm down! You don't even know if that's true!" Ciel said, trying to get a grip on the blonde and keep him seated. He was actually having a bit of difficulty with this, as the other boy was putting up a genuine fight.

"Let go of me! Let go!" Alois shouted, trying to escape the bluenette iron grip. His voice was starting to crack as he spoke. "I have to see him! Just once!"

"Whoa, what's with Trancy?!" asked Daniel, standing up. The other lads stood at attention as well, curious as to what had made the boy lash out like this.

"I'll tell you later! Sebastian! Help he hold him down!" the Phantomhive boy ordered. As such, the butler complied, grabbing the blonde's shoulders and holding him in a seated position on the sofa.

"No! No! Let go of me!" Alois was screaming at this point. Mister Irons and the boy believed to be the blonde's brother entered the room just to see what was the matter.

"Let go! Please! Please! I need to see him!" Since simple barking out the command didn't do him any good, the blonde resorted to begging. Yes, he begged for freedom. "Luka! Luka!"

"Jim!" the Irons boy shouted back, trying to make his way over to the struggling blonde, only to be stopped by Mister Irons himself. "Leggo! Leggo of me!"

"Mister Irons, just let him go!" the bluenette called, and with a confused face, the man did just that. "Sebastian, let go of Alois, too!" Thus, Alois was free as well.

The two brothers collided with each other and fell backwards onto the floor from the impact. The two quickly recovered, as they were on a mission, and scrambled over to one another. Alois put his hands on the sides of the other boy's face, and simply stared at him for a moment.

"Luka? Is... Is that really...?" He spoke softly, as opposed to his screaming from earlier. He couldn't even finish his sentence, and his vision was beginning to blur from the water threatening to pour out of his eyes.

"Yup! It's me!" the other boy said with a smile. He was doing his best not to cry either, but failed when the blonde pulled him into a tight hug.

"Luka... Luka... I can't believe it... You're alright... You're really alright..."

"More or less, yeah..." he said, hugging the blonde back. "I missed you, big brother."

"Whoa! What? 'Big Brother'?! They're related?!" asked Daniel, completely ruining the moment for the other bystanders. The Macken boys didn't even notice his outburst.

"No, Alois and Nigel aren't, but Alois considers Luka to be his 'little brother'." Ciel said, making an attempt to clarify.

"I'm lost." said Kristopherson. "'Luka' was Alois' little brother's name, right? How is he...?"

"Who's Luka?" asked Preston, immediately snapping the others in the room to attention. They had completely forgotten that the Indian boy wasn't aware of the true nature of the demonic duo. Audrey simply put his hand on the boy's shoulder and said.

"It's a long story. We'll probably tell you later. In short, Luka is Alois' dead little brother."

"He's dead!?"

"It would appear that Luka's soul is seeking refuge in Nigel's body, resulting in multiple personality syndrome." said Sebastian, folding his arms. "Does that sound about right, Mister Irons?" He smiled at the new-found excitement, much to the other man's exasperation. With a sigh, the teacher made his reply.

"That's about what the doctors at H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. said."

"When did this start?" asked the bluenette, taking his eye off the two brothers for a moment.

"About two years ago, in the fall." replied the teacher, rubbing his temples. "Nigel went out for a run, and didn't come back for a whole day. I went to look for him, and ran across him by chance. He was in an alley, completely out of it. He didn't know who I was, and was terrified of cars and stuff."

"Probably due to the time-gap." said Sebastian. "Alois had the same problem."

"Wait, 'two years ago, in the fall'... That's when Alois was resurrected." Ciel said, thinking aloud. "Do you think that when we separated his soul from Hannah's, that Luka's soul might have come loose as well?"

"I suppose it's possible..."

"Wait, wait, wait... 'Resurrected'? 'Separating souls'? What the bloody hell are you talking about?!" asked Preston, being the only one in the dark about all of this.

His already suspicious nature was starting to make him really , the Phantomhive house was involved in some weird, special police-work, then, they were on the scene of that 'ghost ship' that appeared on the Thames river full of dead bodies and weapons, and now, they were talking about some bizarre occult-like stuff. Who exactly were these people? Why are they involved with these things? Is he even safe with them? He looked around the room, and noticed that no one else was bothered by any of this in the slightest. In fact, they all seemed to vaguely understand it.

"Ciel, should we tell him?" asked Audrey, looking to the bluenette.

"Tell me what?"

"Go ahead." the Phantomhive boy replied. "I've told that story far too many times for my taste."

"Alright, then. Preston, here's the abridged version of what's happening..." began the boy in the skull beanie. The Indian boy simply stared at him with a confused face.

"Basically, Ciel, Alois, and Sebastian, are all demons. Real-life demons." Bones said bluntly. "Luka is Alois' little brother from when he was alive, and Alois' name isn't really 'Alois'. It's 'Jim'. He got his fake name through a series of unfortunate events that I really don't want to talk about right now."

"Ciel and Alois were sworn enemies when they were 'alive', but then through an extremely complicated series of other events, Alois died, and Ciel ended up becoming a demon and for reasons only understood by Ciel, he decided to resurrect Alois using alchemy and black-magic two years ago, accidentally making him a demon. Sound about right, Ciel?"

"That's about right." the bluenette said, folding his arms. "You can choose to believe it, or not, Preston. I probably wouldn't either, in your position."

The image of the red eye appeared in the forefront of the Indian boy's mind at the explanation. It sounded ridiculous, outlandish, and like a complete joke, but with that eye, it somehow made sense. He was afraid. He was very afraid at the idea. He looked around the room at the people in it, wide-eyed at what they could possibly be as well.

"Don't worry. We're all humans." said Krisotpherson, knowing the first logical question on the boy's mind. "We all just found out on our own."

"Audrey's only half human, though." Travis pointed out.

"Oh, yeah. Audrey is half Grim Reaper." the faux-blonde added. Audrey offered Preston an apologetic smile, feeling somewhat guilty for not telling him. All Preston could do was simply gawk.

"That's... That's insane! All of it! That's fucking insane!" he shouted. "How can you all just accept that!? That's not normal!"

"What are you talking about? It's perfectly normal!" argued the blonde menace.

"It's normal! It's normal!" Luka echoed with a big grin.

"No, it's not!" argued Preston. "'Normal' people aren't friends with demons! 'Normal' people don't know about all of this stuff!"

"So, are you saying that you would rather be ignorant?" asked the Phantomhive boy suddenly, snapping Preston back to reality. "You would rather ignore facts? Go ahead, but that 'normalcy' that you're talking about doesn't really exist."

"But... How am I supposed to accept all of that?" asked the other boy. "It's just so out there..."

"Because they're our friends!" said Daniel. "They may be demons, and Audrey may not be entirely human, but they're still our friends. They're still the same."

"Yeah. Only a racist would shun them for being what they are." joked Kristopherson.

"They're still our friends. If nothing else, it only makes them more interesting." said Travis.

"Hey, Preston! I still wanna be able to play 'video-games' with you and Audrey!" said Luka, his childishness oddly surfacing from the older-looking body. Preston stopped to stare at each person as they spoke.

"So, are we good?" asked Audrey, holding out his hand. The Indian boy simply eyed it for a moment, and hesitantly, he shook it.

"Fine." he said. "But I better not be going to Hell for this."

"It's okay, you're friends with Satan, so even if you do, you'll be fine." Alois joked.

"Why am I 'Satan', again?" asked the bluenette.

"I believe having control over several demons might have something to do with it." said Kristopherson.

"Oh, so Ciel's the devil?!" asked Luka with a serious face.

"No, it's just a nickname..." clarified Audrey. "Oh, and you've been playing games with us this whole time, Luka?" The ginger nodded.

"Yup!" he said proudly. "You didn't notice?"

"Not at all. You're really good at pretending to be Nigel."

"Really?! It's really hard, though!" Luka said. "I've never met Nigel, so I don't really know what he's like."

"What do you mean, you've 'never met him'?" asked Kristopherson. "You're in his body, aren't you?"

"Yeah, but he's always asleep when I'm awake." the mentally younger boy said. "I hear he's nice, though."

"That's a sad thing, mate..." said Daniel.

"Wagh! Big brother! You're squeezing me too tight!" Luka said suddenly in response to the blonde's doting. "I can't breathe!"

"I can't help it! I don't want you to leave!" Alois replied, loosening his grip slightly. "I missed you so much!"

"I missed you too!"

"Luka!"

"Jim!"

"Hey, Trancy, I think you might wanna take it a little easy..." said Daniel, breaking up the brother's moment. "I think your boyfriend's getting jealous."

"I am not." the bluenette replied, crossing his arms over his chest indignantly. While he knew it was only Luka, seeing the blonde hanging all over someone else did in fact, slightly get on his nerves. The mentally younger boy blinked for a moment or so, letting that sink in.

"Oh, yeah! Big brother like boys, doesn't he?" he said finally. The other lads erupted into laughter at the statement. All of the seven aside form the demonic duo, who's cheeks turned red almost instantaneously. Even Sebastian let out a small chuckle at the statement.

"I don't like boys." the blonde argued, letting go of the other boy for a moment in order to look at him. "I just like Ciel!"

"But Ciel is a boy, isn't he?" Luka pointed out.

"That's not the point! I would like him if he's a boy, or a girl."

"Alois, just stop talking." the bluenette said, ignoring the snickering of the rest of the seven. "We don't need to go there." The younger Macken furrowed his brow at the bluenette's words.

"You better be good to my big brother, or else I won't forgive you, got it?" he threatened cutely. The seven were doing their very best to contain their laughter, some of them releasing a few snorts as they began to fail at doing so. Ciel was actually at a loss of words for how to respond to that. Had it been anyone other than Luka, he probably would have replied by saying that the blonde should "stop being an idiot, then". With a sigh, he said:

"Don't worry, I will." That's all he could say. He shot his famous "ice-beam" at the others on full blast when they erupted into laughter. Luka simply smiled.

"Good! So Ciel likes boys too?" he asked. "Do you like, hold hands and stuff?"

"Luka!" Alois warned.

"What? Do you?"

"Oh, they do a lot more than that!" joked Daniel, nudging the boy's arm.

"Like what?"

"God dammit, Daniel! Shut up!" Alois shouted.

"You mean like hugging?"

"Can we please drop the subject?" asked the bluenette.

"What's going on?"

* * *

 


	201. It's Normal

The very next day, the lads were out and about going through their usual routine of going to the beach and trying to drown each other while Mister Irons said goodbye to Nigel and took his leave, entrusting his conflicted child in the hands of Mister Michealis. He was certain of the butler's competence, and knew that the man would most likely be able to handle both Nigel and Luka, should he decide to come out. The whole predicament was still a bit confusing to the others, though.

"Wait, are you Nigel, or Luka right now?" asked Daniel, arching an eyebrow at the ginger. The Irons lad simply sighed.

"I'm Nigel..." he said. He had the sinking suspicion that he's going to be asked that question plenty of times before going home. "Luka's asleep."

"Oh, right. Sorry. I'm just making sure." the politician's son replied somewhat bashfully. "I'm not even sure if Alois can tell the difference."

"I can. It's really easy." the blonde chimed in. "The obvious sign is when he starts acting like a little kid, he's Luka. Nigel also talks differently."

"But you didn't notice while we were at camp together." Audrey pointed out.

"I wasn't looking for Luka at camp." replied Alois.

"Poor kid. He must've felt awful that his own brother didn't even notice him- hey!" Daniel stopped talking when the blonde menace spashed water in his face.

"Silence, infidel!" Alois commanded. "Another word out of you, and I'll club you like a baby seal!"

"Jesus, Alois! You can't just talk about clubbing baby seals!" shouted Preston.

"I just did!"

"Is it just me, or are Alois' boundaries getting smaller and smaller?" asked a certain pink-loving lad.

"Actually, they're improving." said Ciel. "A hundred years ago, he might have gouged Daniel's eye out."

"That was one time!" the blonde objected. "That was common practice back in the day!"

"It was still twisted." the bluenette replied.

"Your knickers are twisted!"

"Is that what happened to your eye, Ciel?" Preston asked with a shudder. He looked frightened that the bluenette might say "yes". If he did, Preston may never look at Alois the same way again.

"No." the boy replied instead. "It's where the mark of my Faustian contract with Sebastian is." He had forgotten to mention that when filling the Indian boy in on some of the other important details of his and the Trancy boy's pasts.

"Can we see it?" Nigel asked excitedly. The manner with which he asked it in confused some of the others, as they wondered whether or not his excitability was simply Luka surfacing. With a sigh, the bluenette removed his swimming goggles with the one tinted lens and blinked.

"There. Satisfied?" the others simply gawked at the glowing purple pentacle. Even the others, who had seen it at least once before, couldn't help but do so. It was just so bizarre in the way it glowed.

"Does it hurt?" asked Kristopherson, not letting his eyes leave that one.

"It did when I got it. I had a pentacle carved into my eye, after all." the bluenette replied. "Now, it only tingles a bit whenever I give Sebastian an order."

"Bloody hell... That's crazy..." said Daniel, not even trying to be subtle in his gaping. "So, since it's carved in there, you can't really see out of it, can you?"

"I can see movement, but nothing else. I can't even make out shapes."

"So that's what's under the eye-patch..." Preston said aloud. Next, you're gonna tell us that you wear a shirt while swimming to hide something else!" He knew he was joking, the others did too, but when the demonic duo didn't respond, he got nervous. "Wait... You don't, do you?"

"I'm not taking my shirt off." the bluenette said forcefully, crossing his arms across his chest. His outburst only made the others more curious.

"What's he hiding, Alois?" Daniel asked the blonde menace. "We know you've seen it." Alois glanced over at the Phantomhive boy for a moment, taking his time to answer.

"He's hiding the place were his bat wings come out." he lied. The others simply stared at the bluenette with frightened expressions, all but Audrey, who knew that was a fib.

"He made that up! I don't have wings!" Ciel said insistently. He shuddered when the blonde placed his hand over the brand just beneath his left pectoral, disguising it as one of the usual semi-intimate touches he gives when he hangs on the bluenette. Ciel gave the boy a menacing look, as he knew Alois was only trying to mess with him.

"It's some really dark shit." the blonde said, his tone serious. The other lads simply took this as a sign to drop the subject.

"S-so... Uh..." Daniel began, looking for a way to change the subject. "Hey, Nigel, what's wrong?"

The boy was hunched over slightly, making an attempt to cover his torso with his hands and arms by hugging himself. His face was somewhat flushed, and a frown was firmly plastered across it. It took him a moment to realise that he was being spoken to.

"N-Nigel's asleep..." the boy stuttered out. "I'm Luka."

"That's so confusing, but I can kind of see what Alois was talking about on how to spot the difference." said Audrey. "You okay?" The ginger shook his head slightly, hesitating before answering.

"Why ain't I wearin' a shirt?" he asked, talking about his swimwear.

Nigel had come out to swim with just the standard pair of swim trunks that most other boy's wore. Luka wasn't used to being outside in such a state, being from the Victorian era, a time when swimsuits were extremely modest, even for men. Partial public nudity was not a "thing" at that time, even for Luka, a boy from one of the lowest of low social classes. He crouched down, allowing himself to sink into the waist-deep waves in order to better cover himself.

"That's just the way people wear swimsuits nowadays, Luka." Alois said, wading over to the boy.

"That's weird!" replied the younger Macken.

"If you want, Alois will probably take you back inside and you can put on a shirt." suggested Bones.

"But isn't that a waste of clothes?" asked Kristopherson.

"Only you would think of it that way, Kris." Daniel replied, jokingly. Luka, however, wouldn't budge, and instead started to blow bubbles in the water.

"One of us could go inside and bring him one." suggested Preston.

"Or, Ciel could just give him his." said Daniel, still curious about what the bluenette was hiding.

"I said **'no'."** the Phantomhive boy replied, giving the Westley lad an icy glare.

"You seem a bit too interested in what's in the cyclops's shirt, Dan" joked Audrey.

"Don't even joke like that, Bones." the politician's son replied. "I'm not a homo!"

"Then why do you want Ciel to strip so badly?" Kristopherson teasingly asked. "That's pretty gay."

"You shut up, you airy-fairy!" Daniel snapped. "You all wanna see what he's hiding too, right?"

"Yeah, but apparently not as badly as you." said Travis.

"I'm not gay! I like girls!"

Alois simply rolled his eyes and looked back to the ginger. "Can you wait here while I go and get you a shirt?" he asked.

"Okay..." Luka replied in an embarrassed manner.

"Do you know where Nigel's suitcase is?"

"No, sorry. I dunno where he put it..." Alios sighed in response.

"I'm sure I can find it." he said, turning his attention back to the others. "I'll be back in a sec. Make sure Daniel doesn't corrupt my brother, alright?"

"Alright." the others replied back, save for Daniel.

"I won't corrupt him!" the Westley boy protested. "Wait, Ciel, what are you doing!?"

"What's it look like? I'm giving him my shirt." the bluenette replied plainly, his cheeks slightly pink. He lifted the somewhat damp piece of fabric over his head, and held it out to the younger Macken boy.

It wasn't soaked, since he had only gone into waist-deep waters, but it wasn't dry, either, since the others thought it would be funny to splash him. Luka hesitantly took it, standing back up and turning around with his back to the others in order to put it on. Fortunately, Nigel was almost the same size as the bluenette, so it fit pretty well. Ciel stood with his arms folded across his chest in an attempt to casually cover himself, and his brand-mark. He was somewhat embarrassed by not wearing a shirt as well.

"Thanks..." Luka said, extremely relieved. The others simply stood and grinned at the bluenette boy.

"Ciel's a stripper!" Daniel declared, trying to replicate the music in such a club. "Unz, unz, unz!"

"I am not!" the Phantomhive boy said, his face turning red.

"Shut up and take my money!" Alois shouted, joining in.

"Alois, you're not helping!"

"Kristopherson's checking you out, Phantomhive!" Daniel loudly shotued.

"I am not!" argued the faux-blonde. "I was just trying to see what it was that he was hiding!"

"Good, 'cause I'm the only one allowed to check him out!" declared the blonde menace.

"Shut up!" Ciel ordered, trying to shake Alois off of him. He moved his arms from their shielding position to grab the other boy's wrists and try to keep him from hugging him in his current state.

"Is... Is it that?" asked Preston, pointing at the symbol embedded in the bluenette's skin. The others lost the colour in their faces when they too, set eyes on it. The mark of Asclepius. Alois was right. That was dark.

"Yeah..." the bluenette said, letting go of the blonde's arms as the boy stopped attacking him. "It's from when I was imprisoned."

"You don't have to give us all the details, if you don't want to." said Travis, understanding why the boy might not want to talk about it.

"Yeah, we get it. It's totally cool, mate." said Audrey.

"Thanks..." Ciel replied, giving a faint smile. He was somewhat relieved that he didn't have to give an explanation.

"I still think you're fit." said the blonde, taking the opportunity to wrap his arms around the Phantomhive boy's neck, pecking him on the lips before he could fight back.

"Alois, stop! You're going to traumatize Luka!" shouted Daniel, causing the duo to whip their heads around in order to look at the boy in question. There, Luka was, eyes wide and face completely red. In response, the demonic duo quickly separated.

"Big brother, that's dirty!" the younger Macken declared.

"N-n-o i-it's not! I-it-it's perfectly... normal! It's normal!" the blonde said quickly, struggling to find his words in his current embarrassed state.

"Liar! No, it's not!"

"Listen to your big brother! It's normal for boyfriends to kiss!"

"But you're both boys!"

"That's why Ciel's my boyfriend! Boyfriends kiss!"

"You kiss your friends!?"

"No! Just Ciel! He's my boyfriend! The others are just friends who are boys!"

"We should probably stop them before this gets out of hand..." suggested Audrey.

"No, no. Not yet." Daniel replied. "This is hilarious."

 


	202. Save The Rich

"Why is Nigel sulking?" asked a certain pink-loving lad, and the owner of the beach-house that the Sensational Seven were currently staying in.

"I don't know. I think it's because he didn't get to play much since Luka was awake." suggested Audrey.

"That must really suck..." said Preston.

"I can still hear you, you know..." the Irons lad grouchily called out. "I don't need a pity-party."

"Oh, C'mon, Nigel! We're pitying you, we're just feelin' for ya!" spoke Daniel, patting the boy on the back.

"I can feel for myself!" Nigel argued. "Besides, that's not entirely it..." The other boys simply looked at him confusedly, asking him what he meant by that.

"I just know Luka did or said something weird in my body..." clarified the ginger. The others tried their best not to snicker, but failed miserably. "I knew it! Just what did he do?!"

"Don't worry, we're laughing more at Alois, than at you." said Audrey.

"I've never seen him so embarrassed." added Preston.

"It looks like we finally found Alois' weakness." snickered Kristopherson.

"Shut up!" barked the blonde menace, overhearing the conversation. "I'd like to see you try and explain that stuff to a little kid!"

"Problem, Trancy?" asked the son of a politician. "You and Ciel are the most knowledgeable about that stuff, though!" he teased.

"I will destroy you!" Alois shouted, putting his foot up on the arm of the couch to look at the brown-haired menace before feeling a slight tug on the collar of his shirt, and falling backwards with his back landing in the bluenette's lap.

"Calm down. Don't stoop to his level." Ciel said plainly. He arched an eyebrow when the blonde immediately sat back up, his cheeks slightly pink.

"Stop that. What if Luka spontaneously shows up?" he asked, ignoring that snickering of the other boys. "I don't wanna have to explain anymore things to him!"

"He's your brother, and he's going to learn about it eventually." the bluenette replied, folding his arms. "Would you rather have Daniel do it for you?"

"Hell no! He'll destroy what innocence he has left!"

"I would not!" the politician's son replied.

"I don't believe you!"

"We should also probably call into question the long-term effects of Nigel's 'condition', too. I can only imagine what going to school is like..." said Audrey.

"It's awful." Nigel said with a sigh. "The first couple of weeks, I'd wake up and there would be all sorts of nasty rumors about me, and I'd have bruises from bullies that I didn't fight."

"Those bastards! They hit Luka?!" the blonde demanded, digging his fingers into the couch cushion.

"Where do you go to school, Nigel?" asked Preston.

"I used to go to Tamworth."

"Of course it's Tamworth..." Preston replied.

"Kris! Have your lazy-ass boyfriend do something!" shouted Daniel.

"Yeah, like I can just call him up and say: 'hey, Cameron, there's this guy with the soul of a dead child inside him, and I need you to protect him'!" the faux-blonde replied, his words dripping with sarcasm.

"You and Cameron are going out?" asked Travis.

"Yeah, but I didn't think it was especially important, so I didn't bring it up."

"Gay~!" teased a certain brown-haired, politician's son. "So it leads to a few awkward situations, big deal! You don't have to tell him all of that, anyway. All you have to do is tell him that he has multiple personalities!"

"Under ordinary circumstances, I wouldn't buy that." said Preston. "The whole concept is just so far-fetched."

"How can you not believe in multiple personalities?!" asked Daniel. "There's a ginger with them sitting right in front of you!"

"I said, 'under ordinary circumstances'!" argued the Indian boy. "I can see it in this situation because there's literally two people inside one body, but as a psychological phenomena, I have to call 'bullshit'."

"Your face is bullshit!"

"If I may interrupt, I think I might know some possible long-term effects of his 'condition', sirs." spoke Sebastian with a slight bow, calling the attention of the quarreling lads after a moment of thinking about the matter.

"Go on." said the bluenette, gesturing for the man to do so.

"Being somewhat of knowledgeable of souls, myself, it is my understanding that this is made possible due to the fact that Nigel's soul is human, and lacks the capability of simply absorbing Luka's." the butler explained, looking at the faces of the lads in order to gauge their levels of understanding. Everyone seemed to follow, except for Daniel, of course, so he continued.

"Because he can't absorb it, thus gaining dominance over the other soul and 'digesting' it, the two souls in his body will most likely fight for control of the vessel"

"So what happens when one of them wins?" asked Alois, somewhat nervously. The butler simply paused, and because of this, the blonde only knew it wasn't going to be anything good.

"Well, I may not be correct on judging this, having never quite seen this type of possession before..." the man began, "...but most likely, what will happen is that one of them will inevitably be destroyed in the process."

The lads simply gaped at the statement, especially Nigel and Alois, who the situation concerned the most. One of them could loose their body, as well as their very existence, and one of them would lose one of the only people they've ever cared about a second time. On either end, that was simply unacceptable.

Nigel simply put his head in his hands, somewhat despairing over what was going to happen. Either he would lose his body, and cease to exist, or he would be responsible for the obliteration of the only brother and "living" relative one of his friends. That was a lot of pressure to put on one boy. Killing ghouls was perfectly fine and acceptable, as they didn't want to be ghouls, and it could be considered an act of mercy. Exterminating rogue vampires who preyed on innocent lives civilians was all fine and dandy, as that was simply protecting the weak. Killing an innocent child, however, was not. Luka hadn't done anything wrong. Even if his brother was a demon, even if he wasn't technically considered a "human" any longer, Luka was alive, and hadn't done a thing wrong, in this case. Whatever sins he may have committed in his past life were just that; in the past. They didn't quite matter anymore, did they? He had already paid the price, hadn't he? Right, now, he was alive, and that was what mattered to both Nigel, and Alois.

Yet, the ginger feared for himself as well. He was human, after all, and the drive to survive against all odds was one of the most noble traits his kind possessed, even if it was an instinct shared by many other animals. Thinking for one's own sake was a given. Finding a person so noble as to sacrifice oneself for others was a rare find, indeed, and this was an extreme case. This was ceasing to exist, a fate far worse than death, after all. That is a thought that could strike fear in the hearts of many, whether they be human, or demon, whether they be satanic, divine, or in the grey area. The promise of an afterlife was far more comforting than nothing at all. Nothingness was a terrifying thought.

"Wh-what... What am I going to do?" the boy asked of no one in particular. His voice trembled as his spoke. Alois simply looked to Sebastian, and then to the bluenette, eyes silently asking if either of them had any ideas. The two older demons thought for a while, before the oldest chuckled, his mouth morphing into a small smirk.

"What is it?" asked the bluenette, looking at the butler.

"You recall a certain ceremony that tied a certain someone's soul to a fabricated body?" the man asked, earning a dirty look from the bluenette. It was uncertain whether this was because of what that entailed, or whether it was because Sebastian thought of it first.

"That would take about a month to prepare for, and not only that, but I'm only vaguely aware of what Luka even looks like." Ciel frowned, and expression that only deepened, the more he thought about the subject.

"Not only that, I would have to discuss it with her." he continued, spitting out the word like it was poison. He didn't like the idea of informing Sir Hellsing of the operation, but should they go through with it, they would have to receive her approval as to not get in any sort of trouble with the Round Table Conference. The bluenette felt a tugging at his arm, and looked over to see the blonde menace making the most pitiful of expressions.

"Do you think it's possible, Sebastian?" Ciel asked with a sigh, giving in somewhat much to the blonde's delight.

"It's possible. That is, with some minor alterations to the procedure, of course." the man replied with a smile. "As for Luka's appearance, we could possibly leave that to Alois, as I'm sure he remembers what his own brother looks like."

"O-of course! I'll do it! Whatever it takes!" the blonde declared eagerly. Ciel couldn't help but feel a small twinge of jealousy for whatever reason at those words. He felt silly for it, knowing full-well that he couldn't monopolize all of the blonde's attention, but it was still there.

"You seriously want Alois to synthesize the body, Sebastian? asked the bluenette, questioning the blonde' s competence in learning new magic.

"But of course. I'm sure with enough practice, he could get the hang of it." the butler replied. Ciel sighed, rubbing his temples. He looked to Nigel, and then looked to the blonde.

"Remind me to call Hellsing in the morning..." he said begrudgingly. Alois literally jumped for joy, before wrapping his arms around the bluenette in a tight hug.

"You're the best~! The absolute best~!" he said, kissing the other boy's forehead. "Long live the Demon King~!"

"What happened to avoiding awkward explanations?" the bluenette asked. "I better be 'the best' for this, for what this will cost me."

"Cost?" the blonde echoed. "How much?"

"Just for the ingredients to make the body alone will run me about at over a thousand quid." Ciel replied.

"Over a thousand?! For real?!" the blonde asked, shocked at the price.

"Yes, there's over twenty-five elements in the human body in total, and a lot of them aren't that easy to get your hands on." the bluenette said flatly. "Though, since Luka is younger than you, he should also be smaller than you, which should cut down the price quite a bit."

"A-are you serious?! You spent that much money to make a body for a person that you didn't even like that much in the first place?!" Alois asked, referring to himself.

"It was worth it, wasn't it? Spending money on frivolities every once and a while is an alright thing to do."

"You call that a 'frivolity'? Just how much money do you have?"

"Well, Funtom alone has a net worth of several billion, and I hardly ever spend it..." the bluenette said, trailing off as he begun to think. "...I've gotten pretty good at investing, too..."

"You really are a demon!" the blonde shouted. "There's children starving out in the world and shit! You're just sittin' on a pile of money!"

"I donate to charity, occasionally. It's not as bad as you're thinking. The value of the pound has gone down since the 1800s, you know..."

"Seriously, Alois. Give it a rest." said Preston. "My families company is worth more the Funtom, last time I checked, being in the technology business."

"Mine too." said Audrey, the son of the CEO of a major medical and pharmaceutical company.

"Mine's about the same as Funtom, actually." said Kristopherson, the son of a famous actor and a well-renowned fashion designer.

"Oh, the iniquity! The lower class should rise and kick your asses!"

"Don't worry, Alois! My family is only worth a few million!" joked Daniel.

"I didn't even know Alois knew the word 'iniquity'..." said Preston.

"Well, pardon me for not being as well-educated like those born with silver-spoons shoved up their asses!"

"Do you want your brother to have a body, or what?" asked the bluenette. "And stop talking about asses..."

 


	203. Two For The Price Of One

Ciel was dredding what he was about to do. It was morning, and as promised, he was going to call his arch-rival, Sir Integra Fair Book Wingates Hellsing, and ask her for permission to act out their plan to save Luka and Nigel. He had to ask his arch-rival for permission. As you can most definitely imagine, this was not something that the bluenette would enjoy. He would be laying down his pride, and his ego off to the side, and showing weakness to the one of the very last people he would ever want to. He paced back and forth for a while, trying to gain the motivation to do so, and it was starting to work; how very slow it might have.

"What's the cyclops doing?" asked Daniel, arching an eyebrow at the bluenette's unusual activity.

"He's getting ready to call Sir Hellsing about making Luka a body." answered Alois, grinning at the sight of a somewhat agitated Ciel.

"'Sir Hellsing'? Who's that?" the politican's son inquired.

"One of Ciel's best friends ever." the blonde replied jokingly, gaining the attention of the irritated Phantomhive boy.

"She's not my friend!" he barked. "There's no wat in hell that I would be friends with that cigar-chewing, mannish, beast of a woman!"

"But whenever I see you two talk to each other, you seem pretty familiar!"

"'Familiar'?! Don't make me laugh! Every time I see that stupid, high-and-mighty expression on her face, I just want to slap it!

"Did you get rejected by her or something?" asked Daniel, joining in the fun of teasing the Phantomhive boy.

"Don't be disgusting." Ciel snapped. "Even Sebastian is more effeminate than that thing."

"So? I thought you liked men?" The brown-haired lad's comment made the bluenette's cheeks flush slightly.

"I don't think I necessarily like 'men' in general..." he began, trying to choose his words carefully. "..I just know I like Alois..."

"So you like girly men, then?"

"Hey! I'm not 'girly'!" argued the blonde menace.

"Have you looked in a mirror, lately?!" Daniel asked the Trancy lad.

"Yes, and I look bloody amazing!"

"...And like a girl!"

"You wish I was a girl!"

"I do not!"

"Suffer, Westley! You're getting none of this!"

While the Sensational Seven's "Dumbass Duo" were bickering, Ciel had taken the opportunity to flee the conversation. He had things to be doing, and they didn't involve discussing his sexual preferences. His frustration had only grown in those few moments of speaking with those two, as their suggestions were absolute repulsive to the bluenette.

Never, nor has he ever, at any point in time, had a "crush" on Sir Integra Fairbrook Wingates Hellsing. The very thought made him shudder. Sure, they may have met when she was his age, but he had at the time, thought of her as nothing more than a business partner, or even a little sister. That was even more revolting than Alois' suggestion of the two being "best friends". Why would Ciel Phantomhive be friends with the source of his irritation and hatred? The more he thought of this, however, the more he thought about his relationship with Alois. He internally kicked himself for thwarting his own argument.

Yet, thinking about the blonde somehow made his anger subside for the moment. Why did he hate him, again? Was it simply because the Trancy family was supposedly behind his parents' deaths and the besmirching of the Phantomhive name? Or was it because they were so different? Or maybe, it was that deep down, they both could tell that they were the same? It was just so long ago, that it was hard for the bluenette to remember.

That thought mildly frightened the bluenette for a moment. To him, forgetting was a bad thing. Forgetting the past that makes you, is one of the signs of becoming a true demon; the kind without self. No, Ciel would remember, and hold onto his humanity. Even though he was a demon now, and was no longer human, loosing that small sliver of humanity that remained frightened him. Would he cease to exist if he lost it? Wouldn't that be the "end" of Ciel Phantomhive? No, he wouldn't allow that. He would remain human at his core, and live.

He was pulled by his thoughts, however, when he almost ran into an excited Nigel as he turned a corner. No, wait, it wasn't quite. Something was off about the ginger. Ciel's suspicions were only confirmed when the boy opened his mouth.

"Gah! Sorry, Ciel!" he said, "is everyone almost ready to go?"

"Go where?" asked the bluenette.

"To the beach, silly!" the other boy said with a big, childish grin. That wasn't Nigel's grin. Upon further inspection, he realized that the boy was also wearing a shirt with his swim trunks, something Nigel doesn't do. That wasn't Nigel.

"Not yet, Luka. I have to make a phone call before we can go." the bluenette replied, folding his arms. The ginger's eyes lit up upon hearing his name.

"Whoa! You got it right on the first try!" said Luka excitedly. "You're the first one to get it today!"

"It's not that difficult. All I had to do was pay attention."

"You're just as smart as big brother said!" the mentally younger of the two said. His grin faded and he tilted his head slightly in confusion. "But, I don't see how you're 'kinda full of it', though." The bluenette's eyebrow twitched in annoyance at the second part of that.

"Did he really say that?" he asked, forcing a grin. That grin would have made the other lads' blood run cold at the sight of it, knowing the cruelty that lurked beneath it's surface, but, Luka was simply young and naive enough to believe it, so he smiled back.

"Yup! He said that you can be arrogant and cold on the outside, but that you're secretly really nice." Luka paused for a moment before clarifying. "I was just askin' him why he liked you, is all."

"Really?" the bluenette asked with a smile, his interest piqued. "Just what else did he say?"

"Well, he said stuff like how cool and strong you were, and he also said you were pretty cute-." Luka stopped suddenly stopped talking. His eyes went wide and he clasped his hands over his mouth.

"What's wrong?" Ciel asked, his smile gone and replaced with a look of confusion.

"I... wasn't supposed to tell you that..." Luka replied, his words muffled by his hands. "I forgot big brother told me not to tell..." He removed his hands and wore a worried expression. "Please don't let big brother know I told!"

Ciel's smile crept back across his face and he answered. "Of course I won't. I won't tell, and your big brother won't get mad at you, alright?"

"Thank you so much!" Luka said. "You go make your phone call so we can all play some more!"

"Alright. Will do." the bluenette replied, walking past the ginger in order to find a quiet place to make his call uninterrupted. Alas, he was stopped dead in his tracks when the other boy called after him again.

"Wait, Ciel! I forgot I wanted to ask you something!" he said, looking at the bluenette as he turned around. "Since you and Jim are together, does that make you my big brother too?"

A blush crawled across Ciel's face as he heard that. It took almost every fiber of his being in order to not snap at the other boy, since at the moment, he was mentally younger than him, and simply didn't know any better. Instead, he took a deep breath and calm his nerves as he concocted something to say.

"Sure, I'll be your big brother too..." he replied somewhat bashfully, a thing that went unnoticed by Luka. A big grin formed on the other lad's face at those words, and he giggled. Ciel simply turned to complete the task that he had set out to do in the first place, walking only a few feet before being stopped once again by the ginger's voice, this time coming from the other room. What the boy said made Ciel blush even more.

"Hey, guess what, Jim! Ciel said he'd be my big brother too! Does that make him my 'big-brother-in-law'?" he declared. Luka didn't quite understand why the blonde's friends were laughing, or why his older brother was blushing so hard.

 


	204. Fish Pee

"I must say, Ciel. I'm proud of you." said the blonde menace as the Sensational Seven strolled up to the beach. " _You didn't call Sir Integra a single name, or threaten her even once!"_

"It's 'Sir Hellsing', and I had to." replied the bluenette. "I had to be polite in order to make sure she would give us the _'okay'_ in order to go along with our little plan."

"I've never seen anybody clench their fist until it _bleeds,_ though..." said Kristopherson, recalling the atmosphere at the time.

It took everything Ciel had in order to not lash out at the woman and verbally abuse her over the phone, especially with her picking at him. It was as though she was trying to test how long that the boy could keep that up. All of the irritation that the bluenette wasn't expressing over the phone, seemed to seep out into the room, becoming toxic to anyone unfortunate to be breathing in the nearby vicinity, and suffocating them to death. The only physical expression of his anger that manifested itself on the bluenette's person was the clenching of his fist until it shook, and until his fingernails dug so deep into his skin that it bled. He felt as thought he was losing to the woman by asking her for anything, and losing to the Hellsing woman was unacceptable, in Ciel's eye. His anger began to boil up again just by recalling the conversation, prompting the others to try to change the subject.

"So... Uh... Is Luka going to get a body, or what?" asked Daniel.

"She said she would have to call a meeting of the Round Table Conference in order to find out." replied the bluenette with a sigh. This was going to be so much work, and he knew it. "Wait, where did Luka go, anyway?"

The blonde's eyes quickly widened, and he began to frantically whip his head back and forth, scanning for the boy. He spun around in place once or twice to check the area behind him, only to spot the boy poking at something in the sand. With a relieved sigh, Alois walked back to get the boy.

"What did you find?" he asked, curious as to what caught the mentally younger boy's eye. Luka smiled, and pointed.

"It's a crab!" he said. "I was just playing with it."

"Careful with those. They're _ungrateful_." Alois replied. "Ciel saved one last year, and it then pinched his foot. It took us forever to make it let go."

"How'd you get it off him?"

"We _didn't._ We had to call _Sebastian_. Ciel was so mad. He said so many swear words, it would've made a _sailor_ blush!" The blonde reached down and grabbed the other boy's hand, helping him up. "C'mon, let's go catch up with the others before the crab _gets_ you."

"Okay!"

Alois led the boy back over to the rest of the Seven, who had slowed down their pace in order for the two to catch up. The blonde announced their return loudly, calling out:

" _Ciel! Luka found your friend, the crab!"_ Ciel furrowed his brow and frowned, turning around to dismiss the blonde's claim.

"What is with you and calling my _enemies_ my _'friends'?"_ he asked, blushing and looking away when he noticed the the two boys were holding hands. He didn't like this feeling in his chest that the image gave him. He knew it was just Luka, but still, the unpleasant twinge persisted.

"You consider a _crab_ you _'enemy'?_ And you say _I'm_ the _'immature'_ one?" the blonde asked, pausing for a moment when he noticed the bluenette's actions. He giggled and a smile appeared on his face _. "I'll hold your hand too, if you want, Ciel."_

"N-no. That's alright." the Phantomhive boy insisted, embarrassed by his own lack of composure. He tried to fold his arms, but was too slow, as his hand was snatched away from him by the blonde menace.

 _"I claim this hand in the name of myself!"_ Alois declared, holding it high in the air, until it was forced down at his side by the bluenette.

"Stop being weird..." he said, intertwining their fingers sheepishly. His blush only darkened when the blonde smiled at him.

"You're so cute when you're embarrassed, Ciel~!"

"Just... shut up..."

Luka, who had been studying the duo's interaction closely, came across several observations. One: The duo were fundamentally different in they way they communicated. Two: Ciel was cool, but his brother could make him lose that cool. Finally...

 _"Ciel is kind of girly, isn't he?"_ he said aloud, not meaning anything by it. The other boys had to cover their mouths and noses with their hands in order not to laugh. Alois had to bite his lip, as both of his hands were occupied, yet his mouth still threatened to morph into a smile. Meanwhile, the bluenette was silently seething. The glare on his face could immediately freeze those who didn't know him into a solid sheet of ice, yet finally smiled, immediately eliminating the blonde's urge to laugh.

"Luka, can you let go of Alois' hand for a moment?" he asked. The ginger tilted his head questioningly.

"Why?"

"Don't worry, it'll be _funny_."

Luka's grip on the blonde's hand cautiously faded, causing Alois to glance at him, and then back to the bluenette confusedly. The grip on his other hand abruptly vanished as well, leaving both of them empty. Alois would never be prepared for what happened next.

He was picked up, slung over the bluenette's shoulder, and carried away towards the water. Luka chased after them, worried about what was going to happen to his brother. No matter how much the boy shouted to be put down, his pleas fell on deaf ears until they reached the salty abyss. Once there, his body left it's position on the Phantomhive boy's shoulder and flew through the air before plummeting into the sea with a mighty splash.

"Whoa! He flew pretty far!" said Daniel.

 _"_ Alois is apparently _quite aerodynamic."_ Audrey commented as the blonde menace resurfaced, spitting out a mouthful of seawater.

" _Avenge me my comrades!"_ Alois shouted, splashing about. "Seek revenge on the _dastardly cyclops_ who caused me to soar and get a mouthful of water, salt and _fish pee!"_

" _Yes, your highness!"_ Luka shouted back, gesturing for the other lads to follow as he ran toward his target. The others paused for a moment before doing so, hesitating slightly before taking off in full pursuit.

 _"For the fish pee!"_ shouted Daniel, as he tried to grab the bluenette.

Alas, his momentum was used against him as he flew through the air as well, his fall cushioned only by the waves. Seeing what had happened to their other fallen comrade, the others paused before attacking, analyzing the bluenette's every move. Ordinarily, the boy wouldn't have bothered launching a counter-attack. Then, it occurred to them what was going on. Ciel was simply blowing off steam from talking to Hellsing. Now, which the knowledge that the demon was at least semi-serious, they knew that they had to approach the situation differently.

"What do we do?" asked Preston. "If we just charge him, he's just going to toss us."

"Maybe if we charge him all at once?" suggested Kristopherson. "Surely he can't take all of us down at the same time..."

 _"I can still hear you, you know..."_ spoke the bluenette.

"C'mon! Avenge us!" shouted Daniel from the sea. "Are you _men_ , or are you _Alois's?!"_ he added before being pushed down into the waters by the blonde menace.

"Sod of, Daniel!" the blonde said. "Luka, you don't have to avenge me if you don't want." he called, but the boy didn't respond. The ginger now had a more serious expression on his face. Luka was asleep.

"Audrey!" called Nigel. "Attack pattern _delta_ followed by _gamma!"_

" _Huh?"_ was the reaper-boy's initial reaction. He blinked for a moment before he realized that Luka wasn't speaking anymore, and that it was Nigel talking about H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. manoevres. "Oh... Oh! Got it!"

"What the _hell_ is he talking about, Bones?" asked Kristpoherson.

"Just follow our lead!" called Nigel. Both he and Audrey were on a mission.

Instead of charging the bluenette, they ran past him, and swarmed his back. The others followed, blocking the boy's other sides. The tactic was almost enough to make Ciel smile. He knew that they were going to attack his back, so he was ready. As soon as Nigel moved his foot to kick the demon's back, Ciel caught it, and when Audrey did the same, he caught his foot with his free hand. That was a problem, though. He only had two hands.

Kristopherson struck next, making an attempt to shove the bluenette once his back was turned. He was sent flying, however, as the bluenette took his stance and used the faux-blonde's force against him, but made the mistake of turning his back to the first two lads. With his now freed leg, Audrey kicked the back of the bluenette's while the boy's stance was sturdy and not likely to move to a defensive position. He had struck the back of the knee, causing the bluenette's leg to buckle and fall beneath him. Ciel landed in the sand with a thud.

"Grab him!" shouted Nigel, and the remaining boys did just that, grabbing his arms and legs. With their combined effort, they managed to send the bluenette demon plunging into the vast ocean water. He resurfaced and opened his mouth to complain, but saw Sebastian standing behind the boys chuckling.

"You really shouldn't underestimate humans, my lord." spoke the man with a smile. "They really are quite capable of amazing feats."

"'It takes a _man_ to defeat a _monster'_." said Nigel, quoting an excerpt from the H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. handbook, under their philosophy.

"Indeed, but you must also remember that letting your guard down is also unwise." said the butler. The boys simply turned to look at him for a moment. They didn't even see Sebastian move before they were thrown into the air. They quickly were reunited with their fallen comrades as they plummeted into the sea with a _splash._

"Just who's side are you on, Sebastian!?" asked Daniel as the others resurfaced. The man responded by putting his right hand over his heart and bowing slightly.

"Why, my lord's, of course." he said. "You simply allowed me to walk up and defeat you without any resistance whatsoever."

"We didn't even know you were _playing!"_ shouted Preston.

" _Expect the unexpected."_

They simply watched the man's back as he walked away for a moment. Wondering what the point of any of that was. Nigel then remembered the conversation that the group had the previous night about his "access soul-removal". He swam over to the bluenette so he didn't have to shout.

"Hey, Phantomhive, did you call Sir Integra, yet?" he asked, the bluenette blinked confusedly for a moment before it registered who he was talking to. His mind had faltered slightly, as this wasn't the same person who had said all of those embarrassing things, even though he had the same face.

"Yes, she said that she would have to hold a meeting with the Round Table Conference before reaching a verdict." he replied. "It should be within the week. We may have to leave early in order to get everything done." He paused for a moment before registering an afterthought. "Wait, _'Sir Integra'?"_

"Everyone at H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. calls her that." Audrey clarified. "It's cool. You guys should be able to leave early if you need to-"

"No it's not!" interrupted Kristopherson. "If they leave, _Sebastian leaves too, meaning that we have no way to get home after this."_

"Can't they just drive back?" asked Daniel.

"That's a waste of gas money." answered Travis.

"Why don't we just go too?" asked Bones.

"Go home early from _the beach_ in order to perform _Satanic rituals?"_ asked the faux-blonde. "I don't need any more reasons to go to _Hell!"_

"What's the big deal? You _'ve already got friends from there."_

"That's easy for _you_ to say, _reaper-boy!"_

_"You mad, bro?"_

 


	205. The Devil's Wife

A few days went by, as the lads continued to play in the sand and surf while waiting on the council's verdict. Everyone except Nigel, however. The ginger was tormented by the thought that his soul, his essence, the very thing that makes him "Nigel Irons", could simply be destroyed at any given moment, weighed heavily on his mind. The only time when he wasn't harassed by these disturbing thoughts was when Luka was "awake", as the boy had also been losing sleep over the idea. Luka, on the other hand, wasn't scared at all, since he hadn't been informed about the fact for the specific purpose of avoiding having to deal with a frightened eight-year-old.

So while the other lads were playing, splashing about in the waves and trying to drown each other, occasionally pausing to tease the demonic duo whenever they tried to sneak off in order to be alone with each other; while Sebastian supervised the children and built absurdly detailed sand-sculptures; while Luka was busily asking his older brother questions about this and that, such as things he had been doing since waking up in the modern world, and awkward questions about his relationship with Ciel, Nigel was zoning out and fretting over his potential destruction. It was incredibly obvious to the others, but their hands were tied, as they were forced to wait on the Round Table's judgement. The Irons lad was plunging deep into the pits of depression over all of this. He couldn't enjoy himself at all. He felt lethargic, melancholy, and empty, as he simply waited on his demise.

The demonic duo, however, had other plans. Ciel had brought his laptop with him to the beach-house for the purpose of managing Funtom while on vacation, but recently, he had been using it for other purposes. While he kept it in multiple places just in case one copy was somehow destroyed, the bluenette had documented the steps he had taken while summoning Alois, just in case he needed them again. It was a wise move. He had even gone as far as to document the contact information of the various companies he had bought the ingredients from next to their names.

He had enlisted the help of some of the seven as well, having Audrey and Preston calculate the exact measurements that would be necessary for the body of the average eight-year-old, and Sebastian would read the directions and make the appropriate changes in order to achieve the desired results. Alois took his time, explaining Luka's appearance to Kristopherson, who would then sketch the lad's visage to the best of his ability, occasionally becoming irritated whenever he somehow interpreted the Trancy lad's description incorrectly. Travis would play with Luka whenever he came out in the meantime, making sure to keep him away from Daniel, so the politician's son wouldn't "corrupt his young mind". They all pitched in so that once they received the call, they would be able to act out the plan as quickly as possible. When it finally came, everyone in the room seemed to hold their breath, as they perked up their ears in hopes of being able to eavesdrop on the conversation.

"Hello?" the bluenette answered, holding his mobile phone up to his ear. "This is Phantomhive."

"This is Islands." said the voice over the phone. It was aman's voice, old, and serious in it's tone. It was the voice of the council Chairman, Sir Hugh Islands. "Well, it would appear that the council has reached a verdict on your rather unusual request..." he said.

"Yes?" the bluenette asked, somewhat nervously.

"It has been approved with a majority vote of nine-to-three." said Sir Islands. Ciel unconsciously let out a voice of relief. The other boys saw this and interpreted it as good, so they silently cheered and high-fived each other. The bluenette could only guess who it was who opposed the idea, yet, his suspicions were proven partially wrong by what the man said next.

"You should be grateful to Sir Integra for the passing of this proposal." the grouchy, old man said. "She managed to sway most of the members in your favour. If it wasn't for her, your plan would never leave the ground!"

"Integra did?" he asked, thinking aloud. There was no way the Hellsing woman would help him, would she?

"Yes. Just make sure that whatever that thing does, will benefit this nation's welfare, Phantomhive." Sir Islands said sternly, before hanging up. The bluenette's suspicions of one of his opposers was confirmed, at least. He hung up too and looked at the group of boys in the room.

"Luka's going to get his own body." he said. The other boys cheered at the statement. Nigel snapped out of his depressed state and stared at the bluenette in shock for a moment. They really were going to allow him to do this? He looked over at the blonde menace as well, watching him as tears streamed down his face, an expression that didn't seem to match the gigantic smile on his face.

Alois would get to have his brother back, in his entirety. He wouldn't have to wait until Nigel was "asleep" in order to see him, nor would he have to feel awkward by talking to the boy while he was wearing Nigel's face. He would get to see Luka again. He would get to see his face, with his big brown eyes and big smile. He would also get to ruffle his brother's messy brown hair, and hold him in a big hug, making up for all of the times he simply wasn't able to. The thought of all of this alone was enough to make the blonde cry tears of joy.

The other lads pat him on the back as they cheered. Nigel was now smiling so much that his cheeks hurt. Ciel simply smiled at the scene in front of him, before dialing the numbers of the documented companies, and placing his phone back up to his ear before ordering the supplies that they needed, including extra, just in case they botched up their first attempt at making a body for the boy. The bluenette had somehow miraculously convinced Kristopherson to allow them to perform the ceremony in the basement of the house, so they wouldn't have to venture all the way back to London. In a few days, the supplies would arrive, and Nigel would have his body back, while Luka had his own.

"What's everybody so happy about?" asked the ginger, suddenly. He jumped when the blonde suddenly grabbed his shoulders.

"Luka! Luka, you're going to have your own body soon!" Alois said excitedly. "Isn't that awesome!?"

"Whoa! How're you gonna do that?!" asked the mentally younger boy.

"Ciel's going to make you one, then he's going to transfer your soul into it!"

"Whoa! He can do that?!" asked Luka, now staring at the bluenette. "Is he a 'super-demon' or something?!"

"Of course he is! He's Satan!" Daniel chimed in, giving the boy a thumbs-up.

"Satan?! He's the devil?!" the ginger asked, Luka of course, taking the nickname seriously. "Big brother, you kissed the devil?!"

"Daniel, shut up! Luka, he's not really the devil!" Alois attempted to clarify, an attempt that proved to be for naught as the other lads joined.

"You bet he is!" said Krisotpherson. "He's the King of Demons!"

"That's why Sebastian and Alois listen to him." added Audrey.

"He can control people's minds, and create other demons for him to command." said Preston.

"Big Brother! Is the Devil controlling you?!" asked Luka, rather seriously.

"No, he isn't! He's not the Devil!" Alois insissted.

"He doesn't even know he's being forced to become the Devil's wife!" spoke Daniel, wiping away a non-existant tear. "It's so sad!"

"Big Brother! Noooooooo!"

"I'm not being forced into anything! I'm not his wife!" the blonde shouted, jumping with the others when the bluenette finally snapped at them.

"WILL YOU MORONS QUIT TAKING A PISS?! I AM ON THE BLOODY PHONE!"

 


	206. Life Lessons

Tension arose between the blondes of the Sensational Seven. The natural blonde held in his hand the sketch that the faux-blonde had made based on his descriptions. He stared blankly at it for the longest time before speaking.

"It doesn't look anything like him..." he said, breaking the silence that nearly suffocated the two.

"What?!" barked Kristopherson. "But that's what you told me he looks like!"

"No it's not! I'd know my brother anywhere!" argued Alois. "That ain't him!"

"It's not my fault that I can't read your mind!"

"But it is your fault that you suck at following directions!"

"I do not!"

"Do too!"

"Alois, Kristopherson, shut up." ordered the bluenette, rubbing his temples. "I'm trying to concentrate..."

"Bullshit! You're just sitting there doing nothing!" remarked the pink-loving lad, earning a mean look from Ciel.

With a sigh, the bluenette said: "I'm trying to remember what Luka looks like... It's been over one-hundred years since I've seen him..."

"You met Luka? When?" asked Alois, arching an eyebrow and tilting his head.

"Well, I didn't actually meet him. I saw him when you were in my head and hijacking my body." Ciel replied with a shudder. He could really sympathize with Alois due to the fact that he had seen his memories; memories that both he and Alois would like to forget. He had seen Luka while his soul was mixed with the blondes, and it was for this reason that he could sympathize with Nigel and Luka as well. Having your body stolen isn't exactly pleasant.

"Oh yeah..." the blonde said, shuddering a bit, himself. Wearing someone elses' skin, and motoring their limbs was a strange thing. "That was a weird expeirience..."

"Very..."

"Everything seemed taller." the blonde remarked, smirking at the death glare that the bluenette gave him.

"Whatever you're talking about, I don't want to know..." said Kristopherson, getting up to walk into a different room. "Keep your weird exploits to yourselves!" he called as he entered the kitchen.

"It wasn't like that!" the bluenette called back. He sighed when he didn't receive a response, returning his attention to the blonde once more.

"Anyway, can you describe for me what he looked like?" he asked. "If I can remember, we won't need the sketch."

"Hmm... Okay, let's see..." the blonde said, scooting over closer to the bluenette on the couch. He thought for a moment on how to explain the image in his head. "He has big, kind of round-ish brown eyes, and his hair is brown, but sort of on the red-ish side." he began, pausing between sentences in order to get his description right. "It's kind of moppy, but that was probably because he hardly ever washed it. His face is round, and looks happy and cute no matter what expression he's making. His nose is kind of small, too. Luka's not as pale as you and me, either. He's a little tan... and... Hmmmnnn... That's not very descriptive, is it?"

"It's fine. I think I can imagine it, now." the bluenette replied with a small chuckle. "He might not be exactly the same, but it should be pretty close."

"That's okay. I'm pretty confident that you'll do a good job at it." Alois said. "I'm actually pretty impressed you were able to make mine almost exactly the same!" That, the other boy blushed at.

"Well, it's..." the bluentte began, struggling for words. "It's pretty hard to forget the face of the kid who molested my brain..."

"Hmmm~? Are you sure you just didn't think I was hot?" the blonde menace teased, wrapping an arm around the bluenette's next and using his free hand to cup the boy's cheek.

"Sh-shut up..."

"P.D.A., you guys! There are children present!" called Daniel, indicating that Luka was awake. "Show some decency!"

"You are one of the last people who should be talking about 'decency', Daniel..." remarked the Phantomhive boy, turning his head to face the politician's son.

"Big brother is a pervert..." Luka said flatly, not withholding his observation in the slightest.

"No, I'm not!" the blonde whined, separating himself from the bluenette, his face red. "Ciel's the bigger pervert!"

"No, I'm not."

"How is he more perverted, big brother?"

Alois opened his mouth to speak, but quickly closed it, his face turning a dark shade of red at the many memories of the bluenette being "perverted". That was simply something your don't tell your little brother. Not even an "abridged" version was acceptable. The blonde looked to the Phantomhive boy for help on how to diffuse the situation.

"Don't look at me. You're the one who got yourself into this, 'big brother'." the bluenette remarked. In response, the blonde pouted for a moment before turning to the confused, mentally-younger boy in front of him.

"Uhm, well..." he began, trying to form a coherent sentence. "...He's... He's always... kissing me... and stuff..."

"But you do that to him too, don't you?"

"Uh, well... yeah, but..." the blonde began, only digging himself into a deeper hole. "He kisses differently... like... like... Like the people on TV!"

"Whoa! Like on those weird girly shows Nigel's mom watches?!"

"Y-y-yeah! Yeah! Exactly!" the blonde said, relieved that he was able to escape. "L-like on those romantic 'girly shows'!"

"Gross! What's wrong with you, Ciel?!" Luka demanded.

"Me?! Alois kisses back!" the bluenette argued. "Half the time, he starts it!"

"Ew! Big Brother! You'll get his spit in your mouth!" Luka said. "Why do people kiss, anyway?! It's gross!"

"Well, Luka..." Daniel began, putting his hand on the ginger's shoulder, with a mischeivious grin. "People kiss because it feels good~!"

"Like you would know, 'Mister Forever-Alone'." said Alois.

"I have a girlfriend, mind you!" the brown-haired lad snapped. "We haven't kissed yet, but it could happen!"

"Stay away from my sister, you slimeball." said Kristopherson, walking back into the room with a soda.

"What about you, huh?! How far have you gotten?!" asked Daniel.

"Like I'd tell a creep like you!"

"Hey, big brother, is that true?" asked Luka. "Does kissing feel good?"

"Huh?! O-oh... Well... Yeah, but..." the blonde stammered. "B-b-but, you can't kiss someone unless you love them, got it?"

"Yes, sir!" the ginger replied, giving the blonde a salute. Thus, everyone survived the awkward conversation of the day. In a few days, the supplies for the younger Macken boy's body would arrive, and Nigel would be forced to participate in them as well.

 


	207. Not Just A Memory

Somewhere off the coast of Britain, in a beach-house owned by the family of Miles, a familiar scene took place. Days had passed, and after the materials had arrived, the sensational seven all helped carry them down into the basement of the house as the butler busily drew undecipherable symbols on it's concrete floor in chalk. The lad's were then shooed away, as the demons didn't wish for them to be in the way, or worry about their souls becoming corrupted or damned. The lads weren't even allowed to help set up, as the demons organized the ingredients in a manner that would be useable, removing lids, and unscrewing caps, and pouring things into other things. It was amazing that nothing exploded.

After the blonde menace described his brother's appearance to the bluenette one last time, Ciel crouched down, placing his hands inside the diabolic circles. His "good" eye began to glow an ominous crimson, and his muscles tensed as he focused his energy, illuminating the chalk lines on the floor. Odd winds coming from seemingly nowhere stirred up dust, and it was amazing that it didn't seem to interfere with the procedure or contaminate the ingredients. Suddenly, the many chemicals and elements scattered within the circle toppled over and burst into pitch-black, smokeless flames. Alois' eyes widened at the reaction, and quickly looked at the other demons, who's faces seemed oddly calm. It would seem that this was all simply part of the procedure. He could vaguely understand what the other boy was saying.

"Hoc virtutis species dona mihi animam!" the bluenette chanted, and behold!

The flames began to die down. Among the scattered empty glass bottles that had once contained the elements that made up a human body and had turned black from the flames, was the visage of a child, limp, seemingly lifeless, and nude. Sebastian walked over and covered the boy with his coat, giving him at least some dignity in his current state, leaving only the lad's face exposed. Alois immediately dashed over to the body, and examined it.

It was Luka. No matter how he looked at it, the boy was definately Luka. The blonde absent-mindedly caressed the boy's cheek with the palm of his hand, and smiled. This Luka didn't look like he did when he died. He simply looked like he was sleeping, as opposed to the image of the boy on that day, when his eyes were open, empty, and devoid of life. Alois also noticed that the boy's skin was softer, "new" as it wasn't worn and accustomed to the abuse of nature. The blonde turned and gave the bluenette a big smile, fighting off the urge to cry.

"Does that look about right?" asked the bluenette, dusting off his pants leg. He smiled when he saw the blonde nod in response, his face pained as it fought off tears, yet smiling all the same as he held the his younger brother's new vessel in his arms.

"I suppose we should get started on the next step right away, then?" asked the butler.

"We should probably make him decent first." suggested the bluenette. "Unless you're willing to let him borrow your coat for awhile, Sebastian. I'll go upstairs and ask Kristohperson to do some clothes-shopping for Luka. Can you two clean up here?"

"Yes, my lord."

"Yes, my master." Ciel simply rolled his eyes at the odd response and began to climb up the stairs.

"I'll leave you to it, then." he said, leaving the blonde, and the raven-haired man to clean up the chalk lines and replace them with new ones. Gently, the blonde picked up Luka's new body and carefully placed it in a chair, wrapping the butler's coat around him a bit better. Sebastian began to roll up his sleeves to get to work.

"Would you like to mop, or pick up the bottles?" he asked, picking up the mop and bucket of water he had prepared prior, knowing they would need it. He smiled as the blonde turned to face him.

"I don't really care. I'll pick up the bottles, I guess." he replied.

"Alright then, you'll need some gloves." the man said, swiping away at the evil markings on the floor. "Some of those chemicals are dangerous, and you shouldn't let them touch your skin."

"Isn't demon-skin tough?"

"It still hurts when **acid** touches it."

The blonde got up and picked up a pair of rubber gloves as he wondered why having acid in one's body was somehow not harmful, if it ate away at flesh. He Put on the ugly yellow gloves, and began picking up the empty bottles and jars, and buckets before placing them in a garbage bag. He looked up as he heard a stampede of people coming down the stairs, and the shouting of the a certain bluenette demon. Ciel was yelling at the other lads to stop, but they didn't listen, as they were all eager to see what Luka looked like.

"He's a cute little guy, isn't he?" said Daniel with a grin. "He doesn't look much like you, though, Alois."

"We're not related by blood." the blonde menace clarified. "We just call ourselves

'brothers' because we took care of each other and thought of each other as 'family'."

"His face matches his personality." said Audrey. "He looks so sweet and innocent."

"Don't let Daniel get a hold of him." said Kristopherson. "I can definately find clothes for such a little cutie."

"You like younger boys, too, Kris?!" asked the disgruntled politician's son, jokingly. "And you call me 'scummy'!? We need to call the Yard on you!"

"Piss off, Dan! He's not 'cute' in that way!"

"You mean he's 'cute' in the way puppies are, right?" asked Preston.

"He's super-cute." said Travis. More footsteps were heard coming down the stairs as the Phantomhive boy came into view.

"I told you all to wait until we're done! Do you want to get cursed, or something!?" he demanded, furrowing his brow.

"I just needed to see what kind of clothes I was looking for, and what sizes to get." said the faux-blonde, turning his attention to the irritated bluenette. "I'm told that I'm 'going to Hell', all the time, so what's the problem, if I'm going there anyway?"

"The idea of Hell becomes a lot less scary when you're friends with demons, anyway." Audrey commented. "Especially when 'death' doesn't seem to be a 'permanent' thing, around here."

"Just go and get Luka some clothes." Ciel said, rubbing his temples. "Take the others with you, while you're at it, why don't you?"

"Fine. I'll need the car, though." replied Kristopherson, holding out his hand for the keys.

"I didn't know you could drive, Kris!" said Daniel.

"I'm seventeen, so I have my license already." Sebastian grimaced somewhat as he reluctantly handed the boy the car-keys.

"Please... Just be careful with it..." the man said in an unusually pleading fashion.

"Don't worry... I will..." the faux-blonde replied, somewhat confused by the man's behaviour. It was just a simple fact that the butler held fondness over the automobiles of the Phantomhive estate, and spent much time keeping all of them in pristine condition. Knowing this, the bluenette simply rolled his visible eye at the man's actions.

"The rest of you, don't do anything to mess up my car." he warned the others- and by "others", I mean "primarily Daniel".

They simply nodded, some also agreeing verbally as they followed the Miles boy out of the basement and out of the house, leaving only the three demons and the Irons boy, who simply stood and stared at the small child propped up in his chair. That was the boy who was in his head, the one who would sometimes possess his body and interact with others, causing confusion and awkward situations wherever he went. That was Luka Macken. It was odd, seeing his face. Nigel began to wonder what the small lad was like, as he had never been able to actually speak with him. All he knew of Luka was what he had heard from others-, his friends, and his parents. Today, he was going to be able to meet him for the first time. He was going to meet the person who was literally closest to him, who he knew nothing about, and who knew nothing of him, for the first time. He was both excited, and he was frightened.

Nigel was excited to meet the boy and get his body back, but frightened of failure. What if the procedure failed, and he ended up in the other boy's body instead of staying in his own? What if his soul was accidentally destroyed in the process? What if he would be going to Hell for being a part of this? He wondered which was worse: Not existing, or going to Hell?

He was snapped out of his thoughts when he felt pressure on his shoulder. Nigel turned to see the blonde menace smiling at him.

"Thank you." the boy said. "I owe you so much for this, Nigel." the ginger stood there, confused.

"Owe me for what?" he asked, tilting his head slightly. "I didn't do anything."

"Yes, you did! You let Luka borrow your body and didn't just tell him to 'piss off'." the blonde said quite seriously. "You made it possible for me to see him again! I owe you a lot!"

"It's no big deal." the Irons boy said with a shrug. "I couldn't just let him float off into space, or whatever souls do."

"Speaking of which, I haven't seen him today, did he come out at all?"

"No. He hasn't, actually. Not since yesterday..."

The bluenette almost dropped the bottles he was carrying when he heard that. Ciel was listening in to their conversation, and immediately became worried. Luka had been coming out so often, recently, and him suddenly disappearing could only mean one thing. Quickly, he set down the bottles and ran over to Nigel, grabbing the sides of his head and examining him.

"Wh-what are you going?" Nigel asked, yet the bluenette didn't answer him.

"Sebastian! Hurry up with the circle! We need to do this now!" Ciel shouted, grabbing the ginger's wrist and shoving him inside the circle. He then ran back to pick up Luka's body and set it down in the circle next to the first boy.

"What is it?! What's wrong?!" Nigel asked, panicking. His eyes were wide, and his voice shook, knowing that the bluenette's haste meant nothing good.

"Luka's fading." the Phantomhive boy said, putting one hand on Nigel's forehead, and the other on Luka's. "He's not going to be here for much longer if we don't hurry! Sebastian! The circle!"

"It's complete, my lord! Start the incantation!" the butler shouted back.

The chalk lines on the ground began to glow,. They glowed, and the bluenette's multi-coloured eyes glowed, as the winds returned to stir up dust and and cause a ruckus. Alois' eyes widened, expressing his worry and his fear of losing Luka again, this was his only chance, as well as Luka's. Nigel's eyes shut tightly as he felt the life being sucked out of him. He couldn't move, he couldn't breathe; this was it, their only shot.

"E pluribus unum dare, cum pauci. Da ei anima sua. Suam faciem.

Vocem suam. Corpus suum."

Nigel fell over when the light faded, falling and curling up into a ball on the ground. His body felt cold, but he could still feel it, so he knew he was still alive. He shuddered and moved his eyes to look over at the body next to him, wrapped carefully in Sebastian's tailcoat. Luka wasn't moving.

His brother quickly rushed to his side, and propped him up, calling his name over and over, while trying to wake him up. Luka did not move, not in the slightest. Not even a small twitch to indicate that he was alive. Upon realizing this, Alois' lip began to quiver, and he tightly held onto the younger Macken's shell of a body, as if he was afraid that he would leave.

"Luka..." the blonde whimpered, his vision blurring and his cheeks turning wet with the small streams of water pouring from his eyes. The room was entirely silent save for the sound of the blonde's cries.

"...Luka..." he called again, his voice cracking as it reached a certain volume and he hiccuped.

It hurt. It hurt him everywhere. It hurt him in his very soul to know, once and for all, that Luka was never coming back. All the others in the room could do was sadly watch as the blonde sobbed. "Luka... Please don't leave me... Please... Luka..."

But then they heard a small cough.

"Big brother, you're squeezing me too hard... It hurts..."

Alois pulled away to look at the small boy, watching him for a moment as he coughed from the blonde compressing his ribcage in his embrace. He couldn't believe it. Right there, in his arms was Luka, with his own face, and voice. Everything about the boy in the blonde's arms was Luka. Finally, at long last, the Macken brothers were reunited once again.

"Luka!" the blonde cried, wrapping his arms around the smaller boy again.

"Wagh! Big brother, it's too tight! Leggo!"

"No way! I don't want to let go of you ever again!"

"But I'm naked!"

* * *

 


	208. Flying Koalas

A few days passed since Luka's restoration, and he and the Sensational Seven had been getting along swimmingly. Especially with Nigel, who he felt a sort of connection with even if he hadn't actually met him before then. Luka went as far as to call Nigel his "third big brother", much to the annoyance of a certain blonde, who claimed that "being Luka's big brother isn't apparently as special as it used to be, since anyone can be one now." He was simply pouting about having to share the younger boy with others.

The bluenette found himself in a similar situation, as more of Alois' attention shifted from him, to Luka. Now, Ciel isn't an immature boy, so he wasn't really one to complain, but the fact that he wasn't able to monopolize the blonde's affections any longer annoyed him. It annoyed him now that the blonde wasn't crawling all over him, and he oddly found himself missing those flirtatious remarks that the boy would always make. Even at night, when they were supposed to be "alone", Luka was still there, since all of the beds and couches were already full, and he, like the humans, required sleep since he was "new". The Phantomhive boy often kicked himself for feeling absurd things such as jealousy over a "baby demon".

He couldn't really blame Alois for giving the boy so much attention, however, since the blonde hadn't seen his brother in years. He was the only person that the boy could consider "family", and one of the only people the boy has ever cared about, so it wasn't as though the bluenette could simply "change his mind". Because he cared about Alois, and Alois cared about Luka, Ciel had to care for Luka as well. He didn't particularly mind the cute little thing. His only irritation was with the lack of attention he was receiving from the blonde.

"Travis! Travis!" Luka called, running up to the bulky boy along the sand. "Throw me in the water! Throw me in the water!"

The usually silent Sullivan boy arched an eyebrow, and looked to the blonde menace for a moment to see if it was alright. Once he received the "thumbs-up" signal from the blonde, he hesitantly bent down and picked up the small boy by his underarms. With a grunt from Travis, Luka was sent flying, giggling as he soared through the air and landed in the water with a splash. Immediately upon resurfacing, he swam back to shore and ran up to Travis once more.

"Do it again!" he shouted when he finally managed to stop giggling. Travis simply held up his hands.

"Sorry, I'm not doing it anymore." he replied, frowning apologetically at the tiny brunette's pout. He simply didn't want Luka to accidentally get hurt in the process. Since pouting didn't work, the brunette trotted up to some of the others and began asking them.

First he asked Nigel, and then Audrey because they were both slightly more muscular than the others from being at the H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. camp, but they refused. He didn't bother asking Preston, because he knew the Indian boy would say "no", nor did he ask Kristopherson, simply because he questioned the faux-blonde's physical strength. Thus, he turned to his older brother.

"Jim! Throw me!" he said, waving his arms around in the air. He was answered with what he was hoping for.

"Alright, alright, but just one time." Alois said with a giggle.

He picked the rather excitable lad up, and walked a little closer to the water. Tensing his muscles, and letting go, he sent the smaller boy soaring. Unfortunately, he underestimated his own strength a bit, and sent the lad flying a bit too high. Alois was in a panic as the boy came spiraling down towards the sea, creating an enormous splash as he made impact. All was silent as those on land stared at the spot where the younger Macken boy landed, waiting for him to resurface.

They all released a sigh of relief when the boy finally did reappear, smiling and being otherwise unharmed. "I went really high that time! Do it again!"

"No, we will not 'do it again'!"

"You shouldn't have thrown him in the first place, if it worries you." said the bluenette, gaining the attention of the blonde.

"I didn't know he'd fly that high!" Alois replied. "If I did, I wouldn't have!"

"Then you should plan ahead in case of such mishaps." Ciel said, folding his arms.

"Bite me, cyclops-boy!"

"Is that a challenge, or an invitation?" the Phantomhive boy smirked, leaning forward and pecking the blonde on the lips, an action that somewhat surprised the other boy, since the bluenette wasn't the type to show such affection in public. Alois simply smiled.

"Feeling neglected, are we?" he asked, grinning at the bluenette's blush. "Don't worry, when we get home, I'll kiss you all you want."

"How did you know about that?" Ciel asked, looking at the ground, slightly.

"Because I know you." Alois replied, grabbing the bluenette's hand and guiding him towards the water. "C'mon, we need to go join the others before Daniel corrupts my brother." He paused for a moment before adding: "Unless you want another quick kiss?"

They got down to the others, joining the others in laughing at Nigel, who was currently being climbed upon by a certain tiny demon. They were apparently far enough away from the shore, that Luka had trouble touching his feet to the sea floor due to his lack of height. The boy was latched onto Nigel's back like a baby koala, struggling to maintain his grip without accidentally digging his nails into the other lad's skin.

It would appear that he would be getting along just fine with the others.

 


	209. Watch Out For The Little Guy

In some undisclosed secret location somewhere within the London area, a meeting is taking place. A gathering of twelve, high-ranked individuals within the British government, who have been burdened with the task of running the government from the shadows, and supporting her majesty, the Queen, discusses troubling topics that the public must never know about. Subjects such as the existence of the supernatural, as well as the use of such creatures as tools. Recently, the twelve had agreed upon investing in a new "tool" such as this, and were currently going over the progress of adapting that tool to modern society.

"I don't like it." spoke one of the Round Table members, a cynical man with shaggy blonde hair and dark bushy eyebrows, as well as the youngest member of the council. "Are we honestly going just to sit here and allow Phantomhive to simply do as he pleases? Don't any of you find it odd that he keeps collecting demons?"

"Sir Kirkland, I'm sure that Sir Phantomhive has his reasons, and I highly doubt that he is simply up to no good." replied another, a somewhat nervous, yet kind man who went by the title "Sir Penwood".

"Then what exactly is his plan?" asked the first. "He could be building an army for all we know!"

"Calm down, Arthur." spoke a third man, one of the oldest at the table as he stroked his goatee. The man wore a beret and part of a military uniform. His name was "Sir Walsh", and while he was an old military veteran, he was somewhat laid back, and like Sir Hellsing, enjoyed smoking at meetings. "I doubt the Dog is that silly. He doesn't seem like the type to do a thing like that."

"How do you know?"

"Because that's not Ciel Phantomhive." spoke Rupert Midford, the current head of the Midford family.

He was related to the bluenette to some extent, being the great, great, great, et cetra grandson of the demon's cousin, Edward Midford, the older brother of his former fiancee, Elizabeth. The Midford household, being linked to the Phantomhive household, had become aware of the boy's existence as a demon, and spoke to him often. To them, it was just a family secret, that all members of Midford were to keep. Even Rupert's children were aware, and thus aware of the existence of the supernatural. His middle child, Oliver, even went to the H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. Youth Camp. Yes, like the Hellsing's, the Midford's knew all about Ciel Phantomhive. Sir Midford frowned at the statement made about the bluenette, feeling as though his family had been directly called into question.

"Ciel is an honourable man, who would never go against the crown." he continued, furrowing his brow at Sir Kirkland. "To call his integrity into question, is absurd! He hasn't the slightest motivation for conquest!"

"How can you be so sure?" asked the much younger man. "You seem to know an awful lot about his motives, Midford. Perhaps you too are in on his scheme?"

"How dare you?!"

"Gentlemen, please." interrupted the council chairman, Sir Islands, clapping his hands together in order to gain the attention of the others. "Let us all behave like human beings. Now, it has come to my attention that Sir Hellsing has some updated information on the progress of the new addition to the Phantomhive household. Sir Hellsing, would you care to share with us?" The bespectacled woman nodded.

"Indeed, I would." she began, glancing at the files in front of her. "As we know, the addition is known as 'Luka Macken', and is the younger brother of the previous addition, Jim Macken. His personality seems incredibly stable, even more so that that of either his brother, or even that of Sir Phantomhive himself. Now that they are aware of the possibility of demonity in resurrected souls such as these, the Phantomhives have also begun searching for evidence of transformation into such a creature."

"And?" asked Sir Penwood. "Did they find anything?" Sir Hellsing nodded, and opened the small laptop on the table in front of her.

"Yes." she said simply, gesturing to the pull-down screen up against the wall in the room, stationed in front of a small projector. She pushed a few buttons on the computer, and a picture came up.

"Luka Macken is showing signs of demonity, such as his fingernails turning darker, as seen here. As some of you may know, all demons have black fingernails." she pushed another button, and the picture changed. "As seen here, he has also developed small, hard growths on the sides of his head, just underneath the skin. According to the x-rays, it's bone, and is most likely the beginnings of horns. These are the only physical changes. We aren't aware whether or not this is abnormal, since we were all unaware of the demonity of Jim Macken, and didn't get a chance to study him in this stage. Any questions?" She looked around the room, watching as the others whispered amongst themselves for a moment.

"But is he dangerous?" asked Sir Kirkland, still very skeptical.

"In theory, yes." the woman replied. "He will require the consumption of a human soul in order to achieve full maturity, but as of now, he has the same biological necessities and functions of any human being." Sir Hellsing looked back down at her screen for a moment, clicking around on the device. "Here is the video documentation taken by one of our doctors, of the boy's mental state." She pushed another button, and the screen changed.

The Twelve could see a recording of Luka, simply looking around the room he was in, before looking at the camera. The boy walked up to it, and placed his eye up against the lens as if he were trying to see what was inside, an action that made some of the Round Table members laugh. Finally, he pulled away, and they weren't staring directly at his eyeball any longer, as the boy turned and crawled up on the small table in the doctors office, taking a seat with his feet dangling over the edge.

"Hello, Luka!" called a voice from off-screen. It was the voice of doctor Ackerman. "How are you today?"

"I'm fine!" the boy replied cheerfully. "What're we gonna do today?"

"Well, today, I'm just going to ask you a few questions, okay?" replied the doctor in a friendly tone. "How has your summer vacation been so far?"

"It's been fun! I went to the beach, and found my big brother, and we all played together!" the boy said, playfully kicking his feet back and forth. "I also went to camp, which wasn't as much fun. It prol'ly would have been if I had my own body at the time!"

"Oh, and why's that?"

"'Cause then I would've actually got to talk to Jim! I had to pretend I was Nigel the whole time, and it wasn't fun! I liked running and playing with the guns, though."

"Guns are pretty dangerous, though."

"Yeah, but they taught us how to shoot them so that we wouldn't get hurt and stuff. Oh! And I didn't like all of the yelling! It was annoying!"

"Well, It's a military camp, and that's just how they work." replied the doctor, scribbling something down on he notepad. "So Luka, how do you like the modern world?"

"It's weird! The buildings look weird and have lights all over them, and there's all these really fast horseless carriages, and all sort of weird machinery everywhere and it's all so weird!" The boy paused for a moment. "I'm not allowed in the kitchen because Sebastian's afraid I'll break something!"

"That sounds quite overwhelming!"

"It is, sometimes! When we're out in public, my big brother holds my hand real tight everywhere we go so I don't run off! Ciel makes funny faces when he's mad."

Doctor Ackerman laughed at the small boy's enthusiasm. This boy was just so un-demon-like in his demeanor, that one would wonder what the point of evaluating him in the first place. The woman composed herself and spoke again.

"Do you get along with Ciel? How is he?"

"He's... odd." the boy said. Almost all of the twelve watching the recording laughed, the remainder chuckled. Only one man, Sir Islands, remain completely silent.

" What do you mean?" the doctor asked.

"Well, he's real serious and quiet all the time. He's nice though, but not at all the kind of person I'd think my brother would like. I don't know if he likes me very much. He hardly says anything to me..." the boy said, fidgeting and looking down at his hands in his lap.

"Oh, come now, love. I don't think that's it at all." the woman replied, in a caring tone. "I just think that's he just isn't used to you yet. He's not very social, you know."

"So he's just shy, then?"

"Yeah, more or less." the doctor said, setting down her clip-board. "Well, Luka, we're almost done here. Do you remember anything from your training with H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G.?" The boy held his hand up and pressed it against his forehead in a salute.

"'We are on a mission from God'!" he shouted, reciting the motto. The council laughed at the small demon's cuteness, as did the doctor on the recording.

"Alright, I'm glad to hear you're doing well, Luka! I'll see you again in a month or so."

"Okay. I'll tell you if Ciel starts talking more, too!"

With that, the recording ended, and the lights came back on. The twelve all turned to Sir Hellsing, most of them understanding the point of showing them this, and some now. One in particular, did not.

"Sir Integra, what is the meaning of showing us this?" asked Sir Islands, frowning.

"It's simple, to show you what that child really is." the woman stated, lighting a cigar. "A child. He has the mentality of a young child, but, as shown with both his brother, and Ciel Phantomhive himself, demons age mentally. With this knowledge, we can confirm that he can be raised to service us, perhaps to cooperate even better than any of the others."

"Nonsense! A demon is a demon!" declared Sir Kirkland. "You cannot convince me that this child is not deadly!"

"He's less deadly than your cooking, Arthur." said Sir Midford.

"There is nothing wrong with my cooking!"

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For some reason, I just periodically forget that I have to update TWO websites and posting on here totally slips my mind. Still not routine.
> 
> On FF, I used to answer questions in the author's notes and such, but I don't know if that's a thing on here. Usually, it's to clarify stuff that just wasn't clear or questions about future ideas and such. Sometimes, I would talk about how I got ideas for things. Just whatever the audience wanted to ask. I dunno. What is the author's notes etiquette of AO3? Is this hip? Are the youths into this? Pffff
> 
> Until the next chapter, my duckies~!


	210. Thoughtful Butler

Things have changed around the manor, lately. Up until now, it had been a rather quiet, and lifeless place, but now, people come and go; some stay as permanent residents, others don't. While it still is scarcely populated, things have become quite interesting with the addition of the Macken boys. Now, I certainly have my hands a little full.

Simply keeping up the manor's excellent condition is an easy task, even on my own. The burden was lifted a bit when Miss Charlotte worked here for those few months, but she wasn't the ones who had stayed. I hear she had quickly moved up in rank over at the Hellsing estate, becoming one of those more modern female butlers, I've heard about. It's somewhat nice to hear that my little "apprentice" is doing well. As for the other one, she supposedly works primarily in the field, as her rambunctious nature is ill-suited for housework. At least she won't be causing any more messes for me to clean up.

Yet, I find myself becoming a tad bored with simply doing housework as of late. The young master suggested that I "go find a hobby", of some sort, and since that sounded like an order to me, I tried my best in order to do so. Thus, I've taken a liking to volunteering time at the animal shelter whenever they have a "cat-day", which specializes in giving such beautiful creatures to a good home. I take my job quite seriously, too. However, I have yet to, nor will I ever, sign up to volunteer on "dog-day." Ugh, simply imagining the horrible sound of barking annoys me.

Today, however, I have a special task given to me by the young master. Just as I did with Alois when he had first made residence here, I am to supervise in the education of his brother, Luka. It would appear that I'm going to have a lot of ground to cover with this one, as he is younger, and is even less educated than the first.

Unlike Alois, Luka hardly knows how to read and write. He knows the alphabet and how to read and write small words as well as his own name, which is a good start, but I'm not quite certain where to go from here. For now, I've been focusing on getting him to read and write, for the most part, occasionally taking a break from this in order to go into some simple addition and subtraction, or discussing recent history.

I've been noticing some other differences between Alois and Luka as well, while tutoring the younger one. Luka is far more dis tractable, if you can believe that, often going off topic to excitedly discuss things he's learned about the modern world. Alois never did that. In fact, he hardly said anything at all, but I don't blame him. After all, it is quite awkward to talk to the person who trapped you in eternal servitude. Ah, but that is neither here, nor there. What's done has been done, and it cannot be fixed or changed. We do talk a bit more now, but then, it was only when completely necessary.

In addition, Luka is.. well... sweeter; more innocent, and less corrupt. Luka is far more considerate of others, and is able to find the "positive" in anything, while Alois only looks at the "negative", much like my young master. While Alois will see everything that is "dirty" or "corrupt" in society and in the world as a whole, Luka simply cannot. Even when coming from a background like his, where he and "Jim" had to struggle for survival everyday, the younger brother doesn't see it as "unfair", but rather as "just the way things are". It's going to pain me when the boy sets sights on how cruel reality really is, and that innocence is shattered, if you can believe that. Talking with Luka somehow makes one feel lighter, and it's quite an odd feeling.

Actually, I've been feeling "odd" quite a bit over the past few years. I can't quite put my finger on it, either. It's as though I'm starting to feel somewhat "familiar" with a select few, such as my young master, Alois, Luka, and Charlotte. Even those outside the household, such as Sir Hellsing, or her assistant, Seras Victoria. Why is that? Never have I actually "cared" about someone for any reason other than aesthetics. I don't understand this sort of attachment. It's quite confusing. It's both somewhat exciting to have something knew like this to think about, but at the same time: frustrating. For once, I am at almost a complete loss for what to do, or even where to turn. It's been so long since I've been "free", that I can't seem to remember how I used to go on in life. Was it really that empty? How did I live with such emptiness?

Why am I thinking about this? I didn't mean to think about this.

"Hey, Mister Sebastian? Are you alright?" called a small voice, pulling the butler out of his thoughts. He shook his head back and forth and blinked a few times, his focus coming back to him. Seated across from him at the table was a small boy with brown hair and eyes, looking up at him with concern. Sebastian had completely forgotten about his duties for a moment.

"I'm fine." the man replied, smiling. "I was just thinking."

"Okay." said Luka, giving the butler a small nod. "Hey, do you know where my big brother is? I haven't seen him and Ciel since this morning."

"They're probably 'working'." Sebastian lied. He really didn't know, nor did he want to. All he knew was that it was mostly likely safe to assume that the pair were together. "It's probably best not to disturb them right now."

* * *

 


	211. 1989

The year was 1989, several decades before our story takes place. The first proposals of the World Wide Web were made. In America, the Cold War has just ended. In Britain, Margaret Thatcher became the first prime minister of the 20th century to complete ten years as Prime Minister, the first Wallace And Gromit short aired on television, and economic experts warn of a rescission. Yet, none of this is our focus. No, on this otherwise ordinary day of a past October, an important meeting took place. It was the first meeting between the Queen's Guard-Dog, and the youngest person ever to except the title of knighthood in modern history.

At the time, Ciel Phantomhive was a serious sort of fellow, as always, but was slightly less of a child than he is now, if that makes sense. The boy had seen many things in his long life, many battles, many sufferings of others, and many other bizarre and outlandish things, and was beginning to wonder why he even bothered to continue. It was lonely, being a demon in a human's world, with hardly anyone to relate to. His secret was known only by a handful of individuals, and on that year, the year of 1989, one of them at died.

Sir Arthur Hellsing was one of the many people named "Arthur" that he had met, and will meet, but was the head of the H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. organization for many years, and is noted as the head all the way through the second world war, giving use of his finest soldiers to the Allied forces. He was a kind of person who Ciel had difficulty getting along with. Thick-headed, carefree, flamboyant, and somewhat lecherous, yet at the same time, Arthur Hellsing was patriotic, dependable, and very wise. It was somewhat sad that such an interesting person would be succeeded, even if the bluenette wouldn't admit it. The man had helped Ciel many times during the war when his loyalty was called into question, so in a way, the boy felt somewhat honourbound to respect his wishes-, even if those wishes involved appointing a twelve-year-old girl as the next head of H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G.

The Phantomhive boy couldn't help but smirk to himself about how similar this set-up was to events in his own life. He was somewhat curious as to what this new head of H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. would be like. Would she be a spoiled brat or would she be like himself? The question nagged at him as he waited in the Hellsing family's drawing room. Finally, the door swung open, and lo and behold, a young girl walked out from behind it, accompanied by her own butler at the time, a human named Walter C. Dornez.

The girl standing in front of the demon-boy and his butler of a similarly Satanic nature was about the same height as he was, give or take an inch or two, with tan skin and long, pale-blonde hair that stopped in the small of her back. She wore a white blouse with a red ascot, a long, blue skirt that stopped above the ankles, and a big, round pair of glasses that didn't dull the demon's view of the girl's serious-looking blue eyes. As a formality, the bluenette stood up from his seat, and held out his hand, a gesture that was returned by the Hellsing girl as they met in a firm handshake.

"Sir Ciel Phantomhive, head of the house of Phantomhive, and 'the Queen's Guard-Dog'." he said, introducing himself. He didn't bother with small-talk, as he wasn't very good at it. The girl opened her mouth to speak, eager to get to the point as well.

"Sir Integra Hellsing, head of the house of Hellsing, and member of the Protestant Knights." she said, letting go of the demon's hand as she finished. She was not one for small-talk either, and was curious as to whether or not the boy in front of her was actually a demon or not. She hesitated before simply asking.

"It's my understanding that you, in fact, aren't human." she said, straightening her shoulders in order to not appear intimidated. Ciel did his best to hold back a smirk, noticing the action.

"That is correct." he said, almost as if it was a fact that he was proud of. "I am a demon, the kind that leads human beings astray and devours their souls." He couldn't hold back his smirk any longer, as his lips curled against his will. "I assume it was Arthur who told you?"

"Yes. My father told me many things about you and your kind." the girl said. "He told me how you fought in the war, and how you solve mysteries. You had better hope that I don't catch you stealing souls, Sir Phantomhive. It would be a shame to lose you."

"Is that a threat?"

"No, it's a promise."

"Obviously, you're not nearly as laid-back as Arthur, are you, Sir Hellsing?" the Phantomhive boy asked, amused by the girl's words. Acting as though she would personally destroy him was such a laugh, at the time. Now, it almost seemed possible.

"Of course not!" Integra said with a smile. "If I'm lenient at all, I can't be taken seriously, given my age and gender."

"I can understand that." said the bluenette. "Is there anything else I should keep in mind?"

"Yes. If I catch you eating a human's soul, I will kill you. If I catch you betraying the crown, I will kill you. If I catch you performing some bizarre, satanic ritual, I will kill you. If I catch you otherwise breaking the law, I will kill you."

"So you invited me here in order to tell me that you're the one who is going to kill me?" the Phantomhive boy asked.

"More or less." Integra replied plainly with a shrug. "It's my job to kill you, should you do any of those things, and I don't want you thinking that just because my father is gone, that you can simply go wild."

"You seem very confident. It's partially my job to break the law, so what am I supposed to do?"

"You're older and wiser than me. You figure it out." Ciel felt his eyebrow twitch in mild annoyance at the commanding tone in the much younger girl's voice. No one told him what to do. No one. Especially not in such a demeaning manner.

"You do realize that I'm a demon, correct?" he asked. "That I could snap you in half like a twig if I wanted to?" Integra smiled.

"Yes, but I know you won't. You're too kind for that." she said, completely taking the boy by surprise. Ciel Phantomhive? Kind? What a concept. As much as he didn't want to, the demon had to ask.

"And what, pray tell, gives you that impression?"

"My father told me about you." said the Hellsing head. "How you helped protect civilians during the Blitz, and how you only consume souls when absolutely nessecary for your survival. You're too empathetic to kill me. You're too human."

"'Human'?!" the boy echoed, frowning deeply. "I am in no way, a human! You'd do well not to underestimate me!"

"I'm not. That was a compliment." the girl said with a giggle, having made the boy lose his composure. "You're very human-like, in an odd way. Father said it was because you had a name, and a heart, unlike most demons. Even after devouring an unknown number of souls, you're still 'you'. So be proud! You're unique."

"I have no idea what you're talking about." the bluenette said. "Are you sure what you're saying even makes sense? I can't understand what you're trying to say." The girl standing in front of him sighed.

"Father also said you were stubborn." she said, her smile faded. "He said that you 'probably wouldn't understand right away' because you 'have the stubbornness of someone ten-times your size'."

Ciel was just about to snap at the girl, when he felt his shoulder being shaken. He looked around, but no one was touching him, much to his confusion. The room and the people in it began to fade into black, all while the shaking continued.

"...iel..." he heard faintly, his ears not being able to register the complete sound. "Ci..." there it was again, slightly different.

Someone was yelling at him through the pitch-blackness. His mind and body began to feel groggy, but the sensation of being shaken never subsided. Suddenly he felt something soft and warm moving gently against his lips. It was then that his eyes finally shot open.

As his mind began to catch up, he registered that he was now in his office, seated behind his desk. It occurred to him that it wasn't 1989, but rather, it was the present day. He had dozed off, he realized, but the thing he noticed the most was the fact that he was being kissed by Alois aware that the bluenette had regained consciousness, the blonde pulled away and looked at him with a playful grin.

"Finally! Why is it that this is the best method for waking you up?" he teased, taking a seat on the edge of the desk. "Were you just faking it so I would kiss you, Ciel?" He giggled at the blush that formed on the bluenette's face.

"No... I was just in the middle of a dream..." Ciel replied, rubbing the sleep from his eye. "...No, it was more like a nightmare..." he added, remembering that the Hellsing woman was there. The bluenette furrowed his brow when the blonde playfully held his head close to his chest, and began stroking his hair.

"Aw, poor, poor dear~!" he cooed, his smirk never fading. "You had a bad dream and now you have to go and talk to a big, mean police man~!"

"You know, I'm getting the slightest implication that you might be making fun of me." the bluenette said, closing his eye and listening to the ever-so faint sound of the other demon's heartbeat.

"No, whatever gave you that idea?" Alois asked, ceasing his previous actions and pecking the other boy on the cheek. "C'mon. Charlotte's already here to watch Luka. Let's go~!"

With that, they said 'goodbye' to the young Macken-boy and to the babysitting vampire before filing into the car that Sebastian had prepared. They were off to the New Scotland Yard building in order to meet with a certain detective about a new case. However, for the entirety of the trip there, Ciel couldn't help but wonder: what was the purpose of such an odd dream?

* * *

 


	212. Ten Fingers

New Scotland Yard, Broadway, London, SW1H 0BG, United Kingdom. This was the address of the of the Metropolitan Police headquarters, and where our usual demonic trio make their entrance. It was some time just past lunch; you could tell because half of the staff in the building were still eating, or had just finished doing so. One such person was Senior Detective Constable Gabriel Bailey, or at least that was what one could assume from the loud mustard stain on his necktie. He met the demons out front, as per usual, leading them through the hallways while chatting about this and that. Finally, however, the subject at hand came up.

"So, what exactly are we here for, Bailey?" asked the bluenette, tired of idle chit-chat, and eager to get straight to the point. The smile on the detective's face faded, being replaced with a frown.

"We were having clean streak for a while, you know." said the man, shuffling through the hall. "I was actually able to get a good-night's sleep! Now, we've had another disturbing case on our hands."

 _"And that would be?"_ asked Sebastian, walking a few steps behind his master, just as always, as if he were trying to become his shadow.

 _"Prostitution."_ said the detective, stopping outside a particular room. "We've caught wind of a prostitution ring, here in London."

 _"What else is new?"_ asked Alois.

"The fact that prostitution is _illegal_ certainly _isn't!"_ said Bailey, looking down at the boy. "We just can't allow this, and that's where _you lot_ come in."

"You want _us_ to bust a prostitution ring?" asked the bluenette, arching an eyebrow. "What's the _catch?_ There's no way that this in all to it."

"Right. There's more. The reason we found out about the prostitution was due to a series of _missing persons cases_..." the man trailed off, putting a cigarette in his mouth. "... _You can see where I'm going with this, can't you?"_

 _"Clearly."_ the bluenette answered plainly. Shuddering at the thought of _kidnapping_ in this sort of case. "Any leads?"

"Just one." the man said. "And he's in there." the man said, gesturing to the door. He grabbed the handle. "We've tried everything, but he _just wont talk._ We're sure he knows who all is _involved."_ With a flick of his wrist, the door opened. " _Have fun."_

"Oh, so you aren't going to stay too?" asked the Phantomhive boy, walking inside.

"Nope. I don't need to see this." the man said with a smile. "Besides, you can work _better if I can't."_

Ciel smiled as the detective closed the door, before turning to the man seated at the table in the middle of the room. He was handcuffed to his seat, and sweating like a pig. He didn't look impoverished, yet he didn't look quite part of the middle-class, either. The man looked about in his thirties, but not quite as old as Sir Hellsing, so it could be assumed that he was in his early thirties. He was an odd sort of fellow, but then again, most of the people who wind up in the interrogation room are. For a long while, his eyes rapidly darted around the room, looking everywhere but directly at the three who had just walked in, however, when he finally allowed himself to sneak a peek at the trio, he let out a sigh of relief.

"I thought I was going to get a _police officer."_ the man said, leaning back a bit in his chair. _"I was scared I'd have the shit slapped out of me!_ " Ciel sat down in the chair on the opposite side of the table.

"No, _we're not police officers_." he said, simply waiting for the blonde to make the remark that he knew that he was so desperately trying to hold in.

 _"But we might slap the shit out of you."_ There it was, just as predicted. Ciel smirked when he heard the man laugh.

"You?! You're just kids!" he said. "Now, the tall bloke behind you, _sure_ , but not _kids!"_

" _Can I break something of his?"_ Alois asked with a smile.

 _"Not yet."_ said the bluenette. "Save if for when we can't get anything out of him."

"I ain't tellin' you squat, _twerp!"_

 _"Now you may_." Ciel said, his brow slightly twitching with annoyance.

"Roger that!" the blonde replied, moving from his position into the room to just next to the chair of the captive. He picked up the man's uncuffed hand, gripping if firmly at the wrist with his own.

"Now, every time you refuse to tell us what you know, _you're going to lose a finger_." Alois said with a pleasant grin. The man just scoffed at him.

" _Are you fucking serious?"_ he asked, not believing the fair-haired teen in the slightest. " _How's a little shit like you gonna do tha- AAAAUUUUUGGGHHH!"_

He tried in vain to shake his arm free of the boy's grasp, listening to the popping and crackling of his bones and stomping his foot. His vision blurred as tears welled up in his eyes, but he could still see the blonde's sadistic smile. Perhaps this was more serious than he thought.

"There's one." the bluenette said. "You now have nine usable fingers. _Every time you refuse to answer one of my questions, I'm going to let my coworker break one_."

 _"What if I run out of fingers?"_ asked the blonde.

" _Then you start on his toes."_

The man's eyes widened with fear at the suggestion. "Alright! _Alright!_ I'll talk! _I'll talk!"_

" _Thank you."_ said the eye-patched teen. "Now, why don't you start by introducing yourself?"

"My name is Isaac! _Isaac Atwoods!"_ the man shouted, feeling the blonde apply a small amount of pressure on his next finger. He relaxed his grip when the man answered.

"So, Mister Atwoods, how exactly do _you_ fit into all of this?" Ciel asked, watching the man as he hesitated to answer.

"I just _deliver the goods!"_ he shouted, feeling the pressure return. It began to hurt slightly, since he hesitated.

 _"'Goods'?_ What _'goods'?"_

"Y-y-you know! _The whores!"_ Isaac winced as the blonde suddenly applied more pressure on the word " _whores"._

"Where do you get them?"

"Here and there, y'know. They tell me where to pick them up, and I deliver them." the man explained. "Usually just some random bloke who I've never met before!"

"Do you have a _list_ of these places?" The man in the chair opened his mouth to speak, but closed it again, and stared at the table. He looked as though he was trying to formulate a lie, so Ciel nodded towards the blonde.

 _"AAUGH!"_ Isaac screamed, tears streaming down his face.

 _"Eight fingers."_ the blonde said. "Answer the question, and you'll _keep it that way_."

"I do! I do... It's in my car... I-i-in the glove-box!" the man whimpered. The bluenette turned his head to look toward the butler clad in black.

"Sebastian, _take notes_." he said.

"Yes, my lord." the man replied, reaching into his coat and pulling out a small memo pad and a pen before jotting down the information just disclosed.

"So you're not the one who actually _abducts_ the girls?" the bluenette asked, turning his attention back to the pained man.

"Y-yeah! _Honest!"_ the man said, quickly nodding his head. "It's not just _girls_ , neither! Sometimes it's _men_ , too! Also, there's a lot of _kids- AAAUGH!"_

"Sorry, _my hand slipped_." the blonde said. While his choice of words were apologetic, his tone was _not_. The way he said that was cold, and it was cruel, blended with concealed anger. " _That makes seven."_

Ciel paused, taking in the boy's demeanor for a moment. As much as he wanted to walk over and tell the boy that everything was alright, he couldn't. They were on business. He would have to wait until the task at hand was finished. He cleared his throat, grabbing the blonde's attention, the look he gave the boy causing him to give one of sincere apology. Thus, they continued.

"Where do you take them?" the bluenette asked finally, leaning forward in his own chair, resting his elbows on the table. _"Where do you take those people?"_

 _"T-to..."_ the man began, hesitating. He took a deep breath and spoke. "To the R-R- _Red Palace Hotel_... It's on the east end..."

 _"Did you get that, Sebastian?"_ asked the bluenette.

"Of course." the man said with a smile.

"Is it safe to assume that the owner of the hotel is running the operation, Mister Atwoods?" the Phantomhive asked.

"I'm not sure..." the man replied. "I've never seen him... I only ever talk to underlings..."

"Well, this is _good enough."_ the bluenette concluded, standing up. "We can definitely branch out from here. _You can let go of him, Alois."_

Reluctantly, the blonde complied, following the bluenette as he walked out of the room, Sebastian closing the door behind them. They met up again with Detective Bailey outside the room, in the hallway. The man had a serious look on his face, and his arms were folded across his chest as he leaned against the wall. Obviously, he heard the screaming.

"I'm going to say that it's safe to assume mister Atwoods will be needing medical attention then?" he asked, looking at the bluenette dissapprovingly. Bailey had never liked the boy's methods, and was hoping that he would only use his _demonic possession technique_ in order to pry information out of the man. Had he known that they were going to resort to torture, he would have tried harder to get the information himself.

 _"Three broken fingers."_ the bluenette replied. "Also, could you point me in the direction of Atwoods' car? _He left something of importance in the glove-box."_

 _"And that would be?"_ asked Bailey.

" _A list of potential traffickers_. In fact, perhaps _you're_ better suited for that, Detective. I'd rather not _waste my time_."

"Then what will you do, Phantomhive?" asked the detective, his tone angry, even though there was not a single thing he could do about it.

"I'm going to _flush out some rats_." answered the eye-patched teen. "Be prepared to be making some arrests."

"You mean, _if there's anyone left to arrest_..."

" _It could happen."_ said Ciel, walking away with his subordinates in tow. "Be sure to remember to search the glove-box, Bailey."

" _Will do..."_ the detective answered before walking away in the opposite direction. There was a man in agony within the building, and he needed to do something about it.

Meanwhile, the demons once again piled into the Phantomhive car, Sebastian behind the wheel, and the boys in the backseat. All was silent for a moment, save for the roar of the engine coming to life, and the sound of the car speeding down the road on their way home. However, after a little while, Ciel opened his mouth to speak.

 _"I don't want you working with me on this case, Alois."_ he said, pretending not to notice the shocked look on the blonde's face.

 _"Why not?!"_ the blonde demanded, leaning closer to the bluenette so he could look at him in the eye.

"I just _don't."_ Ciel replied, remembering the blonde suddenly breaking one of the poor man's fingers without any real meaning. _"It isn't up for discussion."_

"What happened in the interrogation room was an _accident!_ I didn't _mean_ to!" the blonde insisted. " _I'm fine with it..._ " he said softly. " _Really, I am..."_

He didn't receive a response. Ciel only sat there, looking out the window. It wasn't up for discussion, therefore he wouldn't discuss it. At very least, he would wait until they were alone to discuss it. He didn't want to speak of such things in front of Sebastian. The very thought of doing so was humiliating.

"Ciel?" the blonde called, shaking the boy's shoulder. He still received no answer. "Ciel? Ciel! Hey! _Don't ignore me, Ciel!"_

He repeated this for a while, trying to break the bluenette's will. Unfortunately, that was an impossible feat, as he soon discovered. Ciel Phantomhive was simply too stubborn to give in to such antics. With a huff, Alois simply gave up, and looked out of his own window, crossing his arms- or, he tried to. His hand was stopped short of doing som as it was grabbed by the bluenette. Confused, Alois turned to look at the other boy in search of an explanation.

Ciel said nothing. He didn't even look at the blonde, continuing to act as though he was giving him no notice. He did this, yet his fingers were still tightly intertwined with Alois', as he silently and expressionlessly tried to convey his reasoning. His worry, his care, his apology, all of these things were somehow understood with a simple gesture, to some extent. Regardless, the blonde wasn't going to forgive him just yet.

" _You're so mean..."_

* * *

 


	213. No Running

"I said _'no',_ Alois!"

"And _I_ said, that _everything will be fine_!"

It would appear that silent gestures alone wouldn't be enough to end this argument. Even after exiting the vehicle and entering the manor, Alois still persisted. The Phantomhive boy was stubborn, but then again, so was the blonde.

 _"Why are big brother and Ciel fighting?"_ asked Luka, observing the boys as Ciel was followed up the stairs by an annoyed blonde.

"They're arguing about work." Sebastian answered with a sigh. "Don't worry, this is just how they communicate their feelings _."_

"Is it really okay for them to argue all the time?" asked the small boy, looking up at the butler.

"I'm sure. In fact, I think it's probably good for them." the man replied, looking down at the Macken boy, before glancing at his watch. "I should probably get started on dinner soon."

"Can I help?" The man opened his mouth to object, but then smiled.

"Alright, as long as you promise to be very careful, and _not to play with strange machines."_

"Did big brother play with them when he first arrived?"

" _He put a lizard in the toaster."_

 _"Oh..."_ the brunette replied, following behind the butler to kitchen. _"What's a 'toaster'?"_

Meanwhile, in a certain eye-patch-wearing teen's office, a pair of lads quarreled. Ciel just simply did not want Alois working on the case. In fact, _Ciel himself_ didn't want to work on the case, but he had a job to do, and he'd rather do it alone.

"Look, I know you're _worried_ , but I promise, _I'll be okay_." Alois said for what felt like the hundredth time that evening.

 _"How do I know that for sure?"_ asked the bluenette, seated behind his desk, like usual. "You keep saying that it doesn't matter to you anymore, but that's obviously _not true,_ now is it?" He looked up, and immediately regretted saying that.

The blonde looked shocked; genuinely shocked at the statement, with the slightest twinge of hurt in his eyes. His mouth was slightly open in a small frown, and his brow was raised, eyes slightly wide while looking down at the seated bluenette. Alois' expression shifted to that off anger, furrowing his brow and pressing his lips together in a thin line, frowning.

"So you just don't _trust_ me, then?" he asked, resting his weight on his arms, pressed against the desk's wooden surface. "It isn't exactly something that's _easy_ to recover from Ciel! I would assume that it would have to be a _process!"_

"A process of _what?"_ Ciel replied, raising his tone. "Blinding charging at your fears head-on, and cause yourself to do _God knows what?!"_

"Are you suggesting that _I lack self-control?!"_ Alois demanded, slamming his hands on the desk.

"What you _lack_ is the ability to _really think things through!"_ the Phantomhive boy shouted back, standing up. "What if worst things come to worst, and you _freak out_ during the mission?! What if you went on a _rampage?!_ What if _I couldn't stop you!?_ What would _Luka_ say if you came home drenched in blood and recovering from a mental breakdown!? You _have_ to consider these things, Alois!" He paused for a moment to watch as the blonde looked down at his now clenched fists, and as he grit his teeth, baring them in a sort of snarl.

"Then what am I _supposed_ to do, then, Ciel?" Alois asked, his tone softer. _"I don't want this to haunt me for eternity_ , you know..." Suddenly, he looked up in order to look the bluenette in the eye.

 _"What am I supposed to do, just_ _ **run and hide**_ _like_ _ **you**_ _do!?"_ he barked, startling the bluenette. Now it was Ciel's turn to look shocked, as he tried to proccess what exactly that meant.

 _"Just what are you trying to say?"_ he asked, furrowing his brow and glaring at the blonde.

" _Don't act like you don't know, Ciel_." the Trancy boy answered, his frown warping into a smile. "Doesn't it _bother_ you? This set-up seems _so familiar_ , doesn't it?" he asked with a pained laugh. "Not just for _me_ , but for _you_. Human trafficking; being sold and locked up like a pet, while your captors do whatever they please to you. You know what that _feels_ like too, don't you? Even if it wasn't for _sex_ , you still _know_."

" _Where is all of that hatred?"_ The blonde's smile faded as he continued to speak. "Surely you haven't _completely forgotten_ either, have you? How could you? Could you really have simply _let it all go_ after becoming what you are now? Even if it was all in the past; even if it seems so very _far away_ , it still _stings_ just a little bit..."

" _Stop it..."_ the bluenette muttered, clenching his own fists.

"I'm not a _coward_ anymore, Ciel. I 'm not going to cry or run away. I still need _closure. Don't you?"_

" _I said 'stop it'..."_

"No! I _won't!"_ the blonde shouted. "I can't run away, and neither can _you!_ Are you really just going to continue to shuffle around like this, wondering what to do next with your life?! You're _still in the past_ , Ciel! _We both are!_ We can't go on like this!"

 _"Goddammit, Alois! Shut up! Just_ _ **shut up!"**_ The bluenette reached over the desk, grabbing the other boy by the collar and giving it a swift yank.

He opened his mouth to speak, but couldn't find the words, so all he could do was stand there and try to stare the other boy down, the collar of the blonde's shirt firmly clenched in his fist. He couldn't think of an argument. Not a single one. It was then that it slowly began to dawn on the Phantomhive boy. He was somewhat at a loss for what direction to turn. That moment in his life where he seeked revenge; no, _hungered_ for it, was _gone,_ leaving him feeling somewhat _empty._ What had he been doing all of these years? Why had he continued to live? He had simply been roaming around all of this time, consuming souls. He only really worked with the humans to _cure his boredom_. That's all it was.

He got no personal sense of fulfillment from it, nor any material gain. It was just something to do; something to kill time. What was he doing? Was that all he was good for? Wandering and consuming like _any other demon_ would be perfectly content with? _No_. He was _not_. Part of him still longed for something, _anything_ , to make him feel _alive_. That, for Ciel, often came in the form of dwelling on the past.

He didn't want to think about it, either. He wanted to move on and away from that darker part of his life and move on to something brighter, yet it persisted. All of those memories flooded his mind upon hearing the words " _human trafficking"_ again, hitting him where he was still _human_ , where he could still _feel_. It was his humanity that made him feel prideful, that made him feel things like joy, and things like sorrow. It was where he felt things like love, lust, and longing, but also, as much as he hated to admit it, where he felt _fear_.

Yes, there was still a part in Ciel's mind, no matter how small the fraction that may be, was afraid to go back. Back where he had suffered so much pain, and humiliation, and still even more _fear_. It was the _fear_ that made the bluenette feel so disgusted with himself. He was a _Phantomhive_ , and Phantomhive's are not _afriad_. At least, that was the impression he was given, and it was because of this that the bluenette fought with himself. Ordinary humans feel _fear_ , not _Phantomhives_. Phantomhives do not shirnk in the faces of their enemies, nor do _demons_.

He was _both_. He was a _Phantomhive and a demon,_ yet he was still afraid. Why was that? Was there something _wrong_ with him? Was he, a Phantomhive, from one of the most respected families of nobles in English history, with pride, class, dignity, prestige, wealth, refinement, and most of all _power_ ; all of that and a demon, an immortal creature that treads the path between life and death that is strong enough to be able to spit in the face of the divine and laugh; was he, who was all of this, also somehow _imperfect?_

At first, Alois seemed startled; perhaps frightened, even, before the situation fully registered in his mind. By then, his expression had softened immensely as he gently reached up and held the bluenette's clenched fist in his palms. Alois felt the other boy's grip somehow relax upon the contact, and gently persuaded the boy to let go of his shirt. The blonde glanced down at the bluenette's hand, pausing briefly while lightly playing with the other boy's fingers before looking back up to meet Ciel's gaze.

 _"I know you're scared too._ You have the same look in your eye as me!" he began, smiling at Ciel's surprised expression. "But, I think that's alright. It's pretty _normal_ to be afraid, after all."

"But that's also why I can't leave you alone!" he continued, his grip on the bluenette's hand tightening. "If you feel afraid, isn't that when you'll need me the most? I don't care if I'm scared, I'm still going to protect you, _whether you like it, or not."_

All Ciel could do was stare back at the blonde's determined expression with a dumbfounded one. Was this really Alois? That boy who was always so self-conscious about his own abilities, that he would often kick himself and feel like he wasn't good enough; was this him?

It was then that the bluenette finally realized something: this was also part of that. The blonde was a person who had lost someone he cared about, and was subjected to physical and mental tortures that no ordinary person would ever understand. This was part of that in a way that wasn't entirely negative. In a way, what Alois was trying to do was ensure that both he, and those near and dear to him would never have to go through that again. It was something that seemed so out of character for the blonde.

Yet it wasn't. Alois had only ever lived for _others_ , if memory serves. He signed not one, but _two faustian contracts_ not for himself, but for _his brother_. He didn't care what happened to himself. He was an empty shell of a person until coming across the lie that was fed to him about the demon who killed Luka by his former butler, _Claude Faustus_. Why else would he care? No one else did. Before then, his life was meaningless until the chance arose for him to seek revenge; revenge not for _himself_ , but for _Luka_.

Even before then, it was for Luka, as he wouldn't have given the slightest care as to how the villagers treated him, had it not been for the fact that Luka was getting hurt as well. Love was a powerful thing. Even for Claude Faustus, whom he had deluded himself into thinking that their twisted relationship of contract-holder and demon was somehow "love", in a familial sense, was someone who the blonde lived for. He didn't want to die, he just wanted to stay with Claude. He would have lived for Claude, as Claude was his "highness", but it was not to be.

Alois didn't know what "love" really was at the time. He had forgotten it. He no longer understood it. That was why he was so awful to his maid, _Hannah._ It was because he didn't understand her intentions, and was thus _afraid_ of her. People are simply afraid of what they cannot understand.

He understood it now, though. He had been reminded by Hannah, reminded by Luka, reminded by the Sensational Seven, and reminded by Ciel what it was. Each of those were different types of "love", but they were still just that, and they were precious to him. All of those people, were important to him. Thus, he wanted to protect them; protect them from pain, from injury, from death, as well as from negative emotions like anger, or sadness, and yes, _fear_. Just as much as Ciel wanted to protect him, he wanted to protect Ciel.

No longer was it about _"being good enough_ ", but it was now about _"keeping others safe_ ", a pursuit that was noble in the eyes, minds, and hearts of most mortal men, and this was coming from a boy who was once considered to be one of the most warped, twisted, and perverse individuals that Ciel had ever met. That unbelievable strength of will that Ciel had admired in Alois shone through as he did this. That strength that allowed him to smile, even though he was damaged and care for others, even though he was distorted, shone brilliantly to reveal the heart that was concealed by all of the dirt and scars that had built up over the years.

This person that Alois was would have never come to the surface if it weren't for the bluenette, nor would the Phantomhive boy have ever felt so lighthearted again had it not been for the blonde. The boy was a walking contradiction of himself, but one that Ciel was openly glad existed. It was obvious, as the usually serious boy was forced against his will by the blonde menace to smile, and set aside his pride for a moment in order to allow a small sound to bubble from his throat before accidentally allowing it to escape into the air around them.

Yes, Ciel Phantomhive _laughed_. It was genuine, hearty sort of laugh that was entirely uncommon for the boy erupt into. It actually startled the other boy, as he was only accustomed to the boy letting out a _chuckle_ at most, if not only a mere _chortle_. Something of this magnitude was incredibly uncommon for anyone to hear.

 _"What's so funny?!"_ the blonde demanded, waiting impatiently as the bluenette composed himself. It took a moment or so, but Ciel somehow managed to force himself to restrain himself to only a smile.

" _You are."_ he answered, gripping the other boy's hand across the desk. "And you claim that _I'm_ the one who ' _always knows what to say'?"_

"Well, _excuse me_ for being _considerate!"_ the blonde pouted, his cheeks slightly red.

"I don't _mind_ it. You just caught me off-guard." replied the bluenette. "Fine. You can join in on the case."

"Really?!"

"Yeah, but on three conditions: Don't freak out, obey all orders, and _don't ever tell anyone I was scared_." Ciel said, counting off the conditions on his fingers. " _Got it?"_

 _"Yes, my master~!"_ spoke Alois, placing his right hand over his heart and giving a slight bow. He looked back up to see the other boy staring at him. He simply tilted his head confusedly.

 _"You know, you... looked pretty masculine when you did your little speech_..." the bluenette said, folding his arms and averting his eyes with a slight blush on his face.

" _Oh, so does that mean I get to be on top tonight~?"_ the blonde asked with a teasing smile. Ciel replied by looking at him again while resting his palms on the desk with a smirk.

"No." he said flatly. "That just means it's going to be _more fun_ when I _put you back in your place tonight."_

Never had he seen the blonde's face turn that particular shade of dark red before...

 


	214. Luka Helps!

Meanwhile, as the previous scene was playing out, another pair of demons were downstairs, preparing dinner. While Sebastian was hesitant at allowing the far younger demon into the kitchen, he knew that if he didn't teach the boy what the machines did, he would never be able to set foot in that area of the house. That would be problematic, since Luka was the only one there who _actually needed to eat._

Thus, it was with great reluctance that Sebastian allowed the boy to help, or watch, at the very least, as he prepared dinner for that evening. They were going to make Roast lamb with spring herb crumbs. They had to get started on it early since the dish took slightly over two hours to make.

"Alright, Luka. The first step is for us to wash our hands." spoke the butler, removing his coat and gloves before rolling up his sleeves. The boy simply pouted.

" _Why? They ain't dirty_." he said, holding them up for the man to see, as if that would prove that the first step wasn't actually necessary.

"How _I_ know that?" asked Sebastian.

"Look at 'em! There's no dirt!" the boy replied with a determined face.

"Ah, but don't you know that _anything you touch has millions and millions of germs on it that can make you sick?"_ the butler asked, smiling when the boy brought his hands back down and looked at them again. Luka then turned his gaze back to Sebastian, his face looking both concerned and disgusted.

" _Be sure to use soap_." Sebastian added as the lad dashed off to the sink, and pushed a stool in front of it wo he could better reach it.

Sebastian walked over to the one next to it before turning the faucet and lathering his own hands with soap. He glanced over at the boy to see what he was doing, only to see that he was playing with the liquid soap dispenser rather than actually washing his hands.

" _It's so gooey!"_ Luka shouted excitedly, watching as the odd, purplish-pink liquid oozed between his fingers and into the sink with a big grin.

_"Is that why we've been running out of soap lately?"_

Next, they had to cut up vegetables-, and by " _they"_ I of course mean _"Sebastian"._ Luka sat at the edge of the counter, resting his chin on it's surface and watched as the man chopped up things like potatos and carrots before tossing them into a roasting tin. He didn't feel all that helpful. He did get to turn on the oven, after the older demon told him how, which did make him feel somewhat proud of himself.

"Can I cut some?" he asked, looking up at Sebastian, who simply looked at him for a moment. Sebastian looked at the boy, and then back to the knife in his hand.

" _No."_ he said plainly. "I don't want you to accidentally cut yourself. Would you care to toss the veg in the tin when I get done cutting them?"

"Okay!" the boy said, perking up. He scooted his tall stool a bit closer before beginning to complete his task.

Every time Sebastian would chop something, he would brush it over to Luka before working on the next batch, and the boy would scoop up the ingredients and toss them into the tin. It wasn't exactly the same as playing with knives, but it was still much better than just watching.

"Alright, I'm going to cut the meat now." Sebastian said when they finished and put the lamb into the tine with the vegetables. "I need you to put a little bit of garlic, and a little bit of rosemary into the cuts."

"Yessir!" Luka answered, giving the man a salute. He waited for the butler to make his incisions before allowing the Macken boy to take his place.

The boy did as he was told, for the most part, picking up a small amount of rosemary before turning to Sebastian for approval. He received a nod, indicating that he had selected the right amount and that he should go ahead and slip it into the cuts. He did the same with the garlic, only to mess up his orders by sampling the strong-smelling vegetable, only to spit it back out into his hand. He looked up at Sebastian as if he was questioning why anyone would ever eat such a thing.

"It isn't that good on it's own." the man replied, smiling a bit at the boy's antics. "Throw it away and go wash your hands again."

After drizzling the meat with wine and olive oil, they put that into the already preheated oven, and Luka set the timer with help from the butler. They then got started on making gravy, which Sebastian did most of. The only thing Luka really got to do was stir the concoction every once and a while.

Eventually, all they had to do was wait, and Luka, being the young child that he was, quickly got tired of this. Thus, he ventured into another room for a few minutes before coming back with some paper and his box of crayons that he was so proud of. He sat at the counter, playfully kicked his legs back and forth as he drew pictures of various things; people he knew, mostly. Luka drew pictures of Charlotte, Amelie, Nigel and Alois at the H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. camp, and pictures of Nigel, Sebastian, himself and the sensational seven at the beach as well.

 _"Kristopherson looks like a girl..."_ the boy said absent-mindedly, criticizing his own work. He held up the sheet of paper for the butler to see.

"I suppose he does..." Sebastian said, scratching his chin. "But then again, he likes to wear women's clothes, _so I don't think he would mind."_ Luka simply nodded in response before setting his paper back down and drawing some more with the butler curiously standing over his shoulder to watch.

 _"Is this the young master?"_ he asked, pointing to a stick figure that was noticeably shorter than the others, with blue hair and swim-trunks and with a big, mean-looking frown on it's face.

" _Yup~!"_ the boy said happily in a sing-song voice. Sebastian pressed his hand briefly against his mouth in order to keep himself from laughing. It was just a stick-figure, yet it was so accurate, that it was also _mean._ "I was going to draw a _crab_ , but I heard that _Ciel doesn't like them."_

This kid simply didn't know how hilarious that he was. The pair drew pictures together for about an hour. Eventually, Sebastian had nearly destroyed the boy's black crayon from drawing too many images of black cats and ravens at the speed of sound. Fortunately, the boy had more than one in the package, a fact that he felt the need to gloat about for whatever reason. Eventually, however, the time came for them to take the food out of the oven, and prepare the table.

"Luka, could you go get Alois and the young master, please?" Sebastian asked as he set the table. The boy stood at attention before giving a salute.

"Sir, yes sir!" he said before taking off down the hallway, into the foyer, up the stairs and down several other hallways before coming to what he believed to be the bluenette's office. He jiggled the doorknob a few times, realizing that the door was locked. It was only then that he remembered that he should knock.

" _Big brother? Ciel?"_ he called, listening to the muffled sounds of bickering coming from the other side of the door. He waited a while longer before the door opened, revealing the bluenette to be on the other side. However, something was off about him.

First of all, he wasn't wearing his eye-patch, and his hair was a mess, as was his wardrobe. The collar of his shirt wasn't neat, and his shirt was only partially tucked into his pants. Ciel's face was flushed, and held a nervous expression, that somehow morphed into a smile.

"H-hello, Luka." he greeted pleasantly, yet somewhat anxiously.

"Hi!" the younger boy said back, looking past the bluenette for a moment to see his older brother seated on the small couch in the office in a similar state of dress. Immediately, Luka furrowed his brow.

 _"Oi! Have you two been fighting?!"_ he asked, looking up at Ciel with a serious face. The bluenette flinched slightly at the comment, glancing back at Alois for a moment, watching at the blonde motioned for him to just run with idea. Turning back to the younger demon, he cleared his throat.

" _Y-yes. Yes we have_." he lied, placing his hands behind his back and resuming his usual dignified mannerisms, that weren't nearly as effective with his current appearance. " _It's ordinary for men who are close to occasionally fight with fists."_

 _"Y-yeah! We were just... fighting over how to proceed with the case we're working on!"_ the blonde said, standing up from his seat, but not walking any closer. _"I won, so I'm going to be helping out after all!"_

"Are you okay, though?" the younger boy asked. _"There's a big bruise on your neck!"_ Alois' hand immediately reached up to cover the spot as a blush formed over his cheeks.

"O-oh, _th-this?"_ he asked, watching as his little brother nodded _. "Th-this is nothing!_ A demon like me can heal this up in a matter of _minutes!"_ he boasted, regardless of the nervousness in his voice.

"Whoa! That's so _cool!"_ the younger Macken boy shouted. He then turned his attention back to the bluenette. " _Jim was always good at wrestlin', so don't feel bad!"_ he said, causing the Phantomhive's eyelid to twitch slightly in annoyance.

"Oh yeah!" he continued, remembering what he had come up there for. "Sebastian says it's almost time to eat. He told me to come and get you."

"O-oh, we'll be right down, Luka!" the blonde said, still not moving his hand. _"We need to fix our suits and wash our hands, first!"_

 _"Okay! I'll go tell Sebastian!"_ Luka said. "I helped make it, so hurry up!"

With that, the younger Macken boy left, running down the hallway, thus leaving the demonic duo on their own. Ciel closed the door and rubbed his temples. They had just barely managed to pull that off.

"That was close..." Alois said with a sigh of relief. He then turned his attention to the bluenette. " _Did you really have to leave a hickey?!_ _"_

 _"I didn't think we would be cutting it that close."_ the bluenette replied. "I thought you would have had time to heal, but I was wrong. Sorry..."

 _"Ugh! If he had come any earlier than that..."_ Alois began, putting his hands on the sides of his head. _"...There's no way I could ever look Luka in the eyes again!_ What kind of big brother am I?!"

"Quit complaining and get dressed." Ciel said, tucking his shirt in and adjusting the collar. "Also _, your fly is down."_ he noted, causing the blonde's face to go red.

_"Just shut up and gimme my belt back!"_

 


	215. Entering The Palace

A sigh escaped the lips of the Phantomhive boy as they approached their destination. He didn't want to go, but he had to, and since he was denied the cooperation of the blonde menace, he would be going in as well. While that made him feel somewhat more at ease, it simply brought a new worry to the surface. Would he be able to focus on the mission if he also had to worry about the blonde's safety and sanity? He simply didn't want Alois' sanity points to drop any lower than they already had.

Ciel had a feeling in his gut that something bad was going to happen. Judging by the pattern of events that usually are carried out on their missions, it most likely would. Yet that didn't quell the bluenette urge to settle the uneasiness in his stomach. He looked over at the blonde, who looked more and more pale with every second they inched closer to their destination.

Luka didn't need to be involved in such things just yet, so he was left at home with Charlotte and Amelie to watch him. He would most likely be asleep by now, given the time of night. It was probably for the best, however, should the demonic duo come home covered in blood.

Thus, it was only their usual small team of three. They parked several blocks away, as they readied themselves for their task, loading their weapons and going over the plan once more. It was simple. They would block-off every exit in the building, except one, then they would start a ruckus that called for evacuation. That single would lead directly into the long arms of the law. Whoever came out would be immediately greeted by the London Metropolitan Police and brought into custody for further questioning. It wasn't entirely fair to the guests of the hotel who actually weren't there for "obscene" reasons, and were truly ignorant to the situation, but that was a sacrifice that needed to be made. Detective Bailey waited several blocks away as well with a team of his own, ready to man the gate once they received the Phantomhive boy's signal.

"Sebastian will focus on the windows." he said to the oher two demons before heading out. "Alois, you and I will focus on all of the other exits around the perimeter. Every entrance, exit, and fire escape, except for the one in the very back of the building. I'll show it to you before we start. We'll all rendezvous there, understood?"

" _Yes, my lord."_ said Sebastian.

" _Yes, my master."_ said Alois, causing the palm of Ciel's hand to make acquaintance with his forehead. The bluenette hated it when the blonde said that. He always managed to make it sound _dirty._

Regardless, they had a job to do. The demonic duo split await from Sebastian, and sneaked around to the back of the building, in order for Alois to know which door he was supposed to leave open. Before they separated themselves, Ciel felt the need to remind the blonde one last time of their priories.

"Remember: phase one relies on _stealth_ , so if all goes well, we won't be seen, and hardly see anyone else, either." he said in a hushed tone. " _No unnecessary confrontations_ , _no matter what."_

"I got it _, I got it!"_ the blonde replied, obviously tired of receiving the same information over and over again. _"'Use your sixth sense to sense for danger, while following the routes blocked out in the map'_." the boy quoted, imitating the bluenette's tone, much to Ciel's annoyance.

"Well... _Yeah..."_ the bluenette said, not quite knowing how else to respond. "Sorry... _Just making sure..."_

"It's fine. _You're_ worried, _I'm_ worried; _let's just get this over with_ , alright?" Alois replied. He raised his hand up to his forehead, giving a salute. "Awaiting permission to start, _'sir'!"_

Ciel smiled in response. " _Permission granted."_ he said. "Let's move out!"

With that, the door opened, and the duo charged in before splitting up. It was just like on the ship in the way that they discreetly lurked the hallways. The only main difference was that instead of the smell of sea-salt, the smell of cigarettes and cleaning product loomed in the air. But that was not all. The anxiety levels of the demonic duo were also different. They weren't as nervous on the ship. Maybe that's because they knew that the worst that could happen to them if they were caught, would be that they would have been shot, something relatively easy fro them to recover from. Now, they didn't know, and that was frightening. Their imaginations could get carried away in filling in the possibilities, causing them to feel even less at ease. It was a daunting task within itself to force the thought into the back of their minds and focus solely on the mission at hand.

For Ciel, it was quite easy to sneak through the halls. His skills were far more advanced than those of the blonde menace. The hallway lights were dim, leaving shadows huddled up against the walls where the weak lights couldn't reach them. All Ciel would have to do, is become a shadow. It was a perfect method of espionage, that only a higher-power of demon could use. Why, the bluenette had used it at that rugby game between Warwick and Tamworth that had gone awry during the past year. It was simply much faster to use what he and Sebastian had referred to as " _shadow jumping"_ in order to get around, and it made if much less likely for him to get caught as well. Thus, he simply phased in with the shadows on the wall, making his way through hallways with ease. Whenever he encountered a possible threat, he could simply walk past them as if it were nothing. Even if they did see him, they would simply assume their minds were playing tricks on them. _Shadows don't ordinarily move like that._

Sebastian used a similar trick on the outside of the building as he locked all of the windows. It was a simple feat for a demon of his class to lock a window, even if it's lock was on the inside. If he couldn't use such magic for his age, what kind of butler would he be?

What disturbed him was the task itself. He knew why the young master had assigned him to the windows, but it still irked him. Human were fascinating creatures, but also quite _disgusting._ Fortunately most guests thought ahead enough to at least close the curtains, but some, however, _did not_. It wasn't just due to his skill in the dark arts that he was assigned to the task, but for this reason instead that Sebastian was assigned to the windows, not Alois. The butler could have been far more useful had the blonde menace not been there, since he could complete Alois' task as well his own, completing the mission in half of the time. Yet, he knew that Alois wouldn't become any more useful if he hadn't gained the experience to do so. The butler also respected that the boy needed to face his fears, and was thus less inclined to think of him as only a nuisance.

That was easier said than done, with the blonde clumsily trying to make his way through the halls unnoticed. He lacked the ability to shadow-jump, and simply wasn't skilled in stealth missions. The sort of missions he was better with involved using brutish force. Alas, one cannot receive such tasks all of the time, however, thus he was forced to attempt traversing the lonely hallways incognito.

Unfortunately, the _Red Palace_ had thugs roaming the hallways, stopping to inform their guests when their time had run out, and to ask if they would like to pay for an extension of that time. _Disgusting._ The blonde had difficulty hiding from such individuals, as the halls were practically barren, with nothing to hide behind or under.

With his sixth sense, however, he was able to detect when they were drawing near, and respond just in the nick of time. It caused a little bit of ruckus every time he hid, seeing as though he had to jump up and move a ceiling tile before climbing upwards and hiding himself before putting it back into place. His heart raced every-time he sensed them walking just below his hiding place, as he anxiously waited for them to come to the conclusion that no one was there. They would often leave with the assumption that the sound was only their imagination, and that it was most likely a door opening and closing. It wasn't exactly an efficient way of travel, but with his current set of skills, he had no other option.

 _"That's three down, and two to go..."_ he thought, looking at the route that was drawn in on his copy of the floor-plans. He looked over the paper carefully, memorizing the next set of turns he would have to take before folding it up and placing it in his suit pocket.

Then he felt it; his sixth sense. It wasn't coming from either in front or behind him like it normally would in a hallway such as this, but from his right side. As such, the distances of the target was shorter, giving him no time to react. He jumped when the door opened, and he saw a businessman appear from behind it.

 _"Good. It's only a guest."_ Alois thought, relieved.

He smiled pleasantly at the man before continuing to walk onward, pretending like he was supposed to be there. It seemed to work, as the man payed him no mind. However, the boy tried to pretend that he hadn't seen the person sitting on the bed in the room behind the man. It was a girl who had looked as old as he appeared to be. He shuddered, trying to erase the image from his mind as he walked.

 _This mission needed to end_.

* * *

 


	216. On Second Thought

A certain bluenette peered out over the stair-railing that overlooked the hotel lobby, simply watching the people below for a moment from his place in the shadows. He watched as people came and went, ranging from completely ordinary-looking folks to the people who you knew that you wouldn't want to leave your children alone in a room with. Rightfully so, in some cases.

Some people were perfectly ordinary, innocently oblivious to the crimes that took place in this building. Some were families on vacation, even. Yes, these were the people who the bluenette felt sorry for, as they would be caught up in the middle of this as well.

He also observed the people who were up to no good. No, he didn't judge this on the way they were dressed, or any other way that they looked physically, but rather, on how suspicious they looked, and by the size of their luggage. The smaller the bag, the less time that they were going to spend there. Why, some didn't even come with luggage at all. These were the people who came to the _Red Palace_ for a specific purpose.

Ciel wrinkled his nose in disgust at them. They ranged from businessmen, to the obviously unemployed, in their occupations, and were of all ages. Some were old, while some appeared to be in high-school. They came from all ages, occupations, social classes, etc. While they were mostly men, there were some women as well, albeit few in number.

Regardless, they were all after the same thing. Some were casual, as if it were no big deal, while some appeared to be more cautious. All of them, however, had this sort of depraved look in their eyes that made it obvious. While this wouldn't have been noticeable to most people, Ciel noticed it because he had dealt with individuals of that nature in the past, and because he was looking for these qualities. Before long, he became disgusted by looking at this, and went on with his work, disappearing in plain sight.

He sealed off his final exit, completing his route on the map. His mind drifted to how the others were doing. Everything seemed calm at the front of house, so it could be assumed that neither of them had been caught or seen. The bluenette was tempted to send Alois a text, but then thought better. Had the boy forgotten to put it on vibrate, he would definitely draw attention to himself. Moreover, had he put it on silent, he wouldn't even notice if he had received a message at all. Ciel simply came to the conclusion that getting into position for "phase two" of their plan would be best.

"Well, if it isn't the Phantomhive brat." called a voice from behind him.

Ciel had been so caught up in his thoughts, that he was unable to sense anyone approaching. He quickly whipped his head around to see a familiar face. Standing there, now in front of him, was none other than the most perverse grim reaper he knew, _Grell Sutcliff_.

The flamboyant man wore black gloves, shoes, and a black suit with a white dress-shirt and red tie. He looked at the boy with his head angled so that he had to look over his red spectacles and through his false eyelashes, wearing a big, toothy grin on his face. He placed his free hand, the one that wasn't grasping onto his signature chainsaw-deathscythe, on his hip and said:

"If you're here, then certainly that handsome butler of yours is as well. Something tells me that you're not just here for the _girls_ , are you?"

"Something tells me that you aren't either." the boy remarked, making an attempt to walk past the man in order to go about his work, only to be stopped by the gender-confused gentleman once more.

 _"Tsk, tsk, tsk."_ he said. " _All work and not play makes Jack a dull boy,_ you know."

"How very unfortunate for _Jack._ What do you want?" the bluenette asked.

"I'm just wondering about something." Grell began, "According to my list, along with several accidental deaths caused by ensuing mayhem and confusion, a few people are about to be _brutally murdered in a cruel and unusual fashion._ Now you, boy, _don't seem like the type of person to do such a thing,_ and neither does _Bassy_."

"What makes you think it was a _demon?"_

"Just a _hunch_." the man replied nonchalantly. "Anyway, if you don't know, then never-mind. Ooh! You didn't answer my question about _Bassy!"_

" _He's busy_." the boy said flatly, forcing his way past the man. "If you aren't going to be of any use, _then get out of my way_." He was stopped by the chain of blades being shoved in his path.

"Where are your _manners?!"_ demanded Sutcliff. "Don't you know that is not the proper way to treat a _lady?_ I refuse to be treated in such a manner by anyone, especially by a _brat_ like you!"

"Something makes me _doubt_ that, given how _perverse_ you are, Sutcliff." the bluenette answered, simply moving to avoid the object. "Perhaps if you stopped calling me _'brat',_ I may begin to _consider_ treating you more politely, _Mister_ Sutcliff."

"How _dare_ you?!" the reaper called after the boy. "Hey! Get back here! _Ignoring_ people is rude too, you know!"

" _I will be sure to inform you when I begin to care."_

With that he walked onward, ignoring the shouts of the grim reaper in favor of fleeing the scene before someone hears the flamboyant ginger and comes to investigate. What Grell had said worried him. If he thought it might be a demon to commit these murders, and didn't believe that either the bluenette, or his butler would have committed them, that leaves only one last possible option.

This was just what he was afraid of. This was why he didn't want to allow Alois to get involved. When faced with things of this nature, Alois tends to get more than just a tad violent. If worst things came to be, the blonde could very well lose himself, becoming reduced to a monster. Ciel had to find him, and find him _quickly_ , if what was left of Alois' humanity was to be saved.

 _"Why did you do that?"_ asked a girl, no older than fifteen, to the blonde menace himself.

Elsewhere in the building, the blonde menace stood in one of the many winding hallways of the hotel, in front of said girl, and next to the unconscious body of the businessman he had come across earlier that evening. The man had tried to ask what the boy's name was so that he may "request his services" on his next visit, but was swiftly knocked unconscious by the blonde's defensive reflexes. All Alois could do was stare at the girl confusedly from her place in the doorway of her room, as he tried to comprehend the question.

" _What do you mean?"_ he asked, unsure of what else to say. The girl simply furrowed her brow at him.

 _"I'm asking you why you knocked him out, you pillock!_ " she said in an angry tone. Whe obviously wanted to yell, but in the quiet hallway, it seemed taboo to speak above a whisper. " _Do you have any idea what's going to happen to me now?!"_

All the blonde could do was shake his head "no", arching an eyebrow in confusion. The girl sighed. "I'm going to get _beaten_ for this, and _so are you!"_

"No I'm not. _I don't work here_." Alois said. "You're not either, if you get out of here."

"What the fuck are you talking about?! Are you mental?!" the girl asked. Suddenly her expression changed to that of terror. "Wait, you don't work here?! You're not going to tell, are you?!"

"Why wouldn't I? That's the whole reason I'm here!"

"You can't! They'll _kill_ you, if you're caught! _Or worse!"_

"I'm not going to get caught, and neither are you! Just shut up, and do as I say!"

" _Why would I?!"_

Arguing with this girl was pointless. Alois could see it on her face. He had seen that look before; that lifeless look of despair and hopelessness. He already knew what she was thinking. She was thinking that it was hopeless to even try to escape.

He knew it all too well. That feeling of being trapped. That belief that even if you were to escape, you wouldn't be able to be happy, ever again. That feeling of being dirty, long after the touches were gone. He knew it. He knew what that felt like. What he couldn't understand was this girl's willingness to simply give up without a fight. Was she just going to passively accept this fate without even trying to lift a finger to do something about it?

" _Because you're still alive."_ he answered, causing the girl to tilt her head in slight confusion. "You're just going to give up? Do you _like_ feeling pathetic, or something? You're not going to try for something better?" The girl simply looked down at the floor, unsure how to answer. The blonde frowned.

"Your opportunity to escape has appeared, and yet you're too _weak_ to even _try?_ I feel _sorry_ for you." the boy continued, turning to walk away. "Nothing will ever change unless you _make_ it."

He continued on his route, leaving the girl behind. As much as he didn't like it, he knew better. Some people simply cannot be saved, for the simple fact that they don't think they can be. That was what made both he, and the bluenette, as well as the other humans who were capable of signing contracts with demons, different from the majority of the population. People who refuse to give up, even in the face of the seemingly impossible, are those who _live_. It is as simple as that. _Those who do not fight, do not live_ , and even by some miracle that they do, they are too weak in mind and heart, and _allow their experiences to crush them._

Unfortunately, that very well may be the case with most of the victims in this predicament. Even if they were to be saved, their minds would most likely not be able to bear the weight of their trauma. It takes a certain amount of inner-strength to not be broken in the face of adversity, and some people have it, while other don't. Some use their fear and turn it into anger, morphing it into a weapon in order to strike down those who had wronged them, and some simply give in to defeat and live in a manner similar to that as cattle, mindlessly obeying orders and trudging through each day feeling empty inside. Some, however, remain unaffected in the slightest, and simply lock their past in the recesses of their minds, not allowing it to hinder them.

He would get this place shut down, regardless, allowing those who were strong to live. If at least some could make it, that was good enough. He managed to seal the last two doors on his route, completing his role. Thus, he decided that the best course of action was to meet up with the others and the rendezvous point in order to initiate " _phase two"_ of their scheme.

But then, he sensed it. Someone was coming. He went through his usual routine of hiding in the ceiling and waiting for whoever it was to pass. He held his breath as the people passed beneath him, but he couldn't believe who it was.

It was the girl from earlier, being dragged through the halls by her hair by some thugs. Alois could hear her scream and cry, kicking and thrashing to get away, only to whimper when one of the men hit her in hopes of making her be quiet. The blonde's stomach sank as it dawned on him what had happened.

He had left her alone with the unconscious businessman. She was in trouble for rebelling, and hitting a customer, something that she herself _did not do_. It was all _his_ fault. He was responsible for her suffering. He had to do something, he knew, but what? She wasn't simply going to cooperate with him on escaping, meaning that he would have to leave her again with two unconscious thugs, only putting her in even bigger trouble.

" _Where's Ciel?"_ he thought, keeping his senses sharp in order to keep tabs on the group below him. " _He would know what to do..."_

He tried to come up with a plan, but didn't have the time, as the group that he was tracking was on the verge of stepping out of the range of his senses. Quickly, he dropped from his hiding place in the ceiling, landing gently on his feet before pursuing the group. He he tailed them, he pulled out his phone and sent a quick text.

" _I'm done on my end. I need to save someone._

_It's my fault they're in trouble. I'm near the offices._

_-AT"_

_Send._

It was only moments later that he received a reply.

" _Stop! Stick to the plan!_

_Don't do anything until I get there!_

_-CP"_

It was at that moment that the blonde menace recalled something that the bluenette had said to him the day before. _"What you lack is the ability to really think things through!"_ he had said, before going through all the possible ways that his usual rashness could affect him negatively.

So he thought. He thought as he sneaked about, clutching his mobile phone in his hand, about what he could do, and the consequences of acting out each scenario. He could simply take out the thugs, but the girl would most likely not cooperate with him, causing the scenario discussed earlier to occur, but then again, he could always simply force the girl to come with him. At the same time, though, if she protested too loudly, she would alert others to their location, and that simply wouldn't do. He could follow them to where-ever it was that they were going, but then what? He was told to avoid any unnecessary confrontations " _no matter what_ ", and he would most likely have to fight his way back out again, and if he should succeed, he still had the problem of transporting the girl to safety. There was also the possibility of him "freaking out" from the sight of whatever it was in that unknown room, causing him to go on a murderous rampage, not to mention cause the opening of old emotional scars. The option to simply ignore the girl existed, but Alois felt guilty about getting her in trouble in the first place .

Yes, Alois could feel guilt. He often found this new "conscience" of his to be somewhat of a nuisance. It annoyed him to feel responsible for his actions. It annoyed him that he felt compelled to save this girl, who he had considered "weak", but it was his fault. Whatever happens to her from this point on is, and always will be his fault.

It was then that he felt a familiar presence come up from behind him, and he felt a rush of relief as he turned to see the Phantomhive boy once more. Planning was not one of Alois' strong suits, but he knew Ciel would most likely be able to come up with the appropriate course of action. The bluenette had a worried look on his face as he opened his mouth to speak.

" _What the hell was that message about?!"_ he asked, not daring to speak above a whisper.

 _"I know, I know. It's stupid, but hear me out_." the blonde replied in a similar tone, leaning a little closer so that the other boy may hear him better. " _Long story short: I messed up and got this girl in trouble, and now she's going to be beaten or worse if we don't do something."_

" _What. Did. You. Do?!"_ the bluenette demanded through clenched teeth, furrowing his brow.

" _One of her customers was flirting with me, so I knocked him out and left him."_ Alois explained. " _They found him, and thought that she did it."_

_"I told you not to do anything rash!"_

_"I know! And I'm sorry! But we have to save her!"_ The blonde's eyes were pleading with the bluenette to do something. There was a long pause before either lad did anything, but then, Ciel reached into his pocket and began typing. When he was finished, he sent the message and put the device back in his pocket.

_"Ciel?"_

_"I'm sent a message to Bailey, telling him that there's been a change in plans_." the bluenette said, reaching back into his pocket when he felt the phone vibrate. _"The police are now going to raid the hotel_." he added, reading the message.

 _"So what now?"_ Alois asked.

" _We're going to go save the girl, that's what."_ Ciel said as he began to walk, gesturing for the blonde to follow. _"But let's try to keep the fatalities at 'zero', shall we?"_

 _"Yes, my master~!"_ Alois replied, giggling at the sight of the bluenette rolling his visible eye.

The demonic duo walked up to the office door, and immediately stopped dead in their tracks at the sound of screaming. They looked at each other for a moment before hastily kicking the door open. Their eyes widened for a moment at the display in front of them before their faces morphed into snarls as they furrowed their brows and grit their teeth.

" _On second thought..."_ began the bluenette, his eye glowing red. _"...maybe one or two are permissible."_

 


	217. Odd Morality

No mortal is meant to see the disturbing scene that was taking place in that room. It was completely irksome, even to demon eyes. It infuriated the demonic duo. It scared them, too, and made them want to vomit at the same time. What made a person so sick, and so depraved to take part in such activities, they would never know, as it was something that no sane person could understand.

Such disregard for morality, for human life and decency, should only be rewarded with one thing: Death. A humiliating, excruciating death that inflicted ever once of pain and emotional suffering that was forced onto others by their hand was a fair punishment, no? In fact, to the demonic duo, that wouldn't be nearly _enough_. Even then, if wouldn't be enough! They would have to suffer _more,_ somehow, before the demons graciously escorted them to _Hell,_ as they wouldn't dare _touch_ their filthy souls. It was bad enough that they would most likely have to touch their _blood_.

That was the depth of the seething anger and outrage of the demons. They couldn't even hear the shouts and inquiries of the men in that room, as they demanded an explanation for why the boys were there, because of it. It was a burning hatred that manifested itself in black flames surrounding their bodies. The heat fromt that hatred and loathing filled the room in a violent _"whoosh"_ as the air suddenly became hot, and hard to breathe.

The women in the room were terrified; the children, too, even though it was not they who were in any real danger of losing their lives at that moment. It was the terrified, depraved men of all ages and occupations who were in danger. Before most of them could even pull up their pants, the dark inferno subsided, revealing their deaths. They couldn't speak, or even blink. All they could do was stare in awe at what they had just witnessed, leaving the room almost completely silent. It was only after the snarls on the demon's faces had turned into smirks, and after they began to move, that the men began to make noise.

Naturally, it was Alois who struck first, cocking back his arm before releasing his tensed muscles, propelling his fist forward to make acquaintance with the nearest man's face. The blonde had hit him hard; hard enough that instead of his entire body being propelled backwards, it was only his head that spun around with a gut-wrenching _crack_ of his neck, and with that, he fell to the ground in a heap. The blonde menace wasn't holding back; not one single bit.

He liked being able to fight back; an ability that he was not granted until his resurrection. He loved it. Immortality is magnificent. Ability is dazzling. Yet the one thing that he loved most about this power, was being able to use it so crush the scum that had tormented him so in his past life. The strong devour the weak, it was a simple rule that could be applied to most aspects of life, Alois knew this. He had _always_ known, yet it was when he was the strong one that he could truly appreciate this rule.

Power is a terrifying thing, as suddenly gaining it can drive even the kindest of people into madness and apathy. Alois was no exception, and neither was Ciel. It was at moments such as this when obliterating the objects of their hatred, that they truly began to lose themselves. It was at moments such as these when all traces of the duo's humanity were fast asleep, and replaced by the monsters that they appeared to be.

No longer, was this a rescue mission. No longer, were they agents of justice. Right then, as they crushed the men in that room like bugs with smiles on their faces, they were monsters. Monsters, who took delight in the screams of their victims, and the cracking of their bones as they toyed with the men until their deaths. The demons had broken their limbs, stepped on them, clawed their faces, and laughed at them, before finally killing them.

It was then, and only then, when the bluenette finally looked up, setting eyes on the terrified slaves in this palace as they cowered in fear, waiting for their own deaths, that Ciel realized what he was doing. Snapping from his dazed, power-drunken stupor, he stopped to take it all in. His eyes widened and he placed a hand on his forehead, slightly running his fingers through his hair, horrified at what he had become. He was a _monster_ , and he _knew_ it.

Then, his ears caught up to him as well, and he could hear the screams of the men, and the cracking of their bones. He quickly looked around the room, trying to find it's source. Ciel's heart dropped a bit when he saw the blonde, wide-eyed, covered in blood, with a big, toothy grin on his face, as he wrapped his fingers around the throat of one of the men and began to squeeze the life out of him. His victim had tears running down his cheeks, and was kicking his legs while clawing at the demons hands, all while Alois laughed. _Alois laughed_ _in delight_ at the man's suffering.

Finally, when he ceased his struggling, the man's body went limp. The blonde let go of the man's throat, leaving ugly, purple and red marks where his fingers had been, and stood up, laughing hysterically at the same time. Even though he was _laughing_ , it seemed as though he was about to break down and _cry_ at any moment. Deep down, he knew what he was doing, and knew it was wrong, but he simply couldn't stop it. Just before he lunged at his next target, he was stopped by a pair of arms wrapping around him and holding him tightly, causing him to hesitate.

" _Stop it!"_ the bluenette shouted, holding the blonde to his chest. "Just stop it! You're going to become _like them_ , if you don't!"

Suddenly, the blonde's muscles relaxed, and his smile faded as what he was doing slowly began to dawn on him as well. What had he been doing? With a sigh of relief, Ciel continued.

"These men... they... disregarded others and harmed them for the sake of their own amusement and pleasure... That's what _monsters_ do." he said, watching as the blonde sheepishly looked down at the ground. "Isn't that what _we_ were just doing?" There was a long pause before he received any form of answer.

" _They deserved it."_ the blonde said coldly. _"All of them. we were just killing monsters, is all."_

"By becoming monsters ourselves? Don't you see what's _wrong_ with that?" Ciel asked. He waited for a reply, but it never came. Thus, he continued. "You _do,_ don't you? I _know_ you do..."

"How else am I supposed to fight them?" asked Alois. "It's not like we can just _reason_ with them." he added, glaring at the remaining men, who were too frozen with fear to flee.

"I know, but we still don't have to get on _their level_." replied the bluenette. "It's the _intent_ behind it that counts, I think..."

" _Huh?"_ the blonde asked, turning his head so that he could look at the other boy. HE arched an eyebrow in confusion at Ciel's statement.

 _"It's something Integra told me once..."_ the Phantomhive boy began, struggling to figure out how to fully explain himself. "I'm not sure if I fully understand it, but I think I'm starting to. She said that _'True humans don't kill for their own pleasure, or satisfaction. That's what monsters do. A human will fight a monster, knowing that there is a high probability that they will die, or even knowing that they will die, because it is their duty. A human will never give up, no matter what'."_

"Are you suggesting that we _shouldn't_ exterminate these.. these... ' _monsters'?!_ " Alois demanded, wriggling out of the bluenette's grasp. "They _need_ to die! _Just look at what they've done!"_

"Look at what _we've_ done." Ciel answered; a response that caused the blonde to look around the room for the first time.

There were bodies on the floor, with their limbs twisted at odd angles, and dark crimson stains near some of them. The men that have yet to be mutilated were all huddled in a corner of the room, cowering as they waited for the demons to destroy them next. Then, there were the orignal victims, the abducted, who had been in the middle of being punished for trying to rebel against their captors. They were frightened by the uncertainty of whether or not the demons were actually on their side. They, unlike the men, were listening carefully in order to decipher this fact. Some of them didn't care either way, and simply wanted all of the horror to end. This is what the demonic duo had done, or at the very least, attributed to.

The demons had lost sight of the original purpose of their mission, and had simply entered a frenzy of killing for their own satisfaction. They had stopped fighting out of duty, and fought out of selfishness instead, dancing along the border between their humanity, and their demonity. That is that path that the Phantomhive boy consciously feared, or at the very least, hesitated to tread. At what point will he lose himself completely, and be reduced to that which is empty, and tries to fill the void in it's heart with conflict and consumption? Isn't losing one's conscious self the same as being dead? While the bluenette didn't know if he really cared for his immortality, the boy liked the idea of dying even _less_.

Alois slowly began to realize all of this when he saw what the two had done, at least on some level. It was when he opened his eyes that he began to realize that to a point, what he was doing was similar to what he hated. He was very confused in his morality, in that he believed that his foes needed to suffer for their crimes, but at the same time, didn't want to repeat the offense by instigating further crime and moral-fouls against humanity. It gave him an odd feeling of guilt, and fear to know this. The blonde's expression turned from fearful to solemn in nature before the boy was engulfed in flames again, reverting back to his normal "human" state.

After watching him for a moment, the bluenette did the same, the presence of a fourth party catching his attention. It was most likely the London Metropolitan Police heading their way, as they raided the building. The bluenette turned his attention to the humans in the room before speaking in a tone that demanded their attention, as if he already didn't have it.

"The police are on their way. Some of you will be whisked away to safety, and the rest of you will be arrested _. You know who you are."_ he said, placing his hands behind his back in an authoritative manner. He turned his head again when the police kicked in the door. They were immediately taken aback by the scene before them in a manner similar to the duo when they first entered as well. The only difference was that now there were dead bodies.

" _Good evening, officers."_ said the eye-patch-wearing boy. "I trust that you're fully capable of taking care of things from here?"

"Bloody hell..." spoke one of the officers.

"What happened here?!" demanded another.

"Simple. _There was resistance, and the use of force was necessary."_ replied the bluenette, putting his arm around the blonde menace, and guiding him toward the door, past the officers. "We'll be taking our leave then."

"Hold it! _What are we supposed to do with all of this?!"_ demanded one of the police officers. "Get back here and help!"

"Sorry. _Not my department_." the Phantomhive boy said, not slowing down in his pace in the slightest. He wanted to get out of there as soon as possible, and knew that Alois was definitely feeling the same way.

The demonic duo met with Sebastian, who had brought the car closer, and parked it among the flashing lights of the police vehicles. Ciel spotted detective Bailey among the officers outside, and they both made eye contact. The man was about to go over to the pair, but then he saw the expression on the blonde's face, and instead gestured to the Phantomhive boy that he would call him for details in the morning, which was most appreciated.

Silence loomed in the air in the black Rolls Royce of the Phantomhive household on the way home, as none of the demons especially felt like talking. Sebastian knew that things had taken a foul turn while he was absent, but respected his master's obvious wishes for peace and quiet, only, _his inference was somewhat incorrect_. For some odd reason, the silence simply made the bluenette feel even more uneasy. He tried to occupy his thoughts, looking out the window for a while, before the city landscape became somewhat boring to him; his eye began to wander around the contents of the vehicle, meeting his own gaze in the rear-view mirror briefly before staring at the back of the driver's head, faintly wondering what the man's opinion on the events was. He would have to remember to ask him later, when it didn't seem as though it were taboo to speak.

His eye then wandered to the seat next to him, examining the blonde boy. Alois looked down at his hands, folded in his lap, with a melancholy look on his face that was unusual for the boy. Ciel could just barely see the other teen's icy blue eyes, as the boy's fair hair covered them. It was as though he was trying to hide.

It was an almost unconscious decision to extend his hand in order to try and comfort the boy, but then the bluenette remembered that Sebastian was in the car with them, and would most likely tease him for anything he said. Ciel would have simply retracted his hand, but then he noticed the man looking at him in the rear-view mirror, curious as to what the sudden movement was. He was caught in an act of kindness. Once he realized that, he simply continued with a sigh, grabbing the other boy's hand, making him jolt into alertness. The blonde looked up to see the bluenette's small, yet comforting smile, and registered what he was trying to say.

_"Everything will be alright."_

It was about then that the trio of demons entered the long driveway that led to the Phantomhive estate, slowing down as they got closer to their destination. Everything seemed in order on the outside, which relieved the butler, who had left the place under the watchful care of Charlotte and Amelie (but mostly Charlotte,) in his absence, as they needed someone to watch Luka. When they opened the door, however, they were greeted with an interesting display.

Amelie was laying in the floor, wrapped in a blanket-cocoon. Wrapped around her prison was a chain, with silverware placed between several of the links so that she may not escape. Obviously, she was up to her usual antics, but the question on the trio's mind at the time was: " _How did Charlotte get her restrained in the first place?"_

"Oh, sorry! I didn't hear you pull up the driveway!" the vampire greeted as she entered the foyer. She was in her H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. uniform, as opposed to her old butler-esque outfit, but was otherwise the same. She followed the other's eyes to the "werewolf-cocoon" in the middle of the floor, and laughed nervously.

" _Oh, yeah..."_ she said. _"I had trouble getting Luka to bed with her being up to no good..."_

"Why's that?" asked the blonde.

" _She wouldn't stop carrying him around on her back and running about_..." Charlotte answered with a sigh. " _It's difficult to get an eight-year-old to go to bed with an obnoxious werewolf offering piggy-back rides around..."_

At least _someone_ had a pleasant evening...

 


	218. Middle Earth

Warwick, Warwick, _Warwick Academy!_ Yes, we find ourselves returning to this location, as the Sensational Seven's summer break ended several weeks ago, and they now entered their third year of high-school. Now, it finally began to sink in that they only had two more years until college, where they would most likely end up separating. Each boy had their own interests and fields of expertise so it was almost inevitable, but, the lad's friendship was strong. Surely, they would keep in touch. After all, they shared one of the world's greatest secrets, bonding them. It was unlikely, that two years from that moment, on graduation day, would be the last they saw of each other. No, it wouldn't be so. _Not by a long shot._

" _Bwa-ha-ha-haha!"_ The sound erupted from the throat of a certain, familiar brown-haired boy from a political family. Today, he had just learned another secret.

"Y-your... your!" he began, laughing violently between pauses. " _Your middle name is 'Gareth!' Bwa-ha-hahaha!"_ While he couldn't see it, due to the fact that the reaper-boy's bangs had partially grown back towards their usual length, Audrey's eyebrow twitched in annoyance over the absurd reaction.

" _So?"_ he asked, not sure what else to say. "I don't really see why that's so _funny_..."

"That's _hilarious!"_ Daniel choked out, resting his palms on the surface of the lad's desk. " _'Gareth'!_ What kind of name is that?!"

"It's really not that funny, Daniel..." said Preston from his own seat as he filled in answers to a worksheet that the boys were supposed to be working on. "It's a pretty normal name."

"Oh yeah? How would _you_ know? _You're Indian!_ You don't even _have_ a middle name!" the politician's son replied.

" _Yes I do."_ Preston corrected. "It's _'Soma'_."

 _"'Soma'?"_ echoed the Westley boy. "Why _'Soma'?"_

"It was _my mother's maiden name_ ; nothing special."

"So it's _'Preston Soma Omid'?_ That doesn't really flow well." Daniel said before turning his attention to the boy seated next to Preston. "Hey! _Hey Travis!_ What's _your_ middle name?" Travis blinked and looked up from what he was doing and looked at the loud boy.

"It's _'Marion'."_ he said. The others simply stared at him, thinking about how that didn't suit him, but also did at the same time. Daniel didn't, though. He snorted as he tried not to laugh again.

"Hey Kristopherson~!" he called in a sing-song voice, getting the faux-blonde's attention.

The others simply couldn't get used to Kristopherson's appearance. The boy's image had changed drastically as he had stopped bleaching his hair, and his natural, dark-brown colouring started to fill in. He still had quite a bit of blonde left; more than half, even, but it was still just enough to put the others off just a bit.

" _Don't bother._ You aren't going to get a laugh out of _mine_." the faux-blonde answered, lazily folding his arms.

"Why not?" asked Daniel, now more curious than ever. "What is it?"

" _'Thomas'."_ replied the boy in the pink tie, much to the surprise of everyone. There was a long pause before anyone said anything.

"That's surprisingly _butch_ , actually." commented Audrey.

"I was expecting _'Maurice'_ or something." added Preston.

" _Shut up."_ Kristopherson snapped. "What about you, Daniel? What is your _'super-cool, totally-not-embarrassing'_ middle name?"

The Westley boy immediately froze at the question. The intense stares of his peers didn't do anything to help his awkward feeling. There was a void of silence before anyone said anything.

"Come on, out with it." ordered Kristopherson.

"It's only fair." added Travis. Hesitantly, Daniel opened his mouth to speak, mumbling the word so softly, that none of them could hear it. None of them, but the _demonic duo_.

" _We can't hear you_." Preston said with a slightly annoyed tone.

"He said that it's _'Lennon'."_ spoke the bluenette, not even bothering to look up from his work. He smiled slightly as he said it, all the same.

" _'Lennon'?"_ asked Audrey.

"As in, like, _'John Lennon'?"_ inquired Preston.

"And you make fun of _other people's_ middle names?" asked Kristopherson.

"Shut up!" the politician's son barked. " _Phantomhive! Trancy!_ You gotta tell your's too!"

"Why?" asked Ciel.

"Well, since everyone elses' has been made public, then you might as well share too." said Kristopherson, resting his chin in his palm. "Do it to make Daniel stop _blubbering..."_

"...Or blubber _more_ , since it's kind of _funny."_ added Preston. With a sigh, Ciel finally turned his attention to the other lads.

"If it bothers you that much, then _fine_." the bluenette said reluctantly. "It's _'Alexander'."_

" _'Ciel Alexander Phantomhive'?"_ said Travis, putting the bluenette's full name together.

"You _dick!_ Why does yours have to sound _cool?!"_ demanded Daniel. _"Your turn, Trancy!"_

" _Huh?"_ the blonde asked, blinking a few times in surprise. "Oh, well, I don't exactly _have_ one..."

"Why not?" asked Audrey.

"My real parents just never bothered, and I never learned the actual _'Alois Trancy's'_." explained the fair-haired demon, somewhat bashfully.

"When we registered you into the school, we wrote down that it was _'Jim'."_ said Ciel. "So if you noticed, on your report cards, it ways _'Alois Jim Trancy'."_

"You git! You ruined it!" the blonde protested. "It doesn't sound as cool now!"

"Now, now, _'Jimmy',_ there's no need to get _upset_ ~!" Daniel teased, enjoying every bit of the blonde's reaction.

"Shut up, _'Lennon'!_ Don't call me that!" Alois snapped back, furrowing his brow.

"But doesn't Luka call you by your real name sometimes?" asked Audrey.

"Yeah, but he's _special."_ the blonde replied, indignantly crossing his arms over his chest.

"So does that mean _Ciel_ gets to call you _'Jim',_ too?" asked Daniel, wiggling his eyebrows. As if on que, the blond menace shot him a dirty look, which didn't look nearly as threating as it would have without the subtle pink tint the appeared on his cheeks. That pigmentation only darkened when he glanced over at the bluenette, who simply looked at him with a smirk.

" _Sod off."_ the blonde commanded. _"The cyclops would abuse that privilege."_

"What _other 'privileges'_ does he _abuse?"_

" _Don't even go there, Daniel!"_

* * *

 


	219. We Have Ways

Warwick Academy; a fine establishment built on fine morals and ambition. Here the business and political leaders as well as the cultural icons of tomorrow learn, and prepare themselves for their bright futures. The students of Warwick are well versed in social studies and the arts, as well as in various maths and sciences. They are highly literate, with the best education money can buy, but that it not all Warwick is about. No, Warwick is not only proud of their educational standards, but also in their athletics programmes. Today, the Sensational Seven entered their usual Physical Education class, as it was a required course for students of every year to take.

"Yup, my suspicions have been confirmed." spoke Daniel in the changing room, as he and the other boys shed their usual uniforms and put on their gym clothes. _"Krisitopherson isn't nearly a curvy as Alois."_

" _What the fuck?!"_ shouted the boy in the pink tie, hurrying to put on his T-shirt. _"Why are you looking for that stuff?!_

 _"It's just an observation_. I was just pointing it out." the brown-haired boy said. "Relax, I'm not a homo. There's no reason for your little boyfriend to get _jealous_."

"It's still _creepy,_ Dan." Kristopherson replied.

"What? Are you mad that _Alois makes a better girl_ than you?"

"How on earth does he make a better _'girl'?"_

"Just look at him!" Daniel declared, pointing at the blonde menace, who was doing his best to ignore the others. "He's so effeminate! If you look at him from the back, it's easy to confuse him for a girl! Hell, it's even hard to tell from the front!"

"Daniel, _just stop talking_." interrupted Audrey, putting his hat back on. "You're not helping your _'not a homo'_ case, and not only that, _you're pissing Alois off_." The Miles and Westley boys, looked back to the blonde menace again, only to notice that the boy was now fuming.

 _"Oh shit."_ muttered Daniel, before trying his best to fix the situation. "N-now, Alois, listen! I-it's not that big of a deal! Besides _, that sort of look is in, these days!_ Just look at _One Direction!"_

 _"Shut up, Daniel! You're not helping!"_ Kristopherson shouted. He then brought his voice down to a whisper. " _Now, Phantomhive is mad, too!"_ ht added, noticing the bluenette's crossed arms and his mean expression with his famous "ice-beam" directed towards them.

"What the fuck!? Why is _he_ mad?!" asked Daniel.

"Probably because we were staring Alois while he's changing, or because you said Alois looked _girly!"_

"So?! _He_ calls Alois _'girly'_ all the time!"

" _It's not the same!"_

The bluenette simply rolled his visible eye, and continued to wait on the others to leave. While the rest of the sensational seven were aware of his mark; his slave brand, he still didn't feel entirely comfortable with the idea of changing in front of others. Even after having over one-hundred years to adjust to the modern world, he still had difficulties letting go of old habits. It was stunning how quickly that the Macken brothers were able to grow accustomed to the lifestyle. Perhaps it was simply a difference in how they were raised.

Soon, the lads were ready to go, fully clothed in their shorts and their T-shirts, and thus, they entered the gymnasium around the same time that the girls had. They prepared for another grueling forty-five minutes of being yelled at while being forced to perform some sort of physical activity, something which was no longer an issue to either Alois or Audrey and was actually less horrible than what those two had suffered over the summer. Yet, instead of Mr. Alvey, the usual gym instructor, there was a new face-, or rather, a slightly _familiar_ one.

He was a young man who appeared to be in his mid-twenties, with golden blonde hair, and emerald green eyes. He wore an angry expression on his face, a whistle on a string that was tied around his neck,and gym attire similar to those that the boys were wearing on the rest of his body. His shorts revealed just enough of his shin, that the bluenette was able to notice a scar on each of the man's legs. _Bullet wounds_. Those were wounds that Ciel himself had inflicted. He knew this man, and so did the blonde menace. They took a moment to glance at each other, both thinking the same thing.

"Alright! Shut up!" the man shouted in his usual German accent, which caught the other children completely off-guard, immediately granting the man their attention.

"Listen up! Mr. Alvey is no longer with Warwick Academy." he said, making the demonic duo somewhat question his choice of words. "My name is _Heinrich Strumer_. You will call me _'Mr. Strumer'._ Anyone who attempts to call me _'Heinrich'_ will be _killed."_

Just then, a certain son of a politician began to raise his hand with a smile, but was immediately stopped by the Phantomhive boy slapping his hand back down. Ciel shot him a warning look before speaking in a hushed tone.

 _"Don't even think about it."_ he said, knowing full-well that the boy was going to ask if the man was a "Nazi", or something along those lines. _"That man really will kill you_."

" _Why?"_ Daniel asked.

**_"He's a deadly criminal who wants me dead, that's why_."**

"So... just out of curiosity..." the brown-haired lad began, "...just _how many people want you dead?"_

_"Too many to count, and the list just keeps growing."_

_"Phantomhive! Keep your trap shut!"_ the man barked, hearing the boy speak. He shot the boy a nasty look, that could only be described as a hateful one, of the likes of which the bluenette happily returned.

 _"We have ways of making you talk..."_ Audrey muttered, poorly attempting to replicate the man's accent while quoting a movie. Preston was the only one who got the joke, and who laughed, causing the man's attention to drift to them.

" _One-hundred push-ups! Everyone! Now!"_ , to which the children groaned.

" _Make that one-hundred and fifty!"_

 


	220. Ana's Informant

" _UGH. My arms..."_ whined a certain son of a politician, rubbing his aching triceps, biceps, and other related muscles. The Sensational Seven were now eating lunch in the cafeteria, but had a hard time using their upper extremities due to the over-use of them. "What kind of person makes you do _one-hundred and fucking fifty_ push-ups!?"

"Some one who is a _gym teacher?"_ suggested Audrey, who wasn't nearly as sore as the others.

"Why the _hell_ aren't _you_ exhausted?" Daniel asked.

"Two words: _'Military School'."_ replied the boy in the skull beanie, casually sipping on a carton of juice. "Anyway, whats all this about _Mr. Strumer_ being a _'dangerous criminal'?"_

"It's a long story." the bluenette began, picking at the food on his tray with a fork. "In a nutshell, Alois and I were sent on a mission to kill his boss, who was illegally importing and exporting weapons to and from Britain, as well as other countries; we killed him and his crew, but Heinrich and another coworker got away. They came after us once, and we killed his comrade, so after all of that, he wants revenge."

 _"You tango with some crazy blokes, you know that?"_ asked Kristopherson, arching an eyebrow. "Exactly _how dangerous_ are we talking, here?"

"Dangerous enough that I could barely hit him without getting _sliced open_." Ciel answered. "He's fast, and uses a fighting style that I've never seen before."

"Damn..." uttered Preston, suddenly losing his appetite. "But you're a demon! _How can a human be faster than a demon?"_

"I was _holding back."_ the bluenette said. "It _won't_ happen again. We last fought during the Christmas dance last year. With that many people around, it was unwise to transform and go all-out."

"You seriously had an epic battle during the dance?!" asked Daniel, standing up and slamming his hands on the table. "Why didn't you ask _us_ for help?!"

" _You want to end up dead?"_ asked Alois, butting in. "If you had gotten involved, you would have died; no doubt about it. What's a scrawny teenage human boy, who can hardly survive _gym class,_ going to do up against a _lightening-fast German with gun-knives_ , and the goddamn _Juggernaut?"_

Daniel paused for a moment, processing that information before sitting down again. The blonde had a point. If those two were dangerous enough to give a pair of demons trouble, then they wouldn't have stood a chance. Even if there was now just one of them, the others couldn't take him on. Even Audrey, a Grim Reaper, doesn't have the healing factor of a demon, and have would most likely died in combat.

"So... _what do we do?"_ asked Kristopherson.

" _Don't get involved._ After all, he's not after _you."_ replied the bluenette. "It might be wise for you to distance yourselves from us, for the time being; just you you can _stay_ that way."

"Oh, come on! There's no way we can do that!" Daniel protested. "I don't know about _these wankers,_ but _I'm_ _no coward!"_

"Daniel, we know you're an _idiot_ and all, but please, do _try_ to use your _brain_ for once." Ciel said.

 _"What brain?"_ asked Preston.

"I want _all of you_ to stay out of this." said the bluenette. "It would make me feel guilty if you died."

"But Ci-" Daniel stopped as something caught his eye. It was a girl with bleached blonde hair, brown eyes and eyebrows, wearing a light blue tie with her uniform.

Her name was _Anastasia Miles_ , Daniel's current girlfriend and Kristopherson's older sister. She was waving at the group, beckoning one of them to come over. The Westley boy pointed to himself, silently asking if it was him that she was wanting to talk to, but the girl shook her head "no". He pointed to Kristopherson, but the answer was still "no". The girl covered her right eye with her hand, and the boy immediately knew who the girl wanted to talk to.

"Hey, _Ciel,_ Ana says she wants to talk to you." he said, making the bluenette look over his shoulder at the Miles girl, who waved at him to come over to her. The bluenette arched an eyebrow, and stood up, preparing to walk over to the girl.

"Just remember that _you have a boyfriend_ , Phantomhive." Daniel warned, causing the bluenette to roll his visible eye before paying the lad no further regard and walking onward.

"Hey." he greeted once stopping in front of the girl. "Is there something you need, Anastsia?"

"Oh, please! Just call me _'Ana'_." the girl replied with a slight giggle. "Anyways, I needed to ask you something about _Kris_."

"Is something wrong?" the bluenette asked, not sure as to why the girl insisted on not using her full name, much like another blonde he used to know.

"Well, he's been acting kind of... _weird,_ lately..." she said, as though she couldn't quite find the word. Every time he comes home, he looks either _angry,_ or like he might _cry_. He won't tell me what's wrong, either!"

"Maybe he just had a bad day and wants some time to be alone?"

"But he tells me _everything!"_ she said, keeping her tone down so the other lads at the table couldn't hear. "He's always told me what was the matter! He doesn't just keep _secrets!"_ The bluenette's ears perked up at the word "secret".

" _When did this start?"_ he asked, feeling slightly guilty, seeing as to how the biggest secret that Kristopherson knew was about his demonity. That was a big burden to bear, so maybe Kristopherson wasn't taking it so well.

"It's after he got that _stupid boyfriend_ of his." Anastasia answered, placing a hand on her hip. "I think might be _him_. They hang out before going home. I just wanted to know if you knew anything about it..."

" _Cameron?"_ the bluenette asked. "Do you not like him, or something?"

"Of course _not!_ The guy's a tosser! Every time he comes over, _they get into a fight!"_

" _Sounds unhealthy_. Why don't you just tell Kris that you don't like him?"

"You know how _teen love_ is!" the girl said, pointing her finger on her free hand at the bluenette, causing him to jump. "It's not that simple! He won't listen to me!"

"So... are you saying you want _me_ to tell him?" Ciel asked.

 _"If you would please?"_ the girl asked. "I don't like seeing him upset like this. It just breaks my heart!"

" _Fine..."_ The bluenette sighed, rubbing his forehead. "I'll... _try and think of something_... I'm really not the one suited for this sort of thing, though..."

"Maybe, but you can still enlist the help of the others, can't you?" Anastasia asked. "They'll listen to you. You've got that _'air of leadership'_ about you!"

"I'll try..." Ciel said. "I won't make any _promises,_ but I'll _try_."

"Good! Thanks a ton!" the girl said, putting her hands on the boy's shoulders briefly before walking away. She took a few steps before turning around and shouting: "And tell ' _the missus'_ that I said ' _hi'!"_ Thus, she disappeared into the sea of children in the cafeteria, leaving the bluentte feel awkward, embarrassed, and confused by her last comment. He turned and returned to his seat, rejoining the presence of the Sensational Seven.

 _"So what did Ana want?"_ asked Kristopherson, causing the bluenette's eyebrow twitch. There was no way that he could simply tell Kristopherson about what his conversation covered. He had to think of a lie, and fast.

 _"I heard everything."_ Alois said suddenly, causing the attention of the others turn to him.

"Oh yeah _, demons have really good hearing,_ don't they?" said Audrey, resting his chin in the palm of his hand. "So, what is it? Daniel's _about to die,_ so you might want to _hurry."_ Alois paused, taking in a deep breath, and building dramatic tension. With a straight face, he spoke.

 _"She said that she's dumping Daniel, and she just asked Ciel to marry her."_ he declared. It was an obvious lie, but the way he said it might get it confused with truth. The others snorted and snickered, and milk came out of the brown-haired politician's son's nose at the odd response.

" _She did not!"_ he protested. Wiping his face with the back of his hand before being handed a napkin by Kristopherson. "I dunno what she said, but it definately wasn't _that!"_

"Are you calling me a _liar_ , Westley?" the blonde menace asked with a smirk. _"She did, but Ciel turned her down, so she said that she'll just have to settle for you until someone better comes along."_

_"You're so full of shit!"_

* * *

 


	221. That Music Lover, Unknown

_And so, yet another day at Warwick Academy had come to a close. The children began to vacate the building, some getting into their cars, some getting into their family's cars, while others simply called taxi's . At this moment, the demonic duo took the journey from the school building to the Phantomhive car as an opportunity to converse upon the subject of their discoveries for that day._

_First, they knew that Heinrich Strumer was somehow out of the maximum security prison that he had been sent to, and was now after the bluenette's head. Secondly, that Kristopherson was having "guy troubles". It was nothing against Kristopherson, but the latter wasn't nearly as high on the lad's list of priorities as the return of Heinrich. They still cared for his well-being, but they couldn't do that while there was a deadly criminal on the lose in their school._

_At home, the bluenette sat behind his desk, searching the worldwide web for any news about an escape at any major prison, figuring he would find some helpful answers there. Alas, there was nothing, causing him to lean back in his chair and cross his arms in a huff. It made sense that they would want to keep that information under tight wraps, as they wouldn't want to cause the public to panic, or question the governments ability to contain such criminals, but the lack of information certainly wasn't helpful._

_Ciel picked up his phone and scrolled through the contacts, before coming across the one that he desired to call. He pressed the button and placed the device up against his ear. After listening to it ring a few times, the person on the other end finally picked up._

_"Hello?" they said._

_"Hello, Rupert? It's Phantomhive." Ciel replied. He was calling Sir Middford, seeing if he had any information to give him._

_"Ah, Ciel!" the jolly man on the other end of the phone said with a chuckle. "I haven't heard from you in a while! Up to no good again, are we?" he joked. Ciel only chortled._

_"Only the same amount as usual, Rupert." the demon-boy joked back. "Listen, I was wondering if you happened to know about any escapes from any maximum-security prisons, lately."_

_"Ah, of course. You never seem to call just to socialize, do you?" Sir Middford replied._

_"I'm sorry, maybe some other time." spoke the bluenette. "It's just that I've run into an 'old friend' lately, and it was my understanding that he had gone to prison."_

_"If only that were actually the case." the man said on the other end of the line. "You have a way with making enemies. Well, if that's the case, then I'll tell you what I know. It would appear that it wasn't so much of an 'escape', as it was a 'kidnapping'."_

_"'A kidnapping'?" the bluenette echoed. "So you're saying that the jail was broken into?"_

_"Yes. Supposedly, Strumer seemed to know just as much about what was happening as the guards did. When you saw him, was he alone?"_

_"He appeared to be." replied the bluenette._

_"Well, he probably isn't really." the man on the other end of the phone line said. "It would appear that he's been collaborating with someone else who also has a grudge against you. Any ideas?" The bluenette paused a moment before speaking._

_"Too many to possibly narrow it down." the boy replied._

_"Just out of curiosity, is Sir Integra on that list?"_

_"I never said that..." Ciel answered. "...out loud."_

_"Well, I certainly don't think it's her!" Sir Middford said with a laugh. "So there's one person off your list of suspects!"_

_"Probably one of the most menacing ones, too." the boy remarked. "Is there anything else worth noting about the incident?"_

_"Not that I can recall, and say with one-hundred percent certainty. Everything I have heard was by word of mouth, and you know how unreliable that can be."_

_"Indeed, I do, old friend." the boy said, looking up to see a pair of lads standing in his doorway. "I'm afraid I have to go. A certain pair of brothers is demanding my attention."_

_"I see. I know how that is." the man replied with a chuckle. "We'll have to go out to lunch sometime and catch up!"_

_"I'll be sure to take you up on that offer." the bluenette said. "Bye, Rupert."_

_"Until we meet again, Ciel!"_

_With that both gentlemen hung up. The bluenette then turned his attention to the Macken brothers, who had moved from the doorway to the couches in the Phantomhive's office. Both boy's were smiling at Ciel, much to his confusion._

_"Oh, so you do have other friends~!" spoke the blonde menace with a grin, teasing his bluenette compatriot._

_"It's just Sir Middford..." Ciel insisted, folding his hands on the desk in front of him. "Now, what is it?"_

_"Well, I didn't want to interrupt you, but Luka is absolutely dying to see what's inside this envelope." Alois said, holding up a large, yellow envelope with a stamp on it._

_"I was just gonna open it for you, but Sebastian said it was a 'feather-all offense'!" added Luka._

_"That's 'federal offense', Luka." corrected the blonde lad._

_"That makes even less sense, though!"_

_"Just give it here..." interrupted the bluenette, rubbing his temples in order to fight off a headache. He couldn't believe he had been interrupted over something so silly. Ciel stood up slightly, reaching across the desk in order to take the odd, yellow, paper container from the blonde menace before sitting back down again and beginning to tear the sealing. The two brothers simply stood on the other side and watched him, Luka standing on his tip-toes in order to get a better view._

_"A CD?" Ciel said aloud, pulling the small disc out of the bag and holding it up for the others to see._

_"Cool!" Luka exclaimed excitedly. "Wait, what's a 'CD'? Is it like a toy? Is it a game?"_

_"It means 'compact disc'." Ciel explained. "It stores data from a computer. Most of the time, it's music."_

_"So, what's on it?" asked the blonde._

_"I don't know. It doesn't have a label." the bluenette replied, turning over the small, disposable packaging that sealed the burned CD. When he did, however, he saw some writing._

_"'WHEN IN ROME...'" it read. It was most likely referring to the phrase "When in Rome, do as the Romans do", yet the phrase didn't call anything in particular to mind._

_Ciel removed the packaging and put the disc into the CD drive on his computer, in order to see what was on it. It immediately wanted to pull up his media player, so he simply assumed that it was music. He turned up the volume so that they trio could actually hear it, before glancing over the yellow envelope, looking for a return address, but it didn't appear to have one. It was then that the music, floating softly in the background, began to register in his mind. He recognized the song._

_"Fly me to the moon and let me play among the stars._

_Let me see what spring is like on Jupiter and Mars._

_In other words, hold my hand._

_In other words, darling kiss me."_

_The song was called "Fly Me To The Moon", originally known as "In Other Words". It was a popular song that had come out in the year 1954, and had many covers made by many artists made of it, but was originally sung by Kaye Ballard. That was the version that he was sent. But what Ciel wanted to know was: "why?"_

_"She sounds so pretty!" said Luka, resting his chin on the edge of the desk, and looking towards the futuristic machine._

_"So what's with the song?" asked Alois, knowing full-well that this was an extremely unusual occurrence._

_"I don't know, but I have a vague idea." replied the bluenette, looking away from the envelope in order to look up at the blonde. "I just called Sir Middford, and according to him, Heinrich was 'kidnapped' from prison, meaning that he isn't alone in his mission."_

_"So, what you're saying is: that one of your crazy old enemies has teamed up with him?" Alois asked._

_"Precisely, but as to 'who', I'm not sure." the bluenette said, leaning back in his chair and scratching his chin in thought._

_"But, whoever it is, has something to do with this song, and Rome, apparently." the blonde said, pointing at the envelope on the table._

_"Yes..." the bluenette said, thinking. "They also have to be very influential in order to get Heinrich his teaching position at Warwick..."_

_"Not ringing any bells?"_

_"None at all."_

* * *

 


	222. I Know You From Somewhere

Warwick Academy; a school of such prestige, that it can hardly be rivaled by any other in the entirety of the United Kingdom. It is the setting for our story today, as the demonic duo walk up to the doors, and with a mighty pull of the handle, are admitted entrance so that they may join their friends in their first class. At the moment, however, the demonic duo isn't our main focus.

No, it is yet another lad, peering down at them as they cross the school's lush lawn before entering from his place in the Headmaster's office, standing in front of the window with a smile. The lad wore a standard Warwick uniform, like many students, but instead of a solid-coloured tie, he wore a spotted one, but this wasn't the only oddity about his appearance. He wore a black glove on his left hand, and had short, purplish-pink hair, lazily parted slightly off-center so that he could see through his spectacles.

_"Fly me to the moon and let me play among the stars._

_Let me see what spring is like on Jupiter and Mars._

_In other words, hold my hand._

_In other words, darling kiss me..."_

"Are you still singing that song, Murdock?" asked the headmaster as he walked in, capturing the boy's attention.

"Yeah." the boy replied, scratching the back of his head. "It's really stuck in my head."

"Well, maybe you should stop singing, and actually go to class, for once?" the head master said. "I can't do you favours, even if I'm your uncle, you know."

"Fine. I'll go." the boy said with a sigh, reluctantly turning away from his view of the lawn. "I have people I need to talk to anyway."

"Friends of yours?"

"No; we're just working on a little 'project' together, is all." the boy said with a smirk as he left the office, closing the door behind him.

Meanwhile, elsewhere in the building, the Sensational Seven were conversing as usual. Daniel was cracking dirty jokes, and the others debunked him, or simply called him an idiot. While the others taunted one another back and forth, Travis said nothing. He listened intently to the conversation at hand, taking in every detail. He also noticed someone he had never seen before, an odd-looking boy with purplish-pink hair, walk into the classroom. He didn't feel the need to bring it up, knowing that if it was anything important, one of the others would pick up on it and say something. They never did, so he never brought it up. Instead, the Sensational Seven continued to playfully jab at each other.

"Hey Kris, did something happen to your phone, or something?" asked Preston.

"No, why?" replied the boy in the pink tie, arching an eyebrow.

"I dunno. I just haven't seen you take it out as often, is all." replied the Omid boy.

"Yeah, you used to take it out and text so often that it was obnoxious." Daniel added, being the leading expert on being obnoxious. The others watched as the faux-blonde's face turn a subtle shade of pink as he furrowed his brow.

"Maybe I just don't want to waste my battery?" he said defensively. Ciel and Alois knew the actual reason from listening to the boy's sister, but weren't the only ones for long, as a smirk grew on Daniel's face.

"Aw, having relationship troubles, Kris?" he teased, wriggling his eyebrows. The only thing he earned from the boy was a punch to the shoulder, instead of any real answer.

"Shut up." Kristopherson commanded. "It's none of your business."

"Oh! So I was right!" the brown-haired boy declared. "You only started that texting thing after hanging out with Cameron, so since you've stopped texting, you and Cameron have been having problems, right?"

"That... That was a strangely logical deduction..." said Preston, surprised at the Westley boy.

"Everyone, stay back." warned Audrey. "Daniel has been replaced by body-snatchers."

"Like I said, it's none of your business..." Kristopherson insisted. "You guys don't have to worry about it."

"Why not? We're your friends, mate. Friends help each other with this sort of thing." said Audrey, brushing his bangs out of his face slightly so he could see better. "Except for Daniel. He just wants a chance to act like a prick."

"I do not!"

Kristopherson hesitated for a moment. He shifted in his seat uncomfortably, carefully gauging the reactions of the others. Whit a sigh, he finally opened his mouth to speak.

"Well, lately... he's been insisting that I stop hanging out with you guys..." he said, causing the others to raise their eyebrows, or even jump in surprise.

"What?! Why?!" demanded Daniel.

"I don't know." replied the faux-blonde. "He won't tell me 'why', specifically. He keeps going on about how you're 'dangerous'."

"How many times has he actually talked to us? He doesn't even know!" shouted Daniel, standing up. Audrey put his hand on the politician's son's shoulder and forced him back into his seat.

"Stop making a scene, Dan." said the boy in the skull beanie.

"That's pretty manipulative." spoke Alois, and he would know. Manipulation was something he was very good at. "I'd suggest either counseling, or reconsidering your choice of men."

"He's not a bad guy!" Kristopherson insisted. "He's just worried, is all..."

"Perhaps..." began the Phantomhive boy. "Kristopherson, out of curiosity, what does he say about us?"

"I don't know, he just says you're 'dangerous'!" said the boy in the pink tie, furrowing his brow and crossing his arms. "Especially you and Alois. Whenever I ask him to explain himself, he won't... tell me... why..." He trailed off as an idea dawned on him. He looked back up at the bluenette, his face worried.

"You don't think Cameron found out, do you?" he asked, a hint of concern in his voice. Ciel simply remained silent for a moment.

"It's possible." spoke the Phantomhive lad. "He was at that game with Tamworth, the one where the bomb went off, so who knows what he actually saw?"

The others shuddered, remembering that game. There was a long, uncomfortable silence in the air, crowding the seven's personal space. It was like they all wanted to say something, but either didn't know what to say, or were too afraid to do so. Finally, it was Kristopherson who broke the accursed silence.

"So... what should I do?" he asked.

"Who knows? You could try to negotiate with him, or ignore him, or something..." said Daniel, pointing out the obvious.

"Maybe you could just show him that we're not 'dangerous'?" suggested Audrey. "After all, seeing is believing, right?"

"Do you seriously want to hang out with him?" asked Daniel, arching an eyebrow.

"I seriously don't think that-" Ciel's thought was cut off as he heard something. Whistling.

He heard whistling, but that wasn't what really caught his attention. It was the tune. That familiar tune that he had received in the mail.

He looked up, and around the room, searching for the source of the tune, while ignoring the stares and questioning of the other lads. Alois did the same, and when he found it, he tapped the bluenette on the shoulder, alerting him, before pointing in the direction that the sound was coming from.

"Who's that?" Ciel asked, arching an eyebrow and relaxing in his seat, all while never moving his eye away from the odd-looking boy who was whistling the tune.

"Huh? Who knows?" said Daniel. "Must've enrolled this year, 'cause I certainly don't remember him."

"That's Murdock Springfield." said the group's resident reaper. He knew almost everything about almost everyone at Warwick, so naturally, he knows who all the new students are, along with some basic information on them. "No one knows what his parents do for a living, so no one is entirely sure how he got into Warwick. He seems close to the Headmaster, but he's hardly ever in class. People say that it's because he has a weak body. He also quite likes that tune."

"Good show." said Alois. "Looks like we owe you a pixie stick."

"I'll put it on your tab." the boy in the skull beanie jokingly replied. "So, why the curiosity, Ciel?"

Even though everyone else heard Audrey ask, Ciel did not. The bluenette was too busy staring at that strange-looking boy with purplish-pink hair and glasses as the name echoed in his mind. "Murdock Springfield". He had heard that name before. He blinked when the boy met his gaze, and offered him a smile that was more of a smirk, than anything. Ciel's eye widened.

It was then that the bluenette remembered what had happened in Rome.

 


	223. 1955

The year was 1955; only a decade after the second World War. At the time, Ciel had made his big return back to London only a few years prior, and was still slightly fresh to the way that modern shadow organizations worked. He was displeased with the mission he had been given.

Rome; ancient city rich with culture and history. Yet he was not here on vacation. No, he was strictly there on business. You see, this was one of the bluenette's first international missions, which wasn't what he minded. No, it certainly wasn't the travel. It was the mission itself. You see, the Guard-Dog was sent in order to protect a holy artifact that resided within the Vatican headquarters within the city, yet this wasn't what had bothered him, even with his demonity. What had bothered him, was that he was being sent straight into the heart of one of the greatest anti-freak organizations in history: The Iscariot Organization.

Controlled by the Vatican, The Iscariot Organization, also known as "Vatican Section XIII", officially does not "exist". It is far more secret than H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G., and unlike H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G., Section XIII does not use supernatural beings to combat the unholy. In fact, they have zero-tolerance for supernatural beings of any kind. They are to be terminated on sight by one of their incredibly skilled operatives. The only supernatural that they like, is a dead one. That said, divine beings such a Angels, or Grim Reapers are accepted, as they are "fellow messengers of God."

They also do not like Protestants, or really, Britain in general, being predominantly so. The Iscariot Organizations loathes the British, and loathes the "unholy". The only thing that Section XIII despises more than either of those two things is a British supernatural-being, especially a demon. Naturally, the Phantomhive boy didn't like this mission, as it seemed to him that the Round Table was obviously trying to kill him off.

His mission was to protect a certain "holy artifact" from a group of self-proclaimed, "treasure hunters". The group in question, originating from the United Kingdom, was bound to further ruin any existing relations between the two if caught. In fact, due to the shear importance of this artifact, it wouldn't be surprising at all if war broke out as a result of it's theft.

Naturally, whoever this group was, they were fools. They were fools for messing with such a powerful organization. They were fools for going after a supposedly "holy" artifact. They were fools for thinking that they could possibly sell such a thing. They were fools for going up against Ciel Phantomhive, most of all.

"Hey, hey Murdock." said one of the men. They had somehow miraculously sneaked past guard, after guard, after guard, and managed to get on the roof, just above what they were looking for."You ready?"

There was another man with the first, crouched down, unscrewing the vent on the roof so that they could slip inside and take the "treasure". This man looked to be in his early thirties, with short, brown hair, lazily parted in the middle, and wore glasses. After a while, he took the flashlight that he was holding in his mouth out, gaining access to both of his hands once more after moving the vent. This man looked up at the other and smiled.

"Of course I am!" he said, wiping off the handle of the flashlight on his shirt before handing it to the other man. "After you."

"Gee, thanks." said the first man, taking the small source of illumination before crawling inside the small opening in the roof. "Follow me, then."

After a few minutes, the pair were starting to become claustrophobic. They were trapped within the confines of the metal walls that only a few feet tall, and a few feet wide/ It wasn't even big enough for one to sit up in. Even though they were in the air conditioning system, they were still sweating. They were tired, scared, and excited all at the same time.

"Hey, Murdock!" called the first man in a hushed tone.

"Yeah?"

"Quit whistling! You'll get us caught, you pillock!"

"Oh, sorry..."

At long last, they reached their prize. It was in sight, on a pedestal in the center of an extravagant room; one of the legendary holy weapons lied in that beautiful, yet small box before them. While such an otherwise ordinary object would otherwise never be worth such trouble, these were special. What these so-called "treasure-hunters" were after, were silver coins-, Thirty of them, to be exact. These coins were the coins that were paid to Judas Iscariot himself when he betrayed Jesus Christ.

There are several divine weapons such as this, like Helena's Nail. A nail that was said to have come straight from the True Cross, the cross on which Jesus was crucified upon. This nail would later be used in the year 1999, by a member of Iscariot in order to defeat H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G.'s ultimate weapon, but alas, that is a story for another time.

Whoever possesses those coins would become a living weapon. They would become immortal, invincible, and gain power beyond belief, as with any holy weapon. That is why it was worth it to try and steal them, to these men. They took a moment to stare at the box a while longer, before speaking.

"Do you think Richie turned off the cameras yet?" asked Murdock, unable to see past the other man.

"Yeah, I think so." his accomplice replied. "The red lights aren't blinking. Let's go!"

With that, the treasure hunters ventured onward, dropping from the opening and onto the ground, their shoes making a small clicking noise against the hard floor. They slowly, and stealthily approached the box, arms outstretched, eager to take it and run. They were interrupted by the lights suddenly coming on. The two men looked around, panicking, but seeing nothing.

"You shouldn't take things that don't belong to you, you know." said a voice-, the voice of a boy. "You could get in serious trouble."

The men were relieved when they saw the bluenette, believing him to not be a threat. They both let out a sigh of relief.

"It's just a kid." said Murdock. "You wanna take care of him while I grab the box?"

"Sure thing." said Murdock's accomplice, pulling out a knife. He walked closer while the other man walked toward the box.

"Fly me to the moon and let me play among the stars.

Let me see what spring is like on Jupiter and Mars.

In other words, hold my hand.

In other words, darling kiss me..." he sang, in a hushed tone as he reached for the box. He stopped when it occurred to him that he could no longer hear his friend.

"Roger?" he called, turning around. "Did you take care of the ki-" His eyes widened and his jaw dropped when he saw his friend lying on the floor, dead. The bluenette was still, there, as was another man, who was rummaging through his friend's pockets.

"Here it is..." Sebastian said, pulling out the deceased's passport and identification.

"Good, destroy them when we're done here..." the bluenette ordered. "We can't have these two being traced." Murdock fully turned, his back facing the pedestal.

"R-Roger..." he said, his voice quaking with fear.

"Don't worry." said the butler in a soothing voice. He wore a smile, and pulled out a set of knives. "You'll be joining him soon."

Murdock backed up as far as he could, the edge of the table digging into his back as the man clad in black slowly approached him. He stood there, shaking for a moment, before his fight or flight response finally kicked in. Murdock turned again, now facing the box. Quickly, he picked it up, preparing to run, but then something completely unexpected happened.

The box exploded.

The two demons stood, surprised for a moment, before their senses returned to them. They saw the man lying on the floor, his chest completely dyed red, sweating as he gasped and choked for air. Calmly, Sebastian walked over to the man, and dug in his pockets as he shook violently, before pulling out the man's passport and identification.

"What do you want me to do, my lord?" asked the butler. "It would appear that he's going to die soon."

"Finish it." the bluenette ordered, and with a smile, Sebastian made his reply.

"Yes, my lord."

Everything went black for poor Murdock as the knife pierced his flesh. He wouldn't be able to hear his favourite song ever again, would he? The butler stood up, looking over the man's identification.

"'Murdock Springfield'." he read aloud. "Quite the odd-sounding name, don't you think?"

"It sounds fake." the Phantomhive boy replied, turning to leave. "Come, someone must have heard the explosion. It's time we make our exit."

"Yes, my lord." replied the butler, disappearing into the shadows with his master. The only thing that lit the duo's escape was the moon shining over head, and the only sound that was heard, was a faint, almost wheezing whisper.

_"Fly... me to... the moon... and... let me... play... among the stars..._

_Let... me see what spring... is like... on Jupiter... and Mars._

_In... other words... hold... my hand..._

_In other words... darling... kiss... me..."_

 


	224. It All Begins To Come Together

"Damn..." said Preston, now having lost his appetite. "That's cold-blooded..."

Several class periods later, during lunch, the bluenette recounted to the others the events that took place in Rome about fifty-eight years ago; how he killed Murdock and his crew-, or so he had thought. Now, it would appear that the man was back, although different before, in appearance. The bluenette, however, had given some thought as to how.

"It was just a job." he said flatly. "What's done is done; we can't change it. Regardless, whatever it is that's keeping him alive and youthful must not be taken lightly."

"Do you think it was the coins?" Alois asked, looking at the bluenette with deep interest. He, for one, actually enjoyed the story. "When he set off the booby trap and the box exploded, do you think they could've like, been embedded in his chest, or something?"

"My thoughts exactly." Ciel replied. "If the legends about those artifacts are true, Murdock is now a living weapon. You all have to stay away from him-"

"Ciel Phantomhive, please report to the headmaster's office." interrupted a voice over the school intercom.

"Think that has something to do with this?" asked Kristopherson.

"I bet so, since he's apparently bros with the headmaster." said Audrey. However, in response to the message, Ciel smiled as he stood up.

"Sounds like a challenge, to me." he said with a defiant smirk.

While he didn't know much about Murdock, judging by his actions thus far, he likes to play mind-games, taunting and teasing his opponent as he cleverly closed in. From this, Ciel knew that this was going to be interesting. He bid his friends goodbye and turned to walk out of the cafeteria and down the lonesome halls of Warwick in order to confront his new opponent. He didn't get far, however, before he noticed that he was being followed.

"What are you doing?" he asked, stopping to allow the blonde menace to catch up.

"Coming with you." Alois replied, prancing up alongside the bluenette as the other boy began to walk again. "What does it look like I'm doing?"

"I'm going to assume that telling you that I want you nowhere near this person will be pointless, correct?" Ciel asked, already knowing the answer.

"Naturally." answered the blonde, keeping pace with the Phantomhive lad. "Besides, it's my fight too, you know. I was there to help you kill Beatie, and I was also killed Heinrich's friend. Since he's involved in this, I am too."

"That's some impressive un-logic, there."

"I try."

"You would come along even if Heinrich wasn't involved, wouldn't you?"

"Of course."

Ciel chuckled at the blonde's silliness before stopping in front of the door to the office, where the actual door to the headmaster's lair was guarded by the secretary. The bluenette turned the doorknob and stepped inside, followed by the blonde soon after. They both looked up, wide-eyed at the person sitting in the secretary's seat, taking phone-calls from parents, and working the intercom. The woman was fair-skinned, with straight, white hair that ended at her shoulders, and gentle-yet-stern, amethyst eyes. She held a familiar type of presence to the demonic duo. One that they wouldn't forget. They tried their best to not glare menacingly at the woman as she waved them in, indicating that they may proceed ot the headmaster's office. The lads paused to look at each other for a moment before hesitantly venturing onward into the dangerous citadel where their enemies were most likely lying in wait.

"Oh, welcome~!" said the pleasant voice of a lad who appeared to be as old as they did, seated behind the headmasters in a relaxed sort of manner. Murdock sat with a wide smile, warmly welcoming the other boys while Heinrich stood off to the side, glaring at them with hateful eyes. "Come in! Please, do have a seat!"

"We'd rather stand, thanks." the bluenette replied coldly, placing his hands behind his back, and straightening his posture. The boy with the odd, purplish-pink hair simply shrugged.

"Please yourself, then." he replied, propping his feet up on the desk, his almost fox-like grin never wavering. "It's been a long time, hasn't it? Do you remember me, Phantomhive, because I certainly remember you."

"Murdock Springfield: Member of the British group of 'treasure-hunters' known as 'El Dorado'." answered the bluenette. "We last met in Rome while you tried to steal the thirty silver coins supposedly paid to Judas Iscariot when he betrayed Christ to sell for a profit. My mission was to exterminate you and your team in order to make sure that already sour ties with the United Kingdom and the Vatican were not further worsened."

"Oh, so you did remember!" replied Murdock. "I'm flattered."

"Let me guess: the legends about the coins giving 'immortality' were true, and are now embedded in your chest due to the explosion that occurred after you set off the booby trap..." the bluenette said, not even pausing to take in a breath. Alois watched him as he spoke to see if he would soon, be he never did, and thus the bluenette continued to speak. ",,,And now you want revenge, correct?"

"Mmm... More or less..." the former treasure-hunter replied, humming. "You're wrong about a few things." The demonic duo's faces twitched for a moment, confused at what the other boy was doing. Murdock removed his spotted tie, tossing it somewhere to the floor before beginning to slowly unbutton his dress-shirt as he spoke.

"Firstly, I don't have all thirty coins. I only have seven..." he continued, never allowing his lifeless, green eyes wander away from the duo as he continued to move his hands. "...and secondly, I don't want revenge for immortality. No, that is a gift. What I want revenge for, is this."

He undid the final button, revealing his chest and torso to the duo, who's faces held a certain amount of surprise, horror, and disgust all at the same time. They could see slight glimpses of silver peeking out where the skin had not healed from his wounds, but that wasn't what had them so revolted. It was the visible, vein-like structures that were spreading out across the boy's body from the wounds, raising the skin in a sickly-looking manner. These things were obviously not veins, however, as they did not move in a pulsating sort of manner. Instead, the wriggled and squirmed, as if his body contained serpents. Murdock furrowed his brow, yet his fox-like gin never wavered.

"Appalling, isn't it?" he asked, snapping the demons back to reality. "The disfigurement, I could live with. It's the excruciating pain that I must now endure at all hours that I cannot. These aren't veins. They're vines; moving, thorn-ridden vines that spread throughout my body and tear me apart and put me back together every single moment."

"This is apparently what happens when you don't have all of the coins. No, every time I move, every time a breathe, thorns tear open a new wound before healing it back up, only to tear it back open moments later." Murdock continued, wincing slightly as he stood up. He looked ill, though, according to Audrey, he was said to be "sickly". Now, the boys knew why. "That is why I will never forgive you; why I will follow you to the ends of the earth, if I have to, just to end your life, as I cannot end mine."

"So that's it?" asked the bluenette. "That's why you recruited Heinrich? I suppose the angel outside is your doing, too? That's how you manipulated the headmaster, isn't it? You had her rewrite his cinematic record, didn't you?"

"To be fair, I still have one other operative, but that's neither here, nor there." replied Murdock. "To answer your questions, the answer to all of them is 'yes'. You see, since I lack the rest of the coins, my 'immortality' isn't quite so. I require energy in order to continue regenerating, which, just in case you're wondering, is the reason for my unusually youthful appearance. My cells are constantly regenerating, and so I have a specific diet, similar to yours, actually, but not quite."

"You eat demon souls?!" demanded Alois.

"Bob's your uncle! In other words: you're absolutely correct." The demonic duo jumped when the door behind them suddenly opened, the angel from before now blocking their only exit. They turned back to Murdock, as he smiled in a mocking manner. He continued. "Miss Clark, would you care to request the friends of these two gentlemen as Mr Strumer and I escort them outside?"

"With pleasure, sir." the angel, apparently known as "Miss Clark" answered. She waited until Heinrich was armed before moving back to her desk to call the rest of the Sensational Seven over the intercom. "Kristopherson Miles, Audrey Baines, Daniel Westley, Preston Omid, and Travis Sullivan, please report to the Rugby Field at this time."

"Leave them out of this, Murdock!" the bluenette commanded with a snarl. He grit his teeth when the man chuckled.

"But they're already involved, Ciel!" he said, buttoning his shirt back up. "My revenge wouldn't be complete if they weren't there!"

"Why the Rugby Field, though?" Alois asked.

"Proper scenery, of course!" Murdock answered. "My other associate has bad memories of that place, and it would only be fitting for him to achieve his revenge there as well! Speaking of which, Miss Clark, could you please go get him, please? I know it's a school day, but he certainly wouldn't want to miss out." Ciel thought about that for a moment. Not long, but he still thought about it. His eye widened before he spoke.

"You didn't..." he said, causing the deranged, former treasure-hunter's smile to widen.

"Oh, I most certainly did."

 


	225. Rugby Field Turned Battlefield

"Why the hell did they ask us to come out here instead of the office?" asked Preston, suspicious as he and the others sat in the bleachers on the "home" side of Warwick Academy's rugby field.

"I dunno, but I've got a bad feeling about this..." answered Audrey, staring out at the field itself. Suddenly, Kristopherson jerked into alertness, causing the others to follow his eyes.

"Is that... Ciel and Alois?" he asked, pointing to the opposite side of the field.

"Looks like it." answered Travis. "Looks like they're in major trouble, too."

"Hey, is that Mr. Strumer?" asked Preston. "With a gun?!"

"And Murdock, too." said Audrey. "So, what's the plan?"

"We go and help them out, that's what!" declared Daniel, standing up.

"Are you stupid?!" asked Kristopherson. "Don't answer that. I already know."

"Kris is right. You heard Ciel. He said that we should stay away from those two." said Preston. "Mr. Strumer is deadly with knife-guns, and Murdock is a 'living weapon'. What are we supposed to do against that?" The Westley boy paused for a moment and thought, scratching his chin.

"Hey, Bones, don't you have like, some sort of special, Grim Reaper-powers that can help us out?" he asked.

"Nope." said Audrey, leaning forward and putting his weight on his knees by resting his elbows on them as he watched the demonic duo being lead onto the field at gunpoint. "I'm stronger than most humans, but that won't help me any if I'm shot or cut to ribbons before I can even land a punch."

Ciel and Alois were their friends. They worried about them. They were powerless to help them out, however. Here they were, given access to a world that no other human knew about, and yet they couldn't do a thing with it. They couldn't intervene without getting killed, so they couldn't help their friends. A worrisome, sad feeling arose, as they continuously failed to come up with any ideas. Finally, Audrey got an idea. If they couldn't help, they knew someone who could.

Bones immediately pulled out his cellphone and began texting, rapidly moving his thumbs to convey the situation to their only hope. The other lads watched curiously as he did this, occasionally looking away to check on the situation on the field. Finally, the boy in the skull beanie pressed sent, hoping that his message wouldn't be received a minute too late.

"Who did you text?" asked Preston, arching an eyebrow.

"No one special." replied Audrey. "just one hell of a butler." The others smiled, understanding what he meant by that, and turned their attention back to the demonic duo.

"So, why invite them here?" demanded Ciel, gesturing to the rest of the Sensational Seven.

"Hmm? Oh, just to make sure you suffer emotionally before I kill you." Murdock replied with a smile. "All of your friends are going to find out what you really are, and shun you. You'll die hated by the people you care about." Alois smiled, looking to the bluenette, finding the former treasure-hunter's mistake to be funny, but Ciel simply shook his head at him, silently telling him not to reveal the man's blunder just yet. Thus, Alois forced his smile away, eagerly awaiting how the boy was going to get them out of this.

"Murdock, I didn't intend for you to suffer all of this time." Ciel said instead, withholding information from the cursed boy. "I know that there's no reasoning with you at this point; I know what it's like to single-mindedly seek revenge; but you can't just do this to them. They shouldn't be a part of this! It's not right!"

"Oh, Ciel, you know better than anyone that sacrifices must be made for a higher cause." Murdock replied, pleased that the bluenette was supposedly distraught by the thought. "You sacrificed my both myself and my crew for your country, and now, I will sacrifice your life, your reputation, and your friend's concept of reality for myself, and for every other person you've made suffer." His smile widened, showing more teeth. "Amen."

Murdock's insane smile faded into more of a smirk when he saw the arrival of his associates out of the corner of his eye. He turned to get a better look, watching as the bluenette's friends took notice of their presence. The angel, and another familiar face.

"Oh, it looks like we'll be able to get the party started soon~!" he said in a playful tone. The bluenette followed Murdock's eyes, and watched as his friends reacted to the arrival of the new combatants. The first was named Myrtle Clark, an angel who held no grudge against Ciel, but served "the living holy weapon", Murdock Springfield, and the second, was none other than Kristopherson's current boyfriend, Cameron Gully. His fear from earlier had been realized.

"Cameron?!" Kristopherson shouted in surprise upon seeing the blonde Tamworthian. He stood up and asked: "What are you doing here?!"

"What am I doing here?!" retorted the Gully boy. "Never mind that, what are you doing here?! I told you to stay away from those two!" Kristopherson furrowed his brow.

"I go to school here, and 'those two' are my friends." he said, his tone cross.

"You're only still friends with them because you don't know what they really are!" Cameron shouted. "I'm here to make sure they pay for what they did to my school!"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, let's all just calm down here, for a second." said Audrey, standing up and putting his hands up defensively. "We can work this out, let's just talk. Cameron, I'm just gonna go out on a limb here, and assume that you're talking about that game here. We saw what happened. We know that you care about your school, and that you're upset about what happened to the visitor's stand. We know that you want to make things right, but are you sure it was Ciel and Alois?"

"Don't play dumb! I know you're in on it too, freak!" the irate Tamworthian shouted, pointing his finger at the reaper-boy accusingly. "Murdock told me everything! He told me how they moved the bomb under the bleachers, and how you helped them do it! All three of you are monsters!"

"That's not the whole story, Cameron!" said Kristopherson. "I'm not going to just sit here and let you call my friends 'freaks', and just accuse them of shit!"

"Why won't you listen to me?!" demanded Cameron, clenching his fists. "Those three! They're not normal! They're not even human, Kris!" The boy in the pink tie simple crossed his arms and said:

"I know, and I don't care."

"They may be different, but that doesn't mean that they're bad people." said Travis, standing up.

"We all know what they really are, and it's just fine. They're our friends. It's just part of who they are." said Preston.

"Does any one else find it ironic that a gay is freaking out about people being 'different'?" Daniel's remark was met with questioning looks from the others. "What did I do!?"

"Don't you see that I'm just trying to protect you, Kris?!" Cameron asked, calling the attention of the faux-blonde back toward himself.

"Don't you see that I don't need protected?" asked Kristopherson, furrowing his brow at the other boy.

"Forget it. I'm done talking." Cameron said. He pulled out a gun, and pointed it at Audrey. "You'll thank me for this later."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" shouted Kristopherson.

"What the fuck, man?!" exclaimed Daniel.

"You don't want to do this!" called Preston.

"Put the gun down!" barked Travis. It was Audrey who said nothing. His eyes were wide as he stared down the barrel of the pistol in the Tamworthian's hands.

"If you've got the situation under control here, I'm going to assist Mr. Springfield." said Miss Clark, the angel who had given the boy the weapon in the first place. Calmly, she began to walk away toward the other group, standing in the middle of the field.

"Yeah, yeah." replied Cameron. "Just do whatever while I-"

He was cut off as the gun was knocked out of his hands. Audrey had moved quickly while the blonde was distracted, ducking out of his line of fire and knocking the weapon out of his grasp. With his H.E.L.L.S.I.G. training, he was able to knock the much brawnier boy to the ground, and grab his discarded weapon. Audrey moved in order to get a good shot at Murdock, but his path was blocked by the angel.

"I will not allow you to put my master in any greater pain than he is already in!" she said, her voice cross and her expression menacing. She lunged at the boy with killing intent, hands like the talons of a bird of prey. Yet, she was hindered by an unknown force, as she felt sharp pain in her shoulder. Upon further inspection, she discovered what appeared to be a silver butter-knife protruding from her injury.

"Oh dear. This is most embarrassing." said a voice from above. The others looked upward, toward it's source. The voice belonged to a man who was clad in black from head to toe. His shoes, his pants, his vest, his tie, his jacket, and even his hair were all black. His skin was fair, without a single blemish or imperfection, and his eyes were of garnet. He stood atop the announcer's booth, overlooking the action before he jumped down, joining the others. "I wanted to arrive much sooner, must finding a babysitter of such short notice took up much more time than I would have liked."

"Sebastian!" said Audrey, relieved by the man's presence. The butler smiled.

"Don't worry, boys. I've dealt with an angel or two in my time." he said, tugging slightly on his gloves so that they stayed on a bit better. "I'll be done here and help the young master in no time at all."

With that, he lunged at the angel, silverware in hand. His actions were almost mirrored by Miss Clark, who lunged in return, blocking his silverware with what appeared to be a metal ruler. Sparks flew as the two metal objects collided.

"I won't ever allow you to harm my master." the woman warned, furrowing her brow in anger. This was only returned with a smile.

"That may be so..." Sebastian replied. "...but I can't allow your master to harm mine."

"This is incredible!" declared Daniel, leaning on the railing of the Warwick stands. "We finally get to see one of these fights!" Kristopherson opened his mouth in order to get on to the silly son of a politician, but couldn't when he saw movement int he corner of his eye.

"Audrey! Look out!" he shouted, body instinctively moving. He jumped over the railing, landing on the grass that was only a few feet below as Bones turned around. He had been too focused on Sebastian's battle, that he had forgotten about Cameron.

He, along with the rest of the Sensational Seven, were genuinely surprised, however, when the Tamworthian rugby player was forced to the ground. Cameron's own force was used against him as he was grabbed by the arm and thrown over the shoulder of Audrey's unexpected savior, Kristopherson Miles. The faux-blonde then proceeded to force the brawny lad on his stomach and place his wrist behind his back, causing it to painfully twist whenever Cameron tried to get up. Kristopherson caught his breath before looking up at the reaper-boy.

"You alright?" he asked. Audrey simply blinked at the question.

"Whoa! Kris! THAT WAS FUCKING AWESOME!" shouted Daniel, dashing down the bleacher steps in order to join them, followed by the others.

"When did you learn how to do that?" asked Preston, watching as the faux-blonde was silently joined by Travis, who helped him pin the Tamworthian down.

"W-well, I... Uh..." Kristopherson began, blushing slightly. "...When I was eight, my dad signed me up for a jujitsu class... I quit after I got my black belt..."

"And you're only sixteen!?" asked Preston, knowing that most schools require that a person must be at least nineteen in order to receive that particular rank.

"Kristopherson's ass is safe!" shouted Daniel. "Ain't nobody gonna tap that!"

"What the fuck, Dan?!" asked the boy in the pink tie, his face almost matching his favourite colour.

"He's right, Dan. Talking about his ass like that is pretty damn gay." said Audrey, staring out on the rugby field-turned-battlefield.

"I am not!" Daniel snapped.

"That's what I used to say..." said Kristopherson.

"Shut up! It was a joke! You hear me?! A JOKE!"

 


	226. Revelations

_"Aw~!"_ whined Murdock, looking at the commotion that was occurring closer to the bleachers. "They _knew_. _That's no fun..."_

"Too bad. You should have done better research." replied the bluenette with a smirk.

"It's quite difficult to do so on a person who has spent several lifetimes covering their tracks." Murdock remarked, turning his attention back to the Phantomhive boy. "All I had to go on were urban legends and the information from a _very flamboyant Grim Reaper..."_

That made sense. How else could he have known about the incident at the Warwick versus Tamworth game? While the former treasure hunter couldn't come across Ciel Phantomhive himself, he was able to come across people who knew him. That's how he found Heinrich, and how he found Cameron. With a little manipulation, he was able to retrieve information from a certain red-headed reaper, who just happened to be at that particular rugby game. It was easy on Murdock's part, but he was careless, as always. He didn't check to see if the Phantomhive boy was armed.

"This is getting absurd. Let's just end this." Ciel said, reaching into his blazer and brandishing his signature anti-freak pistol. In response, Heinrich aimed his weapons at the bluenette, who aimed his gun at Murdock. All the deranged boy in the spotted tie did, was whistle a single note, as if impressed.

"Have a bit a temper, do we?" he asked with a smile. "I wouldn't try it, Phantomhive. Those guns that Mr. Strumer posses currently aren't the same as the ones that he fought you with last time."

"You're not the only one with access to anti-freak technology, 'Guard-Dog'." Heinrich said with a smirk, never breaking his fighting stance. "Meet Romulus and Remus, my guns. They fire nine millimeter Parabellum bullets, all magnesium-tipped, coated in silver, and blessed, just like the 'bayonets' on the barrels. It's going to hurt a hell of a lot worse when I shoot and cut you, now!" he boasted, yet his smirk wavered when the bluenette chuckled at him.

"That's all fine and dandy if you were up against a vampire, or a werewolf, 'War-Dog', but demons, are an entirely different class." he smiled, turning his head slightly to look down on the German. "Things like crucifixes, silver, and holy water don't work on us. You all should have done better research."

Without another word, Heinrich's legs muscles tensed before propelling him forward toward the bluenette. He swung his arm at the boy, slashing while shooting, but the boy only dodged the bullet while stepping out of the way of the man's attacks. Ciel got a good look at Heinrich's face in the close proximity, seeing the shear anger, hatred, and sadness reflected in the man's emerald eyes. It was only for a fleeting moment, but he saw it. With the handle of his pistol, he struck the German in the face, causing him to stumble back a bit. When Heinrich looked up, there was a red mark where he hit, and blood dripped from his lips where they had been cut on his own teeth. If he was in pain, he didn't show it. Heinrich still maintained that image of loathing and determination. For some reason, the bluenette couldn't help but look at the man and smile a melancholic sort of smile.

"Victor would've been happy to see you so determined, Heinrich." he said, unfazed by the German's battle stance. "No, I'm sure he is happy to see it, yet somewhat sad to see you suffer."

"Don't you dare use his name so casually!" barked the "War-Dog", bearing his fangs. "Victor was a million times the man you will never be, demon!"

"How odd for you to say that, after all, Victor is now me." the bluentte said, eye glowing crimson as the German gave him a confused look while still maintaining his anger. "Victor's soul is, and will always be mine since the day he died. He came to me after saying goodbye to you, and told me to end his life. Since I'm a demon, I granted his wish."

"You... didn't..." Heinrich said weakly, his voice almost a whisper. He lowered his weapons for a brief moment to simply stare at the bluenette, wide-eyed.

"I did." Ciel replied, lowering his weapon as well. "I devoured Victor's soul. If you killed me, you would be killing Victor as well." The German furrowed his brow and grit his teeth, his mouth forming a pencil-thin line arched into a frown as he tightened his grip on his weapons. He knew what he had to do.

Quick as a whip, he raised his guns again and fired, his bullets piercing his target in almost every vital organ. He didn't lower them for a second, knowing that it wasn't likely that the boy would die from that. Heinrich had shot Murdock, shocking the demonic duo.

"I still hate you." he said to the bluenette, keeping his eyes locked on his target. "I will never forgive you for what you did to Johnathan and Victor. I will always despise you, no matter what, but still, I can't kill Victor. Consider yourself lucky."

"Right." said the bluenette, raising his weapon and aiming at the former treasure-hunter. "Alois, get ready!"

"Right-O!" answered the blonde menace, readying his own weapon, the Kaspar pistol, with a salute.

They knew that Heinrich's shots wouldn't kill Murdock, but that still didn't prepare them for what they saw. The boy with the purplish-pink hair smiled as blood trickled down his face from the hole in his forehead, and stained his uniform where the German had shot his torso. A chuckle bubbled up from the boy's throat before he began to regenerate. Those same thorny-vines that tore him apart at every moment sprouted from the flesh-wounds, pushing the bullets out of his body while intertwining and weaving together, forming new tissue. They were green, mixed with the dark crimson of his blood, and were simply covered in the stuff.

"That is so fucking gross..." Alois said, unconsciously lowering his weapon as he watched the scene.

"Focus, Alois." the bluenette reminded him, making him raise his weapon toward the now cackling boy, ready to fire.

"You know, it's scientifically proven that laughter can help dull pain." said Murdock, his voice grainy and strained. The vines started to finish patching him back up, smaller, fiber-like ones beginning to form the skin to cover the wounds."But even if I laugh all the time, it still hurts."

"I'm glad I get to fight you myself, though." he said, tensing his leg muscles and propelling him forward toward Heinrich. The German moved to dodge, successfully doing so with his absurd speed. That, however, changed when vines sprang forth from Murdock arm, tearing through his own flesh and uniform, before striking the War-Dog down. They sent him flying across the field, scratching his skin with their many thorns, only to land several yards away in a heap. Murdock smiled, turning his attention back to the wide-eyed bluenette.

"It wouldn't be any fun if I didn't take care of this personally."

 


	227. The Butler Did It

CLANG!

The sound of metal striking metal was heard as Sebastian fought with his designated foe, which was taking far longer than he would have liked. This angel wasn't going to be backing down any time soon. His silverware was useless, as the woman simply blocked it with her ruler.

He heard gunshots coming from elsewhere on the field, and turned to investigate, seeing that Heinrich was now somehow fighting with the demonic duo. However, he also observed the German getting sent flying before landing with a mighty thud. At least that was one less enemy that they had to worry about. He smiled at the thought.

Then, the butler's smile faded as he felt sharp pain, piercing his lungs. Sebastian looked down at his chest to discover that the angel had stabbed him with her metal ruler. He looked up to see her face, stern and unapologetic.

"You shouldn't allow yourself to get distracted so easily." she said, pulling her weapon out of the man's chest.

"You're absolutely right, miss." Sebastian replied, smiling as he clutched his injury. "I can assure you that it won't happen again."

With that, he threw some more of his knives, which were easily blocked by the angel's ruler. However, she didn't expect the man to charge her as she did, with all the speed and grace of a gazelle, and attack her at her side, which she left wide open.

The angel winced at the knife in her side, watching for a moment as it dyed a good portion of her white outfit crimson. She stumbled off of Sebastian's knife, and griped her side in order to stop the bleeding faster. Miss Clark looked up at the butler with angry eyes.

"You shouldn't get so distracted, either." the demon said with a grin.

"Why do you hinder me, demon?" the angel asked, standing up straight whilst still gripping her injury. "Your master is not human. You gain nothing from protecting him. Your demon-ethics do not apply here."

Sebastian actually had to stop and think about that. Even though he was ordered to stay by the bluenette's side until he devoured his soul; even if the boy was now a demon, he could still walk away, couldn't he? The only thing tying a demon to a contract are ethics and the desire to have an identity. An identity. Was that why Sebastian stayed?

"Sebastian" was only "Sebastian" if Ciel made him that way. Without the bluenette, the butler was no one. He was no one until he found another. Still, he had that as long as he was still tied to the boy, correct? Couldn't he simply walk away? The only thing tying them together was that contract, and it wasn't as though the black-butler was forced to do any of the things that Ciel told him to. Only ethics, and ethics could be ignored.

Yet there was something more to this, and Sebastian knew it. Admittedly, he had grown somewhat attached to the Phantomhive boy over the years, as though he were family. He didn't quite know why, but he still somehow cared for the bluenette. He cared for all of the residents of the Phantomhive house, actually. Even Alois, who was responsible for his imprisonment, was cared for, and not just because the Phantomhive boy did. Sebastian also held great fondness of Luka, and Charlotte, who was a former resident. He had taught those three personally, each responding in different ways, much to the man's intrigue. They were like his students, or even, his children, on some level. Yes, somewhere in his long empty demon's heart, he cared for all four of them, as if they were family. It was somewhat unnerving how very human that was of him.

Perhaps, after spending over a century in the guise of "Sebastian, the butler of Phantomhive", he indeed began to slowly take on this identity as his own. That was who he is now. Sebastian cared now, it was far too late for him to escape now.

"You wouldn't understand." he said with a smile, not quite sure how to even begin to explain himself. "Quite frankly, I don't believe it is any of your business in the first place."

"Very well then. Keep your secret." the woman replied. "You will serve your lord, and I will serve mine."

White wings sprouted from her back, yet still somehow miraculously managed not to ruin her clothes. Her angelic wings flexed a few times, preparing for battle, feathers rustling. Sebastian chuckled, noticing that they were quite small in comparison to most angel wings he had seen.

"Those don't look like they'll do you much good." he remarked, readying more knives. "How are you going to get yourself off the ground with those?"

"I'm not, because that isn't their purpose." the woman replied, giving the demon a mean expression.

"Then what are they for?"

The butler's question was answered when the woman suddenly appeared right in front of him, bringing a great gust of wind with her. They were for propelling her forward, not flight. His eyes widened for a moment in surprise before he came back to his senses. Miss Clark held her ruler in hand, and prepared to strike. Sebastian dodged, and not a moment too soon.

A loud boom was heard as she struck the air. It only lasted an instant, but everyone could see clear as day what extended from the angel's weapon in that short second; Lightening. Sebastian was almost struck with lightening of a divine nature, which would with no doubt harm him. His eyes widened as he watched the angel turn slowly, showing her face again to him.

Broad, golden lines spanned upward from her arms, and across her cheeks and forehead, reaching towards the luminescent halo that hovered over the crown of her head. This was no ordinary angel. This was a sort that Sebastian's eyes had never seen before in all of his time on this earth. Seeing this, she smiled.

"I'm not like other angels, Mister Michaelis. I'm a higher class." she said, pointing her ruler at the man. "I am an Archangel. Don't take me lightly."

Angels, like demons, exist to many religions, including Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. Within the documents created by these particular three, there were different classes of angels described. "Normal" angels, and Archangels. The archangels are more powerful than their lesser counterparts, making them far more formidable opponents. Their abilities varied, adding on to the standard skill sets of the more significantly divine, but this particular archangel could fire pure angelic energy in the form of lightening. As much as he hated to admit, this could prove to be problematic for Sebastian. If Miss Clark hit him in just the right location, she could actually be the death of him, and that simply would not do.

The Sensational Seven watched as the man got serious, taking a fighting stance, his face losing all sense of earlier playfulness. They completely began to ignore Cameron, as he has beginning to lose his strength. He simply couldn't fight either Kristopherson or Travis pinning him to the ground, and was thus rendered stationary.

"Get... Off... Me..." he whined, causing a few of the Warwick boys to glance at him briefly before turning back to the action on the field. They were all itching to join, somehow, so a few of them went out and dragged Heinrich out of harms way. Bones looked over the unconscious German to see if he was injured, having a little medical expertise due to his family's field of work. It would appear that Heinrich only seemed to have a minor concussion, along with a few scrapes and bruises. Cameron watched as the boy treated him, mostly by propping his head a certain way and keeping it still, but eventually, that got boring, and from his position on the ground, he couldn't even see any of the action taking place on the unlucky rugby field.

"C'mon, Kris, let me go..." he said again, getting the faux-blonde's attention.

"No, I'll let you back up when I damn well feel like it." Kristopherson replied, looking away from the boy.

"I was only trying to protect you..." the Tamworthian said.

"Well, some job you've done with that." said the boy in the pink tie. "You've only made things worse, getting us even more involved."

"I didn't know Murdock was going to bring you here!"

"And that suddenly makes trying to shoot my friends 'okay'!?" Kristopherson asked, looking down at the Tamworth boy, his tone angry. "I'm sorry, but on what fucking planet does that make sense?!"

"He's a Grim Reaper! The kind that kills people! Why the bloody hell would you want to be around that?!" Cameron asked.

"Excuse you, but that's not how Grim Reapers work. It's more of a job, than a species." Kristopherson said. "Moreover, it's not your job to decide who I want to hang out with, either."

"Come on, Kris, we can work this out. Let's just make things go back to normal..." Kristopherson paused, looking away from the other boy for a moment and shook his head before turning his gaze back to Cameron.

"Okay. When this is over, everything will be back to normal..." he said, giving the Tamworthian a condescending look. "...and it's going to be back to normal without you."

The rest of the boys looked at each other and tried their best not to laugh. So much for Kristopherson not being the "dominant" one. Their focus quickly shifted back to the field however, with the sound of thunder and a bright, sudden flash of light. Their eyes widened at the sight before them. Sebastian was collapsed on his knees, blood dripping from his lips and dying the clothes covering his stomach crimson. They wrinkled their noses at the smell of burnt flesh.

"Know your place, demon." spoke the archangel, straightening her posture. "You don't belong on earth. You belong beneath it. You're beneath me, and the humans, you weak, pitiful creature. You're too weak to stand without a human master, and the fact that you have a master of one of your own kind makes you all the more pathetic."

Sebastian coughed, straining to look up at the angel. His vision was blurred, and his body felt numb from the electric current. He furrowed his brow, listening to the woman's harsh words. A strange feeling bubbled up inside of him that he hadn't felt in a long, long time. Sebastian was angry.

"You're wrong..." he said weakly, his voice strained, almost a whisper. "The young master... isn't like any demon you know of..." He placed his hand on the ground, pushing his knuckles against the earth in and attempt to force himself upward into a standing position. "It's unheard of... A demon that genuinely acts as if he were human..."

"You're the one who is weak." he continued, grunting and wincing as he stood, clutching his stomach. "You follow a psychopath simply because he has a few coins..."

"He is a divine instrument of God! He is worthy of being followed!" Miss Clark replied, her tone angry.

"Is that so? You could have fooled me... His actions aren't holy in the slightest..." Sebastian said, his ability to see returning. "You're breaking several commandments, here. 'Thou shalt not kill', and, oh yes, 'Thou shalt have no gods before me'? You aren't any better than me. In fact, you're a hypocrite, and a bad one."

"Enough talk!" the archangel shouted, raising her weapon. "This ends now!"

A loud bang was heard, echoing throughout the field. Miss Clark felt a piercing pain in her hand, and she dropped her ruler. She turned her head to the sidelines, so see Audrey standing there with the gun that he had taken from Cameron.

Before she could react, the reaper-boy fired several more shots, emptying the clip into her being and dying her crimson. She took a few steps back, furrowing her brow, outraged by the boy's feeble attempts at killing her. She looked back up at him, arched over and clutching at her wounds, but before she could utter a single threat, the boy had ditched Cameron's gun, and picked up one of Heinrich's, before firing again. When that one was empty, he picked up the man's other gun and used that.

"You insolent brat!" she screamed when the boy finally stopped firing, as he took a magazine from one of Heinrich's leg-pockets and reloaded the weapon in his possession, before putting it off to the side and doing the same with it's twin. "There's no way those pathetic human-made weapons could have any effect on me!"

"I didn't expect it to." Audrey replied, pushing the safety button on the gun in his hand. "I was just distracting you."

The archangel's eyes went wide for a moment before she felt a horrifying amount of pain. She screamed in agony as Sebastian stood right next to her now, gritting his teeth with sweat accumulating on his furrowed brow from the pain in his hand. Light flashed, sparks flew, and his hand burned and bled as he gripped the angel's halo. He summoned his remaining strength and ripped it away from it's position atop the archangel's head, causing it to shatter into countless pieces.

Sebastian cocked back his good hand, and propelled it forward, piercing the angel's chest, right where her heart was. He pulled it away again, leaving the woman to gape at her wound, wide eyed, mouth open with blood dripping from her lips. Miss Clark fell to her knees, before collapsing into a heap, devoid of life.

"Rest in peace..." the butler uttered before falling over himself. He would just have to hope that the demonic duo could handle themselves on their own as he was carefully dragged off the field by the rest of the Warwick boys.

 


	228. Getting Down To Business

_"Fly me to the moon and let me play among the stars._

_Let me see what spring is like on Jupiter and Mars._

_In other words: Hold my hand._

_In other words: Darling, kiss me~!"_

Murdock sang his beloved tune, his voice somewhat straining a bit in places due to the pain that he was in. The vines that sprung from his arm twisted and squirmed as if they were possessed, making an odd chirping sound as they moved. He looked to the demonic duo, eyes wide and grin wider.

"Fill my heart with song, and let me sing forever more.

You are all I long for; all I worship and adore.

In other words: Please be true.

In other words: I love you~!'

After finishing his song, he began to slowly walk toward the boys, the vines repairing the body that they had damaged. His hollow, verdigris eyes were so dull, that nothing could be reflected off of them. The demons knew that he was looking at them, but they weren't entirely sure if Murdock was actually seeing them.

"What a shame..." he said, snapping the lads back to their senses. "It looks like your butler has offed poor Miss Clark. Pity. I could've still used her."

"And you're supposed to be some sort of 'holy weapon'?" Ciel asked, furrowing his brow and giving the boy with oddly-coloured hair a disgusted look. "You obviously don't give a damn about God's teachings." Murdock only laughed.

"Religion has nothing to do with it, silly goose!" he said, coughing as the thorns cut into the flesh just beneath his skin again. "I just want revenge. I have no interest in what a silly storybook says about morals."

"Well said." spoke the blonde menace, his lips curling into a smirk as his eyes glowed crimson. He tried to force his will into the thorny vines within the other boy's body, just as he would to the ones planted within the earth or in a pot or vase. Sweat accumulated on his forehead as he strained, but the most Murdock did was twitch with mild discomfort.

"I take it you can control plants?" asked the former treasure-hunter. "I'm sorry to disappoint you, but you won't be able to manipulate these. They're tied to the coins, which are holy artifacts. A demon will never be able to wield them."

"Then I'll make my own!" the blonde said, releasing his focus on the vines within the other boy's body. He took a strong stance, spreading his arms before moving them forward as if he were hurling the evil vines from their place in the ground below to Murdock's torso. They pierced his flesh, stabbing into his ribs, causing the former treasure-hunter to wince. His twisted grin returned shortly after, however, and the blonde's own vines burst into flames, starting from Murdock's chest and spreading toward the blonde, causing him to lose focus completely. What hadn't burned already rotted away when he did.

"Let me show your how it's done." Murdock said before hunching his back and gritting his teeth, grunting from the pain that he was in. His divine, thorny, vines sprang from his upper back this time, shredding his dress-shirt and the blazer of his uniform as they targeted Alois.

They barely missed the blonde, scraping against his leg and forming small cuts, that sure took their sweet time healing. In retaliation, the bluenette fired several shots at Murdock, emptying his magazine into the former treasure-hunter's head before reloading. How on earth the boy was still standing, it wasn't entirely clear.

Most of his face was gone, save for his nose and one of his eyes. The other eye had been struck, and bits of it's mangled remains as well as the socket they sat it were visible for all to see. Bits of skin and flesh hung from his face, some by mere strands of tissue. His teeth were visible, as his cheek on half of his face had been cut open when it was deeply grazed by a bullet. Now, one couldn't tell if he was frowning or smiling. His face was now hardly a face, yet he didn't seem bothered in the slightest. In fact, he directed his vines toward Ciel, preventing him from firing again.

The hissing sound of steam escaping filled the air as it rose from the boy's disfigured visage, as well as his shaky, wheezing breaths, and the otherworldly chirping of the vines reassembling him. They weaved together, forming muscle-tissue, while thinner ones formed his skin, and fashioned him a new eye. The remainder of his dress-shirt and blazer fell off of his shoulders, as it was now shredded to ribbons, and soaked in his own blood. Ciel could now see the source of Murdock's power, the seven out of thirty silver coins, as clear as day.

With this, he took precise aim, ceasing his breathing so that he was less likely to move and botch up the shot. The bluenette pulled the trigger, his bullet cutting through the air at speeds invisible to the naked human eye as it struck the silver that was peeking out through the former treasure-hunter's skin. It continued to spin on contact, causing sparks to fly, before finally being deflected by the holy relic.

"Good show!" said Murdock, mockingly. His face was now mostly there, the only things now mostly missing being part of his eye, and part of his cheek. Regardless, he was still able to gloat. "However, you could do better!"

It was amazing how fast Murdock could be, given the pain he is in. Ciel simply blinked at his words before he was standing right in front of the bluenette. Murdock cocked his arm back, before striking the boy's face with his fist, sending him flying.

"Ciel!" called the blonde menace, panicking. The moment he turned his head to watch the bluenette land on his feet, however, his back was struck by a massive conglomerate of vines, sending him flying as well. Alois, unlike Ciel, did not land on his feet, and instead broke his fall with his face.

"Alright... I really don't like this guy..." he said, sitting up and rubbing his head. He looked up at Ciel. "So, what's the plan, man?"

"I haven't decided yet." the bluenette replied, still thinking about how he could possibly defeat this monster of God. "So far, it's 'don't die'."

"That's a very good plan." the blonde said, standing up. "But that's going to be difficult as long as he's got those coins."

"I know, that's why I tried to shoot them."

"But if their 'holy relics', or whatever, aren't they indestructible?"

"Now, you bring this up..." the bluenette snidely remarked. Alois was right, however. They were somehow going to have to separate Murdock from those coins if they're going to kill him. Ciel now knew what he must do.

"I believe it's time we got serious, Alois." he said, his eye glowing red.

"Oh, goody!" replied the blonde menace. "I do love it when it's time to get serious."

Black flames engulfed the demonic duo, burning away their human guises and replacing them with those of demons. They ignored the stares they got from the rest of the Sensational Seven, and simply focused on the task at hand. The flames died down, revealing two demons, ready for battle.

"Hide your tail, Alois. Don't let him exploit that weakness." ordered the bluenette, to which the blonde replied:

"Yes, my master."

* * *

 


	229. Crown of Thorns

"Whoa..." gawked Preston, setting his sight on the demonic duo in their diabolic forms for the first time.

It was the first time for nearly all of them, except for Audrey, who had seen them in this form on more than one occasion. Kristopherson had seen Ciel's, but not Alois' provocative form. Daniel, Preston, and Travis had seen neither of them. It was completely foreign, and odd to see ones friends, who you knew quite well in such a light. It was as though the very air around them had changed. It wasn't an ominous atmosphere they radiated, heavens, no. They simply seemed to has this more primal, and more "honest" air about them, as though they were somehow more comfortable in this form.

The boys gawked at the demons, staring at their horns, tails, pointed ears, and wardrobe, taking it all in. Especially Alois' attire, they gawked at, but were too flabbergasted to actually comment on. Even Daniel, for once, was silent. Meanwhile, the demons on the field were sure to hide their tails from this menacing threat. That menacing threat who only responded to their transformation by whistling a single note.

"Now that was pretty wicked!" Murdock said, clapping his hands. "You should always be sure to look your best on the day you die. Remember that, children."

"Who the bloody hell is he talking too?" Alois asked, placing a hand on his hip.

"Who knows? The man's a loon." replied Ciel.

"Heh, but even with those smart outfits, you're not going to die in a very dignified manner." Murdock continued, blatantly ignoring what the demonic duo had just said. "I'll make sure of that." He winced slightly as he tensed his muscles, preparing himself for an attack. He swung his arm at Ciel, who promptly shot him in the face before distancing himself from the crazed man.

"Alois! Use Kaspar!" the bluenette barked, and the blonde responded accordingly, taking out his own aniti-freak pistol. He, too, fired upon the former treasure-hunter, both boys knowing full-well that it most likely wouldn't have the desired effect. What they did discover, however, is that Murdock's body could only take so much damage at a time.

The more injury that the duo inflicted on him, the slower his regeneration ability was able to work. Murdock fell to his knees, completely winded, coughing up blood, but that was hardly noticeable due to the amount that already accumulated on his skin. He looked up at the pair, brow furrowed, eyes wide, and mouth open as he panted. Finally, the boys stopped firing, taking the opportunity to reload.

"Alright... No more messing around..." Murdock said breathlessly, his voice cracked and strained. He stood up again, the vines beneath his skin wriggling and squirming as he prepared for his next attack. He stopped, however, when he few piercing pain in his chest.

He looked down to see the bluenette's hand lodged his in pectoral and he choked, forcing back his screams of agony. While he wasn't quite "human" anymore, he still had the pain tolerance of one. Ciel clenched his first, grasping an area where the vines seemed to converge, before trearing it out, ripping the vines along with it. The bluenette took several steps back, distancing himself from his foe as the boy with oddly-coloured, purplish-pink hair clawed at his wound, and released the screams that he had been holding back so well. They came out in almost chokes and gurgling sounds, as he tryed to shift between screaming, coughing, breathing, and wheezing.

Vines squirmed and twisted about stemming from the bluenette's fist as they began to rot and die. They wrapped around his arm weakly, as if they were begging for their lives, before turning brown and withering away. Soon, all that was left in Ciel's palm was a single, bloody, silver coin. He opened his hand and stared at it for a moment before looking up at the former treasure hunter again. Was if his imagination, or did her look older now?

It wasn't his imagination. Murdock had appeared to have aged a few years, his appearance altering only slightly. However, his left arm, the one with the gloved hand seemed a bit thinner than it had before, the disfigurement crawling up from the boy's black glove. Was this part of the effects of him losing power? This was why he had to devour the souls of demons. His body began to deteriorate, otherwise, due to the lack of all thirty coins. Removing them seemed to accelerate the effects. Ciel looked to Alois, who nodded, understanding what needed to be done.

They fanned out, surrounding Murdock on both sides, like wolves chasing prey. They both ran at the boy, cocking their arms back before launching them forward, aiming for the coins in the treasure-hunter's chest. It would appear that his body had gone into shock, as he stopped screaming all together, and froze. Now was their chance.

Or so they thought. Murdock raised his arms, directing one at each demon, before the thorn-ridden vines ripped his flesh, forcing their way out of his body and striking the demons, sending them flying backward. Ciel landed on his feet, while Alois simply landed. They stopped to examine their foe's actions for a moment.

Murdock had his head angled slightly toward the ground. His eyes were wide, yet he was obviously not seeing. Sweat accumulated on his brow, mixing with the blood of previous wounds as he simply stood there, vines wriggling, squirming, and twisting as if possessed with a life force of their own. They were. They were possessed by the coins embedded in the boy's body. Finally, Murdock looked up at the boys, jaw slacked, with an expression on his face that was seemingly blank and yet somehow angry at the same time.

"We need to get those coins out of him." Ciel said to Alois, believing it to be safe to reveal his plan, seeing that Murdock wasn't entirely "home" at the moment.

"Gotcha." replied the blonde. "I think we're going to have trouble getting close to him with those vines in the way, though."

"Do you want to be the distraction, or the assailant?" asked the bluenette, looking over to his demonic companion.

"You're the 'big, boss-man', you tell me."

"You're good at distracting people, so I'll rip out the coins."

"Why did you even ask in the first place?" Alois inquired, readying his gun. "Well, good luck on your kamikaze mission."

"Just don't die."

"That goes for you too, darling."

With that, Alois began to fire, directing the Murdock's attention to himself. He was careful to avoid the thorns that seemed to inflicted wounds that took much longer to heal than usual. He did flips and cartwheels, jumping out of the way while shouting taunts and shooting at the boy all at the same time. In the mean time, Ciel was waiting for the perfect opening for him to strike.

"There!" He lunged, and aimed for a coin lodged in the former treasure-hunter's abdomen.

His eye widened when Murdock moved, turning his attention to his new attacker. He raised his arm, or what was left of it and wasn't replaced by vines, and prepared to bring it crashing down on the demon's skull, only to have more projectiles enter his own. Ciel looked off to the side to see Audrey and Heinrich pointing their guns at them, both being careful as they fired, so they wouldn't accidentally hit the bluenette.

"What the fuck are you staring at, 'guard-dog'?!" shouted Heinrich, snapping the bluenette back to his senses. "Kill that thing!"

With Murdock missing his eyes, and part of his face once more, he couldn't see Ciel when he tore out yet another coin, causing Murdock to scream in agony. This time, however, the demon didn't back off. Instead, he cocked his free hand back and pierced Murdock's torso again, tearing out yet another coin. With that, Murdock was down to four coins.

He wasn't faring too well, either. Now, his arms were getting thin, and starting to turn an odd shade of greenish grey. They were now mostly torn to shreds, in the first place, being replaced by the thorns and vines. They were now moving within his body at an alarming rate, mimicking the appearance of panicked snakes beneath his skin. The poor boy's body had gone into shock, so that he could no longer even feel it. All he could do was stand there with a surprised look on his face. It was too the point where it was the vines that were keeping him standing, not his will. Murdock was gone. It wasn't he who was fighting, anymore.

He was coughing up more blood than should even belong in a human body in the first place. The power he was given simply kept replacing what he was losing. As the vines began to force their way out of his mouth, they cut into his throat so that he wouldn't be able to scream even if he wanted to.

This is what the divine had done to him. Somehow fate had decided that it would be he, a young man in his prime who had done no major ill-wills, who would bear this agony. He was no longer a man. He was no longer a weapon, either. Now, he was just a pitiful being who was doomed to suffer a slow and agonizing death, for nary a single good reason.

From the little bit of life left in Murdock's eyes, Ciel was able to see all of this, as the former treasure-hunter looked upon him pleadingly. No longer, did he desire revenge. Now, all that Murdock desired was for his miserable life to end. From the look in his eyes, Ciel could register what Murdock's mouth could not utter:

"Kill me."

The Phantomhive boy nodded, and dashed toward Murdock in order to free the boy from his suffering. Yet, against his wishes, Murdock's body moved in order to defend that life that was forced upon it, swinging his arm in order to swat the bluenette away with the massive conglomerate of vines that now served as hands. In response, the bluenette put up his arms in order to brace for impact, but it never came.

Wrapped around Murdock's bundle of greenery was the greenery of another boy, one who was known to the students of the academy who's rugby field they fought on as "the blonde menace". He looked up at the bluenette with a smile. sweat trailing down his face. Obviously, restraining vines with vines was a difficult task.

"Ciel! Grab the coins!" he shouted. For some reason, the bluenette was easily distracted today.

Ciel cocked his arm back before piercing the other boy's shoulder, ripping out the coin, as well as it's roots before repeating the action with his free hand. Murdock didn't scream this time. in fact, he hardly moved, or made any attempt to put up a fight. He was done. With all of his willpower, he forced his body to stay still as the bluenette tore into his flesh and ripped out those accursed silver coins one by one.

At long last, he was down to one. One last coin before Murdock was free, and Ciel achieved his victory. Upon tearing out that last coin, the vines attached to it cut as they were forced out of the boy's body, no longer able to keep it standing, or even keep it together.

Murdock fell. He fell with his face looking up towards the blue sky with a smile on his face. He smiled, even though he lay dying. He smiled, even though his innards were now bare for the world to see. He smiled, even tough he didn't obtain his revenge. Murdock smiled because he had gotten what he had really wanted: an end to all of the pain and suffering that he was subjected to at every single moment that made up the past fifty-eight years. Now, as he enjoyed the numbness that was brought on by death, he smiled in a way that he hadn't for the last fifty-eight years, it was a peaceful, serene smile. It made him look relieved, happy, and at peace with everything and everyone in this sickeningly cruel world that slowly and tortuously killed him.

Everyone watched as Murdock's body began to turn into dust. It turned grey, and began to crumble, caving in on itself. He was simply dust; Dust without a funeral. He scattered as a breeze came in, whisking him away to God-knows-where.

There was nothing left of Murdock Springfield. There was no body; no soul to collect. The holy artifact of Rome had destroyed him completely. There would be no afterlife for Murdock, of any sort.

"God doesn't exist." is what the demonic duo believed. If God did exist, he was cruel and unjust, thrusting these ill-fates upon innocent human beings for seemingly no good reason. Why make something, only to destroy it? Why make something, only to torture it? Did God get some sort of sick kick out of watching his "children" suffer? God doesn't exist. The Devil doesn't, either. All that the demonic duo was sure of, was that they existed. Their friends existed, Sebastian existed, Luka existed. Everyone who they associated with existed, and could very well be the only beings worth believing in.

* * *

 


	230. Everything Back To Normal

Over the next few days, things settled down immensely. Sebastian was still recovering from his injury as the divine lightening took quite the toll on his body. He was able to move around just fine, but became somewhat winded whenever he walked up the stairs. It made him wonder if that is how it felt for humans.

Whenever he saw that the butler was having difficulty, Luka was sure to try his best and help. He pushed on the back of the man's legs in order to "assist" him in getting up the stairs, and helped with various chores, like making beds and cleaning up. While he didn't like to receive help, Sebastian simply let the boy do as he wished, unless it was dangerous, or he didn't think that the young boy would be able to do it right.

Sebastian was somewhat ashamed that he let himself end up like this, but everything turned out alright in the end. He did, however, start to wish that Luka hadn't kept that CD that his master was sent. The Macken boy had been singing that song over the past few days, and listening to it on repeat. Sebastian was told that it was simply something that young children did, but it was somewhat annoying. Especially when he caught himself humming it as a result.

Things were still pretty much business as usual at Warwick, as well. The rest of the Sensational Seven teased the demonic duo about their demonic forms, especially Alois' for obvious reasons. The blonde menace, however, was used to such ridicule from Ciel's teasing, and was thus simply able to ignore it. The subject that everyone refused to touch, however, was the topic of Cameron.

As much as they would love to, and desperately wanted to tease Kristopherson about it, they were fully aware is that the subject was most likely sensitive at the moment, therefore they withheld their comments. It was Kristopherson's first breakup, and it was a bad one. Yet, somehow he didn't seem upset about it at all. It was as though it never happened.

The Seven sat at their usual claimed territory in the cafeteria, oddly silent. No one spoke, as the one subject that they were at least mildly curious about appeared to be taboo. The silence was obviously starting to get to the loudest two members of the group, collectively referred to by the others as "the dumbass duo", Alois Trancy and Daniel Westley. The two picked at their food and sat with the sort of restlessness that one might see in a young child that's forced to sit still at the dinner-table.

"Bored!" Alois shouted suddenly, causing Preston to jump. The others hardly reacted, as they expected one of the pair to say something eventually. "Somebody say something!"

"'Something'." Ciel answered jokingly, causing the blonde's bored expression to turn into a pout.

"Oh, so you're a comedian now, are you?" Alois asked, turning his head in order to better show the bluenette the displeased look on his face.

"No, I'm a demon." spoke the bluenette. "There's no one here named 'somebody', so I wasn't entirely sure who you were trying to address."

"You're such an ass..."

"Sometimes, I think arguing is like flirting for you two." said Daniel with a grin. He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively when the two boys looked at him.

"Only sometimes." Alois replied with a giggle. In return, Daniel opened his mouth to say something, but stopped as he saw Kristopherson in the corner of his eye.

The boy in the pink tie was acting a bit odd in his gestures, playing with his bangs as they hung in front of his face with an odd expression, one that gave him the appearance that he was deep in thought. In fact, he hardly looked like Kristopherson, at a glance, due to the fact that the usually faux-blonde hadn't bleached his hair in several months, rendering it dark brown, with platinum blonde tips. The others noticed the Westley lad's sudden silence, and followed his eyes, immediately thinking the same thing. Kristopherson wasn't acting like his usual self. They knew this, but were still hesitant to say anything.

"What'cha thinkin' about, Pinky?" Alois asked, obviously not reading the atmosphere at all. His sudden outburst caused the attention of the others to violently shift from Kristopherson to the Blonde Menace, as they looked at him either questioningly, or with a cautioning expression, which was blatantly ignored. Kristopherson himself, however, jumped as he looked up, confused before registering what the boy had asked.

"Nothing." he replied with a sigh, twisting a lock of hair between his index finger and thumb. "I was just wondering if I should bleach my hair again soon..." His friends simply stared at him for a moment, making him feel somewhat self-conscious. "What?"

"Oh, nothing." Daniel answered with a small snort. "We just thought there might be something actually wrong with you, or something."

"Oh, and why's that?" asked Kristopherson, arching an eyebrow. He already knew the answer, but was curious as to whether or not anyone would actually bring it up.

"We all were worried that you might be a bit upset about breaking up with Cameron..." said Preston, before Daniel could reply with a less sensitive and more offensive version of that statement.

"I'm not upset." said the boy in the pink tie. "It's just a little shocking to find out that he was a little crazy."

"I wouldn't say he was 'crazy'." spoke Audrey. "He was just fed the wrong information by the wrong people, and acted accordingly. He might've been pretty cool, if it weren't for that."

"Are you mental?!" Daniel demanded, grabbing the reaper-boy's shoulders and shaking him lightly. "The bloke wanted to blast your bloody head off!"

"Audrey has a bit of a point." said Ciel, forcing the politician's son to stop his actions. "His overall intentions were 'good', but the way he tried to execute them wasn't. He will see what he wants to see, and nothing else. That will never be changed."

"You could say the same for us, though..." said Preston, jumping as he suddenly obtained the attention of the others.

"...I mean, not a bad way!" he added hastily.

"So, what you all are saying, is that I shouldn't have broken up with him?" asked Kristopherson.

"No, I think what we're trying to say is that we support your decision, and are here for moral support if you need it." said Alois, oddly picking up on the heart of everyone's intentions, here. There was a long pause, where all was silent. The Miles lad's friends simply nodded during this pause, agreeing with the Trancy boy's statement. Their silence wasn't broken until Kristopherson snapped from his confused and somewhat troubled state in order to speak.

"So... Should I bleach my hair or not?" he asked, earning a snort from the Westley lad.

"Do whatever you wanna do. It's your head." said Audrey.

"Yeah, if you bleach it enough, you might go bald~!" joked Alois.

**"B-bald?!"**

"Calm down, Kris..." interrupted the bluenette bringing order to the situation, as per usual. "He's only joking..." As comforting as that was, the formerly faux-blonde's cheeks began to heat up as the other boys began to chuckle at him.

"You gits! You pictured it, didn't you?!" Kristopherson demanded, leaning forward slightly with one hand on the table in front of him, and one on his head, as if to protect his precious hair.

"N-no..." Preston lied, in between chuckles.

"How could we not?!" Daniel asked, being the only one to laugh with his hand away from his face. "That image is just too hilairious!"

"Daniel, you twat!"

"If I was, then you'd never check me out, huh? That would be perfect!"

"Dumbass, then you'd have a bunch of straight guys after you!"

"Ladies, please..." began Audrey, holding up his arms as he interrupted the pair's bickering. "...you're both pretty."

"Oh no! Audrey's gone over to the queer side, too?!" Daniel asked, his volume way past "appropriate".

"You can't say that, Dan." replied the boy in the skull beanie. "You've been dancing that line for as long as I've known you."

"I AM NOT GAY!"

"It's okay, Danny." Alois said. "Coming out is the first and most difficult step any homosexual can take."

"I FUCKING HATE EVERYONE!"

"Oh, so you're trying to be Ciel, now?"

"...I don't talk like that..." the bluenette interrupted. "...Do I?"

 


	231. Out And About

It was an abnormally quiet weekend at Phantomhive manor. No one was shouting, or running throughout the hallways. There were no meetings to attend, murders to solve, or terrorists to catch. Yes, it was a relatively peaceful weekend for the Phantomhive household, and as such, was the perfect opportunity fro the bluenette to launch a plan that he had been plotting for quite some time, but hadn't the opportunity to do so.

Ciel walked through the hallways with purpose, treading the path from his office to the room of the blonde menace. As per usual, he didn't bother knocking, mildly startling the Trancy boy for a split second before the lad realized it was just the bluenette being his usual, "I am the man of the house" self. When he turned to face the Phantomhive boy, however, he found himself being attacked by a jacket.

"Get ready. We're going to be leaving in a little bit." Ciel stated plainly after throwing the blonde's jacket.

"Leaving?" Alois echoed, tilting his head slightly. "For where?"

"Just for an outing." the bluenette said, turning on his heel before walking back toward the door. "We'll be taking a taxi, and it will be here in a few minutes..."

"Is this your way of asking me out on a date?" the fair-haired demon asked, smiling when the other lad suddenly froze. He turned his head ever-so slightly; not even enough for the blonde menace to be able to see his eye. Alois' grin never wavered, however, as he could see the bluenette's ears turning red. He could only imagine the embarrassed look on the other boy's face at that moment.

"...Maybe..." Ciel replied, turning his head to face the door again, in an attempt to ignore the giggling that the blonde on the other side of the room was emitting.

"I'll be down as soon as possible, then!"

Alois was absolutely giddy, even as the bluenette silently crept out of the room, knowing that the usually certain Phantomhive boy was dreadfully embarrassed. It was embarrassment that he couldn't escape, even as he walked down the stairs into the foyer to wait on his blonde beau. It was there that he came across an all-too-familiar face.

With a small, almost inaudible grunt, Sebastian stood up from his crouching position near the stairs as he polished the wooden railing. He offered his young master a smile as greeting as the bluenette aproached. He looked the lad over, noting his appearance was not that he took when simply hanging around the house. Instead, the lad's wardrobe gave the man clad in black the correct assumption that he was going out.

"Is there somewhere that you wish to go, my lord?" asked the man, chuckling at the bluenette when the boy arched an eyebrow in response. "You're dressed for going out on the town, aren't you?"

"Just to the museum." replied Ciel, continuing to make his way down the steps while maintaining his previous pace. "You don't need to drive. We'll just take a Taxi."

"Oh, so it's a date, is it?" the man teased, giving his signature sly grin. "It's no trouble at all for me to drive, my lord."

"You should be recovering." the lad said quickly. "Besides, we wouldn't want you slowing us down all day."

A smile tugged at his lips as he witnessed the butler's eyebrow slightly twitch in annoyance. It absolutely tickled the bluenette to finally have a way to thoroughly bother the butler after all of these years. It relieved him somewhat, to know that the man had limitations, even if that meant not having an "invincible" pawn at his disposal. Sebastian kept up his usual facade, continuing to smile even though he was irritated.

"Very well, young master." he said as the boy passed him on the stairs. He then proceeded to crouch down once more and resume his previous actions, fulfilling the chore of maintaining the manor's magnificent appearance. He looked up again when the bluenette called for his attention once more.

"Oh, but if you're so desperate to get out of the house for a little bit, you can take Luka to the zoo." Ciel said, turning to smirk at the man. "That is, only if you feel up to it."

"Consider it done." Sebastian replied, doing his best to ignore the lad's mocking expression. Shortly after, the bluentte left, leaving the butler to his chores.

Moments later, he heard the thunderous thumping of the blonde menace excitedly making his way down the stairs. He didn't even have to look up to know it was Alois. It was obvious. Not to mention that the lad confirmed this suspicion on his own upon opening his mouth.

"So, what's on the agenda for the day?" he asked, latching onto the Phantomhive lad's arm once they were out the door.

"I was thinking that we should have lunch, and then make our way to the British Museum." replied Ciel, simply allowing the blonde to cling to him like some sort of baby koala.

"Ooh! So we can actually look around this time?" Alois jokingly asked, recalling his first time at the museum during the whole "Simon Says" escapade.

"Yes. There will be no serial bombers involved." the bluenette answered with a slight smile, recalling how he had to nearly tear the blonde menace away from exhibits, as they were short on time, trying to solve Simon's ridiculous riddles and save Preston.

It was odd that the blonde held interest in historic artifacts, while simultaneously not at all. He had missed many things in his absence, including many historic events and ancient discoveries unknown to the people of Victorian era of England. So much had changed. So much had happened; things that were thought impossible, such as two world-wars and ground-breaking advancements in technology. The evolution of machinery was remarkable, considering that just past the demonic duo's seemingly "final" encounter the bicycle was considered a world-changing mode of transportation, changing warfare and personal transportation as everyone knew it.

Alois also found himself looking forward to setting his eyes upon the artifacts from before his time, described to him by the bluenette on the taxi ride to the restaurant. Armour from the gladiators of ancient Rome, mummies from old Egypt, statues and sculptures from Mesopotamia and ancient Greece, weaponry of steel and bronze, religious relics of gold, paintings on everything from parchment to stone, all spanning thousands of years of human history, and he knew nothing of them.

To suddenly gain access to such knowledge and sights to one who a "proper" education by modern standards was virtually unobtainable was an amazing thing. Of course Alois was excited. He was excited to see things that mere mortals from his era never could, and he was excited because Ciel seemed uncharacteristically lively as well while describing these things to the blonde menace.

The duo continued to talk and joke with one another even as they entered the restaurant seemingly without a care in the world. It was entirely uncommon for them to be able to go out and have a good time for the simple matter that there always seems to be some serial killer, or some mad bomber threatening the city. No meetings to attend, drug or prostitution rings to bust, or assassins who want them dead, or some supernatural force that also wants them dead, today. Instead, they were blessed with a rare day of peace from all of this that day. It was a most welcome and highly pleasant change of pace.

Yes, it would appear that there was nothing to interrupt the demonic duo, that is, until they passed a certain lad on the street. The boy did a double-take, suddenly noticing the two boys who were far too deep in their own conversation to notice him as he walked along, hardly paying attention, himself. He watched them for a moment as they talked and laughed, noting the unusual, more relaxed air about them. When he saw the demonic duo walk into the restaurant, hand-in-hand, he smiled and reached into his pocket, digging out his cellphone before scrolling through the contacts. Finally, he selected the name of the person he wanted to call, and placed the handheld device up to his ear, pausing to listen to it ring for a moment before the person on the other end picked up.

"Hello?" a familiar voice answered, snapping the first lad back to his senses.

"Hey, Kris? It's Dan." the son of a politician greeted, his smile audible to the pink-loving Miles boy. "You'll never guess who I just saw on the street acting all lovey-dovey~!"

"Why do I need to be informed about your stalking habits?" Kristopherson asked in a snide tone.

"Very funny, Miles..." Daniel answered, his words dripping with sarcasm. "It was well disturbing, though! Ciel was laughing! And flirting!"

"Wait, wait, wait, Ciel? Are you sure it was him?"

"Positive. He was wearing an eye-patch, and had Alois hanging all over him.It's definitely Ciel."

"So you found them on a date?" Kristopherson asked in order to clarify what the son of a politician was saying. "Why's that weird?"

Daniel answered with a question of his own. "Have you seen Phantomhive?" he asked into the phone. "I always figured that the cyclops had the romantic capabilities of a gargoyle!"

"Well, then maybe it's not a date. Maybe they're just out shopping together."

"People who are out just out shopping don't have that aura about them..."

"What in blazes are you talking about, Westley?"

"They have the aura!" Daniel loudly declared, causing Kristopherson to briefly move the phone away from his ear while the lad shouted. "You know, that sort of atmosphere that every romantic-comedy couple has when they're being flirty!"

"How would you even know that?"

"I have a little sister. 'Nuff said. Now, get your ass down here! You need to see this!" Daniel said. "I'm gonna call the guys and get them to come too!"

"So... You want us to stalk Phantomhive and Trancy?" asked the boy in pink.

"We're all friends. It doesn't count."

And with that, he hung up.

 


	232. Fancy Metting You Here

"So tell me..." began Audrey, shifting uncomfortably in his seat as he leaned up against the door of the taxi, his cheek pressed up against the window. "...Why, exactly, are we doing this again?"

"I don't know, but next time, I call the front seat!" answered Preston, unable to move his arms.

The rest of the poor sensational seven had somehow been convinced to meet Daniel at his last recorded location, and were now crammed in a taxi cab as they pursued the demonic duo. Audrey sat on one side of the backseat, while Travis sat on the other. Daniel and Preston were crammed in between them, while Kristopherson sat in the front passenger seat, keeping a watchful eye on the demonic duo's taxi, and pointing out which way the driver needed to turn in order to follow it.

"We're following Phantomhive an Trancy on their date, duh!" said Daniel, clarifying the situation to the others for what felt like the millionth time. "C'mon, haven't you ever wondered what they're like when they're alone together?"

"Most of us aren't perverse enough to think about that, Daniel." said Audrey, jabbing the politician's son in the side with his elbow in order to relieve the temporary claustrophobia he was getting from the others being that close.

"You should respect people's privacy, Daniel." added Travis.

"Not like that!" barked the Westley boy, causing the other's ears to hurt. "I mean like, 'lovey-dovey' and stuff."

"Why would you wanna see that?" asked Preston. Daniel answered with a question of his own.

"Think about it. Have you ever seen Ciel act like that?" he said, moving his eyes instead of his head in order to look at the others. "He's always as cold as ice! Don't you want to see if he can show some emotion?"

"So... You're recruiting us to help you get blackmail material?" asked Preston.

"Naturally."

Suddenly the Taxi made a sharp turn, causing the lad's in the backseat to sway with the vehicle, crushing each other. Audrey had it the worst, since they all were sent toward his end of the vehicle. The backseat boys Let out a collective grunt in both pain and surprise as the wind was squeezed out of all of them, but Travis, who was on the end opposite of Audrey.

"The bloody heel was that!?" demanded the Westley boy, rubbing his side after the vehicle straightened out again. Kristopherson looked back at the others from his front seat position.

"Sorry," said the pink-loving lad, "But I think I figured out were they're going. We're taking a shortcut."

"Where are they going?" asked Travis.

"Think about it: If you were Ciel, and you were planning a date, where would you go?" Kristopherson paused as he allowed the others to dwell on that thought for a moment. As if rehearsed, they all spoke in unison as they found the answer.

"The museum." they said, knowing the bluenette's personality.

Speaking of the Phantomhive lad, let out a sigh at that moment, noticing that the cab that had been tailing them had turned off. He could have sworn he saw the five semi-normal lads in it. He sunk down in his seat, somewhat, relieved as he felt a hand on his.

"What is it?" asked the blonde, noticing the other boy's mannerisms.

"Nothing." Ciel replied, turning his gaze to the Trancy. "I just thought I saw something. I think I really needed this day off."

"Uh-oh, you're seeing things?" the blonde asked jokingly.

"Could be, but then again, it's kind of hard to see with this eye-patch, sometimes." the bluenette answered in a similar manner.

They soon arrived at their destination, and exited the vehicle after paying the driver. Then, they walked up the steps of the Parthenon-looking building, or rather, Ciel walked while Alois practically skipped. His excitement was almost infectious, as the bluenette even seemed livelier about the whole venture. He chuckled at the blonde looking around the building's interior, gawking at the architecture before finally at the actual exhibits. Alois had simply never been inside a building quite like that one before.

"It's like a palace!" he absent-mindedly commented, taking in the sights of the large, open rooms with massive columns holding up the ceiling. It was so tall, that even if all of the sensational seven stood on top of each other's shoulders, they would never even begin to come close to touching it. Throughout the complex, treasures from all parts of the past littered, attracting attention. It was all there, just as the bluenette had told him.

"I believe that most palaces don't have mummies in them." the Phantomhive lad said in response, allowing himself to be tugged along by the other boy.

"That's a good thing." replied the blonde. "If they were in palaces, no one else would be able to see them!" He pouted when the bluenette gently nudged him away from placing his hands on the glass cases.

"They get mad when you do that." Ciel warned.

"Who does? The mummies?"

"No, security does."

It was at that moment that the blonde menace finally noticed in somehow inconspicuous guards stationed around the area. Most of them were looking at him disapprovingly. With a frown, Alois simply stuck his tongue out at them tauntingly. It had been a while since the bluenette had last seen the other boy act so childish. He had almost forgotten how cute he thought it was.

"Jesus Christ!" the blonde shouted suddenly, snapping Ciel from his ponderings.

Quickly, the bluenette looked up, and followed the other lad's index finger in order to find out what it was that was so distressing. He furrowed his brow and rolled his eye, causing the blonde to grin at his trick. Alois had simply found a painting of the biblical figure.

"Oh! That was a good one, Trancy!" called a familiar voice, alerting the demonic duo's attention. There in front of them stood a bot about the age that they appeared to be, with dark, hair of an odd greenish tint that framed his face in the front, and stopped halfway down his neck in the back. He offered a friendly smile to the other lads. "I didn't expect to come across you two here~!"

"Lawrence?" asked Ciel. Neither of the lads had seen the boy in a long while, and it was odd to see him in a public place out of the blue. "What are you doing here?"

"Getting inspired, of course!" the eccentric actor said in a dramatic manner. It seemed as though flowers had appeared out of nowhere, when he did. "Devil Butler is over, so I'm looking for work. I've gotten several offers to be in a few films, but all of them are set in different time periods that I'm not too familiar with, and what better way to learn about them than at a museum? So, here I am!"

"What time periods are those?" asked Alois, tilting his head.

"Well, one of them is called 'Code: Zero', and is set in this sort of futuristic setting, and the other one is called 'Attack Of The Titans', and is set in medieval Germany; I have an audition for that one tomorrow." Lawrence replied. Both titles sounded far too serious for the actor, but then again, pretending to be something you're not is what acting is all about, isn't it? "So, what brings you two here?"

"Oh, wait, is it a date?" he asked after being answered with an awkward silence. "It is a date, isn't it? Whoops, so sorry for interrupting! I'll just leave you two to it, then! See at school on Monday~!" Just as quickly as he appeared, he vanished after waving goodbye, leaving the demonic duo puzzled as to what was the point of that whole exchange. Little did they know, however, about the shady bunch that lurked in the nearby shadows.

"Dammit, Lawrence!" said Daniel, his voice hushed so that the demons might not hear. "You ruined the atmosphere!"

"Why are you mad about that?" asked Audrey. "It's not like they were doing anything interesting.

"Besides, aren't you a fan of his movies?" added Preston, causing the politician's son to flinch. The other's simply tilted their head at Daniel's behaviour.

"Dan accidentally found 'Devil Butler' fanfiction on the internet, and can't look Lawrence in the eye ever since." clarified Kristopherson. The other's simply looked at the Westley lad sympathetically before Audrey finally said:

"You poor thing..."

"SHUT UP!"

 


	233. Pleasant Memories

It was a rare day where the Phantomhive lad had no meetings to attend, no missions to carry out, and no cases to solve, yet for some strange reason, he was finding it difficult to enjoy himself to the fullest. He found himself distracted every now and again by the sinking feeling that he was being watched. It didn't feel like a threatening sort of presence, but it kept following the demonic duo, and had been for most of the day. He could just sense it.

"Maybe I really am going crazy..." he thought, rubbing his forehead while the blonde menace was oddly reading the plaques next to the various exhibits for clarification on what they were.

"Hey, hey, Ciel!" he called, snapping the bluenette from his thoughts. "What's this word?" Ciel walked over to the blonde, leaning closer in order to see the plaque better.

"Which word are you talking abou-" The blonde cut him off with a quick peck on the lips, startling Ciel a bit. He blinked a few times, looking at the giggling, grinning boy in front of him.

"I lied." Alois said simply, causing the bluenette to blush.

"If you wanted a kiss, you could have just said so..." the Phantomhive answered, trying to maintain his dignified manner in a moment of slight embarrassment. They were in public, after all. He rolled his visible eye as his companion continued to speak, making hand-gestures.

"But surprises can be so much more fun, sometimes! Besides, you're cute when you're surprised."

"I'm not 'cute'..."

"Oh, yes you are. Very cute. In fact, I'd say that you're the cutest little Satan ever!" Alois playfully argued, latching onto the bluenette's arm and leaning on his shoulder. "But that's just my honest, if not somewhat biased, opinion."

Suddenly, the Phantomhive boy's face felt somewhat warmer from hearing that statement. With a sigh, he looked away before giving the blonde a simple "Whatever", causing the other boy to giggle his usual, girlish giggle. Little did he know of the odd individuals who were shadowing them. The rest of the Sensational Seven were beginning to become bored.

"So, instead of seeing Ciel act, in Daniel-terms, 'lovey-dovey', we've seen him act like Kristopherson instead." Audrey began, his tone patronizing. "Yep, this venture was totally worth it."

"I don't act like that." the pink-loving lad said defensively.

"How was I supposed to know that Lawrence would be here? He's totally cautious now! He's not going to act flirty if he thinks someone's watching!" argued the son-of-a-politician.

"We are watching..." spoke Preston.

"That's beside the point..." Daniel answered.

"So, what is the point, Dan?" asked Kristopherson.

"The point is, he's acting like a Kristopherson, and it's not my fault!"

"I don't act like that!"

"I bet Cameron would know, huh?" teased Audrey, causing simultaneous "oohs" to be uttered by the other lads.

"Sod off, Audrey." Krisopherson snapped.

"I bet you did whenever he tried to kiss you~!" Daniel jested, nudging the pink-loving lad in the arm with his elbow. Kristopherson, in response, furrowed his brow with a frown as his cheeks turned pink.

"We never kissed, dumbass." he said, his tone more than just mildly annoyed.

"No way!" Daniel began before suddenly pausing as he noticed something strange. "Hey... Did it suddenly just get colder in here, to anybody else?"

The other boy's nodded, before the colour faded from their faces. They're eyes focused on the area behind Daniel. He felt his stomach drop as he felt an evil force behind him, sending the group waves of malice. When he turned his head to see what it was, he saw the most frightening thing that he had seen in a while. Ciel had seen them, and the face he was making could send chills down the spin of The Devil, himself. All they could do was smile nervously and wave, before turing to leave as casually as their nerves would allow them.

"Whoa, that's a new face..." Alois stated, looking at the bluenette, gaining his attention. His smile was almost cat-like when Ciel faced him, feeling both amused and some other unknown feeling that could only be compared to the rush that someone gets when faced with a somewhat dangerous situation. "Do I even want to know?"

Ciel took a deep breath in an attempt to calm himself down. "No. No, you don't."

"I can already guess..." the blonde said. "What a bunch of creeps. Let's be sure to diss them at school, later."

"Sounds like a plan." replied the bluenette, looking down at his watch. It was now starting to get a tad late. "We should hurry. There's one more place that I wanted to take you, today."

"Alright. Where's that?" asked Alois.

"It's a surprise." His companion answered with a small, yet coy, smile. It was one that made butterflies stir in the pit of the blonde's stomach. Little did he know, however, that he would soon be in a place that brought back memories.

The sky above London was cloak that shrouded the city, the lights radiating from the many buildings making stars invisible, lost within it's blueish-black weaving. The lights themselves reflected off of the taxi windows, the many shades of yellow, red, blue, green, and all the colours in between, along with white, whizzing by as the lads traversed through town, and across one of the many bridges over the Thames toward their destination. It never ceased to amaze Alois, this modern city. No matter how much time had passed, he never could get over the initial spectacle of it all. To him, it was beautiful, even with all of the ugliness he and the bluenette found hidden within it's darkest streets. It was amazing what time could do to something he had thought he knew so well.

He was torn from his mesmerization as the cab lulled to a stop, indicating the journey's end. He looked at the bluenette briefly, who only smiled at him briefly before stepping out of the vehicle, the blonde soon following after. Immediately, it slowly sank in as to where he was. It was a park that he recognized-, a famous one. He looked up and smiled as he remembered, seeing the tall structure before him.

The London Eye.

Hand-in-hand, the demonic duo ventured toward it before climbing into the capsule and ascending into the sky. Just as the city was a sight to behold from the ground, the sight from above never got old either. The buildings were now so far away, their many lights glittering and standing out against the darkness, all collecting together to put on a wonderful display. The people on the ground got smaller and smaller, eventually looking like miniatures before becoming mere specks on the well-lit ground. Boats of all sizes sailed the Thames river, but were all so small that it looked as though you could pick them up and balance them in your palm, or crush them with a gentle squeeze.

"Beautiful..." the blonde absent-mindedly whispered, his free hand placed against the glass as he looked out. He looked over at the bluenette, smiling so wide that his cheeks hurt. This was such a familiar setting, one that both boys remembered well.

"I love you." Alois said, wrapping his arms around the bluenette and resting his head on the other boy's shoulder. With a gentle smile, Ciel returned the gesture.

"I love you, too."

 


	234. Jesus

London, England, the nation's capital and cultural hub, is home to many important people. Actors, remnants of old nobility, and among other things, politicians. Yes, unlike most of the members of the Sensational Seven, Daniel Westley lived in town, rather than on the city's outskirts in perhaps one of the city's more lavish apartment-buildings, but certainly not the most expensive one. After all, his parents did make the least amount of money as the other's.

It was large, certainly more so than anything the "commonwealth" could afford, as his father might put it, as the man didn't seem to understand what it was like to be "ordinary", in an economic sense. He wasn't an idiot, but he simply didn't comprehend things he had never seen himself, and opening his eyes to see them was difficult for him, as he was a somewhat conservative man, and his home was decorated accordingly. Yes, this was the home that Daniel lived in, with his father, mother, and younger sister, Samantha. At one time, his brother lived there with them, but he had moved out to attend the London Metropolitan University, a fact that Daniel didn't entirely mind, since the oldest child of the Westley household was perhaps his least favourite person to deal with on the face of the earth.

But, for the next few weeks, it was just he, and his sister, as their parents had left for their third honeymoon, or some nonsense of the sort. Now, the two didn't mind, but Daniel often had difficulty understanding his sister, as they didn't hold much in common. First of all, Samantha was a thirteen-year-old girl, while Daniel was a sixteen-year-old boy, and secondly, the girl was a bit of a bookworm, which Daniel was not. Top of her class, and well-read with a sharp wit, Samantha wasn't exactly Daniel's first choice for company, thus, the lad had sent for reinforcements.

He opened the door, immediately feeling a rush of relief at the sight of the rest of the Seven. The other lads were dressed in their usual out-of-school casual clothes, with backpacks containing more garments such as these attached to them, as they would be spending the night. Most of them wouldn't have agreed to do so had the Westley lad not begged. On the way over there, Travis had likened him to a rabbit, as the boy might die if he didn't receive enough attention. The others laughed at that comparison, and would have even if the boy in question was present.

"Welcome, welcome~! Daniel greeted, motioning for the others to enter in an overly dramatic manner. "Man, I'm glad to see you guys! I've been going crazy with nobody else around but that-, that-, that thing!"

"Your sister is not a 'thing', Dan." said Kristopherson, "I imagine she's just like any other younger sibling."

"Aren't you a 'younger sibling', Kris?" asked Preston.

"Only by one year..."

"Your house is so plain..." Alois said, vocalizing his thoughts, as per usual. "Did not expect that."

"I didn't decorate the place, you know.." said the son of a politician.

"Thank God..." added Kristopherson.

"Quiet, queer." snapped his ever-so gracious host, shutting the front door. "So, what do you all wanna do? Play a game? Watch a movie? Have Kris criticize your fashion sense?"

"Ooh! If we're going to play a game, can it be a Nerf battle to the death?" Alois jokingly asked, only to be answered by all of the others aside from the other demon in the room with a "No" in unison.

"You invite us over without a plan?" asked Ciel, unused to visits being so casual.

"Well, sorry for not being all stuffy, mister grumpy-trousers." the Westley lad said, waltzing into the living-room and plopping onto the couch.

"That reminds me," began Audrey, "does anyone else think that Ciel looks kind of like 'grumpy-cat'?"

"Bones... That comparison... It's beautiful!" said Alois, inviting the bluenette to introduce his hand to his own forehead. "We could always play 'Truth or Dare'~!"

"Hell no! I am not leaving with a pink stripe in my hair again!" protested Kristopherson.

"But that's the fun part!"

"A movie sounds alright." spoke Preston, attempting to provide a resolution.

"Already on it." answered Audrey, already examining the Westley's DVD collection. "'She's The Man'? 'Miss Congeniality'? 'Chocolat'? 'Snowcake'?" he listed off before turning to their host with a confused look on his face. "What's with all the chick-flicks, mate?"

"Those belong to my sister and my mom." Daniel said, crossing his arms. "The good stuff is a few shelves down." Heeding the lad's words, Bones crouched down slightly and skimmed through the movie titles on the spines of the boxes while Kristopherson felt slightly embarrassed internally for actually owning a few of those movies.

"'Shaun Of The Dead', 'Resident Evil', 'Se7en', 'Skyfall', 'Casino Royale', 'Kick-Ass'..." Audrey called, before his finger stopped on one box in particular. "'Devil Butler'?"

"Oh, yeah. That's the one Lawrence is in, isn't it?" asked Preston. "Didn't he say they're not making a third one?"

"Yeah, but he says he's gotten offers for other movies, so I'm sure he'll be fine." Ciel replied.

"Has anyone else even seen it?" inquired Audrey. "I haven't."

"No, Daniel's the one who finds 'mentally scarring' fanfiction of it." said Kristopherson.

"That was an accident!" protested Daniel. "NEVER AGAIN."

"So, what's the plan, man?" asked the pink-loving Miles lad.

"I dunno, bro. Bones, just throw in a movie." answered Daniel, gesturing to the reaper boy to do so.

"Okay. Who wants to see if Lawrence can act serious?" asked Audrey.

By now, the lads knew that the plot of the movie was roughly based in what was found in that diary that was found at Trancy manor and now resided somewhere in Kristopherson's possession. According to Daniel, who had watched the extra features on the DVD, the writer got the idea for the movie in "a book he found when he was running around in an abandoned house as a kid." He had left it there for the Sensational Seven to come across, so the movie was based off of what he could remember. Admittedly, the lads where at least a tad bit curious as to how someone else interpreted what the Seven had known as truth.

As such, that was the disc that went into the player, and the lads gathered around, some seated on the couch while others sat in the floor for what they thought was going to consist of mostly making fun of Lawrence's performance, Daniel's liking of the film, and the demonic duo fro having this supposed piece of rubbish based on them. It wasn't to be, however, as the movie actually started. Lawrence was oddly stoic, and almost lifeless in the first scene, where he would summon the demon that would become his butler after several months of captivity. The actor was filthy, his eyes almost hollow and his face paled, and his movements imitating those of a nearly-starved person. The seven knew it wasn't real, but that didn't make their concern disappear.

The image of Lawrence, or his character in the film, Cecil,receiving his contract mark made the lad's skin crawl, especially those of the demonic duo, as it seemed so realistic. Apparently, Lawrence was actually a very good actor, and was able to convey things as if he really felt them himself. Supposedly, the role was difficult for him, however, as in the movie, a contract would eventually begin to cause the holder's body to deteriorate, and he had to spend most of the movie acting as though he were ill. Partway through the movie, he began to lose his sight in his remaining eye, and was blind by the end. He had to face his nemesis, Alphonse Tracy, while unable to see, and the boy was able to get away, leaving way for a sequel. The final scene was of Alphonse conversing with his own butler, Claus, telling him how he wouldn't give up, even after Cecil had slammed a vase against his head, breaking it and giving him a small scar on his face, because of what his butler had done to his brother, a character not mentioned until then. It ended suddenly after that, leaving the viewers with questions to be answered in the sequel. When it was over, the lads simply looked at each other.

"It was surprisingly not horrible." said Ciel, being as positive as he could about the film. It was odd to see elements from his own life portrayed in such a drastically different manner.

"Yeah, I didn't see a lot of that coming." Alois added. "It's similar, but it's not really us at all."

"Yes, Alphonse wasn't nearly deranged enough to be you from back then."

"So I had a few issues to work out! That's pretty normal!"

"Alois, you gouged your maid's eye out..."

"...And I regret my decision, Ciel. People change."

"I'm surprised that was actually Lawrence playing Cecil!" said Preston, directing the subject elsewhere. "It didn't seem anything like him!"

"I guess there's just a ton that we don't know." answered Audrey. "It's pretty cool that he can do that, though. The whole tragedy of the whole thing was pretty cool, too."

"See?" demanded Daniel, almost gloating. "I told you it was good!"

"Oddly high-brow for you, Dan." said Kristopherson. "Good job."

"If there's something you want to say, Kris, why don't you just say it, instead of imply it?" Daniel retorted, shooting the Miles' lad a dirty look. His attention, however, shifted elsewhere in the room, as he saw movement. "Hey! Get out, Sam! You're not old enough to be watching this stuff!"

Samantha Westley was, as mentioned earlier, the brains of the household, regardless of her young age, and was heading toward the kitchen with a book in hand. She had brown hair, in a shade similar to her brother's which was lighter that Kristopherson's when it wasn't bleached, and it was also parted to the right in a similar fashion, flowing downward before beginning to morph into curls before it ended just past her shoulders. Her eyes were green, just like Daniel's, but her chin was less square, and she lacked dimples. She was dressed neither effeminately, nor in a masculine manner, but rather quite androgynous, the most "girly" accessory on her person being her flower-shaped earrings. In response to her sibling's remark, she simply looked in his direction with a patronizing expression on her face.

"Well, you're not sophisticated enough to fully grasp everything there is to it, so I don't see what the problem is." she said, causing the boys to snicker at their friend. "You were the one who didn't understand why Cecil thought Alphonse was behind everything until I pointed it out to you."

"I did so! I was just testing you!" Daniel protested while somehow whining at the same time. "What are you doing, anyway? Girls aren't allowed, here!"

"I guess Alois should leave, then." said Audrey, grinning as the blonde menace retaliated by giving him a rather mean look.

"So... I'm not allowed to go get juice anymore?" asked the younger Westley.

"Just get your damn juice and leave this den of manliness!" answered Daniel, earning the ridicule of the others. He frowned again when his sister silently walked into the kitchen as though she were ignoring him. Their parents had left him in charge, but as always, Samantha never took him seriously.

He opened his mouth to shout after her, but then he heard a sound that made his stomach drop. The jingling of keys being forced into the front doorknob, and whistling of a particular tune that he had come to hate over the years. Quickly, he got up and bolted for the door, leaping over the back of the couch with a certain degree of athleticism that the others were unaware he possessed.

"Fuck!" he shouted. "Fuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuck!"

"What is it?" asked Ciel, wondering what could possibly spark such a reaction from the lad.

"You won't find out, if you're lucky!" Daniel shouted as he desperately tried to slide the latches on the door that were unable to be opened from the outside, which were usually only locked at night, but it was too late. The door swung open, knocking him flat on his behind. He looked up, growing increasingly agitated by the chuckling of the person in front of him.

The man was in his twenties, and wore a reddish-orange, short-sleeved flannel shirt over a white t-shirt, and a pair of black jeans. His hair was light-brown, and swept to the right, spiking upwards in the front, but leaning. His blue eyes were laughing, which was visible, even behind his glasses which frames were thick at the top, but thinned out at the bottom, and his smile was wide, dimples prominent as he laughed at the younger boy. This man was Daniel's most hated enemy, Nathan Westley. Before he could even begin to protest, Nathan was already inside, making a forcible removal impossible.

"Hey, Danny, how's everything?" he asked the younger lad as he stood up. "Still hangin' out with that queer kid?" While he may have been joking, he was still offensive, and the demonic duo had begun to understand why Daniel didn't want to let him in.

"Still acting like a total twat, Nat?" asked Daniel, furrowing his brow. "The bloody hell you want? Whouldn't you be, you know, not here?"

"Mom and Dad told me to check up on you and Sam." replied Nathan as he walked into the living room. "Oh! So you're friends are over, huh? What's up? I'm Nathan, Danny's big brother. Call me 'Nat', everybody does. ooh! Is that the liquor cabnet? They moved it since the last time I was over!"

"Isn't drinking around a bunch of eleventh-graders kind of tacky?" asked Daniel, trying to gain an edge on the situation. All the others could do was watch, as none of them were entirely sure how to handle the situation. The only ones who had ever met Nathan before were Travis and Kristopherson, and they didn't like the man, either. Even still, that didn't mean they knew how to deal with him.

"I would care, but I'm older than you, so I don't have to listen to you." the oldest Westley said rummaging through th cabnet. "Damn, they have the expensive stuff.. Hey, any of you want some?"

"GO. HOME. NAT."

"Psh." Nathan scoffed, ignoring the boy's orders. "Oh, c'mon, Danny. Don't be a puss. A little bit never hurt anybody."

"We're underage!"

"So? I'm not gonna tell, so who's going to find out? Y'see, Danny? This is why you're not good with girls, it's because they don't think you have any balls!"

"Ahem," interrupted Ciel, having heard quite enough. "Have you considered that Daniel just might not have interest in alcohol?" he asked, earning a confused look from Nathan.

"You look like a pirate." he answered, spouting the first thing on his mind before turning to his brother. "He looks like a pirate." he smiled and turned back to the bluenette.

"Well, what about you?" he asked finally, gesturing to the Phantomhive boy with the bottle in his hand. "Let me guess, Captain Morgan, right?"

"I haven't been offered by the host, so I'm not inclined to ask. It's rude." Ciel said with a bored expression. "Personally, I'm not a fan. It smells far too strong for my tastes. I prefer wine."

"You drink?" asked Preston, his face somewhat shocked.

"Where I'm from, it's common, in moderation." replied the bluenette, referring to the time period he was from.

"We have wine, too." said Nathan, holding up another bottle.

"NAT!"

"I can't believe I'm saying this, but Daniel's right. It's kind of tacky to be drinking with a bunch of kids who're much younger than you." said Kristopherson, causing the oldest Westley to arch an eyebrow.

"Oh, you're that Miles Kid." he said, squinting his eyes. "I didn't recognize you because you didn't bleach your head." Kristopherson furrowed his eyebrows at the rather insensitive man, noting that he replaced the word "queer" with his surname after discovering his presence.

About half an hour later, the four of the Seven had given into the older Westley's pressuring and taunting, and had decided to try the wine, against their better judgement. Ciel and Alois, who were accustomed to sampling such a drink, knew when enough was enough, even though with their odd biology, it probably wouldn't have made any difference, and began to question whether the others were really fairing alright. Preston, Travis, and Audrey, paid absolutely no mind to Nathan's taunts, and were thus labeled "pansies", but didn't seem to give the slightest care about such an opinion, and continued to converse with the others, and even expressed some concern for Daniel and Kristopherson, as their speech had begun to slur. While the Miles lad liked to pretend that he was brighter than Daniel, and for the most part, was, he expressed the same amount of resentment for the older Westley as the younger did, and felt his ego become bruised with every sentence that Nathan spoke.

"You guys, I think that's enough." Ciel said finally, noting the other lad's cheeks reddening from the alcohol. "You don't want to make fools of yourselves, do you?"

"I didn't expect the little ankle-biters to hold their liquor, anyway." Nathan said, hardly even tasting the drink anymore.

"Sod off, Nat!" Daniel said, consciously trying to articulate his words to hide his slight tipsiness. That said, he was doing much better than Kristopherson, who was starting to sway a bit from his upright, seated position in the floor.

"Look at him~!" Nathan teased, pushing up his glasses with his index and middle finger. "I guess gays really don't drink."

"That's the wrong stereotype." Kristopherson said, his words sloppily strung together unintentionally. "The stereotype is that we don't drink beer."

"Even while tipsy, Kris is cynical as ever." Alois said with a small grin. "I was almost hoping that he would be acting much worse."

"Why would you want that?" asked Audrey.

"Because it might be a laugh." the blonde menace replied simply. "Y'know, rambling on and on about weird stuff and hangin' all over people, like this." he added, latching onto the bluenette in a playful manner.

"Like hell I would." spoke Kristopherson, attempting to sit up straight.

"Would you with Cameron?" Daniel asked teasingly, grinning as he caused the pink-loving lad to frown.

"Hell no." he answered plainly. "I don't even know what I saw in that guy. The only thing we had in common was that we both like men."

"Aw, is Krissy upset?" asked the younger Westley lad with a smile. "Do you want to talk about feelings?"

"Hey, Danny..." Nathan interrupted, his face serious all of a sudden.

"What?" Daniel snapped.

"Are you a homo?"

"NO, and for your information, Nat, I have a girlfriend." Daniel said objectively. For some reason, his tone reminded the others of a certain bluenette.

"Oh! Well that's news!" the college student declared with a big grin. "So? Is she pretty? You get lucky yet?"

In that moment, a terrifying aura appeared around Kristopherson. He wanted to punch this guy off for talking about his sister like that. He wanted to punch this guy for insulting him, earlier. He wanted to punch this guy for so many reasons, yet he just couldn't find it in him to do so. He simply clenched his fist and sat there as he listened to the two brothers argue while his friends simply sat in the room awkwardly as they did so. Finally, one of them did something.

"That's enough." Audrey said, standing up and taking the bottle out of the college student's hand. "You're the older one, here. You should be better than this."

Nathan furrowed his brow and stood up, towering over the much smaller boy, and said: "What was that, huh?" His voice was intimidating, but Audrey didn't show it. The only evidence of this feeling was in his eyes, which were hidden behind his bangs. The older lad's fist was clenched, and looked like it wanted to strike the boy. It could have at any moment, but was stopped when another voice called out to him.

"Nathan~!" called the voice of a much younger girl from the doorway of the kitchen. Samantha held up a cordless phone to the other's attention. "Mom wants to talk to you."

"About what?"

"I'm not sure. All I did was tell her what all you've done today while over here." the girl said with obviously feigned innocence. "She sounds mad."

"Sam! Why I oughta-!" Nathan didn't get to finish the sentence as the girl shoved the device in his face. His mother was able to hear that. His tough-act immediately washed away as the man listened to the furious voice on the phone.

"W-wait! Listen, mom! It wasn't my fault!" he said, trying to plead with the woman. "They asked me to, I swear! Please believe me, Mommy!"

"'Mommy'?" the other's snickered as the man's younger siblings grinned, bumping fists in a celebratory manner.

It wasn't common for them to be on the same side, but when it happened, they could always get their parents on their side, so while Nathan was usually (and wrongly) considered to be the "mature adult", if one of the others were to point out that he was misbehaving and acting badly toward the other, their parents knew that it was serious. While Daniel and Samantha didn't always understand each other, they could always count on the other to help in the fight against Nathan. While the others celebrated the eldest of the Westley siblings leaving, Kristopherson let out a sigh in relief, pausing to glance over at Samantha, who was now seated on the edge of the couch reading her book.

"'Frankenstein'?" he said, reading off the book's title and stirring the girl from her focus.

"Huh? Yeah. It's one of my favourites." she said. "Did you know that the author was only nineteen when she wrote it?"

"Really? No, I didn't."

"Well, she was." The girl turned her gaze back to the pages of her book. "She wrote another story when she was twenty-seven, called 'The Last Man', but it wasn't that well received. People say that it was just bad timing."

"That sounds like something Audrey would say." replied the Miles lad with a slight chuckle. It died in his throat when he saw the girl's face, her lips bent in a small smile, and pink subtly dusting her cheeks.

"Wait a minute..." he said, lowering his tone wo the others wouldn't hear. "Do you... Like Audrey?" he asked, knowing that the tow had met a few times when Audrey would come over and play video-games. Samantha's brow furrowed and she cleared her throat, burying her face further into her book..

"No." she said plainly. "What gave you that impression?" She raised her head slightly to look at Kristopherson. "What about you? Do you like my brother?"

"No." he answered, the word leaping right out of his mouth. "No offense, but he's too much of an idiot."

"I know. I was just wondering." And with that, the conversation ended.

Kristopherson's vision was still somewhat blurry, and his words didn't sound right, but he could still think. He didn't feel like moving or talking much, so he quietly sat there, watching the others play Halo and listening to them converse. He was about to fall asleep, but then he heard an odd fragment of conversation.

"Hey, Alois, I was wondering, do you have any lad-mags or anything you're hiding from Ciel?" Daniel asked, seemingly out of the blue. As to how the conversation turned to pornography, Kristopherson didn't know. He was just glad that Samantha was too into her book to catch any of it. "I'm pretty sure everybody has something, but I dunno if you Victorian types do, so I was just wondering."

"Well, actually, back in the day, porn was a pretty big thing." Alois answered casually, not even bothering to look away from the screen. "While everybody was all prim and proper on the outside, prostitution and porn were big money-makers. Probably because everybody's so repressed and stuff. Because I was the Queen's Spider, I came across quite a bit of it, myself. I'm pretty sure Ciel did, too." The way he spoke on the subject so comfortably without feeling awkward in the slightest sent a chill down the others spines. It seemed as though his old self was emerging. "I dunno what modern ones look like, though. I did read a page or two of Fifty Shades Of Grey before they started sealing them."

"Alois," Ciel interrupted, placing a hand on the blonde's shoulder. "Let me tell you about the gospel, because clearly, you need Jesus."

"Oh, fuck you!"

"Not in my house, you're not, Trancy..."

 


	235. That's So Gay

"Well, you caught me." Daniel said as the lads sat in his living room around a few boxes of pizza. "I have a brother, and he's a wank-stain."

"I didn't know you had siblings at all, Dan." said Preston before nibbling on his food.

"Well, with siblings like that, who would want you to?" Daniel answered with a frown. "Samantha, I can deal with. Nathan, no can do."

"What about your parents?" asked Alois, curious as to what they were like for his own, personal reasons. He wanted to know what having parents was like, to an extent.

"They're hardly ever home." said Daniel, wiping some pizza sauce off his face with the back of his hand. "Mom is, sometimes, but we never talk much, and Dad's always busy with work. When he's not, he and mom take off."

He spoke casually about it as if he didn't care, but the rest of the seven had simply never realized. Perhaps his excitable personality was simply a result of his lask of attention from his parents while his defensiveness was a result of his brother's harassment, or so the bluenette could piece together. It was oddly heavy for the Westley boy; unexpected.

"It can't be as bad as not knowing who they are." the politician's son continued. "I kinda feel for ya, Audrey. I can't imagine what that's like, not knowing your real dad."

"That, and your dad's a grim reaper." said Preston, offering the Baines lad a comforting smile. "Do you have any clues, yet?"

"Nope. None." replied Audrey.

He didn't sound offended, but his voice held a sort of subtle sadness to it, concealed by his usual demeanor. It did bother him, it really did. Not knowing was far worse than knowing. To him, it felt like a piece of himself was missing, a very important one. His biological father was a reaper, like himself, and Audrey felt somewhat alone in a world of mostly humans. Ciel and Alois shared some of this, being demons, but he wanted to know more about grim reapers, his kin.

He got along well with his "human father", but he wanted to know who his real father was, and why he didn't know him for so long. He at least wanted a name, or a face to tie the title of "real father" to, but there was nothing. There was nothing-, no one to explain to him what he was, which was like not knowing who he was. No one to tell him why this part was missing. No one to help him fill this void he felt somewhere in his heart. Audrey was laid back. He was laid back so he wouldn't be bothered-, so he couldn't be bothered, but he was, and his eyes were evidence of that.

"My mom won't tell me anything. The subject is apparently taboo." he continued, looking up. His green and yellow eyes barely visible from behind his hair.

"For real?" asked the Trancy lad. "Even after what happened at camp?"

"Yeah. She's still kind of upset about it. She doesn't like the supernatural world, still, and getting her alone to talk about it is hard. My dad-, my step-dad, is usually talking with her about this and that, and he doesn't know anything about it."

"So he has no idea about any of it?" asked Kristopherson, resting his head in his palm. "Is it awkward to be around him now that you know?"

"A little. We're still pretty close, though." replied Bones, taking a bite out of another slice of pizza. "What about you and your parents? They still pretty cool with your 'gayness'?"

"They claim to have known before I did." replied Kris. "They were pretty uncomfortable when Cameron came over, and I can get why, but they were okay with it."

"You said that 'the only thing you had in common was that you were gay'." said Preston. "You still hung out and dated?"

"I know, it was stupid." said the Miles lad, rubbing his forehead. "But it was... Kind of nice to be around someone else who was, y'know, gay. Trancy and Phantomhive are alright and all, but it's... just not the same, somehow..."

"So you just wanted another person to relate to. There's nothing wrong with that." spoke Ciel as he, too, understood how that felt, and Alois was evidence of that.

He wanted someone from his own time to talk to, and Sebastian just "wasn't the same". It was illogical, and irrational, but that's how he felt. Slowly, but surely, the bluenette was getting used to feeling things, something that he had denied himself for many years. It was awkward for him at times, but he was able to understand people better because of it.

"I know, but I feel so stupid for it." Kristopherson said, folding his arms.

"Don't worry about it, Kris, you're still our favourite 'sassy gay friend'." spoke Daniel with a grin. "By the way, did you hear? It's now legal for you to get married and everything."

"Really? I thought they weren't interested in debating it." said Ciel, having kept up with his politics. He earned a few grins and whistles for it, and crossed his arms across his chest with a frown and a blush.

"Yeah, so now Alois' dream of being 'Mrs. Phantomhive' can now be real!" Daniel replied, teasing the demonic duo. "Her majesty gace it the royal stamp of approval, and the bill cleared parliament. It should be taking effect sometime next summer."

"Who says I'm going to be Mrs. Phantomhive!?" Alois demanded, his voice almost a whine has his face flushed.

"Daniel did, weren't you paying attention?" said Audrey. "It's alright, Alois. Well all know your the 'girl' in the relationship, and wish the both of you happiness."

"Guys, I think you killed Ciel." Travis spoke up, indicating to the obvious discomfort written across the bluenette's face, and expressed in his body language as he sat in his place on the couch, attempting to casually hide his face in his hand.

"It's rude to push people, you know. They'll make that step when they're well ready to." said Kristopherson, his face slightly pink as well. "I heard that America was making a big deal about it, so maybe that sparked the sudden interest."

"That's what I was thinking." Daniel replied. "What about you, Kris? Are you happy that you can finally marry Prince Charming some day?" he teased, causing the Miles lad to shift uncomfortably.

"Of course I am. It'd be nice, but I'm not exactly in a hurry, or anything. Whatever happens, happens. Don't you all feel the same about marriage? We're like, fifteen, sixteen, and seventeen, right? I'm pretty sure we've all got time."

"Some, more than others." joked Audrey, gesturing to the demonic duo. "Hey, Preston, you gonna eat anymore pizza?"

"Huh?" the Indian lad said simply, sitting up at attention. "Ah, well, no. My parents usually only limit me to two, so..."

"You seriously need to stop doing whatever your parents tell you." the reaper boy said, putting another slice of pizza on the other lad's plate anyway. "It's weird."

"They just want what's best for me, so it's fine." Preston answered, simply staring at the food in front of him.

Preston always did exactly as his parents instructed. He took violin classes every week,had a specific diet, he even made friends with the Sensational Seven specifically in order to secure future potential business partners. Perhaps this was why the boy always seemed a little nervous. He was always trying to please his parents. That whole incident with the "Simon Says" bomber only made it worse, too. While the others could see the logic behind the Omid's thinking, that didn't make it right.

He didn't like trying new things, and he didn't like adventure; why, he was still unsure if he was entirely alright several of his friends not being human. The only reason Preston would ever consider doing so was if he stood to gain profit, somehow, either in future business assets, or otherwise. He wasn't afraid to introduce himself to new people if he thought they would be useful to him. Despite all of this, the others had grown on the boy somewhat. Perhaps being in their presence didn't simply just give him potential material gain. Perhaps he had begun to feel some form of kinship with them, he didn't know. He had become more open and talkative, which was something that hadn't changed for Travis.

Travis Sullivan was simply a lad of few words. He didn't like things that were unnessecary, including talking, in many cases. He liked to avoid confrontation when at all possible, and was quite content to listen. He knew he couldn't live like that forever, though, especially when those "unnessecary" conversations seemed to be so much fun. He was quite comfortable talking one-on-one with the others, but then again, that was a situation that called for it.

"It's still weird."

"Fine." Preston said, picking up the pizza and took the biggest bite out it that he could before setting the rest back down on the plate and shooting the Baines lad a victorious look.

"Well, at least we all now know how much stuff Preston can fit in his mouth." He nearly choked on his food at the words of none other than the blonde menace.

"Damn, Trancy, that was mean." said Daniel with a laugh while the Indian lad managed to get his food down without accidentally suffocating.

"What the fuck, Trancy?!" he demanded, huffing to catch his breath.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry." Alois said, putting his hands up in surrender, but his massive grin never wavering. "I couldn't help it. The joke had to be made."

"Says the kid who deep-throated a Popsicle at the beach..." added Audrey.

"I did not!" argued the blonde, playfully punching Bones in the shoulder. "I ate it normally!"

"There is no bloody way." said Daniel. "Did you see Ciel's face while you ate it? Oh yeah, that's right, you did because you made eye-contact."

The other lads let out a simultaneous "ooh's" and whistled at that statement. All the demonic duo could do was blush and shift uncomfortably in their seats. That is, until Ciel formulated a counter-attack.

"I'm sorry, but it appeared that you seemed to be watching rather intently as well, Daniel." he said, smirking ever-so subtly as the grin on the Westley lad's face suddenly faded. "Care to explain?"

Daniel's face immediately heated up at the taunting and teasing of the others that followed the bluenette's words. He furrowed his brow and opened his mouth to defend his honour. "I WAS NOT!"

"Are you sure?" the Phantomhive boy asked, arching an eyebrow. "Your preferences seem to be getting more questionable everyday, Daniel."

"I AM NOT GAY!"

"I'm sorry to interrupt," spoke Kristopherson, "but are we seriously just going to ignore the fact that Ciel basically just admitted to fantasizing while watching Alois eat a Popsicle?"

The conversations that took place in that large, London apartment that evening were no doubt, of an extremely questionable nature...

 


	236. Reminiscence Of A Certain Bluenette

London, United Kingdom, year 1999: the city was nearly destroyed as the H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. organization faced one of their greatest enemies since Dracula himself, _Millennium._ Members of Millennium had their roots in Nazi Germany, and had lost nearly all affiliation of the political party who was once the shining beacon of hope for a financially recovering, post World-War I Germany, and was then transformed into a den of insane, undead warmongers, banded for the sole purpose of creating one thing, and one thing alone: _destruction_ ; destruction on such a magnificent scale, that the only word that can possibly be used to describe it was " _sublime"._ Bodies were piled up in the streets among ruins and rubble, rendered bloody from bullets, broken glass, or from simply being ripped to shreds by Millennium's forces. Those men were no longer men. They were beasts in the guise of humans. The freak-chips that were implanted within them gave them almost vampire-like powers, without making them entirely so. They were like ghouls with human-level intelligence, and with strength that no mere human could handle. That was Millennium. They were insane. They were deadly. They were destructive. _I sincerely regret not arriving sooner. Perhaps then, I could have served greater aid in defending my home_.

The burden rested almost entirely on Sir Hellsing's shoulders. I was our of the country on a mission for the Convention of Twelve. When I returned, hardly any of them were left. All that remained were Sir Hellsing, Sir Islands, Sir Walsh, and Sir Midford. Sir Shelby Penwood, father of the current Sir Penwood, died while taking out a horde of Millennium's forces. I recall him being a nervous man, so I was certainly surprised upon hearing this, yet proud that he died for what he believed in. It was after the events of that single night in 1999 that almost the entire conference would be replaced, bringing in new faces, such as Sir Penniworth, Sir Smith, Sir Kirkland, and, of course, Old Sir Penwood's son. It feels somewhat odd referring to him as "Old Penwood", _since I'm older than him._

I had only arrived in time to help pick up the pieces. One of my biggest regrets was not being in London that night. Over one million people died that day, and that's only counting the locals. Perhaps if I had been there, the number could have been lower. I have proven useless when I was needed most, and that will be a permanent mark on my family name. I will never admit this aloud, but I am truly glad it was Sir Hellsing who handled the situation. Even though she will ridicule me for this failure of mine for as long as she will live, I'm almost certain that she was perhaps the only one who could have stopped those monsters in my absence.

It took over a month to gather the death toll, and even longer to clean the streets of rubble and debris afterward. I was on the scene personally, to examine the commanding Zeppelin of Millennium's forces, and, although I feel it is entirely inappropriate, I was glad I was. It was there that I found one of the most fascinating items I had ever laid eyes on, and one that would later aid me in one of my greatest achievements: _it was a book._ This seemingly useless piece of print was old; extremely so, but it held secrets that were vital for Millennium's freak-technology. They wanted to create artificial vampires, and this book contained secrets of the dark arts that weren't meant for man to know. Even if they read it, there was no way they could possibly understand it. It was a spellbook, one for those with demonic powers.

At first, I was skeptical. How could I not be? This book suggested that one could play God and bring the dead back again. As I read it further, however, it all actually seemed _plausible_.

Now, as a demon, I've lived a long time, consuming, making contracts, and shuffling from one day to the next, but what was the point of it all? I took souls for the single purpose of maintaining a seemingly purposeless, and incredibly _boring_ existence.

I knew no friend, but only Sebastian, who was a _butler_ , hardly a " _friend"_. Humans were food, and wouldn't understand my " _supernatural_ " self. They didn't want to. It wasn't their "normal". All I could do was parade around in front of them, remaining invisible in plain sight, and as such, I couldn't feel comfortable with casual conversation with _them_. I couldn't understand them, and they couldn't understand me. Actually, this barrier had existed _before,_ even while I was _human_ , actually. I'm... disturbed, I'll admit. I could never understand how people could feel so content blatantly ignoring the ugliness that this world had to offer. That was like ignoring reality itself. Becoming a demon made this worse. It was hard to try and be part of a reality that I _wasn't supposed_ to exist in. I couldn't talk to anyone. I couldn't discuss things with other people like I wanted to. Now, I was never exactly a " _social butterfly_ ", but humans are by nature, _social creatures_ , and I am somewhat _human at heart._ I wanted someone to talk to, to discuss things with, to have a decent argument with, _anything!_ Never would I have even begun to have imagine how maddening one-hundred years would be almost _alone._ Sebastian never felt it. He still doesn't quite understand my "human" self, the part that I hold onto _for my own reasons_.

At long last, after that long, excruciating one-hundred years of silence, I had finally found a cure for my boredom. Little did I know that that book would be the gateway for all kinds of new thoughts, feelings, and situations for me. Excitedly, I tore through that book, reading everything there was to know. Looking back on it, that must have been how _Doctor Frankenstein_ felt, as I, too, found a way to create life. That power I would have gained would be something that no human could handle, in fact, I'm not sure if I, myself, could have handled it when I was mortal. At last, I decided to go for it. I would gain that power, and I would at long last alleviate my boredom, but then it hit me: I was lacking something absolutely vital to this new-found plan _. I was missing a soul to summon._

One thing. It was one single, solitary thing that kept me from my goal. I'm not sure if I can remember the last time I had felt so depressed. The closest thing I can recall is _despair,_ but not _depression_. What was I going to do now? I had lost the thing that had made me feel _hope,_ something I had not felt in ages. What was I going to do after that? Well, it's simple: find a solution. _A Phantomhive does not know defeat._

All I had to do was find an item that could link a "deceased" soul to the mortal plane. I'd imagine that there were many souls floating around in Limbo, but finding one with a mortal connection would naturally be difficult. It took me several months to find the answer, as I had to try and recall every single " _supernatural"_ artifact that I had ever come in contact with. My efforts proved fruitless, as I ran out of ideas from this life, and had to venture into my past, human, life. At first, my thoughts traveled to the _Lævateinn,_ the sword that was once housed within the body of _Hannah Annafelloz,_ but that wasn't useful to me at all. It would have simply never worked for my purposes.

Then, my thoughts traveled from Miss Annafelloz to the memory of _that_ day; the day I stopped being human. How nostalgic it was, allowing those memories to flow back to me. As I recollected them, it felt as though one memory in particular slapped me in the face. It was when _Alois took over my body._

Now, that... _that was not pleasant in the slightest_. The feeling of having my memories overwritten, and intertwining with his was incredibly _invasive_. Perhaps that, though, is the reason that we get along so well. I'm able to understand how he thinks, and why he acts the way he does after experiencing life from his eyes. Ironically, _I was the very thing that I was looking for._

Yet, I didn't want to _damage my own soul,_ so I would have to try again. Remembering that day, and how he possessed me, however, I found it. _It was his ring._ His ring housed his soul at one point, and could possibly connect the mortal plane an Limbo to call it forth. All I had to do was find it.

Naturally, I looked in the last place I remember seeing it, the clock-tower behind the Trancy estate. Venturing there, I was oddly saddened, seeing the place for the first time in one-hundred years. Alois was my enemy, but it those days trying to hunt him down were some of the most exciting I can remember. Somehow, I found myself yearning for them, even as I was beginning to have _second thoughts._

Alois was my _enemy_. I wanted him dead, and I succeeded with that. Now, I was going to _bring him back?_ That was ridiculous. I _knew_ it was ridiculous. What was I going to do with him after resurrecting him? I hated him, so what possible use could I have for him? I reasoned that at the very least, I could scare him with the fact that I could kill him at any given moment if I felt like it, and use him as _a pawn_. I _smiled_ while imagining that face of his being frightened of me, something that I wouldn't be able to bear today.

The interior of the clock-tower was filthy, as expected. It was full of cobwebs, and everything was caked in dust. The metal gears of the tower that had long since ceased turning were encrusted with a coating of ugly, reddish-brown rust, while other pieces turned green from oxidation. It was somewhat amusing to see Sebastian so disgusted with the amount of disrepair, but it certainly wasn't amusing in the slightest to try and find a small ring within it all.

It was ugly. It was old, dusty, rusted, and lacked any and all shine. It was almost debatable whether or not we could actually use such a dingy piece of metal. Finding that ring was nearly impossible, and when we finally did, it was somewhat disappointing, but somehow, it was miraculously restored with polish.

The Trancy ring was obviously well-made to survive the passing years, too well-made to be worn by any _real_ Trancy. I felt a slight twinge of satisfaction knowing that it ended up in Alois' hands. Part of me felt as though he deserved it, but my pride would never allow me to acknowledge that at the time. It's still quite amazing how much he has grown on me in such a short amount of time.

For the first time, it feels like someone actually understands me. My past, my pain, the way I think, the way I carry myself and why; I suppose we technically have _Claude_ , of all people, to thank for that. I almost regret ever becoming enemies with him in the first place, yet I know we would never be able to live like this had we become friends at the start. Had we progressed the way we had during Queen Victoria's reign, or even, _several years ago_ , for that matter, we would never be able to be together like we are now. I would never be able to love him, or even be with him. As much as I hate to admit it, ( _and I really do_ ,) that idiot has managed to win me over.

My house is no longer feels like just a house. It is no longer deathly quiet or lonely. It's alive, and always bustling with Alois, Sebastian, and Luka living here, and " _The Sensational Seven_ ", Charlotte, Amelie, and various others coming to visit, occasionally. It feels like a family, almost. It's odd, but... I think I might _like_ it that way.

My house is no longer _just_ a house. Now, I believe, it is a _home_.

* * *

 


	237. It Always Sneaks Up On You

Only those with two things are allowed into Warwick Academy: social and economic status. The only exception would be grades, but that, however, is such a rare occurrence that it is hardly even worth mentioning. That said, education is of a higher importance than luxury at Warwick, thus it's students are treated to the best education money can buy, as teachers mold pupils into intelligent, cultured pioneers of tomorrow.

Still, there may be one or two students who pass under the radar. Take Daniel Westley, for example, son of Barbara and Richard Westley. The latter of which is a politician, and is thus well read, his son, however; not so much. Daniel had the worst grades of all three Westley children, and wasn't exactly the brightest bulb in the box. His words often left openings for his friends to tease him, he wasn't the best at making decisions, and he was oblivious to many, many social cues.

Yet Daniel's intention's were often good. No matter how rotten he felt on the inside, he'd often force a smile to grace the faces of his friends at his antics, all the same. Recently, he had come across a new dream of his, something he had never even considered to concoct. He wanted to enter the world of politics in order to pave the way for all future supernatural/human relations to be mostly positive, knowing full-well, that even two of his friends, who were demons, would have to kill eventually in order to survive. Like always, he shoved the negative afterthoughts to the back of his mind in order to focus on the good. He wasn't partial to planning, so he had no idea how to accomplish this plan, but he knew he was going to succeed, somehow. Until now, he has just been making things up as he goes. In fact, he still does.

"Oh, so you bleached your hair again?" he asked his friend Kristopherson as he sat down in his usual seat next to the boy before the bell. The boy in the pink tie simply looked up from the design he was sketching in his notebook to look at the boy.

"Huh? Oh, yeah..." he replied, twisting a lock of his freshly faux-blonde hair between his thumb and his index finger. "I didn't really care for the whole 'natural look'."

"Me neither. It made you look plain." the Westley lad said, reclining in his seat. "Blonde really suits you better. It's more fun." He looked over at the other lad's drawing. "What's that? Looks demon-y."

"Just a random idea I had. Actually, a lot of my designs have been 'supernatual-centric', lately. I'm trying to base it from a werewolf, actually..."

"Werewolf dresses? What is the world coming too?"

"I know, right? I'm trying to see if I can in corporate a full-moon, somewhere, but I just can't figure out where."

"Why not add spots? Like, yellowish polka-dots on it? There's your moon. In fact, there's several!" Kristopherson looked up at the brown-haired lad with a patronizing sort of expression that could only ask what was wrong with the boy.

"'Polka-dots'?" echoed the boy in the pink tie. "'Polka-dots'? Who the bloody hell wears polka-dots?"

"I dunno. Why? What's wrong with them?" asked Daniel.

"The fact that that will look like absolute rubbish."

"Well, excuse me, 'Princess'." the Westley boy said sarcastically. He turned to leave the faux-blonde to his sketching.

It wasn't as though Kristopherson minded the nickname. He was called things like "Princess", or "Pinky" all the time by the Westley boy, and now simply ignored it. He busily sketched away, silently drawing a yellow spot on the dress with great reluctance, but decided that one simple accent was enough, and was exactly what he needed. He leaned back in his oen seat to admire his handiwork, only to jump when Daniel suddenly started talking again.

"Hey Kris! Ever wonder how 'ordinary people' live?" asked the Westley lad, startling the Miles boy.

"Aren't we 'ordinary'?" Kristopherson asked in response.

"No, no, I mean the lower classes." Daniel replied. "Politician's are always criticized for not knowing what it's like to live on a lower budget! Haven't you ever wondered what it's like?"

"Not really. Where exactly are you going with this?"

"I just realized that if I want to be popular with the public, I gotta sympathize with them!" Daniel declared, oddly making a good point. He was right. It was a common thing for people in the upper class to not understand in the slightest what it's like for the rest of the population. His unusual point, however, was destroyed upon his next suggestion.

"I wanna give it a try." he said with an absurdly serious face. "Yeah! When I get to college, I'll find my own job and rent an apartment all on my own! It'll be easy! Then when I graduate, I'll be able to fully appreciate the-, hey, what are you doing?"

Daniel ceased his chatter when he looked over, and saw the faux-blonde messing with his pink phone, accessing the school's Wi-fi. He was on Google. After playing with it for a while, he finally answered.

"Let's see, with only a high-school diploma and absolutely zero work-experience, the best you'll be able to get is minimum wage, which appears to be about four-ninety-eight per hour..." Kristopherson began, not even bothering to look up from his handheld device. "Now, if you worked for five hours a day, you would earn twenty-four-ninety. For a seven-day work-week, that still comes out to only slightly over one-hundred and seventy-four pounds a week. Now, the average cost of rent per week in London is, oh look, over four-hundred pounds! And you've still yet to pay for food and utilities."

"You shut up, you... You..." Daniel said, trailing off. "Just shut up, you."

"Just trying to help out my idiotic friend."

"I'm not an idiot! I just need a plan! Oh! I know! What if I found a roommate? Y'know, to split the bill? I'll just find a 'Watson' to my 'Sherlock'!"

"You're too idiotic to be Sherlock, though..."

"I am not!"

"How's it going, you all? Gaying up the place, are we~?" Greeted the blonde menace in his usual fashion. He plopped down in his seat, soon followed by the Phantomhive lad, only offering a small nod as his greeting.

"I'm not a homo!"

"You have absolutely no right to talk, Trancy." answered the boy in the pink tie, resting his chin in his palm.

"Why not? I'm not 'gay'. I only like Ciel~!"

"So, you're pansexual?" asked Kristopherson, arching an eyebrow.

"'Ciel-sexual'?" added Daniel.

"Whoa, there! You lost me with your hip, young, lingo, there, kids." Alois said jokingly, not understanding what the boy had just said.

"If you don't know, then never-mind..." said the Miles boy, causing the blonde menace to arch and eyebrow. Alois turned his attention to the bluenette gentleman who had entered the room with him.

"Hey, Ciel, what does pa-"

"I don't know." the bluenette interrupted, hearing the conversation. "All we can assume is that Kristopherson may be a pervert."

"You're the pervert, Phantomhive!" the faux-blonde argued, pointing at the demon accusingly. "Not even God himself wants to know what 'Satan' does behind locked doors!"

"I thought it was Alois." Daniel said with a grin on his face.

"Hardy-har-har, mister Westley." said the blonde menace. He opened his mouth once more in order to add onto his sarcastic remark, but was cut off by the sound of the bluenette's phone ringing.

"Sorry, I thought I turned it on vibrate." the Phantomhive boy said, pulling the device out of his pocket. The look on his face immediately shifted from disinterest to irritation in the blink of an eye, as he read the name of the person calling him.

"From the look on his face, I'd say it's Sir Integra." Alois said, an amused grin gracing his face. He waved his hand back and forth in order to shoo the boy off. "Go on, answer your little phone-call, dear."

"Aren't upset that your man is getting calls from 'other women'?" asked Daniel, earning a mean look from the bluenette as he stood up.

"Don't even joke like that. It's disgusting." the bluenette said before turning to walk out into the hallway, pressing the button to answer his phone at the same time. "What?"

"I hope you don't use that tone with anyone who might hold it against you, Phantomhive." the woman said, commenting on his greeting. "I apologize for calling you during school hours, but I have a little problem that requires your 'expertise'."

"What's this? You asking me for help, Integra?" Ciel asked, his tone patronizing. He immediately kicked himself once he realized that he casually called her by name. He didn't want to give anyone the impression that they might actually be "friends", as Alois put it.

"I'm not playing games, Phantomhive, this is serious." the Hellsing woman replied, her voice stern with a distressing amount of hidden worry, able to snap the bluenette to attention. "I'm talking about the possibility of an attack on London, similar to the one performed by Millennium! This isn't a time for petty squabbling"

This, of course, caught the boy's attention. His eye widened, remembering the destruction that took place on that day. Bodies among the rubble, torn to pieces, if not reanimated as ghouls; fire as far as the eye could see; skyscrapers, workplaces, homes, lives: all destroyed. He had arrived toward the end of it all, and it looked like hell on earth. The shear scale of obliteration was of an ego-crushing magnitude. It was sublime, and he was powerless to do anything about it, let alone stop it. It made his heart ache to see his home in that condition. Ciel Phantomhive was not a sentimental person, but in that moment, however fleeting, he felt a pang in his heart to see that. The destruction was far worse than any of the many times that his manor had been destroyed, greater than when that hermaphroditic angel attempted to destroy it. These people were masters of annihilation. Ciel had many regrets, far too many than he could count, but not arriving sooner to save his home on that day was toward the top of the list. Immediately, his tone changed.

"I understand." he said, the very air around him changing. "What is it that you need me to do?"

"My people have come across a peculiar series of murders." began the Hellsing woman, wasting absolutely no time. She would never admit it, but she, too, was fearful of that day happening twice. After all, it took her left eye. "At first, it appeared to be a routine case, but then we saw signs arrising similar to when Millenium was emerging. Vampires appearing with more frequency, ghouls being created from people who are obviously virgins, like nuns, and even children. The ghouls do not die when the vampire dies, which it usually does, seemingly within a few hours of creation. Autopsies have also uncovered primitive chips, similar to the freak-chips implanted in Millennium soldiers."

"A copycat, perhaps?" asked the bluenette, averting his gaze from a student he didn't know walking into the classroom.

"Most likely." answered Integra. "It is not my specialty, figuring out where criminals will strike next, and there's no way in Hell that I'll leave an investigation up to incompetent, ordinary detectives."

"So, you want me to find this copycat for you before any real damage is done, is that correct?"

"Yes. You're the only one I can trust with this, Phantomhive."

"Alright." Ciel replied, unsure of how else to respond to that. He wasn't used to the woman acting this way. "I'll get this done as quickly as possible."

And with that, he hung up, letting the hand with his phone in it, fall to his side as he leaned against the wall. He ran his other hand through his bluenette hair, and let out a sigh. He hated it how these things sneaked up on him, randomly occurring on otherwise normal days. Eventually, he forced himself to walk back into the classroom and take his seat-, or at least try to, as there was that student he didn't recognize standing in front of it, arguing with his friends.

"What do you mean 'this seat is taken'? There's no one here!" the boy asked, putting his hand on his hip.

"He had a phone-call, and had to take it outside." explained Kristopherson. "Believe me, you don't want to mess with him when he gets back."

"Yeah, he's the 'scariest kid in school', by popular vote." said Audrey, pulling a black memo-pad out of his blazer pocket, checking his notes on what people are saying around school. "Since you didn't know that, and I don't recognize your face, you must be new here, right?"

"So what of it? There assigned seats in this class, or something?" asked the boy.

"No, it's just that Satan sits there, and he's standing right behind you right now wondering what the hell you're doing in front of his seat." said Alois, casually pointing to the bluenette, causing the boy to follow his finger. When he turned around, he saw the bluenette standing there, giving him the "ice-beam". His challenger simply stood there for a moment, firing back a look of his own before conceding.

"Fine. Sorry for bothering you." he said. With that, he walked away, taking an empty seat next to Lawrence across the room. The other's simply watched him as Ciel finally sat back down.

"The hell was that about?" asked Daniel, earning a shrug from the others in response. Everyone except for Ciel, who simply sat and stared into space with a more serious look than usual, if that was possible,

"What is it?" asked Alois, noting the bluenette's look. That with the knowledge that he received a call from Sir Hellsing, whatever it was, it definitely wasn't good.

"I'm going to have to prevent one of the greatest catastrophes to ever hit London from happening again..." the bluenette said, rubbing his temples.

Oh, how he wished these things wouldn't sneak up on him.

 


	238. He Be Creeping

Warwick Academy; even this massive campus was not safe from the destruction that ravaged London fourteen years ago. Most students were too young to remember at the time. Even the Sensational Seven barely did. Daniel was two at the time, and vaguely remembers the lights wafting from the flames that covered the city as he and his family escaped. Preston was two as well, and Travis was three, both lived on on the outskirts of the city with their own families, so escape was easy for them. Neither of them remember it at all because they were so young. Kristopherson, at age three, was in Wales, on the set of one of his father's movies, and Audrey, who was two, was at home in his hometown of Denton, before his mother married his stepfather, Mister Baines.

While none of them were there, they know the stories told about it from people who were. They were told about massive flames and a river of blood, and the dead getting up and walking again. As they grew older, though, they stopped believing these tales-, that is, until they met Ciel Phantomhive, and Alois Trancy. Now, they seemed entirely plausible. As they now sat there in class, listening to the bluenette explain his current situation, they actually started to feel worried. Ordinarily, they would protest to help the bluenette, knowing that the boy would most likely be able to handle it anyway, but what if he couldn't, this time? This was big. Really big. Was it too big for Ciel Phantomhive? Who's to say? All that they knew was that this needed to be resolved as quickly as possible.

"So, where do you want to start?" asked Alois, examining the bluenette's face as the boy stared intently at his hands, folding them on his desk.

"I don't know." Ciel replied, his gaze never shifting. "I know know where to even begin. How on earth do you track down a bunch of vampires? That's Hellsing's specialty, not mine. I have no idea why she wanted me to handle this..." The others sat silently, listening to the bluenette as he took one of his hands and ran it through his hair. He looked somewhat stressed.

"Start with what we know." said the blonde menace. While he wasn't around fourteen years ago, the information he had received from Ciel was enough. "We know that Millennium used these things called 'freak-chips' to make their vampires. That is a necessity to the copycat's plans. Their products so far have been 'defective' so far, so what does that mean?"

"That they'll be wanting to improve their technology." answered Ciel, looking up, finally. "So, that's where we start. Preston, do you have any ideas where they might do that?"

"Well, SOMA and Baines Pharmaceuticals has been collaborating on a project together recently." said the Omid lad, arching an eyebrow. "Supposedly, they've been trying to come up with a way to use nano-chips in order to artificially advance human immunity to illness."

"It fits the bill perfectly." said Audrey. "We'll find out everything we can about it, and pass it onto you."

"Thanks." answered the bluenette. He didn't like leaving this all up to them, but those two would be able to access information that he wouldn't be able to, at least not without extreme difficulty. He was beginning to feel the pressure of this assignment. "Don't forget to find out who all is working on the project. One of them could either be the copycat, or be leaking information to them."

"A suspect list? I'm on it." Said Audrey, reaching into his bag. He pulled up his laptop, and began accessing Baines Pharmaceuticals' information. He was obviously excited by all of this.

"Even your laptop is black and has skulls on it..." commented Kristopherson.

"You're one to talk. Yours is pink!" added Daniel.

"Mister Westley, would you please be quiet?" asked the teacher as she walked into the room. "I could hear your yelling out in the hallway."

Her name was Missus Easter, and she taught Chemistry, a class that both Daniel and Alois detested taking first thing in the morning. The sensational Seven were somewhat disappointed that Mister Irons didn't teach any classes in their grade this year, as it turned out that he wasn't that scary of a man after all. He cared about his son, Nigel, quite dearly, and even treated Luka like his own son while he was sharing Nigel's body. Not because he was in Nigel's body, but simply because it was "the right thing to do". As a hardened, former H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. soldier, it was only natural for him to come across coarse and intimidating.

"Yes, ma'am..." Daniel groaned, knowing by the fact that the woman walked in with a lab-coat on that they would be doing a lab-study that day. None of the students even had to wait for her to speak before they all knew this-, well, maybe not the odd, new kid from that morning, but most.

"Today, we'll be doing a lab-..."

"I knew it!"

"...And thanks to mister Westley, just now, you will not be choosing your own partners." The other children in the room all groaned, while some "booed" at Daniel and called him an idiot, while the boy received a punch to the arm from Alois. "I'm going to write all of your names down, and put them in this beaker. You know the drill: the person you draw will be your partner."

Children groaned brielfly en masse as Missus Easter walked around the room with the beaker, allowing the children to select their partner for the assignment. She gave the Westley lad a stern look when he picked Kristopherson's name, while the boy gave a quick sigh of relief. Preston drawed Travis' name, but neither of the demonic duo drawed the other's. Instead, Ciel drew Audrey, and while he wasn't too concerned, with the rest of the seven taken, Alois was. Hesitantly, he reached into the beaker and pulled out a name.

"Who the bloody hell is Dafydd?"

"Mind your language, mister Trancy." the teacher warned in a stern tone. She looked toward the opposite side of the room, and following her eyes, Alois turned to see who he assumed was the person he had drawn.

It was the boy from earlier, who tried to take Ciel's seat. His hair was shoulder-length, and tied back in a sloppy ponytail. Alois' immediate thought was that is could possibly be a mullet when it was down. The boy who was apparently known as "Dafydd" also wore rings on every finger, even on his thumbs. His ears were pierced and also had "ear-cuffs" on them. All of this combined with the way the boy was looking at Alois made him shudder in disgust.

"What a creep." he said softly enough so that the teacher couldn't hear as she walked away. Ciel could hear it, and chuckled somewhat.

"It's just for a class period." said the bluenette, smiling ever-so slightly at the blonde's pout. "Play nice. Don't 'accidentally' pour acid on him."

"I won't. It won't be and accident." Alois replied as he watched his companion get out of his seat and walk over to where Audrey was, leaving the blonde menace alone at their two-man table after offering the lad once last smile. Alois nearly flinched when the new boy suddenly took his place.

"So, we meet again." said Dafydd, resting his chin in his palm. "I'm Dafydd."

"I'm Alois..." the blonde replied, not knowing what else to say.

"That's a pretty unique name." said the other boy. "I don't think I've heard it before."

"Thanks?" Alois answered, arching an eyebrow. His eyes shifted to Dafydd's hand, as it moved from it's place underneath his chin. The blonde's eyes could have been wrong, but he thought he saw the small green gem on one of the boy's many rings glow for a split second before the lad flicked his wrist, a flower appearing in it, immediately causing the blonde's attention to change directions. He wrinkled his nose at the boy's actions before flicking his gaze toward the direction of the bluenette, seeing the Phantomhive boy looking his way with a dumbfounded expression, almost matched by Audrey's, who was simply following Ciel's eye.

"I mean it." Dafydd went on. "It really suits a pretty girl like you."

"What?" the blonde asked, completely blindsided but that remark. As the gears began to turn in his head, and he finally registered what the boy had said, his eyebrow twitched in annoyance.

"That's very 'flattering', and all, but I'm a boy." Alois said with a friendly grin, hoping to completely crush the new lad, who simply blinked a few times before speaking again.

"My bad." he said with a big grin. "That's even more impressive. You're just so good-looking! It's pretty amazing that you're a bloke."

"What?" Alois said. The word simply flew out of his mouth before he could catch it.

"To tell the truth, I don't really care either way. I like what I like, and that's all that I like. And right now, I think I might like you."

"Sorry, but I can't say I'm interested. I'm taken by the cyclops, over there." Alois gestured to a rather peeved-looking Ciel, who was once again firing ice-beams at the new boy for the second time that morning. In response Dafydd simply leaned back in his chair with a sigh.

"Ugh, it's always the powerful supernaturals who get all the good ones..."

"Wait, 'supernaturals'?"

"Don't play dumb. I know you're one too." said Dafydd. "Your human-friends think very loudly. It wasn't hard to figure out. So, what're you? Personally, I'm a sorcerer. I cast spells, mix potions, summon things, y'know, stuff like that."

"Don't you think you're being a bit casual about that?" Alois asked, pausing for a moment as he caught himself sounding like Ciel. "If you start talking about it in public and performing magic-tricks, people are going to find out."

"I'm not worried." said the sorcerer, leaning forward again, and resting his elbow on the table and his chin in his palm. "People only see what they want to believe. Also, it's not 'magic'. It's Magicaology. It's a science."

"The 'magica' in that is latin for 'magic'."

"Oh, so you speak more than one language? That's pretty cute."

"Again, I'm with Satan, over there, so don't even try it, Romeo."

"Is that the cyclops' name, or does he have a more official one?" asked Dafydd.

"It's Ciel, Ciel Phantomhive." The sorcerer boy almost fell out of his chair from hearing the name.

 


	239. A Gentlemanly Challenge

Dafydd traversed the hallways, seeking out one person in particular. Something had bothered him about his conversation with Alois that morning. "Ciel Phantomhive" the blonde had called the lad seated a few seats over from them. Dafydd had heard that name before, he just didn't remember where.

That night, he went home and did some digging. The sorcerer had a habit of collecting any old book or newspaper that he could get his hands on, so he started there. It took him almost the entire night, but he found it. Several newspaper articles dating back from the late 1800s.

 _"Tragedy strikes at Phantomhive manor: Earl Phantomhive and wife reported dead; son missing."_ and another _"Phantomhive boy found! Missing son of deceased Earl returns; inherits company."_ and another, " _Ciel Phantomhive, owner of Funtom Toys wins Royal certificate"_ and yet another, _"Funtom boy-CEO funds new dam, discovers legendary 'White Stag'."_

There were many pages with the Phantomhive lad's name and picture on them, but how could that be? As he thought upon seeing the lad, he was supernatural as well, and of a far greater power than a mere sorcerer. Sorcerers are humans with supernatural powers, said to have been created from the copulation of a human, and a demon, and as such, they were mortal. They would age, and could die of old age, and be killed just like any other human. The only difference was that they could use black magic.

The Phantomhive boy bothered Dafydd. What was he? The boy's nickname, "Satan" worried him as well. The sorcerer knew that Ciel was powerful, as he couldn't detect his thoughts. Yes, Dafydd could hear ones thoughts. That's how he knew Alois was supernatural, and that it was alright to discuss such matters around the seven. He just didn't catch what either boy was.

He marched into school that day on a mission. He was going to find the answer, not for any reason other than for the fact that not knowing things bothered him. He could hear thoughts, so suddenly not knowing things bothered him. He walked to his first period class, and saw the demonic duo conversing like they always did, before making a beeline for them. He slammed his hand on the table in front of the bluenette, gaining his attention. The other boy, however, lazily looked up at Dafydd.

"Can I _help_ you?" CIel asked, his expression a bit more stern than usual. He was under enough stress as it was, and simply did not need this nonsense. He was waiting on Preston and Audrey to get there in order to gain whatever information they had, but then this fool showed up. He narrowed his eyes at the boy, who simply furrowed his brow at him in response.

"What's the deal, huh?" asked Dafydd, pulling out a copy of one of his newpapers and holding it up to the bluenette's gaze. "What the _hell_ are you? These are from the 1800s! There's no way you're mortal."

"Isn't it obvious?" the bluenette answered with a question. "I'm _'Satan'."_

"Don't give me that! Just give me a straight answer!" Dafydd demanded, causing the bluenette's eyebrow to twitch in annoyance. He stood up in order to seem more intimidating, glaring straight into the other boy's eyes. The fact that the boy was slightly taller than him annoyed Ciel.

" _I_ don't have to tell _you_ anything." the Phantomhive boy said. "Now, I suggest you leave. _I honestly don't have the time to to be bothered with you_."

"What?!"

"Ciel!" called a certain reaper-boy as he entered the room, walking straight up to the bluenette with Preston in tow. "We've got some info for you, and _it's not good."_

"Uh... You seem busy right now, so should we just tell you later?" asked Preston.

"No. This kid was just leaving." replied the bluenette. "What is it."

"There was a _kidnapping?"_ asked Dafydd, startling the others. "Why would you need to know about that?" There was a long pause before the boy's eyes widened and he looked at the bluenette once more. "You're a..."

"You're a _telepath,_ aren't you?" Ciel asked taking his seat once more. "Well, isn't that just _wonderful?_ This doesn't concern you. Now, if you'll excuse me, Audrey, Preston, _the information?"_

"Like hell it doesn't, you little-!"

"Sod off, _wizard-boy_." Alois interrupted, immediately gaining Dafydd's attention. "Shut up and _go back to Hogwarts._ You're not needed."

"Sorry, _babe,_ but I can't just do that." said the sorcerer, placing a hand on his hip. "We sorcerer's have protected people for centuries! I can't just back down."

" _Don't_ call be _'babe'."_ Alois replied, his eyebrow twitching in annoyance.

"Ooh, you're just a little _spitfire,_ aren't ya?" asked Dafydd, a grin gracing his face. "I like it."

"And you're _completely daff_."

"Like the _duck?"_ asked Audrey. "Dafydd? _Daffy Duck?"_

"Oh my god, that's _brilliant_ , Bones!"

" _I'm not a duck!"_ argued Dafydd.

"Quiet, _'Daffy'_ , you're in the way!" Alois said.

"Agreed." added Ciel. "What is this about a kidnapping, then?"

"We did some digging, and apparently, there's been two kidnappings from both of our family's companies." said Audrey. "A genetics expert from mine, and an authority in nano technology from Preston's."

"We don't exactly know how it happened." added Preston. "The police are still investigating it, according to my dad."

"This isn't good..." said Ciel, rubbing his temples. "At least we know that they're alive. I'm going to have to call an old friend of mine if I want anymore details. Alois, remind me to call Detective Bailey, later."

"Roger that, muffin." the blonde replied.

"Hey! Don't just ignore me!" shouted Dafydd.

"It's all we _can_ do." said the bluenette, looking up at the sorcerer with a sour look on his face. "What makes youi think that you'll be of any use, here? We barely know you."

"You. Me. The rooftop. During lunch." the sorcerer replied, slamming his hand back down on the desk. "I'll show you _exactly_ what I can do."

"Is that a _challenge?"_ Ciel asked. "I need to call Bailey during lunch. I don't have time for your pathetic self."

"'Pathetic, am I? Let's make this a little more interesting, then." Dafydd said. "If _you_ win, I'll leave you all be, and never come back, but if _I_ win..." He grinned, glancing toward Alois. _"...I get to take the little spitfire out for a spin."_

 _"You will do no such thing."_ Ciel said, standing up. His voice was stern, and his eyes glaring daggers at the sorcerer.

"So what is it?" Dafydd asked. " _Yay or nay?"_

"I'll be able to call Bailey." said Ciel. _"I'll crush you with time to spare_."

* * *

 


	240. Magicae Insufficiens

"Do you _really_ have to do this?" Alois asked as he and the rest of the Seven made their way to the Warwick rooftop. It was noon, and the students had been dismissed to lunch. The bluenette should really have been using this break to call Detective Bailey and request further information on the kidnapping of the two researchers from SOMA Electronics, and Baines Pharmaceuticals. "It's not like I'm going to go with him, even if he was actually capable of winning."

"I know." replied the Phantomhive who lead the pack. "If I need to put him in his place before he leaves us all alone while we're trying to work, I will."

"Well, Phantomhive sure sounds pissed off." noted Kristopherson as they climbed the many stairs that led to the roof. "Think all the stress is getting to him?"

"Either that, or he's _jealous."_ said Daniel with a grin.

"But Alois just said he wouldn't go with Dafydd?" asked Preston.

"Doesn't matter." answered Daniel. "That's just how jealousy works."

 _"And you would know?"_ asked Kristopherson.

"Shut up! _We're almost there!"_

The others simply rolled their eyes at the brown-haired lad's excuse as Ciel opened the door. Behind it was as high up on the Warwick campus as one could get. The roof of the Warwick main building stood out against the blue sky in a way that made it appear as one was upside-down above clear ocean waters, and amongst the waves just in front of them stood Dafydd, turning away from the cloud that he was looking at to face the other boys with a grin.

"Alright?" he greeted, placing a hand on his hip.

"Hey, 'Daffy'." said Audrey, causing the rest of the seven, aside from Ciel, snicker.

"My name's not _'Daffy'!_ It's 'Dafydd'! _Dafydd Blake!"_ the sorcerer protested, his grin turning into a near-pout.

"Are we going to get this over with already?" asked the bluenette, setting things back on track. "I've got things I need to do before lunch is over."

"Honestly, what does _Spitfire_ see in you?" Dafydd asked, folding his arms. "You're kind of a _prick_ , you know that?"

"And you're a _creep_." said Kristopherson.

"If you aren't ready within the next _three seconds_ , I'm going to knock you straight off of this roof." said the bluenette, sticking his nose in the air, somewhat. This gesture changed when he smirked and sent the sorcerer an evil look. "Well, _who's really to say that I won't, anyway?"_

Dafydd shot the boy a defiant grin, and took a fighting stance. One of the rings on his hands glowed blue, as he opened his mouth to speak again. He spoke in latin, as he recited a spell.

_"Scientia de anima! Cantus Bellalax!"_

Ciel smirked. He recognized the spell. The part at the beginning was an incantation that a sorcerer must recite to call upon his or her power, each one being unique to the user, and the second one was the actual spell. It projected a weak barrier around the caster, lessening the blows of physical attacks. It increased the speed, senses, and durability of the user, and since the boy was in no way as resilient as a demon, he had to compensate.

The sorcerer advanced, and the demon-boy moved away from the others so that they may not be accidentally struck. Yet, Ciel made no attempt to dodge Dafydd as he cocked back his arm and aimed his fist directly at the other boy's face. He didn't even see the demon's muscles tense before he felt pain in his stomach from the bluenette's foot making contact with it. Dafydd fell flat on his rear as Ciel looked down on him.

Once he registered what had just happened, the sorcerer-boy's face flushed from embarrassment, as he scrambled to his feet. He ignored the pain in his stomach and tailbone as he tried to look tough once again. This time, he thought carefully before attacking. _If direct attacks didn't work, why not get some distance?_

 _"Scientia de anima! Spiraculum Gilgrim!"_ he shouted, this time a red gemstone lighting up. He took a deep breath, filling his lungs to their full capacity, before expelling it through his mouth in the form of _fire._

Again, the bluenette didn't even flinch as the flames engulfed him, leaving scorch-marks on the floor. The others looked on in horror as they witnessed this, yet they knew that by the Phantomhive-boy's demeanor, he had something up his sleeve. Dafydd sensed something was off as well, but, unable to hear the bluenette's thoughts, there was nothing he could do but wait.

As the fire dissipated, Ciel was visible once more, holding his hand up to block the attack. It would appear that flames were of no use on demons as well. Dafydd didn't know this, but he knew the other boy was powerful. Powerful enough to block his telepathic sensory-skills

"Fine! Time to bring out the big guns!" the frustrated sorcerer shouted, taking his stance once more. He pointed his fingers at the bluenette like they were supposed to be a gun. This time, a yellow gem glowed, and much brighter than the last two as he focused more energy into the attack. _"Scientia de anima! Egressus as de fulmine irritum inimicis meis et concidi!"_

A loud _boom_ sounded off, causing the others to cover their ears. There was absolutely no way that someone didn't notice that. His attack had created a sonic-boom on top of a building with hundreds of people inside. It was _thunder_. Dafydd had just shot lightning from his fingers, and had aimed it straight at the bluenette. There was just one problem: _Ciel was no where to be found._

Dafydd looked in front of him, but found nothing. He looked to his left, and found nothing. He looked to his right, and still found nothing. The sorcerer spun a full circle looking for his opponent, but the Phantomhive boy was nowhere to be seen. That is, until he looked up.

The shoe of the missing Phantomhive came into contact with the boy's face. His sixth sense had told him to dodge, and he did that by jumping, and now Ciel was using gravity to help him kick Dafydd's face. He landed as the other boy clutched his face, as the boy's nose bled from the impact. Soon, Dafydd recovered, only to turn around to face the demon with an irate expression. He opened his mouth to shout another spell, another ring glowing.

" _Scientia de anima! Carcer glacies spiritu-"_ He was cut off by a quick slap to the face from his opponent. He furrowed his brow and tried again.

 _"Scientia de anima! Carcer gla-"_ The same thing happened again. " _Sientia de anima! Ca-"_ And again. " _Scientia de ani-"_ And once more...

Soon, the sorcerer stumbled backward. He looked up at the Phantomhive boy, patiently waiting for another attack, only to have the boy stare blankly at him. When he determined it was safe, he held up his hand and tried one last time.

" _Sci-"_

The poor lad was only able to let out one syllable as he was punched in the stomach. His legs gave up on him, as he fell to the ground, clutching his pained abdomen. The bluenette took that as a sign that this fight was over.

"That's a major _weakness_ , you know." said Ciel, capturing the sorcerer's attention. "You have to be able to say the name of your attack before you do it, and you have to verbally call on your power. _If I just keep you from speaking, you can't even hope to attack at all."_

Dafydd spoke weakly and held up his hand, only managing to say: " _S-s-scientia de-"_ before getting kicked while he was down.

"It's probably a good idea to get out of here, quickly." Ciel said, walking back over to his friends. _"Everyone within a several mile radius heard that last attack of yours_."

"Don't take it so hard, _Daffy."_ said Alois, offering the boy a smile _. "Not just anyone can beat a demon."_

"Especially one who made several other demons _his bitch."_ added Daniel, earning a playful punch from the blonde menace.

With that, they left, leaving the sorcerer alone to contemplate his loss. He would have to study more in order to get out of having to recite the spells to be able to cast them. That was something that took years to master, but he would have to do it. Soon, he got up and brush himself off, wiping his bloody nose with the back of his hand before making his way to the restroom to clean himself off.

_He was crushed with time to spare, as promised, leaving the bluenette to make his call._

* * *

 


	241. Base Camp, Do You Read?

Warwick Academy; perhaps one of Britain's finest schools, offering students lessons in the arts, culture, the finest of science and maths, as well as how to handle themselves in practically any career of their choosing. Right now, the teachers were trying to discover the source of the thunderous noise that had nearly ruptured the eardrums of practically everyone on the campus, all but one, who had a guess as to what the cause was. Mister Irons knew it was no doubt the work of the demon-boys, and needed no further explanation.

Ciel walked out into a secluded area of the courtyard, and pulled out his cellphone. After scrolling through his contacts, he eventually came across the name that he desired, and pushed the "call" button before placing the device up to his ear and listening to it ring. He felt the corner of his mouth twitch slightly as he heard the voice of Detective Bailey.

" _Hello?"_ he answered, his voice groggy and tired. Just by that alone, Ciel knew he had definitely called the right person.

" _Tough case, Bailey?"_ asked the bluenette as greeting, taking a small amount of delight in the man's fatigue. He knew that whatever it was, Ciel could most likely solve it much faster than Bailey, and without even breaking a sweat.

" _Kidnappings."_ said Bailey, the creaking of his chair could be heard over the line as he sat up. "They're a pain. Something tells me you didn't just call to say _'hi',_ so what is it, Phantomhive?"

"Oh, so I guess you've caught me?" the bluenette joked back. "I'm looking for information on a set of kidnappings, myself, and was wondering if you'd be so kind as to throw some information my way?"

"Of course you are." said Bailey, shuffling through some papers. "Got some names?"

"Yes, I'm looking for information on the kidnappings of Almondine Bigby, a specialist of nano technology for SOMA electronics, and Elena Lovejoy, a geneticist working for Baines Pharmaceuticals." explained the bluenette. He opened his mouth to explain even further, but the man on the other end of the phone spoke first.

"Trying to beat me to the punch, huh, Phantomhive?" asked Bailey. "I have all of the information right in front of me. That's just the case _I_ was working on."

"Sorry." the bluenette said with insincerity. "What can you tell me?"

"Well, both women were abducted from their homes just a few days ago." the detective began, eying the papers. "There were signs of forced entry, but no signs of any further struggle. We suspect that the kidnappers were armed, and threatened to kill them. There were no fingerprints but the victims' anywhere around the house. I'll e-mail you the files, but I'm going to guess that you're going to ask to see the crime scene?"

"If at all possible, _yes_." replied the bluenette, causing the detective to sigh.

"Alright. Can you be here tomorrow morning?"

"I'll have to skip school, but I can."

"You have _all the time in the world_ for school. _Kidnapping_ comes firs."

"Roger that. See you then, Bailey."

"Aye, see you, _kiddo_."

With that, he hung up. Ciel carefully placed his phone back in his pocket before furrowing his eyebrows at the detective's preferred nickname for him. Sometimes it seemed that everyone he worked with had their own unique way to mock him. It irritated him to no end, bruising his ego slightly. He, however, wasn't able to dwell on this for long, as a pair of arms snaked their way around his torso from behind, hands landing up his chest, causing him to jump.

 _"Trancy to base camp! Do you read?! I repeat: Trancy to base camp! Over!"_ called the blonde menace, nearly making the Phantomhive boy jump out of his skin.

Once it finally dawned on him that Alois was simply messing with him, he relaxed, slightly. He could practically feel the massive grin on the other boy's face as he stood behind him. They both stood in silence for a moment, as Ciel patiently awaited an explanation, one that never came.

" _Alois?"_ he asked, finally.

" _Yes?"_ answered the blonde menace, casually squeezing the bluenette's chest as if it were nothing.

_"What the bloody hell are you doing?"_

"Feeling your _chesticles_."

_"Why?"_

"Does it bother you?"

"Yes."

_"That's why."_

With a roll of his visible eye, Ciel wrapped his fingers around the blonde's wrists, before forcefully prying the other boy's hands off of him, much to Alois' disappointment. He turned to see the blonde pouting at him, which was made less effective by the blonde's hands, which were held up like claws, fingers opening and closing. It took a swift flick to the forehead to make him stop.

 _"No."_ the bluenette said, speaking as though he were talking to a dog. " _Bad."_

"But why? It's not like you have _boobs,_ or anything." replied the blonde, trying to rationalize his actions to no avail. "Touching your chest shouldn't be a big deal~!"

"You and I both know that's a _lie_." Ciel said. "Your _intentions_ were _nefarious_. Keep your hands to yourself. _Have you forgotten that we're in public?"_

"So, only in _private,_ then?" Alois giggled at the new pink tint that dusted the bluenette's cheeks at that remark. "So? _Learn anything new?"_

_"A-about what?"_

" _The case_ , of course." A smirk graced the blonde's face, followed by a giggle. "What were _you_ thinking?"

"W-well, _ahem..."_ the bluenette began, clearing his throat and ignoring the other boy's previous question. "The two scientists that were kidnapped, were kidnapped in their homes. There were signs of a forced entry, but no struggle. _We'll be heading out to the scene of the crime tomorrow morning, to get further information."_

 _"Sounds like a plan."_ replied the blonde. "Lunch is almost over, should we head back to class?"

 _"I suppose so."_ Ciel answered as he begun to walk along side the blonde.

They walked in silence, simply enjoying each other's presence. It wasn't often that they got to do so. There were always murders to solve, kidnappers to catch, supernatural beings to deal with, silly friends being silly, or little brothers interrupting. It was pleasant.

"So, what did you _really_ think I meant earlier?" asked Alois, breaking the silence. It took a moment for the bluenette to fully remember the entirety of their conversation, but when he did, he furrowed his brow, his cheeks turning pink.

"It was _nothing."_ he insisted. _"I just didn't understand what you were talking about_..."

"That's a lie, isn't it?" The blonde grinned.

_"I said it was nothing!"_

* * *

 


	242. Not A Fun Webshow

"Hey, can I ask a question?" asked the bluenette. "I mean, aside from that one."

"Go ahead." said Daniel, as he looked around the partially vacant room.

" _What the bloody hell are you lot doing here, too?"_

Although it was a school-day, the sensational seven weren't in school. Instead, they were at the home of Elena Lovejoy, where the geneticist lived before being kidnapped by what the Phantomhive lad assumed was a "Millennium copycat". It was completely beyond the lad's comprehension as to what they could possibly be doing there. For some unknown reason, they had followed the demonic duo along on their investigation.

"I want to get to the bottom of this, as well." explained Audrey, looking around the stranger's house. "Doctor Lovejoy was one of _Baines'_ top geneticists. The things she was working on could possibly cure illnesses that were deemed _'incurable'._ Of _course_ I want to know why she was kidnapped."

"Fine _, and the rest of you?"_ Ciel asked, his tone annoyed as he watched the others casually stroll about the crime scene.

"Same as Audrey." said Preston. "Only, I want to know what happened to Doctor Bigby."

"i'm here because it sounded interesting." said Daniel.

"Likewise." said Travis.

"It's not everyday a crime-scene pops up, you know." added Kristopherson.

"Actually, they _do_ , and _civilians aren't allowed on them!"_ the bluenette said, trying to conceal the shear annoyance in his voice.

"Relax, Phantomhive. _We'll be super-careful not to disturb any evidence_." said Daniel, picking up a picture frame that was placed on a small shelf to look at it.

"That's _disturbing evidence_ , Dan..." said Audrey, sensing the blue demon's agitation. He leaned in closer to the bluenette's ear _. "I'll try and keep them from touching anything, you find what you need."_ he whispered.

" _Thanks."_ Ciel said with a sigh. He then turned, and started from the point of entry from where the kidnappers came.

It was a broken window toward the back of the house, in the kitchen. You could still see dried mud from where they stepped over glass. He followed the prints out of the kitchen and into the living-room again, where the mud had apparently wiped off on the carpet, ending the trail. From there, he had to figure out what happened next. He had to have searched every room of that house, not able to find a single thing.

"Hey, Ciel! Get in here! Preston says he found something!" called Alois, his voice coming from the living room. With a roll of his visible eye, the bluenette reluctantly headed toward it, without confidence in any of the Seven's detective skills.

When he turned the corner, he saw the lads gathered around the doctor's computer, with Preston seated in the chair in front of it. Eyebrow raised, Ciel walked over to join them, curious as to what could possibly be on the computer.

"What is it?" he asked, not waiting for him to start. Preston looked away from the screen, at the boy, and then back again.

"Well, the table looked like someone had bumped it." began the Omid lad. "It looked like it was moved slightly from it's actual location, and stuff was knocked over, including a webcam. Looking at it closer, I saw that the light was on, and it was recording."

"Do we know about what time Lovejoy was kidnapped?" asked Alois, looking toward the bluenette.

"According to the e-mail Bailey sent me, it was around... _2:30 in the morning_." Ciel answered, looking at the document on his phone.

"It's _8:12 now, and it's been three days_ , so that's about..." Audrey trailed off, jotting down the numbers on a scrap piece of paper on the desk. "...I don't know how good my math is, but that's about _eighty hours ago_. Hey, Preston, can you rewind it back that far?"

"Yeah. That looks like the beginning of the recording, though." answered Preston, replaying the video. "The criminal must've turned it on on acciden-"

He didn't get to finish his sentence before something happened on the screen. The kidnapper had turned on the camera, _right in the middle of fighting Doctor Lovejoy._ The woman was the same one as in the pictures on the shelves in the houses, a larger woman with dark skin, wearing glasses, and she was obviously giving the villain a hard time. She screamed and punched, and tried everything she could to defend herself. Soon, however, she was overwhelmed by the strength of her assailant, and was knocked unconcious. It was then that Preston reached over and paused the video. The boys sat in silence for a moment, unsure of what to say.

"Well, at least we know who the kidnapper is." spoke the blonde menace, breaking the unbearable silence. "We saw his face. All we have to do is track him down."

"Did you see that guy? There's no way he was a normal human." said Audrey. "He's probably one of their _'copycat-freaks'._ There's no way one man could successfully abduct someone resissting like that."

"Agreed, and since he's also a freak, he's going to be a little harder to find." added Ciel, furrowing his brow and folding his arms in confusion. "There's one thing that bothers me, though..."

"You mean the video in general?" asked Daniel.

" _No. It's the fact that Bailey said that he and his men investigated the scene earlier, but found no signs of a struggle."_

"Maybe it's just _incompetence_ on his part." suggested Alois. "You know how _useless_ the police are, compared to us."

"Except Bailey isn't stupid." said the bluenette. "He's always very thorough when searching his crime scenes. He's the reason we were able to get so much information to start with on all of the cases we've worked on together."

"You don't think _the police are in on it,_ do you?" asked Kristopherson.

"I'm not sure, yet." Ciel replied, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a small memory-stick. "Preston, can you save that clip onto this, for me?" he asked, handing it to the boy.

 _"Of course_." answered the Omid boy, turning back around and getting to work.

"You're pretty good with computers, huh, Preston?" asked Alois, raising an eyebrow. "I had no idea."

" _It's 'cause he's Indian_." teased Daniel, earning a punch to the shoulder. Preston simply rolled his eyes and finished his task before handing the memory-stick back to the bluenette.

"Alright, now that we've got all the evidence we need, it's time to _get out_." Ciel said, his annoyed tone back. He simply wanted the others out of the house before they broke anything, _or worse._ He hurriedly shooed them all out the door before carefully closing it, and locking it with the key that Detective Bailey gave him.

 _"Remind me to never let any of you near another crime scene again..."_ he muttered, ending his words with a sigh.

"But it was _Preston_ who got the evidence..." said Travis.

"I could have found it, given enough time." the bluenette answered, walking down the sidewalk along with the others on their way to their cars.

"Personally, I'm glad to be out of there." said Audrey, placing his hands in his pockets. "That house was _way too small_ , for my liking."

"A lot like _your thing,_ huh, Audrey?" asked Daniel, causing everyone to come to a complete stop.

" _WHAT?"_ asked Audrey, one eye visible through his bangs, revealing just how disgusted he was with that statement.

"More importantly, _how do you know that, Dan?"_ asked Alois, joining the others in shooting the lad with a barrage of questioning looks.

"What? He's _Asian,_ isn't he? I don't _have_ to." The punch he received for that statement was actually somewhat painful, yet Daniel still smiled even as he gripped his bruised shoulder.

"Daniel, _this is why we call you gay."_ said Alois.

"It's not gay! Guys compare sizes all the time!"

"Too much information, Dan." said Travis.

"What?!"

"I'm only _half Asian,_ by the way." said Audrey as he continued walking. "My real dad is _English."_

"So you're saying _your dick's English?"_

" _Stop talking about people's dicks, Dan!"_

"Why? Does it _bother you, Kris?"_

"Hey, guess what? _I'm leaving you idiots behind_." called the bluenette, as he and the blonde menace were already quite a bit of distance away from the others. Everyone else had to run in order to catch up.

* * *

 


	243. Friends On The Force

By that afternoon, Ciel had rid himself of the rest of the sensational seven (excluding Alois), and had made his way toward the city's police headquarters to bring forward the evidence he had collected. Hopefully, he would also gain some clues as to how to find the assailant in the video is, leading him one step closer to the copycats. There was also something else on his mind, however: the fact that Detective Bailey would miss such crucial information, regardless that the man was always thorough in his investigation.

Gabriel Bailey was one of the few people the Phantomhive boy showed respect for. He was a man with a high sense of morality, knowing that he can't save everyone, but he'll try to, regardless. He was stubborn, and hated asking for help, but definitely would if it would help the greater good. Bailey often reminded Ciel of the heroes on old Saturday morning cartoons when they first came out. He was just that kind of man. Thus, it was inconceivable in every aspect that he could be a part of some nefarious plot, _helping_ the copycats instead of _stopping_ them.

It was business as usual as the demonic duo stepped into his office. The bluenette calmly explained the evidence, and where he found it. He handed the detective a memory-stick with a copy of the clip that showed the kidnapping in progress, and the man plugged it into his computer.

He sat there for a moment and watched it without a single word; without a single expression, yet his eyes revealed everything that he was thinking; everything that he was feeling in that moment. After the clip ended, Detective Bailey leaned back in his chair with a heavy sigh, rubbing his temples in exasperation. He stayed like that for a moment longer before speaking again.

" _I'm sorry_." he said. "I should've been the one to investigate this crime-scene. It's _my fault_ this information wasn't available to you."

" _What do you mean?"_ asked Ciel, leaning forward, slightly. "You said that you saw no signs of a struggle."

"That was at _Almondine Bigby's_ home, not _Elena Lovejoy's_." the detective answered, his face disappointed, more so with himself. "I was only at Bigby's crime-scene. Someone else handled this one. See?" he asked, turning the computer screen toward the demonic duo. "This camera also recorded the investigation. _I'm not there_. It looks like the _new detective did the investigating."_

"' _New_ detective'?" Alois echoed. "Are you being _replaced?"_

" _'Fraid so, blondie."_ answered the man with a sigh. "I'm just getting too old to stay up at all hours solving cases..."

"So you're _retiring,_ is that it?" Ciel interrupted, surprising both Alois and the detective. With another sigh, Bailey spoke again.

"Yeah. Sorry, kiddo." His answer somehow seemed to annoy the bluenette, somehow. Ciel furrowed his brow and spoke in a cross sort of tone, that almost sounded like scolding.

"So that's it, then?" he asked. "You're just going to leave? You're going to leave London in the hands of some new _hack of a detective?_ How on earth am I supposed to work with that?"

"I'm just not like you, kiddo." said Bailey, digging a cigarette out of his shirt pocket. "I'm _'normal'._ I get tired, and I grow old. I just can't keep on doing this forever. _It'll kill me faster than this here cigarette."_

" _Then_ _quit smoking_." Ciel said, crossing his arms over his chest. "You love this job, Bailey. You were the one who said, _'Cleaning up the streets the best I can is the best thing I can do with my life.'_ You can't just give it up."

 _"You remember that?."_ replied the man with a chuckle. "I was in my _twenties,_ when I said that. Now, I'm _fifty._ I don't want to quit, but I _have_ to."

"Why? You seem fine to me."

"I'm more tired then I look. I can't stay up for nights on end, anymore. I can't chase bad-guys, I can't solve the cases I used to, I can't stay away from my family, anymore, either." said Bailey. _"I missed my own daughter's wedding, Ciel._ Do you know how that makes me _feel?"_

It was quiet for a few moments before the bluenette replied, his voice unusually apologetic. "I'm sorry."

"Hey, _no worries."_ said the detective, a smile returning to his face. _"I'll miss you too, kiddo!"_

Ciel sat there on the opposite side of the desk next to his associate, simply staring at the man for a moment with an indifferent look. The blonde menace looked up at his face for a moment, anticipating his response, but something completely unexpected happened. It started with a small twitch at the corner of his mouth, before is morphed into a smirk, and then a smile. Soon, the bluenette was _laughing,_ and laughing with the detective.

After it died down, they said their good byes, the detective promising to dig up any information he could find on the person in the clip and send it the Phantomhive's way. Both he, and the blonde menace, left the police station in an unusual silence, as the blonde contemplated what it was that he had just witnessed. He had never seen anyone else make Ciel laugh like that, before. As far as he knew, he was the only one.

His silence did not go unnoticed, however, as the bluenette finally stopped, causing the other lad to do the same. Alois simply looked at him with a curious look on his face, wondering why he stopped at all. Before long, however, the bluenette asked:

"Alright, _what is it?"_

"What is _what?"_ asked the blonde, arching an eyebrow.

"You're quiet, and you're making a face." said Ciel as he began to walk again. "You're thinking about something."

"I was just wondering what was with that _scary laugh_ you did, earlier." Alois responded, walking along side the other boy. "Since when have you been so chummy with Bailey?"

" _Jealous,_ are we?" asked the bluenette with a smirk, causing the blonde to blush and dismiss his claim. "To be honest, it was about after my first case with him. He just happens to be one of the first people I actually acknowledged as a _'friend'."_

"Like _Sir Integra?"_ the blonde teased.

"I am _not friends_ with that _freakish beast-woman."_

"What about _me?"_

 _"You're_ not my _friend_ , either." the bluenette said with a rather serious face, frightening the blonde, somewhat. He smirked at the other boy's response. "You're my _boyfriend._ That's different."

"Don't _do_ that!" Alois said, playfully punching the bluenette in the arm, earning a chuckle.

"You looked like a _kicked puppy_."

"You're _mean!_ A terrible person, you are, y'know that?!"

" _But you still love me..."_

_"Shut up!"_

_"I love you too, muffin..."_

_"I said 'shut up'!"_

 


	244. The Unexpected Appearance of a Certain Fowl

Ciel Phantomhive was in a hurry, today. He had received a call from Detective Bailey that morning, just a day, or so after his previous encounter with the man, as to the identity of the unknown assailant who had abducted Doctor Lovejoy from her home several days ago. The reason why Ciel was in a hurry, was because the suspect was reportedly taken into H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. custody. It was almost certain that the suspect was, or will be dead long before he arrived, but still, he had to try. As long as they hadn't destroyed the body yet, he would still be able to get information from the body.

Upon arriving to H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. headquarters, he simply barged right in, something that was never a wise thing to do for his kind. Fortunately for him, he was somewhat well-known at the organization, and no one dared to try and shoot him. Most soldiers knew who he was with a single glance, even if they had never seen his face before. The description was uncanny. _"A boy with odd, dark-bluish hair, wearing an eye-patch and a permanent scowl on his face."_

It wasn't looks alone that alerted the men as to who he was. It was his presence. He had an overwhelming presence when he entered a room, one that almost felt like it could crush one with intimidation. It was especially powerful today, making this sensation worse.

He was eager to discover new information on the Millennium copycats, so he could stop them. He wanted to stop them, like he wasn't able to around fourteen years ago with the real thing. Remembering that scene, and knowing that it could happen again was enough to encourage him to go all-out on this assignment.

Hell wasn't meant for humans, especially those who hadn't especially done anything to deserve it. Hell wasn't supposed to show up in the realm of the living, either. Those things would remain separate at all times. Ciel knew this. He knew it well, yet he had seen hell-on-earth multiple times. He had seen it when he was human, and then again when he was a demon. The second time, however, his breath was completely taken away, and not in a good way.

" _Sublime_." That was the only word that could describe the scene. In theories of aesthetics, there are things known as "aesthetic arrest", which is what one is placed under when they set eyes on something so beautiful, that they simply cannot look away. But then again, they say that _"Beauty is the greatest glimpse of horror that human beings are able to bear."_ That may be true, but this didn't place the Phantomhive boy under aesthetic arrest. No, that scene that lied in front of him that day was a " _sublime"._

That is when one sets eyes on destruction of such and ego-destroying scale, that one simply cannot look away. The only word that can describe such destruction, is simply " _sublime_ ". This is what Ciel saw that day. His ego took a backseat in that moment, as he laid eyes on his nearly obliterated hometown. Buildings he knew were in ruin. Rotting corpses walked around as people fled, screaming, while others lay dead in the streets, among rubble, twisted metal, and broken glass in pools of blood. A massive inferno engulfed what remained, as monuments stood damaged, and concrete crumbled.

The entire city was dead, and dying, and there was nothing he could do. He was helpless to save it. He was useless. He was as useless as he was on _December fourteenth, 1885,_ the day that changed his life forever, when he failed to save his parents from the raging flames that burned his home to ruin. It revealed to him an ugly truth, one that he, with all of his being, didn't want to see.

 _Nothing had changed_.

He was still just a child; A child that couldn't do anything. A child who was helpless to fight off the world around him, while defending what he cared about from attack. He didn't have much to care about, at the time, but he cared about London. He had known the city his entire life, and it was his home. Ciel had watched it grow from cobblestone streets and stone buildings, to a concrete jungle and cultural hub of the United Kingdom. He was proud of it, and to see it in such devastation was crushing.

Ciel barged into Sir Hellsing's office, causing the woman to raise an eyebrow. In that brief moment, the Phantomhive boy's confidence wavered, somewhat, but he quickly brushed that all to the side, as he focused on the more important matters at hand. He walked right up to the woman's desk, blonde menace in tow. In response, Sir Hellsing scooted the papers that she was working on to the side, before looking up at the boy with a disapproving look.

"What on earth are you doing?" she asked, her tone stern, as always. "You do know that you've stormed into the orginazation designed for your destruction, in a manner that could have possibly gotten you killed?"

"That's not important right now." replied the bluenette, regaining his composure. "I'm told that you have a freak in your custody who goes by the name _'Kipper Stanley',_ correct?"

"And if I _do?"_ asked Hellsing.

"Stanley is believed to be the only lead in the _'Millennium Copycat'_ case you gave me, Sir Hellsing." Ciel answered, knowing that laying his cards on the table was almost certain to steer things his way. "Talking to him would be ideal, but if he's already dead _, a body will suffice."_ He stood there, waiting for a response, as the woman turned to her computer and clicked around on it for a few moments. When her frown deepened, however, he knew she didn't have good news.

"It would appear that Stanley was dead before our agents ever got to him." she said finally, reading the text on the screen. "The autopsy confirmed that the cause of death was a _'freak-chip'_ implanted in his neck. After the autopsy was finished, standard disposal procedures were carried out."

"By _'standard disposal procedures',_ you mean...?" asked Alois.

" _Incineration."_ answered the Hellsing woman. She rubbed her temples at the set back. Had she known, she wouldn't have taken control of the operation, personally.

" _Now what am I supposed to do?"_ asked Ciel, gritting his teeth. "How am I supposed to stop this thing if I can't even _find_ it?!"

"Don't raise your tone with me, Phantomhive." the woman warned. "We couldn't find it, either. _That's why we called for you in the first place."_

 _"You seem to be under the impression that I can simply find something based on nothing."_ Ciel said.

The stress was starting to get to him. He was actually afraid of failing this time. This mission was putting a lot on the line for him, after all. His home was at risk of being destroyed again, it's citizens slaughtered, it's landmarks crumbled to dust. Not only that, but his entire reputation with the humans was, as well. He knew that failure here, would lead to the Round Table Conference questioning his nessecity and his loyalty. If worst comes to worst, after defeating the copycats, H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. would be coming after him, next. He definitely didn't need that. They were perhaps the biggest threat to his un-life. They've honed their supernatural-killing skills over several centuries. If anyone knew how to kill him, it was the H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. orginazation.

They would kill him, Sebastian, Alois, and even Luka, and he couldn't have that. Those three were the closest thing he had to family. It was bad enough that his life was on the line, but it wasn't just. _Failure could mean their deaths as well, and that, he could not accept._

"As far as I'm concerned, _you've done it before_." Sir Hellsing replied, pointing out the lad's previous exploits. "You've been able to piece together random, or little information in the past, haven't you? Don't tell me you're just going to _falter under pressure,_ Phantomhive."

With that, the bluenette perked up, somewhat. As much as if pained him to admit, she was right. Perhaps he was letting it unnecessarily get to him. It had been making him feel somewhat anxious, the idea of failure, and it made it somewhat difficult to move forward. Bailey's imminent retirement didn't help, either, as he knew he wouldn't be able to work with anyone quite like him again. The new detective was obviously incompetent, nor did his know about the bluenette's "condition". Ciel didn't mind bearing responsibility, but it was all sort of overwhelming.

It was brief, but Ciel did something he thought he would never do: issue an apology to Sir Integra. It was brief, but somewhat sincere. He quickly fled the room in order to get back to work, not noticing the woman's small chuckle at his actions. Alois waved goodbye, and followed, as they made their way back to Phantomhive manor in order to review the evidence they already had once more. They had a few documents on the kidnappings, all proving to be somewhat useless, and they had the video that they had retrieved from Doctor Lovejoy's home. With nowhere else to turn, they turned to that.

Ciel sat down in the over-sized chair in his office, playing the clip over and over again until he found something, the blonde menace standing over his shoulder and watching with him, in order to see if he could find anything the bluenette might have missed. It was distressing every time he saw it, seeing the woman being knocked unconscious. The sigh made his shudder, unintentionally. It was understandable. It brought up a few memories, somehow. Soon, he had decided he had seen enough, and reach over and clicked the "pause" button on the media player.

 _"What did you do that for?"_ asked Ciel, looking to the blonde with a questioning look. He was still obviously agitated, but Alois paid no mind, knowing the cause wasn't him.

" _We know everything we can from that part, already, Ciel_." he answered, watching as the bluenette turned away from him again to view the screen with a displeased look on his face. "This thing recorded them investigating, right? Don't you wanna see who the new detective is?"

"I suppose..." the bluenette said with a sigh, folding his arms, but otherwise not protesting in the slightest when Alois reached over him to fast forward the video by several hours.

When he pressed play again, several police officers were on the scene, including a man in a suit, who was what they assumed, the new detective. He was much younger than Detective Bailey, that was for sure, nor did he quite seem like he was very good at his job, nearly knocking things over and otherwise destroying pieces of evidence on accident. The sight made Ciel rub his temples in frustration. It was because of this idiot that he couldn't find anything. How on earth was he supposed to work with that? There's no way that any murderers, kidnappers, or drug dealers are going to get caught with "Detective Klutz" on the job. As Ciel was about to sink into these negative thoughts any further, Alois suddenly pointed at the screen.

" _Is that Daffy?!"_ he asked, and quite loudly, causing the bluenette to jump. He looked up at the blonde, standing to his side, and arched an eyebrow.

 _"Who?"_ he asked.

"You know, _Daffy Duck,_ the _Harry Potter wannabe_." the blonde clarified, pausing the screen once more before pointing to the image of the boy. "See?"

The boy on the screen had dark brown hair, pulled back in a ponytail, an one could imagine that when it was down, it could possibly become a mullet. His ears where pierced, and he wore ear-cuffs, but that wasn't the only jewelry that he was wearing. He had rings on every finger, including his thumbs, sometimes more than one on each, but all had different gemstones, and unreadable writing from languages that the world had lost long ago on them. The boy wore a Warwick Academy uniform. There was no mistaking it. That was _Dafydd "Daffy Duck" Blake,_ the boy who Ciel had humiliated days earlier. He had kept up his bargain of leaving the seven alone for the most part, only talking to Alois, on occasion, but the real question was: _what was he doing there, and why didn't any of the investigators seem to mind?_

_Perhaps they needed to have a chat with him at school the next day, as well as with this "new detective" that seemed so now suspiciously incompetent._

* * *

 


	245. Too Smart For You

Warwick Academy; as the creme de la creme of academics in the United Kingdom, only those with the right amount of social and economical status may attend. As such, it is where the offspring of the upper-class receive their education, with the hopes of leading this world into a bright tomorrow. Some parents of Warwick students are businessmen, politicians, actors, actresses, CEOs of major companies, etc. If one wishes to be around success, let Warwick be your goal.

On a somewhat more sour note, this is not all there is to Warwick Academy. Unfortunately, the school has been a magnet for misfortune over the past few years, with the disappearances of students _Maxwell Goddard, August Remy_ and the death of _Cassandra Bates_ , as well as a bombing catastrophe at a home rugby game which killed the majority of spectators on the visitor's side, also a weapons scare, _and those are just the things that students are aware of._ They are ignorant to the battle between skilled assassins Heinrich Strumer and Floyd Hopkins, and students Ciel Phantomhive and Alois Trancy that took place on campus during a Christmas dance. They were unknowledgable about the violence that took place on the rugby-field, resulting in two deaths and a nasty break-up. They had absolutely now idea about the duel between Dafydd Blake and Ciel Phantomhive, who is apparently involved in any strange happenings at the school. Perhaps being a demon makes one prone to bad luck, it is uncertain.

Yes, most students and staff members at Warwick are unknowledgeable about the supernatural phenomena that occurs so near them which is most likely for the best. The only ones who were aware of these freakish events are _Mister Robert Irons_ , a collection of lads known as the " _Sensational Seven",_ and a lad named _Dafydd Blake_ , who was mentioned previously. It is also important to point out, that previously, mister Blake was seen in a video recording the events that took place during, and after the kidnapping of _Doctor Elena Lovejoy_ , a geneticist who works for Baine Pharmecuticals. For some odd reason, he had appeared on the scene of the crime when detectives did, and even conversed with them. This sort of thing is unheard of, and _The Queen's Guard-Dog_ was going to get to the bottom of it.

"Good morning, _Mister Blake_." greeted the bluenette with a smile. While it was a friendly expression, there was a not-so-subtle hint of darkness lurking underneath, one that made the sorcerer-boy shudder.

" _Wh-what is it?"_ he replied, unable to stop the stutter before it exited his mouth. He did his best to look tough, but it was somewhat difficult, knowing how easily the bluenette had defeated him previously, and do to the sinister expression that the boy was wearing. Both were equally off-putting, but now, the bluenette looked as though he wanted to kill Dafydd, something that the sorcerer boy picked up on.

"I was just wanting to ask you a few questions for a _project_ I'm working on." Ciel said, never loosing his faux-cheerful demeanor. "Have you ever heard the name _'Elena Lovejoy',_ before?"

A split-second. Dafydd _hesitated for a split-second_ , and it didn't go unnoticed by the Phantomhive boy. In that small. fleeting instant, the sorcerer's eyes flickered away from the bluenette's gaze, and then back again. He played with one of the rings on his fingers with his opposite hand as he chose his answer. It was in that split second that Ciel knew the answer- the real answer, yet, he still waited for the boy to give his false one.

" _Nope_." said Dafydd, still twisting his ring around his finger. " _I've never heard it before."_

" _Try again_." replied the bluenette, a smirk appearing on his face and his eye flickering red. "Tell me the _truth_ , this time."

A chill suddenly went down the sorcerer's spine, in the worst possible way. The fact that Ciel knew was disturbing-, perhaps more so than the evil presence that loomed in the air about him. The many horrible things that could happen to him by hand of this boy who was called " _Satan"_ cycled through his mind before he answered, this time, choosing truth.

" _Y-yeah."_ he answered, giving into intimidation, somewhat shamefully. "What of it?"

"What, pray tell, were you doing at her home approximately four days ago with police investigators?"

"What's it to _you?"_ asked Dafydd, trying in vain to paint the bluenette as the vilain.

"The fact that whatever you tell me today could very well _effect the lives of the entire population of London_ , which is around _eight million."_ Ciel said, placing the sorcerer in the wrong once more. "It just so happens to be my job to make sure it _stays that way."_

"Alright, _alright!"_ Dafydd said, putting his hands up in surrender. "You win. _I was hindering the investigation._ Lock me up and throw away the key."

" _Why?"_

"'Why?' Because, if me and _detective Summers_ hadn't, Lovejoy would be _found."_ explained Dafydd, as though the logic in that was obvious. "Look, Lovejoy is a geneticist, right? Right. The reason why she went missing in the first place was to help create a device along with doctor Bigby, that could very well _fast-forward human evolution for the better."_

"Why on earth would anyone want to do that?" asked the bluenette, shocked as to what he had just heard.

"Because, human civilization and society is constantly evolving, while humans aren't' evolving fast enough." said the sorcerer. "Their _bodies can't handle the chemicals in their food_ , their _minds can't process all the data that they are expected to_ , that's why things like _A.D.D. are rampant._ "

"Natural selection alone _isn't working_." he continued. "The way we have things set up now, _the strong survive to pass on their genes_ , but _so do the weak_. It's not _working,_ Phantomhive."

Ciel sat there for a moment, arms crossed, listening intently to this lad's rant. Eventually, however, something dawned on him: This lad legitimately believed in what he was saying, at the same time, he didn't seem to fully understand the negative effects of his proposal. Thus, Ciel listened, and he listened carefully, and when the other boy finally finished his explanation, he made his move.

"So you're interfering with the legal process _for the sake of humanity,_ are you? That's quite _noble."_ he said, his tone patronizing, his sapphire eye never leaving the sorcerer's. He leaned forward as he continued, resting his elbows on the desk in front of him, and his chin in his palm. "So, you and the group you're working with are going to do this by _kidnapping and experimenting on helpless humans?"_ Dafydd simply answered with a confused look, as if he hadn't the faintest clue as to what the other boy was talking about.

 _"Let me elaborate."_ Ciel continued, going into further explanation for this poor boy. "Do you know who the people that your first batch of _'freak-chips'_ were put into? They weren't _willing volunteers_ , I'll assure you. No _sane_ person would ever want to become a _monster_. According to the documents from Scotland Yard and the H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. organization, most of them were picked off right off the street. _Runaways, the homeless, people who had the misfortune of waling the streets alone at night, all of them were found with those chips implanted in their bodies_ , all of them of different races, genders, ages and social status. They were just _randomly abducted_ , as long as they were thought to be an easy target, and you know _what happened_ to those people _afterward?"_

Dafydd swallowed hard, and shook his head, eyes never leaving the demon's face.

 _"Dead. All of them. All killed by the chips that were put into their bodies without their consent."_ the bluenette said bluntly. It was a harsh truth, but it had to be put out there. "Those chips turned them into murderous monsters, before killing them within a few days. There's your _'evolved humans',_ right there. Congratulations, _you got your wish_. Now, with the help of Bigby and Lovejoy, they're going to be able to make _even deadlier monsters_ out of their victims, who will suffer the fate of becoming _mindless, bloodthirsty heathens, who's only purpose is to kill and consume human-beings._ Good job. There's the _'future of humanity'_ that _you_ helped to create."

All was silent for a moment, but that was to be expected. It was a lot to process, after all. Naturally, Ciel gave the other lad a moment to do so, watching the confusion on his face slowly dissipate. Then, Dafydd looked up, finally, and opened his mouth to speak.

"Now, I understand..." he began, his voice grave. "..You're trying to _trick_ me, aren't you?" Ciel couldn't help but feel his eyelid twitch at that statement.

" _What?"_ he asked, unable to believe what he had just heard.

There was absolutely no way that someone could be so unreasonably stupid. This was above Alois Trancy-level of idiocy-, above _Daniel Westley-level._ Yes, this boy seated across from Ciel in that moment was, in every meaning of the word, _"Daffy"._

 _"You're trying to trick me!"_ repeated the sorcerer with a triumphant smirk. "You don't want humans to evolve so they'll be _easier prey_ for you! I know how you _demons_ are!"

" _No, that's not at all what I-"_

"Thought you had me _fooled_ , didn't you?" Dafydd interrupted. "Yes, I did a little _research_ on your kind after our battle in preparation for a _rematch."_

" _No, you don't understa-"_

"I'm just _too smart for you,_ Phantomhive! Next time, I _will_ get my date with the _little spitfire!"_ With that, the bell rang, and the boy stood up and walked to his next class, leaving the bluenette positively dumbfounded as to what had just happened. He couldn't help but ask to no one in particular:

_"What the fuck?"_

* * *

 


	246. Knocking Is For The Weak

The New Scotland Yard, Broadway Street, London, United Kingdom: After questioning Dafydd proved to be completely hopeless, the demonic duo ventured back to Scotland Yard, where they would hope to perhaps talk to the detective who was on the scene of the official investigation, _Detective Summers_. Dafydd talked about him as if he knew him, so maybe Summers could shed more light on the situation.

They walked straight into the tall, grey building, and requested to see Detective Summers. Ciel only furrowed his brow when the receptionist called his office, only to turn back to the bluenette and tell him that the man didn't wish to speak with him. Now, in this sort of situation, what should he have done? He was not allowed inside, or to speak to a detective, the one that he was to be working with in the future once Detective Bailey retired.

" _Hey! You can't just barge in there!"_ called the receptionist as the lad's passed her desk to venture further into the station.

" _Yes I can."_ Ciel said as he continued on.

 _Let her call security_. It wouldn't do her any good. He was _supposed_ to be there. He had the badge to prove it. The one thing he couldn't stand about dealing with humans, was the fact that none of them took him seriously due to his appearance. He had a badge, but hardly anyone would believe it was real, since he looked so young. Thus, he often barged in without restraint. He outranked almost every officer there, whether they knew it or not, and now, Ciel was going to _teach the new detective that one does not simply refuse a request from the higher-ups_.

The Phantomhive boy didn't knock. He didn't apologize, either. He simply waltzed right into Detective Summer's office, swinging the door open and walking right up to his desk with his blonde companion in tow. Had the door been locked, it would have broken off the hinges, and the bluenette would not have given the slightest care.

Now, one could imagine how startled Detective Summers was in that moment. He was seated behind his desk, working, and _a child,_ no less charges into his office like he owns the place. His surprise then turned into bewilderment as he stared up at the two boys who stood in front of him.

"Can I help you boys?" he asked, arching an eyebrow. Nothing could have prepared him for what he had heard next.

"Detective Summers, I am _Senior Detective Constable Sir Ciel Phantomhive_." the bluenette said, introducing himself. "This is my assistant, _Jim Macken,_ who otherwise goes by the name _'Alois Trancy'._ It is my understanding that we will be working together after Detective Bailey retires, correct?"

"Kid, I don't have time for this, I'm in the middle of a cas-"

The man was interrupted by the duo holding up their badges to his field of vision. He examined them closely, verifying that they were indeed, authentic, but why they were in the hands of children, was beyond him. He didn't even have time to think about it before the bluenette spoke again, placing his badge back in his suit pocket.

 _"I_ don't have time for this _either_ , Detective." he said, he serious tone never wavering. "I'm not here to _make friends_ with you. I'm here for business reasons only, in regards to a certain case, one that _you_ are currently working on."

"What?" the man asked, unable to process all of this at once. As Ciel thought, this man was most likely _incompetent_.

"I'm here to ask you a series of questions, and if you don't answer them, and answer them truthfully, I will either have to get them by _force,_ or _use what evidence I currently have to get you suspended."_

"You're _blackmailing_ me?" asked the detective. His tone changed. It went from confused to downright annoyed. "Listen, if you kids don't get out of here, I'm going to have you either _thrown out_ , or _arrested!"_ With a sigh of his own, Ciel looked away from Summers, and too his blonde companion.

" _Alois."_ he said. " _Get the door"._

"Right-O~!" the blonde answered, walking over to the door. He gently shut and locked it before standing in front of it so that none may enter or exit. The man opened his mouth to yell at the boy, but was stopped by the bluenette.

" _Question one_ : Did you, or did you not allow Dafydd Blake, a civilian, enter an active crime-scene?" he asked, making the detective freeze immediately.

" _How do you know about that?"_ asked the detective, hesitantly, guilt evident on his face.

"As memory serves _, I_ am here to ask _you_ questions, _not the other way around,_ Detective." Ciel said, taking a seat in the chair on the side opposite of Summers on the other side of his desk. "I am inclined to take that answer as a _'yes'."_

"Kid, I swear, if you don't get out of here right now, I'll-"

"You'll _what_ , Mister Summers?" Ciel interrupted. "You'll kick me out? Impossible. I out-rank you. _Most_ people around here know this by now. You obviously haven't the slightest care about _what I can do to your employment_."

The detective paused, looking at the ground and rubbing his chin. This was absurd. He was being treated like an idiot by a mere child. So, in order to gain the higher ground, he sat down in his chair and looked at the boy.

"Alright. So I did allow Blake on the crime scene." he said, believing himself to be humouring the boy. "Next question?"

" _Why?"_ the bluenette asked, surprising the man.

" _Because."_ the man said with a smug grin.

"I'm not playing _a game_ , Summers. _Answer the question_."

"Alright. What if I _don't want to answer it?"_ asked the detective, putting his hands in the air. "What is this _'force'_ you're going to use on me?"

Ciel sighed. This man obviously didn't take him seriously. It was annoying, as that was the "easy" way of doing things. Now, all that was left was for Ciel to resort to his backup plan: to use the _demon's whisper._

He leaned forward in his chair, making sure he was still eye-level with the detective, and pointed to his eye, knowing the the gesture would subconsciously make the man look, whether he wanted to or not. Ciel's eye turned red, and he began to focus energy into it, gaining it's hypnotic effect. It worked, since the man was obviously entranced from the start.

"I'm going to repeat myself just this once..." Ciel began, not allowing his gaze to shift _. "Why did you allow Dafydd Blake onto the crime scene?"_

 _"For him to cover up any evidence that would lead the police to us with his magic."_ the detective said, the words now flying out of his mouth, even in his "zombified" state.

 _"'Us'?_ Who is _'us'?"_ Ciel asked.

"' _Messiah'."_ answered the detective. This confused Ciel somewhat.

_"Is that what you call yourselves?"_

_"Yes."_

"Does it have to do with _'advancing human evolution for the better'?"_ asked the bluenette.

_"No."_

_"Then what is 'Messiah's'_ _purpose?"_

 _"To seek power as God's chosen ones_."

This man was obviously either quite _gullible_ , or quite _insane._ Either way, he needed to find out where these lunatics' base of operations were. Thus, he asked while he still had the ability to. His grip on the man's mind was slipping, as it often did while using the whisper to perform an interrogation.

" _Where is Messiah's base of operations?"_

" _The abandoned factory near Southwark bridge_."

"Thank you very much." Ciel said, closing his eye and breaking the detective's trance. There was still more he wanted to ask, but there was no way he could, now. Now, the man would see it coming, and fight back, thus, Ciel quickly mad his next decision, and that was to get up and leave, taking his blonde companion with him while the man was still in somewhat of a stupor.

Once he snapped out of it, his memory is going to be a little hazy. The most likely scenario is that he would decide that his visit from the demonic duo was merely a dream, and go on with work. All that was left for the duo to do, was figure out what course of action to take, and execute it.

This was a tricky situation. If Ciel simply passed the information he had acquired onto H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G., there was now guarantee that he would be allowed to participate in taken down the copycat group who called themselves " _Messiah"._ This would be a problem for him, since he was a bit too involved in the case in order to hand the reigns over to someone else, _especially_ to Sir Hellsing.

This was his chance, after all. It was the perfect opportunity to correct a past mistake, and as much as his common sense argued how vain it was, he still wanted to pursue it. He knew that this wouldn't save London from burning fourteen years ago, but still, he wanted to be part of this.

"So, what's the plan, _Cielykins?"_ inquired the blonde menace, walking along side the bluenette. " _Bust into their HQ and knock some heads?"_

"I don't know." the bluenette replied. _"I haven't decided yet."_

 _"What do you mean?"_ Alois asked, arching an eyebrow at the Phantomhive boy with a confused expression.

"I _mean,_ I don't know if that's the correct course of action." Ciel explained as they continued to walk. "We could just finish the case ourselves, but if we do without talking to Sir Hellsing first, we could very well end up in trouble with the _Convention of Twelve_."

"Then _let's go talk to Integra."_ Alois said as if it were obvious. He looked at the bluenette's face again when he didn't respond immediately, and noted the somewhat sour expression on his face.

"Aw, does _wittle Ciel_ not want to go talk to the _big, bad, scary lady?"_ The blonde teased with a giggle. " _I'll hold your hand, if you want."_

 _"That's not it."_ spoke the bluenette, quite insistently. "I just don't want to pass on all our information, _only to not be able to see this through to the end_."

"So it's a _sharing_ problem, is it?" asked the other lad, earning a look from Ciel. "I get you, though. _'Sharing is caring',_ but _not getting any action is no fun_. Still, what can you do? Realistically, it's not for _us_ to decide, right? _Let's just talk to Integra and see how things go_."

" _Alright..."_ sighed Ciel.

If Alois was going to treat this rationally, then he had absolutely no excuse. Part of him was a bit disturbed by the blonde turning into a voice of reason. That was so out of character for the boy. Ciel looked up at the blonde, discovering a wicked grin plastered across his face. He wasn't entirely sure if he wanted to, but still, Ciel _had_ to ask:

 _"What is it?"_ His face was confused, as was his voice. His concern only grew when the blonde giggled.

"Oh, _nothing_. You shouldn't be too worried about not getting in on the fight." Alois said, looking away from the other boy in order to look where he was going.

"...Besides, you'll be getting plenty of _'action'_ from _me_ when we get home." he continued. He couldn't help but laugh out loud at the sound of the bluenette choking on his own spit. He didn't even need to look to know how red the boy's face was.

_Damn that cheeky blonde spitfire._

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm very very sorry... I forgot to post on AO3... I didn't mean to. I just forgot one day and then it stopped being part of my routine for some reason. I'm really sorry if I kept you waiting. If it ever happens again and you're just DYING to see what happens next, there's a complete version of Fanfiction.net. I know that's not some of y'all's preferred method of viewing fics, but hey, it's something.
> 
> Ah, this arc... Dafydd was actually a suggestion from a fan. I can't take full responsibility for him. I'll have to go back through my messages to find exactly who, though. God, it was so long ago... and he's STILL an asshole! Some things never change...
> 
> Until the next chapter, my duckies~!


	247. Bwah-Bwah, Bwah!

Admittedly, Ciel was under a lot of stress. He was annoyed at the lack of information over the course of this case, he was irritated by the lack of cooperation, and finally, he was bitter about the fact that he may not see it's completion once he walks into the Hellsing woman's office. It was obvious to everyone around him how he was feeling, whether he knew it or not.

The bluenette tended to have a harsher tone than usual, and even his gestures seemed a bit more anxious. Every minor inconvenience seemed to impact him greater than it usually would, just as it would with anyone. Thus, the residents of the Phantomhive house had been supporting him in their own ways.

Alois had given the lad some space over the endeavor, knowing that is what the bluenette would want, judging from his experience on past missions. He had, as silently as possible, let the other boy make his own decisions, and allowed him to do most of the talking. He did his best not to interfere, and to follow instructions.

He teased, here and there, as he normally would, but he chose the times he did this with discretion. Never during an interrogation, never during an investigation, keeping work and feelings separate. As many times as he wanted to joke with the Phantomhive, or tease him, or even touch him, even with just a slight pat on the shoulder, he knew by now how the other lad felt about his job. He also knew that this case was important to him, after having heard the story of Millennium from Sebastian, therefore he knew it was best not to raise offense.

The blonde didn't like being uninvolved, in fact, he hated it more than almost anything. However, this time he was willing to take a few steps back, for Ciel. He would provide support in other ways, cheering the boy up with almost perfect timing, among other things, but as for the investigation, he had decided to himself to be somewhat hands-off unless asked.

Luka noticed a change in the bluenette's behaviour as well, and continued to ask the others about it, only to be told something along the lines of how it was "stress over work". He knew the boy was the head of the Funtom toy company; why, there was a Funtom store in London that the others had taken him to once, but the boy knew little about the job that his brother performed with Ciel. He knew it was "like the police", so he realized that it was important. He never bothered either lad while they were working, because of this. The best he could do was smile at them and try to cheer the bluenette up before he left to go "catch some bad-guys". He liked it when Ciel would smile back. It was so rare, so when he did, the Macken boy knew he was on the right track.

Sebastian took a route similar to the blonde menace, leaving the head of the house to his wiles. After a hundred years of being at the lad's side, he knew that the bluenette preferred to be left be when he was like this. It wasn't as if he simply didn't care about his master's well-being, it was simply that there wasn't much that he could do about it. He was a demon, after all. He didn't quite understand the concepts behind the human-like emotions that the bluenette experienced, thus he didn't even know where to begin. All the butler could do was resume business as usual, having regained his usual strength from his battle with the angel known simply as "Miss Clark", all while giving the bluenette his space, and keeping the Macken boys in line.

Today would decide how soon the boy would be out of his maximally-stressed state, however. Today, they met with Sir Integra Fairbrook Wingates Hellsing, the head of the H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. organization, and one of Ciel's greatest personal-rivals, in order to decide how the next phase of the operation would be carried out. This all decided whether or not the bluenette would be able to let out his aggression on wiping out the copycat organization who has dubbed themselves "Messiah", or if he would become even more anxious and stressed from not being able to participate, and know the results of his labour immediately as he sat the battle out.

Once more, the demons entered the Hellsing estate without so much as batting an eyelash. The only real differences in the visit and the previous one, were their intentions, and the fact that they actually phoned in beforehand. They walked right up to the manor, one that was bigger than the Phantomhive's by a full floor, something which Ciel resented. They walked through the massive wooden doors, trough the foyer, up the stairs, down the hallway, and finally, to Sir Hellsing's office.

The Phantomhive boy let out an audible sigh as he stood in front of the door. He really wasn't looking forward to this. It was when he felt a hand on his shoulder that he perked up, somewhat, turning to see the blonde menace. The other boy didn't do much, in fact, he didn't say a single word. The only thing he did was offer the bluenette a smile, and somehow, the bluenette felt slightly better.

With new-found determination, he turned his attention back to the door. He raised his hand up, and knocked on it thrice before pausing momentarily to see if the woman would reply. Lo, and behold, she did, uttering a simple command.

"Come in." she said, the words coated in her usual, bossy tone. That alone would make Ciel immediately want to disobey it, yet, he could not, and so the demonic duo heeded the Hellsing woman's order and entered, this time less brazenly than the last.

Sir Hellsing lazily looked up at the boys, in a familiar scene. It seemed that whenever they walked in, the woman was judging them, and in a way, she was. It wasn't as if she was judging them in a negative sort of sense, but rather, it was more as though she were simply analyzing how they've grown since she last saw them. She could tell just by looking at them as to how they've changed mentally. Ciel was somehow becoming less stubborn, and it seemed as though Alois were getting less childish, both positive developments that could be useful to her. She adjusted herself in her chair before speaking.

"Alright, let's get to the point." the woman said, not being one to beat around the bush, especially with the Phantomhive demon. "What knew information have you to bring forward."

"The name of your 'copycat organization', the names of two members, and a possible location of their hideout." the bluenette replied, being on his best behaviour. This noticeable change made Alois giggle, and Integra arch an eyebrow.

"Very well then," the woman answered, taking out a memo pad. "Go on."

"They call themselves 'Messiah', and the two members are Dafydd Blake, a student at Warwick Academy, and Detective Aaron Summers of Scotland Yard."

"A Police Officer is in on this?!" Sir Hellsing interrupted.

"Yes." Ciel answered bluntly, pausing for a moment as the woman rubbed her temples. "Both members claim that the organizations overall motives are two separate things, one believing that their goal is to advance human evolution, while the other claims that their objective is to, and I quote, 'seek power as God's chosen ones'."

"So they may be a cult?"

"It's entirely possible."

"And their location?"

"An abandoned factory near Southwark Bridge."

"And that is all the information you have?"

"Yes."

"Well, that's a start." the woman said, leaning back in her chair, folding her arms while gazing at the notes in front of her. "We still don't know how many we're up against, and what exactly it is we're up against." She paused for a moment, furrowing her brow. She then looked up again with a slight twinge of something unknown in her eye.

"We're going to need to send a scout team to relay to us further information." she said, conveying her new plan. "If it isn't too much trouble, I believe it would be wise to send you two."

"Really?!" Alois asked excitedly, verbalizing what Ciel was thinking. Still, the bluenette's eye could express that much.

"Yes." answered Hellsing. "We don't know what's out there, after all, so sending normal humans could be deadly, and sending anyone associated with H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. would immediately tip our copycats off that we're after them, and they might plan a counter-attack."

"So you're sending us so there will be less of a burden on you?" asked Ciel, pretending to be unimpressed.

"Precisely." the woman said with a chuckle. "Unless of course, you don't think you can."

"The reverse psychology isn't necessary." the bluenette spouted, had he said it in a yell, it might just have sounded like a bark. He turned to walk toward the door, never casting a second-glance at the woman. "We'll prepare for the mission as soon as possible."

"If you would please." said the woman, lighting a cigar.

"Bye, Sir Integra~!" Alois called, waving cheerfully as he followed the Phantomhive lad out the door. The gesture was unexpected, and simply left the woman dumbfounded for a moment.

"Seriously, I bet you could be real good friends with Integra if you would play nice more often." the blonde said as the duo made their way out of the manor.

"I'll 'play nice' if she does, and even if she did, I still wouldn't want to be her friend." Ciel protested. "Why are you so excited about the stakeout, anyway?"

"Because, I'm not good at the investigating part." the blonde answered. "That's your thing. Besides, it'd be cool! Just like James Bond."

"What do you think a 'stakeout' is? It's mostly observation and investigating, idiot." said the bluenette. "Besides, James Bond hardly did any actual spying. He mostly just wore tuxedos, slept around, and escape ridiculous and completely unnecessary traps."

"Not a Bond fan, huh? Too many inaccuracies?"

"It's hard to enjoy spy movies when you've seen the real thing."

"Still not a good reason to not be excited." Alois grinned. "You seem more so than usual as well."

"Really? I'm not especially..." Ciel lied, causing the blonde to giggle.

"Alright, if you say so." he said, and with nothing else to say, they walked out of the manor in silence. That is, until Alois thought of something to fill the void:

"Goldfinger~!

(Bwah-bwah, bwah~!)

He's the man, the man the Midas-touch~!"

"STOP SINGING."

* * *

 


	248. MISSION: START!

At slightly past eleven-thirty p.m. the demons set out on their latest mission. All, but Luka, who was at home. The Phantomhive household almost had difficulty finding someone they could trust to watch the boy while the others were away, but fortunately, they had at least one person whom they knew could handle the task. Thus, it was the ever-unlikely Travis, who was left alone in a large, slightly unfamiliar manor with a small, demonic child. Their other option was Mister Irons, but calling up one's former teacher on such short notice in order to request that they take care of a small, demonic child for several hours while one was off on a highly-dangerous and top-secret government mission of a supernatural nature was slightly awkward.

Regardless, Ciel, Alois, and Sebastian were free to perform their surveillance of the abandoned factory that the copycat group "Messiah" was supposedly making their primary base of operations. Now, being demons, they weren't limited to merely observing the outside, which was advantageous, but one must also keep in mind that their targets also possessed freak-abilities. Thus, they had to remain cautious.

This was a bit of a problem for Alois, who had not yet learned to "shadow-step" as the other two called it, where a demon could basically become a shadow. He would simply have to do things the "normal" way, using a technique which the blunette referred to as "being careful and keeping your mouth shut". On the bright side, he would be able to perform espionage the "Bond" way for the second time in his career; something that he had almost looked forward to.

"So, what's the plan again?" Alois asked over the radio for what felt like the tenth time. He was met with an exasperated sigh from the bluenette's end.

"For the last time, we're just going to observe, Alois." he said, trying his best to ignore the chuckling coming from Sebastian's end. "We're here to find out any useful information to pass onto Sir Integra."

"'Sir Integra'?" asked the blonde, his smile audible over the radio.

"What?"

"You called her 'Sir Integra'."

"No I didn't." Ciel said inssistantly. "I said 'Sir Hellsing'!"

"No, you said 'Integra'." Alois clarified.

"I hate to disagree with you, my lord..." said Sebastian, "...but you did indeed say 'Sir Integra'."

"I know what I said!" the bluenette argued, his face turning red from listening to the giggles of Alois and Sebastian's chuckling. "Can we please just focus on the mission?"

The radio fell silent at the request. Ciel let out a relieved sigh before continuing to navigate his own sector of the factory. Alas, the silence was broken once more.

"You're the one who said 'Sir Integra', though..." the blonde said.

"QUIET."

"Yes, dear."

Ciel felt his eyebrow twitch at the blonde's use of pet names. It irritated him to no end when Alois did that. He knew full-well, however, that this was probably exactly why he does it.

The factory was dark, but was lit in enough places that any ordinary human being shouldn't have too much trouble navigating it. The windows on the outside were boarded up, as the place was no longer in use, concealing this fact.

It was nearly absent of people. All that was there were one or two thug-like characters that weren't that hard to sneak past. Other than that, it was almost completely empty. Why? Messiah was supposed to be kidnapping random people off the streets and transforming them into monsters, right? It that was the case, where were they?

Hidden, most likely. If neither Detective Summers or Dafydd were correct about the groups motives, then the victims must be hidden out of the sight of lower-ranked members. All Ciel had to do was figure out where. If he could do that, then he could also possibly find out where they were producing their technology. All three demons knew to look out for any of those things, but from the silence of the radio, and the fact that the bluenette had found nothing thus far, made his hope of finding anything lessen.

But it was then that his sixth-sense went haywire.

Massive amounts of black energy were nearby, and he could feel it. It made the hair on the back of his neck stand on end, and even made him feel somewhat dizzy. Even so, it was his first sign of anything suspicious, and he was determined to find out what it was.

He followed his intuition, leading him ever-closer to the distressing energy. It wasn't like anything the bluenette had ever felt before. It was close to being demonic, but it wasn't quite. All Ciel knew was that it wasn't anything good. The closer he got, the heavier the air seemed to become, and the more on-edge he became, as if he thought something was going to jump out at him at any moment, even though he knew the likelihood of that was slim, at most. This feeling led him into the lower-levels of the factory, even caused him to break the locks off of several doors just to get to it.

At last, he saw light. It wasn't white, nor black, but both at the same time without mixing into grey. It was blue, purple, green, orange, and several other colours all at once, sometimes cycling between them, but most of the time just glowing softly all at once. The blunette couldn't stare at it for too long before his eyes began to ache, but after rubbing them, he was able to decipher that it was a barrier of some sort. It was a lot like the one that guarded the safe buried in the basement of Phantomhive manor under concrete, that house both his and Alois' rings so that none could take them, and do damage to their souls. The rings acted as vessels for both of them at one point, and could very well be a way to destroy them, therefore it was a top priority that they were safe from any and all threats.

Ciel looked down at the floor beneath his feet, and noticed that there was a diabolical circle covering almost the entirety of the room. He couldn't read any of the inscriptions. They were a conglomerate of many languages, including ones that were most likely lost to mankind long ago. If he squinted, he could make out what appeared to be letters from the Greek alphabet, as well as ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics, but then there were symbols that he didn't recognize at all.

"Pretty, isn't it?" asked a voice from behind the bluenette, starling him. He had been so caught up in staring at the letters on the ground, that he didn't notice that he wasn't alone.

He spun around to find Dafydd standing there, hands in his pockets with a lazy expression on his face. Ciel was almost ashamed that he couldn't sense the boy, or the man with him, Detective Summers, to make matters worse. The bluenette simply couldn't feel their prescence, as the barrier appeared to be interfering with his sixth sense. He narrowed his eye and glared at the two.

"What is this?" he asked. "You must know, since you're down here."

"It's just what it looks like; a barrier." answered Dafydd, pointing out what Ciel already knew. "And if you want to know what it's guarding, it's just the mainframe for the chips."

"Dafydd!" barked detective Summers, knowing full-well that disclosing such information so casually could ruin their plans.

"What? It's not like he can break it." said the sorcerer. "It's specifically designed to keep high-powered supernaturals out. Works on humans, too."

"Who made it?" demanded the bluenette. "This is obviously too high-powered of magic for you to be capable of, Blake."

"It's not 'magic', it's science!" said Dafydd. "My parents made it. They can do that kind of stuff when they combine power. Duh, Phantomhive. My family is the most powerful line of sorcerers in the UK. We've served her majesty before, back in the olden-days, even. Creating complex barriers is child's play."

Ciel relaxed his muscles and stood up straight, abandoning his fighting stance. He thought about that for a moment. If his parents were in on this, where were they? Why would they be involved in such an operation to begin with? It was then that the Phantomhive lad open his mouth again to speak.

"Dafydd..." he began, "...What you told me a few days ago; what you said this group was for; is that why your parents agreed to help with this?"

"Of course." replied the sorcerer, arching an eyebrow.

"Where are your parents now?"

"With the higher-ups." answered Dafydd, before his face shifted from confusion to realization. "This is another one of your tricks, isn't it? You demons just don't know when to cut the crap, do you? It's not going to work. Even if I can't read your thoughts, I still know that I can't trust you. Everyone knows you can't trust a demon. That's just common sense! Honestly, ever since the day I first met you, you've been nothing but cold, cruel, and scheming, so you never even had the faintest hope of being able to trick me!"

Ciel stood, listening intently to the other boy's rant, formulating his next move. He read between the fine lines of every word in order to be able to find something to prove he's right. Then, it all clicked.

"Obviously, I asked the wrong person." he said, turning his attention to the detective. "Detective Summers, do you know where Dafydd's parent's are now?"

"What?" answered the man, his face looking somewhat concerned. "They're with the higher ups, just like he said."

"Dafydd," Ciel said, turning his gaze back to the boy. "You claim to have the ability to read someone's thoughts. Tell me, is the detective lying?"

The boy-sorcerer raised his eyebrows in surprise at the question. He didn't expect the bluenette to ask such a thing. Regardless, confident in his associate, he turned to the man, causing him to jump. It was then that Dafydd's cocky grin turned into a look of horror.

Summers was lying. His parents weren't with the higher ups. They were imprisoned deeper within the factory walls, bound and gagged so that they couldn't perform any incantations and free themselves. Dafydd turned to the bluenette, shocked that the boy deduced that much.

"From your expression, I assume that he was, yes?" Ciel asked, taking a few steps forward. "Remember everything I wold you the other day? About the kidnappings? The forced implanting of freak-chips? The deaths of all the people who had them? Well, why don't we see if the detective knows anything about all of that?"

Summers gulped, and Dafydd turned his attention back to him. The sorcerer's brow immediately furrowed, his face forming a near-snarl. He clenched his fists so tightly, that his rings started to hurt his skin, as he registered everything. Everything the bluenette had said had all been true. Dafydd hadn't avoided being tricked. He had been tricked long before he met the bluenette, who only tried to show him the truth; the ugly, horrible truth.

He tensed his muscles, and was about to swing at the detective, but the man pulled out a tazer, and aimed it straight at him. As soon as he uttered any spell, the man would have fired. All he could do was put his hands up in surrender.

"So what if you know everything?" the man asked, an nearly estranged look on his face. "That still doesn't change the fact that you're a stupid, and now disposable kid! You've done your part, Blake. You aren't needed anymore. I could taze you right now and arrest you, making something up that's sure to get you convicted..."

"Except for the fact that I'm here." Ciel said, walking forward, his expression devoid of even the slightest care. "We've met before, but you probably don't remember. I am Senior Detective Constable Sir Ciel Phantomhive. After all of this, you'll be sitting inside a nice prison cell... that is, if you're lucky."

"Don't fuck with me, kid!" shouted Summers, aiming the tazer at the bluenette. "I'm warning you, one more step, and I'll-!"

"You'll what?" Ciel asked, a smirk gracing his face as he walked onward. "You'll use your stupid little toy on me?"

He was only a few feet from the man when Summers struck Ciel with the weapon, hitting the boy directly in the chest, over his heart. Yet all Ciel did was flinch as approximately one-thousand and two-hundred volts coursed through his body. His smirk never wavered. The sight was enough to make the man emit a small, frightened sound before clearing his throat again, and furrowing his brow.

"What can you possibly do?!" he barked in a failed attempt to sound threatening. "I-I'm a police officer-!"

He was barely able to utter the last syllable of his sentence before begin struck in the face by the bluenette's fist. One of the man's front teeth landed on the floor, before the rest of him followed it. The bluenette looked at his knuckles for a moment. He had cut them on the man's teeth, and both he and the sorcerer watched as the decent-sized gash healed itself, Dafydd being the only one of the two who was absolutely stunned.

"You're not a police officer." the bluenette said, stepping over the man's unconscious self. "You're just scum pretending to be a police officer." He turned to the other boy briefly before motioning for him to follow him out of the room.

Through the depths of the factory, they ventured, silence looming in the air about them, giving the whole situation a nearly unbearable and awkward tension. That was to be expected, however. Neither lad liked each other that much. Dafydd had accused the bluenette of being a liar, and tried to get between him and his boyfriend, so of course they weren't going to be the best of company. After what felt like ages of deathly silence, the sorcerer hesitantly opened his mouth to speak.

"Y'know, about earlier..." he began, not quite able to find his words. "...I'm sorry for not believing you."

"That's not necessary." the bluenette said bluntly. "You were cautious, which is a good attribute to have."

"Yeah, but I still said all that crap about you..." replied Dafydd, only to be met with silence. The bluenette simply had nothing to add, or comment on, so there wasn't much point in answering.

"You're extremely intimidating, you know that?" the sorcerer added.

"Most people are intimidated by what they don't understand, or that's different from them. It's perfectly normal."

"I guess. It's really scary that I can't tell what you're thinking."

"Why can't you?"

"Because I can't read the minds of powerful, supernatural beings, that's why." said Dafydd. "That makes it even worse. You were holding back when we fought, weren't you? What exactly are you capable of?"

"I'm not sure yet." answered the bluenette. "I've never really tested my limits."

"Seriously. Scary as fuck..." spoke Dafydd.

"Most demons are like that. Get used to it."

"Why? You're the only one I've met, so what's the point? Do you know how rare demons are?"

"They aren't, really." said Ciel. "Alois is a demon."

"WHAT?!" barked the sorcerer.

"You couldn't tell?"

"Well, I knew he was supernatural, since I couldn't read his mind, but seriously, he's a demon?!"

"Yes, he is. A scary one, too." replied the bluenette.

"Okay, that, I can tell you're just making up!" spoke Dafydd.

"He is." said Ciel. "He makes me nervous."

"If he makes you nervous, then you should just let me have hi-"

"No. He makes me nervous because I love him, and that is why I'll never allow you to have him."

"Oh? And if he decides that he likes me better instead?" asked Dafydd with a cocky grin.

"He won't." the bluenette said, a smirk visible on his lips. "He's mine."

"Possessive, aren't we, Phantomhive?" remarked the other lad.

"That, and because I'm going to tell him about all of that stuff you said about demons, earlier."

"Whoa, wait, seriously?!" asked Daffyd, his grin faded. "I've learned my lesson! Demons aren't all bad!"

"He has the right to know if he's going to 'decide', like you said."

"Oh, come on! I've learned my lesson!"

"I have to protect him from bigots like you." said the bluenette.

"I'm not a-, hey, wait a minute..." the boy-sorcerer said, pausing for a moment. "You're just messing with me, aren't you?!"

"'Daffy', is right..." Ciel remarked with a sigh.

"MY NAME IS NOT 'DAFFY'!"

 


	249. Alois' Biggest Fan

Thus far, Alois' "James Bond-esque" mission, as he put it, wasn't going so well. It was, in that he hadn't run into any trouble, but he was also endlessly roaming the dark factory and finding absolutely nothing. He knew it was just a matter of time until he stumbled across something, and hoped it would be soon. As things were going, he wasn't going to be proving his usefulness any time in the near future. And here, he had thought that he would finally get to do something productive after allowing Ciel to handle the case up until now, but obviously, the current turn of events proved to be the contrary. Running around in aimless circles proved to be getting him nowhere, so the blonde decided that the best course of action was to actually think things through.

"Now, if I were an evil organization," the blonde thought, "Where would I keep my human guinea-pigs?"

"Out of sight and locked up." he answered to himself. This gave him the idea to find some sort of stairwell that goes deeper into the factory-pits.

Alois took this idea and went with it, now sticking more to the walls than venturing around machinery. He wouldn't find what he was looking for if he did, and those machines were somewhat frightening in their size. They looked like they could swallow one up and mangle them to bits before spitting them back out again. It was in Alois' best interest to avoid this, and thus, he knew basically where to start looking for his stairs.

At last he came to a metal door, one that looked as if it were locked tight. The blonde noticed that the padlock was missing, and discarded on the floor, the metal arm twisted, bent, and broken.

"Something tells me that Ciel might've been here..." Alois remarked to himself. Either way, he now knew that he was at least on the right track.

He walked down several hallways, still wandering aimlessly while trying to shake this uneasy feeling that seemed to be growing with each passing step. It felt demonic, and yet not. Alois couldn't quite tell what this feeling was, but he did know that he didn't like it. He couldn't quite tell if it was his sixth sense, or his nerves, which was bothersome since part of his objective was to avoid confrontation.

Suddenly, he heard yelling in one of the nearby rooms, with a strange light seeping through the crack in the doorway. He was about to peek through it in order to find out what was happening, but instead, he saw that a shadow was now blocking the light, as if someone was standing there, about to exit the room. Panicking, the blonde menace looked around him for a way to hide, and discovered an air-vent placed slightly below the ceiling on the wall.

Without hardly thinking, Alois removed the cover and slipped inside, and not a moment too soon, as he heard footsteps passing through the area that was now behind him. The vent was so small, that he couldn't turn around to check and see if it was safe. He had to rely on his ears, which weren't much help, even with his heightened senses, due to the vent being on somewhere in the building.

With no other options, Alois crawled forward in the small, metal space in hopes of finding another way out, elsewhere. Now, the blonde wasn't afraid of tight spaces, but the cramped enclosure combined with the already unsettling atmosphere weren't helping his nerves, any. Every once in a while, he simply had to stop his navigating of the winding, square, metal tunnel, and take a deep breath in order to try and calm down. That's what Ciel did, so he thought he would give it a try. Alas, the bluenette's technique only lasted a mere few seconds before the blonde's uneasiness returned, only this time, it was clearly his sixth sense.

Alois had covered quite a bit of distance since entering the vent. He wondered why he was able to feel his sense now, of all times when it didn't seem to work back in the hallway, but didn't dwell on this for long. He had heard a sound that was quite unsettling.

CREAK!

The blonde furrowed his brow at the sound, and listened carefully in order to figure out where it was coming from. For the most part, all was quiet, save for the humming of the air conditioning. It was the second time he heard the noise that his heart nearly stopped.

CREAK! CREAK!

Each time he heard it this time, he felt the floor underneath him start to give. He looked down to see that he was right above yet another vent opening. Alois jerked his body, trying to move away was quickly as possible in the small space, but his sudden movement only seemed to disturb the weak, metal, unintentional trap-door. Before he could register what had happened, he was falling.

This part of the ventilation shaft was more spacious, and was even colder than the first. He looked down again and found out why. There was a larger fan below him at the end of the tunnel, spinning at a ridiculous rate.

"Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, shit!" he exclaimed, spreading his arms and legs in order to try and grip onto the tunnel walls.

The friction of the metal rubbing against his palms burned, and was no doubt wearing out the rubber on his shoes, as he tried to use them as brakes. He clasped his eyes shut in anticipation, knowing that he wasn't slowing down even near "close enough". The high-pitched screeching of his claws scraping against the metal assaulted his eardrums, as he summoned them in a last-ditch effort to slow down.

Then, the screeching stopped, and the burning of his palms began to subside. All he could feel now was air rushing past him as it flew through his hair and ruined the initial neatness of his clothing. Hesitantly, he forced an eye open, and looked down again, observing that he had stopped only a few meters from the fan.

With a sigh of relief, Alois knew he was safe for the moment, but this feeling immediately vanished when he realized that he now needed a plan of how to get out of this situation. He couldn't call for help, as he would need his hands to access his radio and they were currently busy keeping him from being chopped into bits by the danger that lurked below him.

"Alright, alright, I get it." muttered the blonde. "God apparently hates me, but can I please get through one measly mission without nearly dying!? Is that too much to bloody ask?!"

He knew that no one would answer him. It just made him feel better to let out his aggravation. With his head now clearer, Alois began to think, looking around at his surroundings, which consisted of four metal walls less than two arms-widths apart, a long way up, and a short and unpleasant way down. There was practically nothing there.

The poor blonde demon looked up yet again, as he debated on climbing up the shaft, but then noticed something several feet above his head on the wall directly above him. His little beacon of hope came to him in the form of yet another vent, one that he could possibly reach, if he was careful. Alois looked at it for a moment longer before looking down at the fan below him, and then back up again. He decided to risk it, and climb.

Slowly; awkwardly, the blonde menace made his ascent, moving one arm up just a little, followed by the foot opposite to it. He repeated this process for what felt like an agonizing eternity. The boy nearly slipped several times, squeaking in surprise before catching himself. Every time he did this, he would have to stop and mentally push himself to continue on.

At long last, the lad made it to where the vent was right in front of him. The only question now, was how he would get to it. He prepped himself for what he was about to do, taking a deep breath. Alois then hoisted himself up as high as he could with his arms alone, letting go of the walls with his feet before swinging his legs back to kick off of the wall behind him.

He had expelled himself forward, however, only his top half made it into the new vent, leaving his legs and rear to dangle over the edge above the fan. The blonde kicked and flailed, trying to kick off of something, anything in order to hoist himself up. Sadly, this only seemed to make gravity work against him, as he began to slip.

With a grunt, he crawled forward, his arms picking up the slack that his legs had left behind. When he was finally safe, he allowed himself to breathe again, resting for a moment on his stomach as he laid on the vent's cold floor. All he could think about during this time was how ungraceful that entire endeavor was. He laughed to himself, imagining how he must have looked. His thoughts then wandered to what the bluenette would have thought about such a scene. Oh, how glad the blonde was that Ciel was not there to have witnessed that.

Alois crawled forward, then turned left and right, and every which way, wandering aimlessly through the vents of the factory in pursuit of an exit. Although there was plenty of cool air traveling through the tunnels, the blonde was still sweating. His joints were beginning to ache from rubbed against the hard metal surface, and he was starting to lose hope in finding an exit.

But then, lo and behold, he saw a light. This was his second beacon of hope that day. He crawled toward it, to discover that it was covered with a metal vent guard, causing him to furrow his brow. Then again, he realized that this was actually advantageous. He could now check to see if his escape would be witnessed by any Messiah members without being seen in the process.

He pressed his cheek up against the vent, tilting his head so that he could better see through the narrow gaps in the plate. He looked down and saw that the room wasn't that particularly heavily guarded. Only one thug was off to the side, but oddly, there were two other people in the room; two women in lab-coats.

Alois squinted his eyes at one of them, realizing he had seen her before. She was a generously-sized black woman with her hair pulled back into a pony-tail so that it would be out of her face while she was working, and a pair of glasses seated on the bridge of her nose. It was then that he realized that he had seen the woman before. It was in the video recovered from the home of Doctor Elena Lovejoy. That had to be her.

The boy's eyes flickered to the other woman in the room for a moment. She was tall, with her hair cut rather short, and a timid sort of look about her. Alois didn't recognize her, but he was able to conclude based on his current set of knowledge, that the second woman was most likely Doctor Almondine Bigby.

One guard, two doctors held there against their will, and now other way out. At this point, he really had now choice. Alois punched the panel keeping him and the room separate, sending it flying across the room and causing it's occupants to jump in surprise. With as much grace as he could muster, the blonde wiggled out of the vent, nearly falling flat on his face. His hands saved that from happening, but with the rest of him already being propelled forward, it caused him to flip and land on his bottom instead. With the other's stares, he quickly scrambled to his feet.

"Uhm..." he uttered, trying to think of something to say. "...'Ta-da'?"

"Oi! The hell are you doin' here?!" demanded the guard, causing the blonde to flinch.

"I... got lost on my way to the bathroom..." the blonde said, knowing full-well that there was absolutely no way that he was going to believe that. At this point, he was simply talking for the sake of talking.

It was around then that the guard charged toward Alois, frightening him, and prompting him to swiftly punch the man in the face. The guard stumbled backward, falling to the floor with a large thud. Alois looked to the two doctors with a smile, but the two simply stared back at him.

"What do you think you're doing?!" demanded Doctor Lovejoy, her voice filled with and odd combination of confusion, concern, and anger. "That thing is going to kill you when it gets back up!"

"'Thing'?" echoed Alois, pausing for a moment while the meaning behind that particular choice of words sunk in. He turned to see the man get back up, and act as though nothing had happened to him. This particular guard appeared to have one of the freak-chips in his system. "Oh..."

That was odd. Why would someone who was picked up off the street willingly guard the ones responsible for their becoming a monster. It was when Alois got hit that he found his answer.

"Did you upgrade their chips or something?!" the blonde asked the two women as he recovered. The guard had hit him quite hard; hard enough that his back hit the wall behind him.

"We didn't have a choice!" shouted Lovejoy from across the room. "It was either make them, or die!"

"The new chips are for members-only!" added Bigby. "They enhance the user's strength in addition to giving them immortality!"

"Well, fuck!" Alois said, dodging another swing. They had fixed the devices' bugs, and they were now working as they were intended to. Unfortunately, this was bad news for the blonde menace.

As he was almost out of options, Alois decided to run, yes run. He was running in order to get some distance between him and the imitation vampire. As he did, he reached into the inside of his coat, pulling out his own anti-freak weapon, the Kaspar. Like Ciel, he, too, had a way to kill supernatural beings with ease.

After seizing his weapon, he turned and aimed at the guard's head. After waiting for the man to get a little closer, he pulled the trigger. There was one freak down, and an unknown number to go. Moreover, and this was the worst part, Alois had broken the missions guidelines. He was supposed to stay hidden. Perhaps even worse than that, someone was bound to hear the sound of his gun going off. He ran a hand through his hair with a sigh. He was going to be in so much trouble for this. After composing himself again, he turned to the women in the room, offering them a smile.

"So, you want out of here, or what?" he asked, placing his weapon back in his coat.

"But what about-"

"Of course we do." interrupted Doctor Lovejoy, completely cutting the other woman off. "Have you got a plan, kid?"

"Of course I do!" Alois replied. "We get the hell out of here before someone comes to see what all that noise was, and finds this guy." He gestured toward the dead copycat-vampire on the floor.

 


	250. Perfection

Sebastian made his way through the depths of the factory with little to no problems. Obviously, he was the only one to do so, but then again, he was ordered to, and what kind of butler would he have been had he not been able to follow a simple order? Naturally, a demon of his age had the skills to complete his task with ease, being silent, swift, and near-invisible to the naked human eye.

While there wasn't much out of the ordinary upstairs, downstairs, he found the room where the doctors were being held captive, where the "test subjects" were kept, and the laboratory. He had also found the massive computer that linked the chips together, however, it was encased in a barrier, one that he couldn't break. He relayed all of this information to the others, but oddly, Alois wasn't responding, bringing forward a new objective, and that is to find him. Ciel took this task, as the oldest of the demons was more than capable of completing the mission himself. Sebastian couldn't help but smirk to himself, knowing the bluenette's true reasoning.

Thus, he continued his search, having been given a direct order. Other than those few things mentioned previously, the butler seemed to not be finding anything else out of the ordinary, yet he still felt a persistent uneasiness as he continued deeper into the complex.

It was similar to the feeling he experienced while being near the barrier surrounding the "freak-mainframe" as Dafydd apparently dubbed it. Why on earth his young master would allow the odd sorcerer-boy tag-along was certainly beyond the man clad in black, yet it wasn't his place to question. Perhaps this new feeling indicated the presence of yet another barrier somewhere, but the question was "where?"

He he scurried along down the hallway, he found his answer, as little symbols appeared underneath his feet as he did. Sebastian paused for a moment to look down at the strange glowing characters, and realized they looked somewhat familiar. His garnet eyes widened upon recalling the information, and he immediately began to move in order to correct his mistake, but alas, it was too late.

An odd sort of multi-coloured spectrum of light, not at all unlike the one surrounding the freak mainframe, appeared out of the ground in front of him, effectively blocking off his exit. Sebastian then turned around to run the other way, only to find that the same had happened on the other side of him. Now looking for an escape route, he cocked his arm back, facing the wall to his left, before releasing it, only to have his fist not only not break it's target, but be burned by it, more symbols appearing on the wall as he did. The butler stepped back for a moment, examining his suroundings, rubbing his fist as steam wafted off of it.

"Oh dear..." he said aloud. As much as it hurt him to do so, the butler reached into his pocket, pulling out his radio, before contacting the bluenette.

"Young master?" he called, pressing the "talk button".

"Yes?" Ciel answered.

"It would appear that I've walked into a bit of a trap."

"You what?!" demanded the bluenette, curious as to how Sebastian Michealis of all people would have been caught.

"A demonic barrier-type prison." the man explained. "I must say, I having seen one in the longest time. It's going to be a bit of a pickle, but I'm sure I can manage. Do you think perhaps mister Trancy is in a similar predicament?"

"That's entirely possible." the Phantomhive lad replied. "If there's a trap, Alois is sure to be the one to trigger it."

"Just be careful on your way. It won't do us any good if we're all trapped, now will it?"

"You're one to talk! You're the moron who got caught!"

"My apologies." said the man. "I got careless. It may be a while, but I should be able to get myself out."

"We don't have 'a while'!" the bluenette argued. "They're now looking for us as we speak! This has changed from a simple surveilance mission. As much as it pains me, we're going to have to relay our information to H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. now and exterminate the threat."

"As you wish, my lord." replied Sebastian. "Do you wish to do the honours, or shall I?"

"I will." said Ciel, as he and Dafydd walked along. "You just focus on your escape for now. Then, we finish this."

"Yes, my lord."

With a sigh, Ciel placed his radio back in his pocket. He couldn't believe this. Not only was Alois missing, his butler was now losing his edge, and worst of all, he's going to have to tell Sir Hellsing that the mission is a failure. Moreover, he's stuck with Dafydd as company.

"Not good news, then?" asked the sorcerer-boy, following only slightly behind the bluenette.

"Shut up." Ciel ordered. He wasn't going to put up with any silliness from the other lad.

"Scary..."

The bluenette only grunted in response to the lad's comment. He was busily rushing through the hallways of the area below the factory in search of a safe place to stop and properly convey the damage to Sir Hellsing. He thought that this assignment might be a way to rid himself of his stress, but now, it was only doubled. His mind was now foggy with the fear of talking to the woman. Ciel almost hoped that they didn't come to good place to stop, just to avoid it a little longer.

However, he was slowly dragged from his thoughts from the sounds of rushed footsteps. Where was it coming from? The bluenette soon got his answer as he was about to round another corner, and ran straight into it's source.

"Oof!"

Ciel and his assailant both fell backwards to the ground. Both let out a small grunt on impact. When he actually looked up, however, he was assaulted yet again by a pair of arms around his neck.

"There you are!" declared the blonde menace. "I was looking for you everywhere!" The bluenette simply looked at him with a confused face before standing up.

"You were looking for me? No, no, no. I was looking for you." he said, giving the other demon a stern look.

"Well, then why didn't you call my radio?" asked Alois.

"I did! You didn't reply." Ciel stated. This time it was the blonde's turn to be confused.

"No I didn't. You just didn't... Oh..." he said, reaching into his pocket and pulling out his small, handheld radio. The poor thing was smashed to bits.

"It must have gotten broken while you fought that freak." stated Doctor Lovejoy. "Is this your 'comrade' you were talking about, Alois?"

"Yup! This is Ciel." the blonde said, gesturing to the lad, before back to the woman. "Ciel, this is doctor Lovejoy, and behind her, is doctor Bigby."

"Hello." Bigby greeted.

"Good to see you're both alright." Ciel said. "I'm not going to ask about what kind of fight you got into. They already know we're here."

"What?" asked Alois. "How?!"

"I may or may not have punched Detective Summers in the face." the bluenette said, turning, and gesturing for the others to follow him.

"He knocked one of his teeth out, too." added Dafydd.

"The bloody hell are you doing here?" asked the blonde menace, shooting the sorcerer a dirty look while following closely behind his bluenette beau.

"You know this kid too?" asked Lovejoy.

"The name's Dafydd." the boy greeted with a smile. "I'm this little spitfire's man."

"NO." the blonde said, latching onto the bluenette's arm. "You sicken me."

"Don't you think that's a bit harsh?" asked Doctor Bigby.

"Hell no, it isn't!"

"Almondine, you're face is red." said Doctor Lovejoy, pressing her palm to the other woman's forehead. "And you're burning up!"

"I'm alright." replied Bigby. "All of this excitement has just got me kind of worn out."

"We still have quite a bit of ways to go." said the bluenette. "There's still things we need to do. First, we need to get Sebastian free."

"What happened to Sebastian?" asked the blonde, his face holding sincere concern.

"He got himself stuck in a trap." the Phantomhive boy answered, obviously somewhat shocked at the fact, himself. "Then, we need to call Sir Integra and tell her that the plan is a failure, and that we need to act now. From there, we wait for instructions."

"Well... shit..." Alois said, not sure how else to answer that.

That's really all he could think of. First, Sebastian, who was supposedly nearly invincible and perfect, got caught in a trap and can't get out, and then, they have to call perhaps the scariest woman alive and tell her that they failed the task she had given them, which could very well result in the Round Table Conference bringing their very usefulness into question. It was all a bit much to process, something that the others just couldn't seem to understand. How could they? They knew nothing of their troubles.

"Hey, hey! Why the long face, spitfire?" asked Dafydd. "Don't be down! You're much cuter when you smile."

"Sod off, Dafydd." Alois snapped.

"Oh, come on!" the sorcerer nearly whined. "Do I really deserve this kind of treatment?"

"Yes." the bluenette answered simply, his eye never straying from the path.

"I really don't understand what you see in this guy..." Dafydd said, staring at the back of the Phantomhive boy's head. "He's so short and grouchy. Atleast I know how to have some fun."

"He's not grouchy. He's just got a lot on his mind." Alois stated. "He's cool, smart, and can be really sweet, too. Besides, he's pretty hot."

"No way!" Dafydd protested. "This little guy? Please, you're worthy of a real man!"

"And that's supposed to be you?"

"Hey, I'm just being realistic. He's so scrawny, there's barely anything to hold onto! How are you supposed to play with with someone so gumpy and little?"

"What are you saying?" asked Alois, tilting his head to the side while giving the sorcerer a confused look. "I'm sorry, but have you seen my boyfriend? Why on earth would I want to touch anyone other than the owner of this perfect ass in a sexual manner?"

Yes, this was going to be a long mission...

 


	251. Thank You, Admiral Ackbar

The group ventured onward toward the general direction that Sebastian had claimed to have been headed, but they weren't very quick at it, due to the humans in the group, as well as a certain sorcerer. The only difference between the two is that one can use magic, and the other can't. They're both really quite weak and sluggish in comparison to the demonic duo. While the pair were somewhat annoyed by this, they felt that it was for the best if they didn't say anything about it out loud.

That said, they continuously had to stop and rest because of Doctor Bigby. The meek-looking woman would get winded easily, and didn't look well in the slightest. Just as when they started, Almondine Bigby was sweating, and running a fever, but now instead of being red in the face she was going quite pale. The woman looked extremely ill.

"I'm sorry to make you keep stopping like this." she said breathlessly, taking a seat on the floor.

"It isn't a problem." Ciel lied. It was a big problem.

They had no idea what could very well be happening to Sebastian, as he was now captured by a force powerful enough to do so. They very concept was incredibly shocking to both him, and the blonde menace. He tried to ponder all of the possible ways to free him once they got there, but sadly, his efforts were fruitless.

If Sebastian couldn't break the barrier, there was no way that either he, or Alois could. Combining their efforts could work, but it was unlikely. It was doubtful that Dafydd could break it, both being not at all that powerful, or competent. He didn't even bother to think of a use for the doctors. It was obvious that they weren't going to be of help in this situation. The bluenette wasn't entirely in despair, however, as his thoughts were finally interrupted by Dafydd, asking for his momentary attention.

"Hey, 'cyclops-boy'." called the sorcerer. "Lovejoy says she think she might know what's with Bigby."

"Alright." said Ciel, blatantly ignoring the nickname and turning to face the woman. "What do you have to say, doctor?"

"It's most likely a bacterial infection." spoke Doctor Lovejoy, seated in the floor next to her coworker. She held the other woman's arm out for the other's to see. There was a bandage covering the majority of her forearm. "Something probably got in this. We need to hurry and get out of here so she can be treated with proper antibiotics."

"How on earth did you get that?" asked the blonde menace.

"It got cut open in the tussle when I was brought here." said doctor Bigby. "I haven't been able to change the bandages, and I didn't know how to treat it right on my own. Electronics, are my specialty, not medicine. I'm feeling a bit better, now, so we should get moving."

Ciel looked at the injury for a moment more before nodding. He said: "Alright, let's go, then. We haven't got much time. When we get Sebastian free, he will escort you safely out of here."

"Thank you." said doctor Bigby as Lovejoy helped her up.

"So, are you lot used to all the crazy stuff that's going on around here?" asked Lovejoy, as she and the others walked briskly down the hallway.

"You could say that." answered Alois, not giving too much away.

"That's not a good enough answer." the woman insisted, furrowing her brow. "That material I was working with wasn't like anything else I've ever seen. It wouldn't die, no matter what happened to it. It would regenerate absurdly quickly, and anyone who had their genetic makeup rewritten to be like that did the same. Bullets didn't work. Knives didn't, either. None of them could be killed until they broke down."

"And?"

"And..." echoed the doctor, "...Here you come along, out of a wall, no less, and are able to kill it without a problem!"

"Alright, alright, you've got us." said the blonde. "We're actually The Men In Black." he stated, gesturing to the duo's attire. Dafydd snorted, trying to hold in a laugh, while the doctor was less than amused. But, knowing that she was unlikely to get a legitimate answer from the lads, she dropped the moment for the time being.

"Hey, so, what are we gonna do about Bigby?" asked the blonde, in a hushed tone, leaning in closer to the bluenette.

"We'll just have to bear with it for the time being, and move forward." Ciel said in a similar manner, shuddering at the feeling of the blonde's breath hitting his ear.

"But what about her little 'illness'?" Alois asked, clarifying himself somewhat. "What if she's infected with freak?"

"That's an impossibility, if it was truly accidental." Ciel began. "Someone can only become a vampire if their blood was drained by a vampire of the opposite sex, and they have to be a virgin for that to even work."

"So, you're saying that vampires are perverts, or...?"

"I'm saying that her being a freak is unlikely, but there's one thing that bothers me..."

"What's that?"

"She claimed that she got that injury from resisting her initial kidnapping..." Ciel said, "... but Detective Bailey said that there were no signs of a struggle in her home."

"So she's lying?" asked the blonde, tilting his head.

"Who knows? The easy way would be to ask Dafydd to check, but I think it might be best to let things run it's course."

"Oh~! So you're feeling devious?" asked the blonde with a grin. "I can't wait to see what you have planned, muffin."

"Was the pet-name entirely necessary?"

"One-hundred percent necessary, yes."

The group walked onward, and eventually, that ominous feeling in the pit of their stomachs returned. It was a similar feeling to the area around the barrier guarding the freak-mainframe. The doctors didn't seem to pick up on it, and Dafydd could just barely feel it, but it was there. The demonic duo couldn't seem to register whether or not Sebastian was nearby, however. Like before, it would appear that their sixth-sense was getting weaker as the got closer.

Soon, they saw a faint light, radiating from around a corner and, hopeful that it was the butler, they ventured toward it. As soon as they did, however, they heard a voice. It was familar, and it told them something they didn't entirely want to hear.

"Young master, stop!" shouted the butler as soon as the bluenette stepped into view, causing the boy to come to a halt, and look at the man with confusion.

"Are you mad?" the blonde menace shouted back. "We're here to get you out!"

"This entire hallway is a trap." Sebastian said. "As soon as either one of you sets foot in it, you'll be trapped too."

The others simply looked at each other for a moment, as if hoping one of them miraculously had a solution. They didn't. It was then that the bluenette set his eye on the sorcerer's somewhat guilty-looking expression. He narrowed his eye and furrowed his brow.

"Are you responsible for this?" he asked, alerting Dafydd's attention. The other boy looked down at the floor and scratched the back of his neck, giving the lad his answer without a word.

"Somewhat." he said, finally, looking back up. "I told them that you were a demon, and were oddly curious about Messiah. They must've had mom and dad set up this trap."

"You pillock!" Alois accused, pointing at the lad. "Are you completely dead from the neck up? How are we supposed to get him out if we can't get anywhere near him?!"

Dafydd turned away for a moment, looking at the barrier surrounding Sebastian. He squinted in order to see it with more clarity. Then, with a quick nod to himself, he took a step forward.

"What in blazes are you doing?!"

"No worries!" said Dafydd, turning to face the group again. "The barrier is race-specific, so I can't trigger the trap. I'm going to go get a better look at it."

"So... it's a racist-barrier?" asked the blonde, confused as to what he just heard.

"I'm pretty sure that means that the trap can only be triggered by demons." Ciel said, crossing his arms and watching the sorcerer. "It probably couldn't hurt to have him take a look."

Meanwhile, the sorcerer approached the barrier, offering Sebastian a smile before crouching down on the floor to get a better look at the circle that was surrounding the luminescent barrier. He furrowed his brow as he looked over the writing, the majority of which being completely illegible to the majority of earth's population, including the supernatural population. It appeared to be a conglomerate of all sorts of languages, including Latin, Welsh, Greek, Arabic, many Nordic languages, as well as others, some lost to mankind long ago. Dafydd got up frim his position on the floor, and walked around it, looking over the circle, as well as the barrier itself. When he came back to where he started, he looked up again, and turned to the demonic duo.

"I know how to break it!" he declared, shocking the others. "All I have to do is figure out the counter-curse, and we're good to go!"

"How long do you think that will take?" asked the bluenette.

"Eh, I dunno. It all depends." replied the sorcerer, revoking the little confidence that he had inspired in the others for that one, fleeting moment. "I haven't worked on a demon-specific curse, before, so it might take a few minutes. But, from the looks of it, it shouldn't be that hard."

"Are you sure you know what you're doing?" asked Sebastian, a questioning expression plastered across his face. Obviously, he wasn't entirely confident in this lad either.

"Of course. All I have to do is take what it says, and write a spell to counter it. Easy." spoke Dafydd, in an oddly casual manner.

The boy took a small memo-pad with a similarly-sized pen out of his pocket, and began jotting things down, moving around the circle as he did. While he did this, the others simply took a seat on the floor, taking a small rest as they didn't know what else to do. It was around then that the bluenette furrowed his brow, and put his head in his hand.

"What's wrong?" asked the blonde menace, noticing the other lad's strange actions.

"Everything." the bluenette stated in a matter-of-fact tone. "This mission is a complete failure. We failed to get in without getting spotted, Sebastian's trapped, and his only hope of escape is some twit who obviously didn't get accepted into Hogwarts, we barely have any information, the fate of the city is still in jeopardy, and I'm the one who has to call Sir Integra and tell her all of this." He shook his head and smiled sadly. "It's all my fault."

All the blonde could do was listen silently as the bluenette said all of this. He carefully watched the boy's face as he spoke, simply taking in everything the bluenette was, and wasn't saying. When Ciel stopped talking, he looked away. What more could he do? He listened, and that's what the bluenette seemed to want from him at the moment. All Alois could do was ponder all this, silently looking up at the cieling as he did. Before long, he looked straight ahead, and paused. With quick nod to himself, he turned to the bluenette once more.

"Wh-what are you doing?!" the Phantomhive lad demanded.

Alois was currently upon him, rummaging through his pockets without even giving the bluenette an answer. He didn't find what he was looking for in the Phantomhive's coat, so he even resorted to digging in the lad's shirt and pants-pockets. Ciel didn't dare make eye-contact with the doctors, who were with no-doubt, staring at the duo with a dumbfounded expression. Eventually, the blonde found what he was looking for, and let the embarrassed bluenette go. The violated-feeling lad looked up at the blonde, his face red, as the blonde started playing with his cell-phone.

The small, handheld device lit up as Alois activated it, adding a soft glow to his face that wasn't already there from the barrier several feet in front of them. Ciel watched him in utter confusion as he scrolled through his contacts. By the time it dawn on him as to what the boy was doing, it was too late, he had already pressed the "call" button. The bluenette's eyes widened and he quickly tried to grab the mobile from the other boy's grip, but he was nonchalantly held just out of reach by the blonde's free hand. Before Ciel could get close enough to even touch it, the dial tone stopped, and a voice was heard on the other end.

"Hello?"

"Hello~! This is Jim Macken calling in to report!" he said, making sure to use his real name, as it was the one that the Hellsing woman preferred him to use.

Alois had called Sir Hellsing. Of course, the bluenette was absolutely horrified. What on earth was the Trancy lad going to say to her to make any of this alright? Was there anything he could possibly say to make it alright? Probably not, but that didn't stop the blonde menace from trying.

"Alright. Let's hear it." Sir Hellsing said, her voice somewhat curious, as well as wary, suspicious as to why it was Alois calling to give the update rather than Ciel.

"The mission is a failure." is said bluntly, causing a look of shear terror to wash over the bluenette's face. "We were in fact, spotted, and I assume full reasponsibility for it."

"Oh?" the woman answered, "And why is that?"

"While trying to avoid detection, I foolishly hid in an air vent and couldn't get out." Alois said, telling his ridiculous story. "I had to crawl through the tunnels to find an alternative route, but ended up in the room where the two abducted scientists where being held. Since they were being guarded, I had to eliminate the threat, freeing the scientists and changing the nature of the mission."

"Mister Macken, you were in fact, aware that this was a surveillance mission, correct?" asked the Hellsing woman.

"Yes, ma'am." the lad responded. "I'm just incompetent."

"Are the scientists currently with you?"

"Yes, but they are currently at risk, since Messiah is aware of our presence." Alois sounded odd as he talked on the phone with Sir Hellisng. He was less casual, more well-spoken, and no longer had his usual accent. Instead, he spoke as he would as the "Alois Trancy" from one-hundred years ago, the one that he would masquerade around at public gatherings.

"Very well, then. Get them out of there and destroy Messiah." said Integra. "Or at the very least, keep them there until I send a team to exterminate them, understood?"

"Yes, ma'am." answered the blonde, his tone dutiful. "We'll keep you well-informed of any updates."

After a few moments, he hung up and handed the phone back to a completely shocked Ciel with a smile. All the bluenette could do was stare at him. Alois had just talked to perhaps the most frightening woman on the planet, told her that he had messed up on an extremely important mission, and did it with ease. At least, that's what he thought until he saw the other boy slump and let out a sigh of releif.

"Oh my god, that was scary..." the blonde said, a worried look on his face.

"Are you insane?" asked the Phantomhive boy. "I know you're disturbed, but are you actually insane? You do know that she could have very well killed you, yes? She could very well be plotting your demise right now, you twit!"

"Well, I can't have you do everything, right? You've got enough to worry about." Alois said, standing up and stretching. "It's okay to rely on others, every once in a awhile, so relax. Just focus on your job, which by the way, is now to get the doctors out and exterminate Messiah."

"How can I, when you could be executed for taking the blame for the failure of this mission?" asked the bluenette, standing up and looking the blonde straight in the eye.

"I said, 'relax'. I'm probably not going to be executed, and you know it. Sir Integra is probably used to missions of any scale going awry. You just have to change the plans to suit it, and move on. By the way, being friendly and respectful, also helps your case." Alois said with a smile. "You know, it's kind of funny to see you be so irrational."

"I'm not being irrational!" argued the bluenette.

"Yes, you are, but don't worry, you're still cute."

By this time, Dafydd was nearly finished with his task. While the other's were arguing, he had pulled a small cigarette case filled with sticks of chalk out of his coat, and had began drawing a new circle over the old one. His actions were watched curiously by the oldest of the demons, who wondered what he had in store from behind his prison walls. With a grunt, the sorcerer stood up and dusted himself off before looking at the butler.

"Ready to see if I got it right?" he asked with a grin.

"As ready as I'll ever be..." Sebastian replied, his confidence in the goofy lad slim, if at all existent.

"Scientia de anima!" the boy said, calling upon his power. Several of the gems on the many rings on his fingers lit up as he did. The words he spoke after were illegible to the demon's ears, oddly, seeing that he knew many, many different languages. He understood only a few; something about "wings" and "prisons", but he wasn't sure. All he knew, was that the lights around him were changing, getting dimmer, and dimmer until they were completely naught. Naturally, such a change was noticed by the others in the room. Dafydd turned, only to see the group staring at him in disbelief.

"See? I told you it's easy." he said, shooting the, a grin. "What do you think, my little spitfire? Fallen for me, yet?"

"Hahaha, no." replied the blonde menace. "That was impressive, but still, just no."

 


	252. Voids

The group changed their location, walking onward and away from the trap that they had just undone. It was important for them to keep moving, since they were being sought out by Messiah, but then again, allowing them to come to them simply made their job of exterminating them all the more easy. As they ventured the hallways, they encountered several of Messiah's copycat-freaks, and wiped them all out; it didn't matter how large the group they were in. They could have been going solo, or have come in a duo, trio, or even a quartet. Why, at once, they encountered a whole gaggle of copycats, and actually had to stop moving onward for a moment in order to destroy them.

Naturally, all of this wasn't helping the nerves of the two doctors in the group. Doctor Lovejoy and Doctor Bigby cowered whenever they encountered Messiah-members, unsure of the protection that the supposed "Men In Black" of the group could provide. What else could they have done? They were human, they were weak against these monsters. Why, prior to almost a week ago, they hadn't the faintest idea that such things even existed.

"This isn't working." declared the bluenette over the course of their next break. "We need to get to the heart of the problem, and fast."

"Alright, 'Sherlock', what do you suggest we do?" asked Dafydd, arching an eyebrow as the bluenette ignored him to turn to the doctors.

"Doctor Bigby, you're a techonology expert, yes?" he asked, earning a soft nod from the somewhat frail woman. "Do you know what the freak-mainframe does?"

Almondine hesitated for a moment, before giving yet another nod. She opened her mouth to speak, her words somewhat strained. Her condition seemed to be getting better, but alas, this was now apparently not the case.

"Yes." she said, her voice somewhat raspy. "The mainframe connects to all of the freak chips in the facility."

"Is that all?" Ciel asked. "Why would they want to do that?"

"I... I'm not sure..." the woman replied, looking down at the floor with a tired look on her face, the colour completely gone from it.

"Hold on a second..." said Dafydd, lifting his hand to point at the doctor. "...Why are you lying?"

Doctor Bigby's head shot up, and she stared at the boy, wide-eyed. She didn't say a word, but the boy could hear everything she was thinking about. His eyes went wide as well.

"It's to terminate the copycats if they get out of control!" he declared, feeding the demonic duo vital information. Ciel looked at him for a moment before turning to the doctor, furrowing his brow.

"Doctor Bigby..." he began. "Why didn't you want us to know this?"

With that, the woman got up and ran, leaving her heeled-shoes behind in order to better do so. For someone so ill, she was incredibly fast. With a quick glance in his direction, Ciel silently gave his butler an order. In response, Sebastian nodded, and took off after the doctor, easily catching up and cutting off her escape. A fist made contact with his face, hitting harder than he would have expected, but it was still so weak that it barely hurt him. Yes, Doctor Bigby was trapped.

"Let me through!" she commanded, her plea falling on deaf ears. She turned as she heard the footsteps of the others come up from behind her.

"Almondine!" called Doctor Lovejoy, her face an odd mix of confusion and worry. "What are you doing? Why are you hiding things from them?"

"It probably has something to do with the bandage on her arm." the bluenette sternly said, making an attempt to stare the lying doctor down. "Isn't that right, Doctor Bigby?"

"What do you mean?" asked the doctor innocently. "I haven't the slightest idea as to what you're talking about!"

"You said that you got that injury from fighting your kidnapper in your home," the Phantomhive lad began. "But our investigation indicates that there were absolutely no signs of a struggle. Now, why is that? Moreover, the shear amount of bandages on your injury suggests that it was more than simply 'just a scratch'. The blood stains on then indicate that it was a pretty severe cut, a clean one, too." He paused for a moment, allowing the others to take that in for a moment. Almost all of them looked at the woman with a shocked face, as they realized what all of that meant.

"You have a freak-chip implanted in your arm, don't you Doctor?" Ciel stated more than asked. Doctor Bigby grabbed her arm with her free hand, and held it close to her body defensively as her face darkened.

"Of course." she answered, her lips curling into a smirk. "If given the chance to live forever, who wouldn't take it? Who wouldn't want to be something more than human; better than human? Software updates come in the blink of an eye, patching faults and removing bugs all of the time, but what about humans? There's no patch, no improvement. We're all so flawed, and so weak." She smiled a maniacal, toothy grin, revealing rows of pointed teeth.

"Now I can just keep fixing them. What's wrong with that?" she asked, all essence of the frail woman from before now gone, and replaced with this thing.

"Everything." the bluenette stated, clenching his fists. "Everything is wrong with that. Humans improve themselves at their own pace, like they're supposed to; and they aren't 'weak'. They're the most formidable species on the planet. It fact, it's why creatures like us feed on them."

He was right. Why humans? Why not any sort of other animal? They have souls and blood, don't they? Of course, they do. But, what they don't have is the will and sense of self of human beings, and that is why creatures like demons and vampires crave and need.

One thing that vampires and demons have in common is that they are a walking void, so to speak, without life. They prey on the essence of the living; vampires do this by draining one's blood, while demons take a human's soul directly. The main difference between the two is that demons form contracts, temporarily filling this void by the human being's own will, by being assigned an identity and a role, and fulfilling some sort of purpose. Vampires often gorge themselves on blood, absorbing life through red currency. What they both truly desire is for their void to be filled, and to do that, they need human beings.

"It's a cruel reality, isn't it?" the bluenette continued, his voice oddly taunting and yet somehow melancholic. "Eternal life is meaningless. All you see is death wherever you go, knowing that each and every one of those people will die, and you will out-live all of them. You plan of 'fixing' humans will fail, simply because of what you have turned them into. In order to continue living that sad, pathetic life is to consume humans. It has to be a human-being as human-beings were meant to be made. There is no other way."

"Surely that's wrong..." said Doctor Bigby. "Meat is meat, isn't it? And blood is blood. Surely any kind will do-"

"It can't." interrupted the bluenette. "It must be human. When you consumes someone's blood or soul, you're taking in everything that makes them who they are. You're taking their very essence from them. Why? It's because we don't have any of our own. That is the sole reason."

"Don't you understand, Doctor Bigby?" he continued. "To give up your humanity only proves that you were weak. You were too weak to bear the weight of being human, and that is why you became what you are; not because humans are inferior, but because you are inferior."

"Shut up..." the woman said, shaking her head. "Shut up, shut up, shut up! I don't want to hear it!"

"Restrain her." Ciel ordered the butler, to which the man obliged. He then took a moment to calm himself down. Such a topic worried him, somewhat. Sometimes, he himself, couldn't tell what he was. He felt human, but he wasn't, and never would be again. The bluenette turned to Dafydd, snapping the sorcerer to attention. It was then, that Ciel revealed his plan.

"You and Sebastian will take Doctor Bigby to where the freak mainframe is." he said. "Sebastian will keep Bigby restrained, as well as guard the both of you, while you break the barrier surrounding the mainframe. Then, I want you to read into Bigby's thoughts, and figure out how to activate the emergency-termination mechanism, understand?"

"As much as I really don't want to do what you tell me to, I got. it." said the sorcerer, scratching the back of his neck. "It sounds like a pretty good plan, but there's just one problem: I don't know if I can break that thing."

"Why not?" asked the bluenette. "I thought you said it was 'easy'?"

"Yeah, but that wasn't as powerful of a barrier!" argued Dafydd. "Did you see that thing?! That's a complicated piece of work!"

"Please, Dafydd?" asked Alois, batting his eyelashes at the sorcerer, causing him to blush. "Surely you can do it. You're like, a genius with this sort of stuff!"

"Uh... Well, I can give it a try, I guess..." Dafydd replied sheepishly. The bluenette's eyebrow twitched in annoyance at the whole thing. He didn't approve of the blonde's actions, and questioned how someone could fall for such obvious flattery at the same time. Still, Alois had quickly gotten the sorcerer's participation.

"Did you get all of that, Sebastian?" asked the bluenette, turning to the butler.

"Yes, my lord." replied the man, offering a small nod of his head, as he was busy holding the traitorous doctor's arms behind her back.

"Good, now get started. Your mission takes top priority." Ciel said, and with that, the odd-trio left, leaving the Phantomhive boy, the blonde menace, and one very confused human doctor, dumbfounded at what had just occured.

"So... Almondine is..." she began, her voice almost non-existent.

"Yes. I'm sorry." Ciel said, as insincere as he was. In his mind, the woman brought this upon herself, and there was no use worrying about it anymore. "Alois, I want you to escort Doctor Lovejoy out of here. Get her to safety."

"What? What about you?" asked the blonde.

"I'm going to keep Messiah's remaining forces here until either Sebastian and Dafydd activate the termination mechanism, or H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. forces arrive." Ciel answered.

"I want to help you!" Alois stated. "How the hell are you supposed to keep an entire dangerous organization here by yourself?!"

"I'll find a way; I always do." Ciel said, arching an eyebrow at his companion's pout. He sighed. "If you hurry, you can get back here in time to help out." It was almost amazing how quickly the blonde perked up at hearing that.

"Fine." Alois said, conceding to the bluenette's wishes. He turned to leave, but just before he did, he turned back toward the bluenette, and cupped his cheeks, bringing the other boy's lips to his own. The kiss lasted only a few fleeting moments, but it still conveyed the blonde's affections and the entirety of his worry, all the same.

"For luck." the blonde said after pulling away. His smile was infectious, as it spread to the bluenette's face after the brief contact.

"I won't need it, if you hurry." Ciel replied, shooing the blonde away while attempting in vain to force his lips back into a frown, a gesture that made the other boy giggle at him.

For some reason, he didn't even care that the act of intimacy was witnessed by the doctor, an event that had briefly distracted the woman from her own worries. She shook the image of the two boys kissing away, as she went on the focus onto more concerning matters. She followed behind the blonde as they made their way out of the building, thinking about what had occurred that day.

Doctor Almondine Bigby, her coworker and who she believed to be her only friend throughout this entire endeavor had turned out to be on the side of her captors. She was now a monster, and she would die as soon as the others activated the freak's emergency termination mechanism. It was shocking, and it was saddening, but she still had to press on, even as thoughts of what the bluenette had said began to fill her head.

If the Phantomhive lad and the blonde were those "voids" that he spoke of, that only lived to consume, why were they so intimate with each other? Neither were human, therefore, in theory, they shouldn't have even the slightest interest in each other. As a geneticist, her immediate thought was that they might be a mutation, but she wasn't sure. All she knew now is that there were a million new things that she didn't understand, and Lovejoy would now make it her own, personal mission to find out.

But that, is a story for another day.

Right then, the group had gone their own separate ways in order to complete their own missions. Now was the time to focus on that. That's what Ciel was doing. He ventured deeper, and deeper into the pits of the factory, hoping to find the Messiah of this warped group of those who were too weak to remain human.

 


	253. It's Heiny

As Ciel ventured into the final recesses of the factory, he couldn't shake the feeling that he was being watched. This was to be expected, however. If there were going to be artificial freaks anywhere in the complex, it would be in this general area.

The bluenette didn't want to make a single sound, as to not draw any more attention to himself than he already has. He even ceased breathing in the places where his sixth sense told him he should definitely not be in. He was incredibly on-edge, something that he was not accustomed to. While he was obviously the most powerful creature in the vicinity, and possessed a weapon that was specially designed for his foe's destruction, he simply did not like being there, especially alone.

At this point, he was mentally kicking himself for not asking Dafydd where these supposed "higher-ups" where located before they parted ways. Stumbling around while trying to navigate an unfamiliar area was not fun, more than that: it was a waste of precious time. It would take H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. a while to mobilize and reach his location, and in that time, should these "higher-ups" escape, that could cause all of them to have to repeat the entire mission all over again. If that was avoidable, that would be the ideal scenario. No, the ideal scenario would have been for the mission to go completely according to the initial plans, but alas, it was not to be.

Eventually, he made his way down a hallway that as far as he could see, was completely and utterly empty, yet behind one of the office doors sat quite a few people, all of them supernatural in nature. Ciel stopped in front of it for a brief moment, and calculated all of the possible ways that this could turn out. He checked his coat-pockets, making sure all of the magazines he had brought with him were fully stocked with blessed bullets. And, with a deep breath to calm his nerves, he gently knocked on the door, hearing all of the chattering on the other side stopping all at once, and then hid by pressing his body up against the wall just next to the door.

He held his breath yet again as someone answered it, light pouring out into the dark hallway as the door opened. A burly-looking man appeared from out behind it, pausing for a moment before sticking his head out to look around out side, seeing as there was no one directly on the other side of the door. That was a mistake on his part, which he soon figured out. He felt something cold and metallic pressed up against his temple and heard a loud sound before abruptly plunging into the numbing, thoughtless void of death, his body ungraciously collapsing to the ground in a lifeless heap against his will, or his knowledge.

Ciel stepped over him, now standing in the doorway and aimed his weapon as the shuffling of chairs and the excited murmurs and shouts of frightened men and women wafted to his ears. In the seconds before firing again, he estimated around ten people in the room, taking out half of them with the first magazine. The way he reloaded was like clockwork, in that he did it in the shortest, most systematic way possible, taking him around five seconds. By that time, the mortally wounded fell, all dead, while the remainder of the room's inhabitants had reached for their own weapons if they were armed and hid beneath tables if they weren't. It took only a few seconds longer for them to be terminated as well.

After reloading a second time, Ciel cautiously made his way into the room, doing one final sweep for any survivors he may have missed. Once it appeared safe, he quietly examined his handiwork, glancing over at the many bodies now on the floor. To his displeasure, none of them looked as though they would be the kind of person capable of running such an operation, and thus, he moved along, not wanting to be caught in a small-ish room with only one way to escape once someone comes to investigate the noise. With his sixth-sense as his only guide, the bluenette ventured down hallway after hallway, taking out any large groups of copycats he found.

Meanwhile, the blonde menace had made it outside, and stood with Doctor Lovejoy for a while as they discussed what to do next. They debated on calling a cab for the woman to go home in, but she claimed to not have any money on her, nor would she accept the blonde's offer to pay her fare. They debated on whether or not to walk toward the nearest metro-station, and have her use public transport to get home. The problem there, was that the woman didn't want to go by herself, and Alois couldn't venture too far away from his teammates. Tuly, this was a pickle.

The pair stood in silence until their feet grew weary, so then they sat on the ground, occasionally making some sort of small-talk or shooting ideas back and forth. It was then that the loud roar of a large engine grew nearer, causing the pair to stand up, Alois standing in front of Lovejoy protectively. It was then that two large, green, military-vehicles entered his field of vision. They were too far away for the Doctor to see clearly, but Alois could. As they drew nearer, he saw a familiar crest on their side.

The shield was split inot fourths, red in the upper-left and lower-right corners, while black filled the remaining two slots. In the lower right-corner, standing out from the red was a white rook, belonging to a chess set, while in the upper-left, there was a peculiar motto written in black. "We Are On A Mission From God", it said. Above the shield was a golden rectangle, sporting the name of the family who ran the organization that the vehicle was property of.

"Hellsing"

Alois sighed with relief and took a few steps forward, waving his arms over his head to show H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. that they were in the right place, much to the confusion of Doctor Lovejoy. She arched an eyebrow and stepped back as the large trucks came to a halt and parked themselves next to the pair. The blonde menace took a few steps forward as the doors opened, hoping to speak to a commanding officer and convey to them the current situation. Instead, he was pounced upon, forced into a tight hug.

"Blondie!" called the short, silver-haired girl that currently had the boy in a death grip.

"It's good to see you, too, Amelie..." he managed to get out, even as all of the air was being compressed from his lungs. Apparently, the wolf-girl had missed him.

The werewolf hadn't changed much since he had last seen her, as her hair was still just as long, and her face just as bored-looking as ever. The only real difference from then and now was that she was wearing a H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. uniform from the supernatural division. She wore a yellow, button-up shirt which collar wrapped around her neck like a turtle neck, but buttoned in the front, and had a small patch with the Hellsing family crest on her left breast, just above the pocket on the front. She wore matching shorts, and long, thigh-high socks, with brown boots on her feet, and complimentary gloves on her hands.

"Amelie!" called yet another familiar voice as it's owner grew nearer. Charlotte wore a similar outfit, but carried two guns with her.

"You shouldn't hang on people like that, it's rude." she scolded, handing the other girl one of the guns in her hands after Amelie let go. Of course, the sawed-off shotgun was the wolf-girl's. Alois wasn't sure how he knew that, but he just did. "You left this in the truck."

"Merci." Amelie replied.

"Oh, so you're already acquainted, then?" Alois looked back to the trucks and saw another woman exit the vehicle. A pale woman with fair skin and pale, blonde hair. Her eyes were red, and nearly glowing. She wore a uniform similar to the other girls, only it was a deep crimson with a matching skirt and torn, black stockings. The woman's most distinguishing feature, however, was the fact that her left arm appeared to be a swirling mass of black-and-red energy morphed into the shape of one. She smiled warmly at the blonde menace, a gesture that he happily returned.

"Miss Seras!" he said exitedly, not having seen or heard from the woman in ages. Her name was Seras Victoria, and as of then, was H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G.'s current "trump-card".

"It's good to see you, Alois." she said with a smile as she unloaded an absurdly large gun with ease. "So you're on this project, too?"

"Yeah, Ciel and Sebastian are still inside." Alois said, knowing that he should probably pass on the information as quickly as possible. "Doctor Bigby is also inside. She apparently was with Messiah the whole time. Right now, Sebastian and this wizard-kid are trying to extract how to shut down all of the chips at once, but first, they have to break a magical force-field."

"Harry Potter?" asked Amelie.

"Nah, we got some binged-out ninny, instead." Alois replied. "He broke a high-level barrier before. We saw him do it. I just think it's kind of a silly plan."

"As long as it works, it doesn't matter if it's 'silly'." said Seras before turning her attention to the doctor, causing the woman to jump, slightly.

"We'll be taking you home, now." said the Draculina, motioning for a soldier from the second vehicle to come and escort the woman to safety. "Don't worry, you're safe. Corporal Murphy, here, and his team will make sure to that. The rest will be up to us."

"A-alright..." Lovejoy answered with a nod, her eyes never straying from the sight of Seras' fangs as she spoke.

She followed the man from the second vehicle, and with one last glance at the others, she climbed in. Alois waved at her as they drove away, before turning his attention back to his backup. Just as he was about to speak, someone else climbed out of the truck that Seras, Amelie and Charlotte were in, someone who he hadn't expected to see ever again.

"Well, if it isn't the blonde demon-boy..." they said, in their usual, German accent. "Where's the Watchdog? Don't tell me you left him alone, now..."

Heinrich Strumer, the former gun-for-hire working for Beatie International Shipping, guarding their top weapons-dealer, and the man who had at one time, vowed to kill Ciel Phantomhive, stood before Alois, sporting a regular H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. uniform, and two holsters at his sides carrying his odd "knife-guns". He looked tired, almost; more weathered, and worn. It looked as though he hadn't shaved in a while, as the beginnings of a beard began to show. He walked toward the others, and they didn't act as though it were odd in the slightest. All Alois could do was arch an eyebrow at the man, confused.

"Surprised?" asked Heinrich, folding his arms. "I'll give you the abridged explanation now, and get it out of the way: After our last run-in, I was sent back to prison, this time with the possibility of execution, even though this country doesn't give capitol-punishment. As a deal, they said I could cheat death one last time and work for these guys."

"Now," he continued. "Are we just going to stand around here, or are we going to do our job?"

"That was an incredibly rude way of putting it." said Seras. She sighed and looked to the other members of her squad, two trainees in the Supernatural Corps, and a demon-boy who was ordinarily under the command of her boss' rival. She paused for a moment to reflect on that before shouting in an unusually authoritative manner:

"Right! You know the drill! Kill every copycat in sight!" She readied her gun, or rather, her "anti-freak cannon", as it was known, and motioned for the others to follow her inside.

"Yes ma'am!" the others shouted in response before heeding her orders. But, as they ran, the blonde menace couldn't help but cast a few spiteful glances in the German's direction.

"Listen, you better not try anything stupid." he said, causing the man to give him a confused look. It took him a brief moment to process what the boy meant by that.

"Don't worry, I don't have any hard feelings toward the Watchdog anymore." he said. "I can't kill him; Not when he's also Victor." He looked away from the boy, and pulled his guns out of their holsters as they found the entrance to the downstairs area.

"But, should a stray bullet 'accidentally' hit him..." the man continued with a smile, "...There would be no tears from me."

"You better be joking..." Alois warned, furrowing his brow. "...or else one of those 'stray bullets' might 'accidentally' hit you, Heiny."

"Excuse me?" the man asked, doing a double-take to look at the boy again. "What did you just call me?"

"I called you 'Heiny'." the demon-boy said casually. "'Heinrich'; 'Heiny'. Get it?"

At that moment, Heinrich was unsure as to how to respond to that. He wasn't sure if the boy legitimately didn't see the rudeness of the nickname, or if he was doing it on purpose. That's just the visage the Trancy lad put on. You and I both know, however, the likelihood of that.

 


	254. My Name Is...

Gunshots were heard on the floors above Ciel, and caused the ceiling rafters to loudly protest. The bluenette somehow felt relieved that they had arrived, and at the same time, disappointed that they did before he could take out Messiah's leaders himself. Nevertheless, he pressed onward, stepping over the bodies that had piled up on the floor around him as he did.

Killing wasn't something the bluenette necessarily enjoyed. While it was exhilarating, with adrenaline and endorphins coursing through his veins as he put pressure on the trigger, or released his arm to strike his opponent, he didn't enjoy it. A person's life is a heavily weighted, and should you take it, you must be able to carry that weight with you for the rest of your life. One can rationalize whether or not someone deserved death for an unprecedented amount of time, but the fact of the matter was that should one kill them, wouldn't that make one just as "bad" as the person they killed? To Ciel's eye, there is no difference. To Ciel, murder was a necessary evil for completing the job that he was assigned, nothing more, and nothing less.

Yes, Ciel was not a "good" person. He never was, and never will be. He may have blossomed into a kinder person over the past hundred years, but that does by no means make him "good". Believing in things such as "good" and "evil" was naive; nothing but a childish notion ingrained into the heads of many, that held no real value in reality. Ciel learned this years ago. The world is nothing but grey. It only varies in shades. What is "good" to some, may be "evil" to others. To label the grave act of taking a life as either one is impossible, so the bluenette didn't bother to even try. He simply performed his duty, and moved on.

Still, he was starting to get a tad bit irritated at the lack of progress on his end. He had been searching for what felt like hours, but couldn't find Messiah's leaders anywhere. He furrowed his brow as he remembered one of the worst-case scenarios: What if they had deserted after figuring out that they were under attack? If that was the case, all they could do was hope that they all had freak-chips implanted in their bodies, so that if Dafydd and Sebastian managed to activate the emergency-termination mechanism, they would perish as well. That would only work if their chips held the same type of coding, however, which wasn't likely.

It was then that his sixth-sense started acting up again. His pace slowed down a bit, staying sharp for any demon-specific containment barriers. Should he be caught in one of those, he would have no way out. He was completely on his own.

The rumbling from upstairs didn't do much to help his nerves, as he flinched whenever what he could only assume was Seras Victoria's "Harkonnen Anti-Freak Cannon" being fired. That was yet another reason to reach a conclusion quickly. He didn't like this place. It was actually slightly threatening to a demon. He was somewhat relieved that Miss Victoria could be there, however. That at least meant that the blonde menace wasn't shot upon H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G.'s arrival.

Alois. He remembered that the blonde was supposed to join him eventually. Ciel thought that either the blonde was helping the H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. organization wipe the upper floors downward of any copycat freaks on his way to him, or that the other boy had been shot by the hunters. The latter thought riddled him with worry, even though he knew it was unlikely.

As he was lost in thought, Ciel turned another corner to walk down yet another hallway in his pursuit of Messiah. His attention was immediately captured, however, when the floor immediately beneath his foot began to glow, with odd symbols appearing around his shoe. The bluenette's visible eye widened, and he quickly retracted his appendage before it could be grasped by the barrier. He wasn't trapped, but he would now have to find another way around. There was no way he was going down that hallway.

The lad thought on this for a moment longer, when an idea occurred to him. Why was a trap down this particular hallway, when it wasn't around others? He smirked as he came to the only possible answer: Somewhere down that hallway were the very people he was looking for.

He pulled out his gun, unloaded the current magazine in it and counted the bullets before loading it again. He would have to reload after doing this quickly, or he may get shot. While the people he was up against most likely didn't possess anti-freak weaponry, it was still in his best interest to avoid injury, as he could still feel pain. He had three rounds in his pistol; plenty for what he wanted to do. With that, he aimed the weapon down the hallway, and pulled the trigger three times. He reloaded, and paused, waiting to see if his plan worked.

Just like that, a door slightly opened, as someone came to investigate the noise. Ciel waited a bit longer to see if they would come out completely. When he felt as though he had a clear enough shot, he fired again, hitting the curious individual in the head. He heard the gasps and exclamations as the people in the room as they shuffled around and debated on what kind of action they should take. When the next person peeked outside, this time making sure that they couldn't get shot, Ciel called out to them.

"What's the matter? You scared?" he mocked childishly, hoping to draw the others out by appearing as though he wasn't a threat. "Come on out an fight me, you Dracula wannabes!"

"It's just a kid!" the other person said, obviously turning to the others in the room. The bluenette heard some more arguing and shouting, but couldn't quite make out what they were saying since they were all shouting at once. Soon, however, more people came out, unwisely under the impression that Ciel would be easy prey.

He smirked as they charged at him. They didn't really resemble humans in the way that they did it. They had their arms outstretched, ready to grab the boy, with their jagged teeth bared. It was so vulgar that he didn't even think twice before firing at them. They weren't people anymore. They were beasts that only resembled humans, much like he, himself, probably was.

Everything seemed to slow down as he took his aim. The demon's sharpened senses were even greater than these cheap, vampire imitations' could ever be. Thus, even with this frightening horde of open mouths charging at him with the intention of tearing him limb-from-limb and devouring his flesh, he was able to hit each and every one of them with precise aim, causing them to drop like flies. They were vermin, and he had exterminated them.

Looking over the bodies on the ground, he was somewhat content with himself, observing that none of these people looked like your average street punk searching for a good time. They looked like professional individuals capable of running a covert operation. These were most likely the leaders of Messiah a few minutes ago. Ciel frowned at the thought that such bright individuals could sink so low. They had a promising future, and they had thrown it all away for power.

Even after obtaining it, it still wouldn't be enough. It never is. People who pursue power in such a manner will always pursue power, no matter what they already have. They will consume and step on anyone in their path. People like that will destroy everything; reputations, careers, lives, even themselves in pursuit of power. They have a void inside of them that they genuinely believe power will fill. Now, they are even more beastly than they were, as they would attempt to fill that endless void with not only power, but human life.

Just like Ciel does. He, too, is a monster.

He was just like the beasts that were dead on the floor in front of him. He, too, had to consume another life in order to sustain his own, but, funnily enough, he didn't feel like it. Far from it. He felt content with his own life. He didn't feel empty like them. Why? Why wasn't he? He was a demon; a monster that devours the souls of living mortals to sustain a life that they do not have, but, he felt like he had a life.

Was he delusional? Was he simply foolishly clinging to the belief that he, too, could be like everyone else? That he could be "human"?

It was possible, but even still, these things he felt were human. His need for friendship, his obligation to his job, his morality, his feeling of nostalgia for the past, his hope for the future, his pain, his sorrow, his joy, his kinship to the residents of Phantomhive manor, to the Midford house, to H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G; and to the students of Warwick, and his love for Alois; all of it. He had the capacity to feel like a human could. Even his fear of not being a monster, was in fact, human. He didn't want to be like the dead beasts on the floor. As much as he would hate to admit it, he was afraid of the very possibility.

"Are you still alive, kid?" called a voice, startling the bluenette from his trance. He raised his weapon in the direction it came from, only to see nothing.

"I'm still alive." said the voice. It was scratchy, worn, and harsh. "If you're still alive does that mean I'm the only one left?"

"That depends entirely on whether or not you really are the only one there." Ciel answered, realizing the voice was coming from the room that the other's had been in.

"I see..." the voice said again, almost thoughtfully. There was a pause before it spoke again. "So if you're still there, I can take it that you're the demon that Dafydd warned us about?"

The bluenette couldn't help but roll his eye at the statement. While Dafydd had actually done the wise thing, given the amount of information he had, Ciel still couldn't help but feel annoyed by how much of a complete ninny the sorcerer could be. Still, he had to answer.

"Maybe I am, maybe I'm not." the bluenette replied, hearing the sound of a chair scooting closer to the door, most likely so the person in the room could hear him better.

"Is that so?" asked the voice. "I was thinking that you might be, seeing that you won't venture past the trap."

"I guess there's no denying it, then. Yes, I am the demon that mister Blake spoke of. I am Senior Detective Constable Sir Ciel Phantomhive, otherwise known as 'the Queen's Guard-dog'." Ciel narrowed his eye as he heard chuckling from the other room.

"That's quite the title." said the voice, pausing for a moment to cough. "I'm afraid I don't have one as impressive as yours. My name is Everett Mason, and I'm the founder, and leader of Messiah."

 


	255. Like A Trapped Animal

"You should give up already." said the voice of a certain technology expert, even as she was restrained. "That barrier was cast by two better sorcerers than you'll ever be."

Dafydd paid her no mind as he scribbled in his memo-pad, occasionally looking away to look back at the markings on the floor. He, Sebastian, and Doctor Bigby had all made it into the room that they were looking for, and were now trying to figure out how to break the barrier. Once they did that, the rest should be easy, once Dafydd used his telepathy on the once meek, and somewhat friendly woman. For now, all he could do about her was ignore her while the butler kept her still.

Now, if only there was a way to keep her quiet. While Dafydd doesn't seem like it, he's actually quite the genius when it comes to magic. He could read in many different languages, some that not even Sebastian was familiar with, and he knew extrordinary amounts about how magic works, especially when it comes to circles and counters. He could write his own, once he figured out how the spell worked, but there was one thing in his way: how distracting the doctor was being.

That said, this barrier he was looking at was extremely complex. The circle and scriptures covered the entire floor, and even some of the walls in some places. It was taking him far longer than expected to crack it. His brow furrowed in concentration as he read the writing on it. It was frustrating, but at the same time, he was quite enjoying the challenge, and the possibility of learning something new.

"Scientia de anima", Dafydd's summoning phrase, used to call upon his own energy, reflected this. It meant, "Science of the soul", basically, what anyone who uses magic should understand in order to use it to it's maximum capacity. Dafydd knew it, and that was why he was able to use such high-level spells. "Egressus as de fulmine irritum inimicis meis et concidi", "Carcer glacies spiritus", "Spiraculum Gilgrim", all spells he used against the bluenette during their battle, and all of them spells that a person his age shouldn't be able to use. Most of those spells where usable to sorcerers three times his age, and most of them had to perform the full incantation. Dafydd used them in an abridged form, and he was only seventeen. Soon, he placed his pen back in his pocket with a smile, and pulled out a small cigarette case full of sticks of chalk.

Sebastian almost found himself impressed by the boy. The sorcerer was a fool when it came to social situations, and an idiot when it came to juding people, but admittedly, the lad was a genius when it came to magic. Perhaps if he tried, the boy could even one day be capable of breaking demonic contracts. But, for now, they had to get out of this situation first. Sebastian watched Dafydd with great interest as he began drawing on the floor, spreading out to the walls after what felt like ages, but was most likely only an hour. Having worn his way through half of his chalk, Dafydd closed the case and placed it back in it's home in his pocket.

"Alright, I think I might be on to something." the lad said, his eyes almost gleaming. If he could break this, that means that he had personally gone up in power, and perhaps one day, he would even be able to teach the Phantomhive lad a lesson. But, for now, they had to get out of this situation first.

"Stupid..." the doctor muttered, causing Sebastian to frown. But what really bothered him was the smile on her face.

Suddenly, it occurred to the man that Dafydd was casting his counter-curse. Many of the boy's rings lit up, and sweat collected on his brow as he recited his incantation, one that was impossible to understand by either of the other two in the room. Wind seemed to come from nowhere, as if it were seeping out of the chalk lines on the floor as they glowed. They pushed the boy back, causing his shoes to slide as he tried to stand his ground, all while continuing his chant.

The light began to fade, slowly, but surely. As it began to leave, the duo on the side of Phantomhive couldn't' help begin to feel relieved. Bigby's smile began to fade with it. She lost one of her only defenses, but, she hadn't lost yet.

Dafydd shot the other's a triumphant look, before walking over to the large computer in the center of the room. Sebastian followed him with the doctor in tow. He was beginning to find the woman's grin incredibly disturbing.

"So, how do I activate the termination-thingy?" asked Dafydd, looking to the doctor. Bigby simply scoffed, and remained silent. Still the sorcerer smiled, and looked back at the computer.

"Thanks." he said, having tricked the doctor into thinking about it just like Ciel had done with Detective Summers earlier, in the very room.

He turned around at the thought for a moment, looking over at the area that they had abandoned the man in. Summers was gone. Dafydd would have to find the man later, but for now, he had to enter the termination code. After punching in the code that the doctor had thought of, he hit "enter", hoping for the code to work. He looked to Bigby, his face confused. She was still alive, and very much so. She smiled at him.

"Did you really think that I would install myself with a chip that could kill me?" she asked, giggling as she spoke. "Did you really think that the higher ups would have them as well?"

"What is wrong with you?" asked Dafydd, his usual, laughing eyes turning icy. "Why would you do any of this?"

"Isn't it obvious?" the woman asked. "Everyone is afraid of death. Some people are just more willing to cheat it. This way, I can keep inventing bigger and better things forever. Who on earth would pass up the opportunity? Copying such ingenious technology as these 'freak-chips' as your friend calls them, are my greatest achievement, and I'll just keep improving them for as long as I can possibly make myself live."

Doctor Bigby turned around as she felt more pressure on her arm, only to see the demon-butler glaring at her. A powerful demon was glaring at her, and yet she still smiled. Obviously, the freak-chips did more than alter a person's body. They also obviously warped their minds, as well.

With that, she suddenly moved, trying to get away, regardless of the immense pressure on her arm. She kept trying to flee even after the bone snapped. Then, the other watched in shear shock, their eyes wide in horror, as Bigby turned around again, bearing her teeth. She didn't attack Sebastian. No, she attacked herself, biting into her own flesh and tearing herself free.

She tore through muscles and tendons, dropping a few bloody pieces onto the floor. She gnawed at her arm until she reached the broken bone, and with another swift yank, she was free. She escaped, fleeing into the deeper parts of the factory with only one arm, the other one in Sebastian's hand. With that, the man let go of it, dropping it to the floor. He turned to the sorcerer, who's eyes were still wide, still staring at the place where Doctor Almondine Bigby once stood, his face vacant and pale. After a few moments, his knees gave up on him, and he fell on them without even blinking. The poor boy was in absolute shock as to what had just happened.

"Dafydd." Sebastian called, trying to free the lad from his trance to no avail.

"Dafydd." He tried again, his voice more stern. He called the boy's name one last time, snapping his fingers in front of the lad's face. The boy turned to him, and made a confused and frightened sound in order to show acknowledge the man.

"We need to go after her." Sebastian said. "She's most likely heading toward her superiors in the area that the young master is in. Can you stand?"

"Uh-huh..." Dafydd replied, shakily getting up on his feet. He followed the man out the door and into the hallway. They followed the trail of blood droplets on the floor.

 


	256. Hi, There

"What the-?!" shouted Heinrich as the copycat freak he was about to slice open suddenly burst into flames. He was just lucky that he got away in time before he, too, caught fire from it.

"They're all dying..." Charlotte said absent-mindedly, watching, just as the others did, as the copycat-freaks burst into colourful flames and writhed in agony until they were nothing but ash. Seras walked over to one of the piles, couching down and touching the remains with a gloved hand. She looked up, turning her attention to the blonde menace.

"You said that Mister Sebastian and another boy was trying to activate their emergency-termination-mechanism, right, Alois?" she asked, standing up and dusting herself up. The blonde menace wore a look of confusion for a brief moment before realizing why the Draculina was asking.

"So does that mean that it worked?" he asked excitedly. He was a tad disappointed that he didn't get to fight any of the major villains with Ciel, but pleased all the same that this hopefully meant that he could go home and take a shower. He was covered in ash, dirt and blood at this point, and desired one greatly.

"Mm-hm. We need to contact Ciel and see what we can do about freeing any remaining victims-" the woman was cut off as a voice sounded over the lad's radio. Alois dug the device out of his pocket and pressed the "talk" button.

"Repeat?" he answered, pausing to hear a reply.

"I said we activated the termination-mechanism." said the voice. It was Sebastian, and from the sounds of it, he was running. "However, it would appear that not all of the chips are equipped with it. Doctor Bigby is still alive, and according to her, all of Messiah's leaders are implanted with chips without a fail-safe."

"You've gotta be fucking kidding me!" the blonde shouted. "Ciel! Are you still alive?!" He was joking, of course, but when the bluenette didn't answer, his twinge of amusement disappeared.

"Ciel?"

No answer.

"Ciel?!"

Still nothing.

With that, the blonde grit his teeth, and clenched the small, handheld device. He shoved it in his pocket before he broke it, and began to move forward, his fast-walk turning into a run. Once he did so, the other immediately started to follow after him, albeit not a quickly.

"Alois! Wait! Where are you going?!" called Seras.

"I'm going to go find Ciel!" the the demon-boy answered, before escaping his allies' sight. They couldn't keep up with him, as they had a human with them. While Heinrich was fast, he was only fast for a human, and the others simply couldn't leave him, either.

"Seras!" called Amelie, causing the woman to look at her. With a nod, Miss Victoria issued her next order, understanding what the wolf-girl was silently saying.

"Alright! You go on ahead and back him up." the Draculina said, slowing her pace so that the others could keep up. "We'll catch up, while making sure the place is completely clean."

Amelie nodded, and kept running, the air around her changing. Her body appeared to be giving off intense heat as white energy appeared around her, resembling slow-moving lightning. With that, all the others could see was that energy zipping down the hallway at an ongodly speed, taking Amelie with it.

It didn't take long at all for her to find the blonde, with her sense of smell, and with her speed, it was only a few seconds before she was at the boy's side. Shen she slowed down, she was visible again, and not just a mass of light, resuming her usual shape as a small girl. Naturally, the Trancy boy was somewhat surprized at this, but kept his pace as he continued his running.

"You gonna help me find Ciel?" he asked, keeping his eyes in front of him.

"Oui." the wolf girl said flatly.

"Any guesses as to where he might be?" asked the blonde.

"Oui. Go left." Amelie replied, running slightly in front of the lad as they heeded her directions. After a few moments, she furrowed her brow, making an annoyed face. "Too slow." she muttered.

Again, the white energy appeared around her, gaining the immediate attention of the blonde menace. Her shape began to change, her jaws lengthening, her ears becoming pointed, and moving higher up on her head, and her frame becoming larger as she began to run on all-fours. Silver fur now covered her body, which now resembled a very large wolf, one that stood almost as tall as Alois.

The large animal slowed down, and lined itself up with Alois' back, encouraging him to run faster than before. It wasn't necessary, however, as Amelie bent her head down before suddenly bringing it back up again, catching the lad on the end of her shout and flinging him over her back. His surprised yelp almost made her smile a bit. She waited until the demon-boy held on tight enough, before speeding off at a similar speed to that which she arrived with. The blonde's scream echoed through the entire hallway, and was probably heard by the others behind them.

Elsewhere int he old, rundown factory, a stalemate was taking place between a certain bluenette, and a certain man by the name of Everett Mason, the supposed leader of Messiah. Ciel could not venture forward and exterminate the man, as there was a trap just in front of him waiting to be triggered, nor could the man flee, as his only exit was the door in front of him, leading into the corridor, and into the lad's line of fire. It was quite the predicament. The bluenette had heard the voices over the radio, but chose to ignore them for now, waiting to see if the other would make a move. He cursed Mason for thinking that far ahead. This would have been over, had he been stupid.

Obviously, he wasn't, though. He was smart enough not to implant a chip into his body that was capable of killing him. He was smart enough not to fall for the boy's previous trap like his associates did. He was smart enough to put up these barriers. He was smart enough not to tell Dafydd his true intentions. This man, Everett Mason, was no fool. However, once help arrived, he was finished. He was most likely anticipating this, and was probably formulating an escape at that very moment.

"Are those your comrade's voices?" he asked from his chair, placed just so in the room he was trapped in so that he was close enough to the door to be heard clearly, but far enough away to be out of the bluenette's line of fire. "You have a radio. Why don't you answer them and call for help?"

"It won't do any good." Ciel replied. "They can't get past the trap either. Besides, they'll probably come after me even if I say nothing."

"Is it really wise to be telling me this?" asked the man.

"Probably not, but it would appear that there isn't much you can do, either."

"True." said the lone man from his room, and with that, nothing but silence ensued.

"There has to be another way." the bluenette thought to himself, looking around to his immediate surroundings. "There has to be a way for me to get into that room."

He looked to his left, but there was nothing but a wall. He looked to his right, but there was nothing but a hallway, as he stood in an intersection where the corridor in front of him led to another. He looked down it for a moment, taking a few steps toward it, but keeping his senses sharp, just in case the mister Mason moved. He looked for any possible ways to get in, but found nothing; nothing, but an air vent.

Oh, how he didn't want to enact the idea that immediately formed in his head at seeing it. Crawling through it was something Alois would do. Crawling through it was something Alois had done. Ciel then started considering the possibility, and the risk over reward.

The risk was that not only would he look like a complete fool, he could also be sensed by the man, causing him to leave while the lad was still in the vent. The reward was that Ciel would have made him move away from the trap while simultaneously getting around it, himself. Much to his displeasure, the plan was looking alright, and it was his only plan at the moment. The bluenette paused for a moment, taking out his gun and checking to see how many rounds he had in his current magazine, and then he climbed up on a crate and reached for the vent, standing on his tip-toes so that he could reach it. He could almost hear the blonde menace mocking his height, or lack-thereof.

Once inside the vent, he used his sixth-sense, feeling relieved that the man in the other room showed no signs of movement. Then, he crawled on his stomach, making as little noise as possible. With his sense to guide him, he was able to tell when the man was directly below him. He smirked to himself, feeling happy about how well this was turning out. Once locating an opening that led into his target's room, he opened it, springing forth into the room. His shoes made a distinct "clicking" sound as they hit the floor. Ciel quickly reached for his weapon, but his attention was captured by a yet another, somewhat different "click". He looked up to see a gun being pointed in his face, but that wasn't was really grabbed his attention. It was the man holding it, or rather, his face.

Everett's face was scarred all over, aging his appearance dramatically. They looked like tiny cuts all over his face, as if someone has forced it into a pile of broken glass. His right eyelid drooped, as it appeared to be unable to open all the way. It was just as well. He was obviously blind in that eye. Clumps of hair were missing from the top of his head, and his hands had the same cuts on his face, yet they still held his weapon steady, point blank against the bluenette's forehead. The man had obviously anticipated the bluenette's decision, as his chair was placed strategically near the vent, a cane propped up against it. Apparently he had trouble walking as well.

The man smiled; it would probably look more sweet had it not have been for his garish appearance. He opened his mouth to speak again, putting a small amount of pressure on the trigger. He said two words:

" _Hi, there."_

_BANG!_

 


	257. More Walking Down More Hallways

The Phantomhive had really slipped up this time. He was so foolishly distracted by the man's face, tht he had simply forgotten what he was doing, and now, he was laying in a pool of blood for it. He heard panicked voices, in while adrift in a sea of nothingness, bringing him back up towrad the surface and back into reality. After listening to it for a little longer, he realized that it was the voice of the blonde menace, and the boy was calling for him.

At last, Ciel's eyelids fluttered open, and he realized that he was now on his back, laying across the blonde's lap. They didn't even have time to adjust before he felt his body being moved again, this time into an embrace. The bluenette's mind wasn't quite catching up with him, so he couldn't respond even in the slightest.

His head was completely foggy, and he couldn't seem to understand what the other boy was saying, if he was saying anything at all. Ciel could see a girl standing elsewhere in the room, looking around, but he couldn't quite place who she was. He knew he was out of it, but there wasn't anything he could do about it. Reaching up absent-mindedly to touch his pained forehead, he realized that it was still soft where the bullet entered his head, like the bone wasn't done regenerating. That explained it. The bluenette simply regained consciousness before he was completely healed.

"Ciel?" Alois called, lightly shaking the boy after they parted. "Ciel~? Hello~! Earth to Ciel, do you read?"

"It's no good." said Amelie, bending slightly at the waist in order to look down at the boys in the floor. "He's dead, Jim."

"He's not dead." Alois said insistently. "He's just... out of it. He'll be okay once he's fully regenerated and regains mobility. Any ideas where the person who shot him went?"

"Out into the hall, to the right." said the wolf-girl, poking the bluenette, causing him to sway a bit.

"We need to go after him." Alois replied, standing up with a grunt while pulling the bluenette up with him. To his amusement, the boy simply slumped against him, unable to support himself.

"Like a drunkard..." Amelie pointed out while the blonde readjusted the bluenette's position so that he could carry the lad on his back. Ciel's current status was so undignified, that the Alois wasn't sure if he should be concerned, or extremely amused.

"He's going to be so mad if he knows I carried him like this." Alois said, walking toward the door, wolf-girl following after.

"Cyclops piggyback." she said.

"How funny does it look?" asked the blonde menace.

"Fucking hilarious."

They ran as fast as they could with Ciel in his current state. The silly method in which the blonde carried him helped with their speed, as they dashed down the hallways, following the werewolf's nose. Over time, it seemed like the bluenette's condition improved, as the lad started to hold on tighter, and make annoyed grunts, now obviously aware of what was happening to him. While the other's couldn't see it, his eye was now moving and focusing on the area around him.

He wasn't at all happy about his current condition. He wasn't happy about his position, either. Most of all, however, he wasn't happy with how he allowed Mason to get away. The next time he saw the man, Ciel was going to shoot him just as he had been shot. The only difference would be that Mason wouldn't be able to get back up again.

"How're you holding up, Ciel?" the blonde asked while keeping his current pace only, half hoping for an answer. He couldn't help but chuckle at the near-growl the bluenette did. "Oh, so you're fine then?"

Just as he said that, Amelie stopped, causing the blonde to do so as well. She paused where the hallway intersected with another, forming a "T" shape. She sniffed the air a few times, and then spoke. She said:

"Penguin was here."

"'Penguin'?" echoed the blonde, giving the statement some thought. "You mean Sebastian?"

"Oui."

"That means Doctor Bigby must have been here, too." Alois said. "Think they're all headed the same place?"

"Probably." Amelie replied. "They don't seem far off."

"Let's hurry, then."

Alois was running at full speed, or as close to it as he could get with Ciel on his back. Amelie was patiently keeping pace with the blonde. The slowness annoyed her, but she had to put up with it, as she wasn't sure if she could carry both boys herself.

Ciel wasn't entirely appreciating it, either. Yet, when he heard that Sebastian would be up ahead, he wasn't looking forward to their reunion, given the bluenette's current status. Oh, how the butler would torment him about fouling up so, and the idea of the sorcerer seeing him like this didn't exactly thrill him, either. At the same time, however, the bluenette was guilty of enjoying the closeness of the blonde, sneakily taking in his scent, and feeling the heat that escaped through his coat. Moreover, he found himself fancying the blonde's ability to take charge when he could not, something that he internally kicked himself for.

His head was feeling less fuzzy, and he was now perfectly aware of what was happening. He probably had the ability to speak, but remained quiet, as he still wasn't sure if he could run, and he really didn't want to hear the blonde's teasing. Thus, he did the childish thing, and pretended to still be in a daze, simply taking to opportunity to think about their current situation.

Both Doctor Almondine Bigby and Everett Mason, the founder and leader of Messiah, were still alive, despite the team's efforts to exterminate them. It would appear that they had underestimated the copycats, and now, it led to the villains having the potential to rendezvous, and come up with an escape plan. There was no doubt that one of them had a copy of all of the data on the copycat freak-chips, so allowing them to do so was not an option. If they did, Messiah would only come back, and perhaps stronger than they were this time. Ciel refused to be defeated here, or anywhere else, especially to a bunch of copycats. Yes, it would definately appear that they had underestimated their foe, but when the bluenette saw them again, he promised to no one in particular that both Bigby and Mason would meet their end.

He didn't care about their reasoning. He didn't care about why they did all of this. The Phantomhive lad had a job to do, and that was all that he desired to shift his focus toward.

Suddenly, he sensed the presence of the others drawing closer, so he decided to quickly rid himself of this most awkward and ridiculous of positions. Ciel let go of the blonde's neck, and wiggled his legs out of his grasp, startling the other boy and causing him to stop. Without a single word, Ciel moved his legs, and ran onward, fully recovered from his injury, and quite peeved. The blonde menace followed after him, trying to catch up with both the bluenette and the wolf-girl.

"Hey! Wait! Ciel!" Alois called, running up to the side of the other lad. "Are you alright?! Should you be running?!"

"I'm fine." Ciel answered, his voice coming out more forceful than intended. "There's just no way I'm letting either Sebastian or Dafydd see me like that." There was a short pause, as the blonde understood the other lad's reasoning perfectly. There was just one thing that bothered him, however:

"Exactly how long were you 'fine'?" he asked with a grin. The bluenette didn't even have to reply, as the hue of his cheeks answered the blonde's question for him.

"Shut up."

"So cute..."

"I said shut up!"

 


	258. Children Are Weak

"Sebastian!" called the bluenette, as he jogged up to the man in black, eventually coming to a stop in front of him. "What's going on? Why have you stopped?" The butler said nothing, and simply looked toward Dafydd, who was seated on the floor, a piece of paper clutched in his hand.

The sorcerer did not look like his usual self. In fact, he looked downright horrible. He sat there, in his spot on the floor, simply staring at his hands, vacantly, as if his were in some sort of trance. He didn't move. Dafydd didn't make any signs of acknowledging the other's presence. He looked hollow, almost, like he were trapped in some sort of vegetative state. Sebastian looked back toward the bluenette, and spoke.

"He's been like this ever since we found that paper in the path." the butler explained, a look of concern over his face. He leaned in to whisper in the Phantomhive boy's ear, so that the sorcerer wouldn't hear him.

"It's his parents." Sebastian continued. "Doctor Bigby and Messiah's leader have taken them as hostages. They claim that they're going to kill them if we continue to pursue them."

"Are there any other demands?" Ciel asked, his tone just as hushed..

"No, Sir."

"Alright." The bluenette then turned to the werewolf in his pack, and whispered in her ear. "Amelie, can you possibly tell if there are any living human-like beings in the building?"

The silver-haired girl nodded in response. She stuck her nose up, and sniffed the air, walking around in various directions, and occasionally dropping on all-fours to sniff closer to the ground. Finally, she stood back up, and placed her hands near her ears, cupping the area around them to better filter sound into them. She closed her eyes and held her breath, listening as closely as she possibly could, concentrating on any and all sound. Her blue eyes suddenly snapped open again. She turned to the bluenette once more.

"Four of them." she said. She pointed at Dafydd. "One is the boy's." She pointed in the direction that they had come from. "One of them is Heinrich." She pointed in the direstion they were heading. "Two of them, I don't know."

"Good job, Amelie." Ciel said, taking a few steps down the hallway. "Let's go end this."

"You can't!" Dafydd shouted suddenly, balling his hands into fists. His sudden outburst caught the others' attention. They all simply stood and stared.

"You can't... If you do, they'll die..." he said sadly, looking back down at the floor. He blocked his eyes with his hand so that none of the others could see the tears welling up in his eyes.

The very thought of losing his parents hurt him, as it does with almost every child. He loved them both. Perhaps, he never realized how much he loved them until now, when they were threatened to be taken from him. Should the bluenette disobey the wishes of their captors, the ones who bound and gagged them in order to prevent them from using magic, and the ones who now threatened their lives, Dafydd would never get to tell him what they meant to him. He would never get to speak to them, to make them proud, to see them be happy, or see their faces at all, ever again. No child ever realizes that their parents are their whole world from the day that they're born, because as they branch out and meet new friends, they forget how they loved them, and supported them; they take them for granted, until is too late.

Ciel felt a small pang in his heart at the slight of Dafydd grieving. Not because they were friends, and not because he cared for the boy, but because he knew that feeling, too. For someone to lose someone so important to their lives, even if they are in ways that one wouldn't ordinarily think of, changes people. When Phantomhive Manor was burned down, the previous Earl and his wife murdered, Ciel was all alone. He had no one. He had nothing. He had no home to go to, no one to help him, no skills to help him survive. Had he not been sold into slavery, he would have with no doubt, died of starvation, or exposure from the cruel winter air.

There was no 'Happy Christmas', that December. The only reason he survived was because of Sebastian. It was because of Sebastian that he escaped. It was because of Sebastian that Ciel was able to stand back up. It was because of Sebastian that he is who he is today. After all, it was Sebastian who raised the boy. The butler was the closest thing to a father that the boy now knew.

A demon changes their shape to what their master needs the most in the forming of a contract, even on a subconscious level. Sebastian was a butler, and, unlike other servants, a butler is fundamentally important to the well-being of their master on a somewhat personal level. As such, it is a butler; not any other servant, who can raise the master of the house if they are of a young age, by guiding them on the right path to success. This is the form that the demon who would be known as "Sebastian" took, because it was the one the Ciel needed him to be. He needed guidance. He needed support. As much as he hated to admit it, he needed a parental figure to take the place of the ones he lost, and should Sebastian ever disappear, the bluenette didn't know what he would do.

Naturally, the bluenette sympathized with the sorcerer for this reason, even against his wishes to. With a heavy sigh, he reluctantly crouched down in front of the sorcerer, his scowl losing some of it's sharpness for a moment. While his voice wasn't exactly soothing, he made his point.

"What are you afraid of?" he asked, causing the other boy to look at him with confusion. "We continue, and they die, we stop, and they die, too, but the chance of them surviving exists, if we still press forward." He stood back up and looked down at Dafydd. "Now why are you still sitting here? You're just going to let them die?"

"I can't read your thoughts..." spoke Dafydd, his voice soft. "How do I know if you actually intend to save them?" He looked up at the bluenette, his voice now beginning to shake. "How do I know you're not just going to sacrifice them for your mission?"

"I haven't lied to you yet, have I?" asked Ciel. He turned and began to walk, gesturing for the others to follow him. "You can sit here and mope, if you wish. Just know that you can't save anyone that way." He looked over his shoulder at the sorcerer one last time. "Giving up is what kills people. You just sitting there is killing them."

With that, he and the others ventured forward, picking up the pace a bit. They hadn't much time. If they wanted to save Mister and Missus Blake, and destroy Messiah, they would have to act quickly.

Thus, they continued onward, following the wolf-girl's nose, as it led them to Mason and the depths of the factory, and the twists and turns throughout. While they weren't quite sure where they were, they heard the banging of metal, and the whirring of gears in the distance, no doubt, marking an end.

 


	259. The Messiah Is Amoung US

Machinery whirred, gears spinning and pistons pumping, the occasional sound of stream escaping into the room filling the air. Other than all of this, the massive, humid room was almost empty. The only other thing inside of it was a chair, two women; one tied up with a rag in her mouth, and the other with one arm, seated in the floor while playing around on a laptop; two men, one of them also bound and gagged, while the other was seated in a chair, a scowl firmly placed on his disfigured face.

"Have they pulled out, yet?" asked the man in the chair, resting his upper-body-weight on a cane, as he leaned forward to speak to the one-armed woman on her laptop.

"I'm not sure." she replied, not looking up from her screen. "The sensors aren't online."

"Well, fix it." the man hissed.

"I can't." the woman replied, finally meeting his gaze. "I would have to go outside this room to do that, and I would need both hands."

"What use are you, then?" asked the man, furrowing what remained of his brow. "You're the expert on this stuff. You're supposed to be able to do your job. Then, you had to go and loose an arm!"

"I'm sorry, sir." Doctor Bigby said quietly. It wasn't in her usual meek manner, but in a sort of thoughtless, emotionless way. Such odd speech from the woman prompted him to open his mouth in order to speak again, only to jump, and turn toward the door, loud banging came from the other side.

"Open the door!" pleaded the person on the other side. It was Detective Summer's voice, begging. Having lost all of his arrogance from before, the man pleaded like a blubbering child to be let inside the safety of Messiah's final floor. "Please! Let me in! OPEN THE DOOR!"

"What in blazes is that idiot doing?" asked Mason, standing up, followed by the doctor, shortly. The woman glanced at the hostages, and then back to the door.

"It could be a trap." she said, causing the scarred man to think for a moment. He smiled.

"I'm sorry, Summers, but you're going to have to prove to us that you're alone." he shouted so the detective could hear him, before backing up toward Mister and Missus Blake. Mason's tone was insincere, almost sounding amused by the situation.

Silence ensued after his statement. The banging on the large, metal door stopped. The screaming of the detective subsided as well. All was quiet. Far too quiet, for the scarred man's tastes. He was rightly so, as two massive dents appeared in the door before the barrier went flying. There, where it once was, stood two demons, a tall man with a sly smile and black hair with a suit to match, and a boy dressed similarly, with hair of an odd shade of blue-ish slate, wearing an eye-patch. The two had kicked the door in, standing on each side of a frightened detective Summers, as he sat on his knees, speechless as to what had just happened. Summers didn't remain that way for long, as another demon, a blonde boy with an almost cat-like face, nudged the man's back with his foot, forcing him out of the way. The pitiful man crawled into the room on all fours in order to distance himself from the three demons and the odd, wild-looking girl with them.

"Did anyone here lose their dog?" joked the blonde menace. "We simply just can't keep him. We already have two."

"Three." corrected Amelie.

"Oh? Who's the third one?" asked Alois.

"Heiny." said the wolf-girl, causing the boy to nod.

"Oh yeah, Ciel called him 'War-dog' a few times. So the nickname stuck?"

"Oui."

"I'd hate to interrupt, but we're kind of in the middle of something, here." said Sebastian in an annoyed tone.

"Oh, yeah..." said the blonde, turning back to the group.

"Sad thing is, you almost sounded clever, for a moment." said Ciel, before beginning to stare down the two in front of him, aside from the man currently groveling on the floor.

"My sincerest apologies, my lord!" shouted Summers, kneeling to the point that his forehead touched the ground before looking up, revealing the massive gap in his teeth from when the bluenette had punched him, earlier. "They forced me to forsake you! Please forgive me!"

"Bigby." called Everett, leaning on his cane. "Silence him."

The woman's eyes darkened at the request, a big, toothy grin appearing on her face, which hardly resembled a human's, at that moment. She walked toward Summers, swiftly reaching down with her remaining arm and pulling him closer by his ankle as he tried to crawl away from fear. He screamed at the top of his lungs when she picked him up by the collar of his shirt, holding him high up off the ground.

"Wait! Sir! Why are you doing this?! You're supposed to be save me! That's what you promised!" shouted Summers, as Bigby brought him back down so that his neck was reachable by her mouth. "You're the Messiah! You're the Messiah! You came here to save the chosen ones!" Mason smiled.

"I'm no Messiah, my boy, and you've outlived your usefulness." he said. "The only person I intend to save is myself."

With that, Bigby was just about to sink her rows of fangs into the poor detective's neck, but then, the unthinkable happened. Summers was saved, but not but any sort of holy prophet, but by a werewolf, as she ran at her freakish speed, and plucked the poor man from the doctor's grasp just in the nick of time. She turned to the man, with a frown on her face.

"You're lucky, boy." Amelie said. "I was here to save you. Just remember, that next time, I won't be, and you'll have to save yourself. There's no such thing as a 'Messiah'."

The others simply gaped at the fact that the wolf-girl used more than four words in a sentence. Mason looked at the girl, absolutely flabbergasted, before furrowing his brow in anger. He tapped his cane on the floor.

"Bigby! Kill that brat!" he shouted, pointing to the silver-haired girl. The doctor turned to him for a brief moment before turning to the girl again. She snarled, making a beast-like face, and roared at the other female, inviting the she-wolf to do the same. Meanwhile, the others took this as an opportunity to snap into action, having recovered from their daze.

"Sebastian! Save the hostages!" ordered the bluenette.

"Yes, my lord."

"Alois! Help me attack Mason!"

"Right-o, poochie!"

With that, the butler in black sprang into action, dashing past the organization's leader and grabbing the two older sorcerers, throwing each one over a shoulder, before trying to make his escape, all while the other man fired at him with the very same pistol used on the demon's master. Indeed, it was a most unpleasant situation. There was only one exit, and going through it would put him at risk of staying in the same place for a second too long, granting Mason the ability to shoot at, and successfully hit either him, or the hostages, the latter of which would probably not survive.

While this occurred, the bluenette zoomed up next to the man, kicking his cane out from under him. With that, Alois did the same, only from the opposite side, and he kicked the man's shin as hard as he could. A massive "clunk!" was heard on the impact. Alois then grabbed his foot while hopping on the other, fighting back tears from the unexpected pain.

Mason took the opportunity to raise the very same leg that the boy kicked, and use it to strike him straight in the jaw, knocking him to the floor. With a swift movement, he did the same with the bluenette while he was surprised. There was no way Mason should be able to do that. No way at all, with that cane. Unless, and the bluenette figuratively kicked himself for not thinking about it sooner, the man was a copycat-freak.

"Hurts, doesn't it?" Mason taunted. "It hurt when I lost it, as well. In fact, it hurt a lot more than you do now." He frowned. "But that's what someone gets for visiting Hell on Earth."

 


	260. Spitfire

"The crazy bastard's got a damn peg-leg!" shouted Alois, trying to rub the pain away from his jaw after popping it. "I guess that means, he's 'out-pirated' you, huh, Ciel?"

"I'm not a pirate." the bluenette said, doing the same as the other boy. "What do you mean you've seen 'hell on earth'?" he asked the man, standing up. All Everett did was smile.

"You look younger than I assume you really are, so I assume that you remember?" the man replied, shaking his head when he was met with a blank stare. "What happened in London fourteen years ago? It all took place in a single night, and destroyed almost the entire city." Ciel's eye widened at the answer.

"Millennium's attack on London happened." he said, mostly to himself. "I suppose you were there during it?"

"Yes." answered the man, his throat scratchy, as he rubbed his chin with one of his now free hands, feeling the many scars on his face. "It changes you, you know."

"You said that the only one that you intended to save was yourself..." the bluenette began. "So does that mean that the only reason you're doing this is to protect yourself from a future attack?"

"Precisely." said Mason. "You make it sound horrible of me, but the world is a scary place, where the strong eat the weak. The easiest solution is to become strong, yes?"

"While that may be true, you aren't strong." said Ciel, furrowing his brow and straing the man down.

"You've manipulated others. You lied to Summers so that he could convince Dafydd and his parents to help. You did that specifically because of Dafydd's telepathy, didn't you? You knew that talking to him directly would lead to your destruction." the boy continued, his expression both angry and bored at the same time. "You've also dragged down innocent people. You've toyed with them, ruined their lives, or killed them, all together. Tell me, how does that make you 'strong'?"

"Because it proves my might." answered Mason, with a big, toothy grin. "If I can make them squirm like little bugs, that makes me strong-!"

"No it doesn't." Ciel interrupted. "It only proves that you were too weak, and too afraid to remain human. You're now the same kind of monster that you were afraid of. The very same kind of sad, empty, weak monster that you were afraid of." He pulled out the Zamiel pistol, and aimed it right at the man's head.

"This is for earlier." he continued. "Keep the change."

While Mason was talking to Ciel, Sebastian took this as an opportunity to make his escape without getting either himself, or the hostages shot. He dashed out the door and continued on down the many halls, climbing ever upward until he reached the surface. It was dawn. It had taken them all night to complete this mission, and it was still going. The H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. truck that had taken Doctor Lovejoy home was back, by this time in order to pick up more victims, including the two sorcerers. The butler in black gently set down Mister and Missus Blake, taking the time to undo their binds. When free, Missus Blake immediately shouted at him.

"Where's Dafydd?!" she demanded. "Where's our son?!" The demon was taken aback by this at first, but smiled.

"He's still inside, madam." he said with a slight bow. "I'll being going back to get him now..."

"You idiot!" shouted Mister Blake. "The building is set to collapse as soon as we leave! How else were we able to have been captured? We knew Dafydd was there, so we went along with this so he wouldn't be crushed!"

"What?!" Sebastian said, immediately turning toward the building. It was now no wonder sixth sense wasn't working right throughout the entire building. The entire place was a trap!

And just like that, the building began to cave in. The lower levels, below ground, where the other were located were covered up before they even had the smallest hope of Sebastian knew that this was unlikely to actually kill the demonic duo, it would certainly injure them, and this combined with the rubble on top of them, they wouldn't be digging themselves out any time soon. What on earth was he going to tell Luka when he got home? Would he even go home? Would he have to help his young master escape?

Possibly, but the demon couldn't shake this odd feeling he got when he saw the building crumble, knowing that Ciel and Alois were still inside. It was a horrible feeling, yet he couldn't place what it was. It felt as though the man's stomach dropped, and his barely-beating, black heart had stopped altogether. If that wasn't enough, he felt this odd tingling sensation in both his stomach and in his legs, like they wanted to run over to the building, but had forgotten how. The blubbering of the sorceress reached his ears, yet he did not hear it. He was too busy staring into the settling dust, mouth agape, and for the first time in a long while, he was at a loss for what to do.

"Scientia de anima! Excelsior!"

Sebastian furrowed his brow in confusion at the sudden shouting. His face of puzzlement, however, quickly changed into bewilderment at the sight before him. Light was slipping through the cracks in the rubble, growing brighter and brighter. When it became almost blinding, a sphere came violently springing forth, knocking rubble, shrapnel, and anything else out of it's way. It floated over toward the three, before hovering for a brief moment. Then, like a bubble, it simply popped. Out from it fell the entire H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. squad that was sent in, the demonic duo, and Dafydd, being one of the only ones to actually land on their feet, the other two being Ciel and Seras. The rest simply fell on their behinds, of on top of each other, including Doctor Bigby, who Amelie was brawling with at the time of the collapse.

She wasn't in very good shape, as she was covered in deep claw marks and had shrapnel in her side. Poor Bigby was now missing her other hand, as well, and unlike her other amputation, this one was caused by an anti-freak shotgun, therefore it wasn't healing over. Instead, it was bleeding profusely, as she tried to stand herself up. The wolf-girl was about to shoot her again, when yet another car pulled up, a grey Rolls Royce with a hood-ornament in the shape of the Hellsing family crest. Ciel gulped at the sight of it, knowing who was inside.

When the vehicle came to a complete stop, the driver got out and opened the door to the backseat, and just as the bluenette had feared. It was her; a woman with long, fair-hair and one blue eye, the other covered by an eyepatch, with tan skin and glasses. She wore a suit and gracefully stepped out of the car before walking toward the group with purpose.

Ciel's eye widened when she reached into her coat, and pulled a revolver, pointing it in his general direction before firing. The bullet whizzed past the bluenette demon and into the cranium of Doctor Bigby, causing her to fall to the ground. All Ciel could do was blink, terrified at the fact that she could have killed him, just then.

"You missed one." said the Hellsing woman, before looking past Ciel and toward the destroyed building.

"I was just getting to that..." said the lad, following the woman's eye with her own. "With her, Messiah's gone. I took care of their leader right before the building collapsed." Then, he looked toward the group with him, staring at an incredibly terrified Detective Summers. "There's one left, however, but he's human."

"Is it safe to trust that you can turn him into the authorities?" asked Integra.

"Of course."

"Very well, then." she said, putting her gun away before placing her hands behind her back in a dignified manner. "Status report?"

"The only survivors are Doctor Lovejoy, Detective Summers, and the Blake family." the bluenette answered, looking over to the boy-sorcerer as his parents doted on him, telling him how proud they were of him, and how glad they were that he's alive. While it wasn't audible, you could almost see the sigh on Ciel's face. "The rest were either exterminated by me and my men, or yours. We somehow managed to all escape because of Blake's magic."

"Then everything is fine." the woman said, pulling a cigar out of her coat, and lighting it. "While it didn't exactly go according to plan, the mission is a success, with zero losses. All is well." Ciel couldn't help but narrow his eye at that.

"What do you mean?" he asked. "Why are you being so...odd, lately?"

"I don't know what you're talking about." Integra replied, casually puffing on her cigar. "I'm simply telling you that you've succeeded in your mission, nothing more, nothing less. We search, and we destroy. You've simply taken care of both of those things for me at once. Good work."

"You were using me?!" the bluenette demanded, breaking out into one of his unusually childish moments.

"That's your job, isn't it?"

"It's your job, too! Why didn't you just take care of it?!"

"Because I'm not a detective, that's why."

"You could have hired somebody!"

"I can't trust any civilian with a job this big." Sir Hellsing said. "Just take your praise, and go home. There's no use arguing over it now. Besides, you're causing a scene."

Ciel opened his mouth to speak, but stopped. Hesitantly, he turned to face the others that he had somehow forgotten about, witnessing them trying to keep grins off their faces. The bluenette blushed with embarrassment, and turned to glare at the Hellsing woman. In response, she puffed a cloud of cigar smoke in his face, causing him to cough.

"Alright, ladies and gentlemen, let's pack it up." she shouted to her operatives, who answered her with a salute and a "yes, sir". The H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. soldiers loaded up, packing their weapons back into their vehicles, and talking to Mister and Missus Blake. Meanwhile, the boy-sorcerer of the family turned to face the blonde menace.

"How was that?" he asked, a large grin on his face. "Pretty impressive, eh, Spitfire?"

"Yeah, it was pretty impressive..." Alois began, placing a hand on his hip. "...But you do know that doesn't mean I'm going to be interested in you any time soon, right?"

"That's just fine." said Dafydd. "I'll wait as long as I have to."

"I'd advise against it." the blonde replied. "I'm a demon. We live longer than you. Much, much, longer. Besides, I love Ciel, and not you, or anyone else, can change that."

"You telling me to give up? Just like that?"

"Yep. I'm afraid so, Daffy."

"Ugh, can't you at least call me by my name at least once?"

"Nope. Not until you quit calling me 'Spitfire'!" Alois said, before leaving the sorcerer to go and hug the bluenette, nearly tackling the poor boy to the ground. The blonde giggled almost uncontrollably as he pulled away to see Ciel blushing from being hugged in front of his arch-nemesis; a hue that only darkened, spreading to his ears when the blonde kissed him. All the Hellsing woman did in response was roll her visible eye and climb back into her car.

"I love you, Cielykins~!" Alois said in a sing-song voice. "I'll always be your Spitfire~!"

"Sh-shut up!"

 


	261. Eyebrows

Phantomhive manor; from it's location set on the outskirts of London, this once gloomy estate was now bustling, as it was now home to four demons. One of which was a tall gentleman often dressed in black, who had the appearance of a man in their late twenties. Another was a young boy, around the age of eight, who was unfamiliar with many "modern" devices and concepts, and who was a mere "baby-demon" in the eyes of his fully-fledged, soul-devouring seniors. The final two were teenage lads, a blonde who was prone to giggle and cause mischief, and a bluenette who was quite serious and focused on his work at both Funtom and as the Queen's Guard-Dog.

The last two demons were also lovers, regardless to the fact that they were both at some point long a ago, sworn enemies, and no longer felt the need to hide this. They did, however, keep their mutual affections mostly private for the sake of decency. The duo separated themselves in the presence of the little one, and especially in that of the oldest member of their odd, little "family". Still, even with their sad pasts, they all lived happily together under the roof of the old Manor.

"Sebastian~!" called Luka, holding the sides of his head while he ran up to the man clad in black. He tripped over his own feet, and fell flat on his face, inviting the butler to set down his work for a moment in order to help him.

"Are you alright, Luka?" Sebastian asked, assisting the small boy in getting back up. The brunette sniffed.

"My head hurts." he replied, rubbing his forehead before moving his hands back to their original place on the sides of his head.

"Well, no wonder." spoke the butler. "You did headbutt the ground, after all."

"No, no! Before that!" the boy replied, moving his hands. "It's my horns."

Sebastian reached an arm out, and felt the sides of the lad's head, the boy uttering a small "ow" as the man hit the large, hard bumps on either side. The butler tilted the boy's head to the side, and brushed his hair out of the way, it being the only thing keeping the dull, black bone-structure out of sight. It was small, but it was definitely the beginnings of a horn. It pushed the skin out of the way, and protruded from the brunette's head in an odd manner; "odd" in that it wasn't human-like, or like a regular demon's horn. Luka's were dull; lacking shine; as he had not yet consumed a human soul, just like Alois' were when they first appeared on him during the "Sudoku Killer" case. Alois' Transformation was brought on by physical trauma and distress, demanding immediate regeneration. Luka's was progressing over time. By now, the bruenette had been here longer than Alois had when he transformed, implying that the blonde would have done so, eventually, anyway. Really, it was quite amazing what one could learn from observing such an unsuspecting boy.

"I'm sorry, Luka." Sebastian said finally. "But there's nothing we can do. You'll just be having 'growing-pains' for a while-..."

BOOM!

The two whipped their heads around in order to face the direction of the thunderous sound; it coming from the garden. These sounds had been occuring for the past few days, much to the annoyance of the butler. Now it was he, who was starting to get a headache.

"Do you think Ciel's alright?" asked Luka, looking up at the man with a worried expression.

"I would be more worried about Dafydd." the butler said with a sigh. "Shall we go check up on them?"

With a grin, the brunette nodded, and the pair ventured outside and into the garden where the bluenette was working. With each step, they heard what appeared to be cackling of some sort, and as the trekked even further, they recognized it as the blonde menace. Once the boy was in sight, they saw Alois on the ground, curled up in a ball and clutching his sides as he threw an absolute laughing fit. Near him was an enraged bluenette, as he argued with Warwick Academy's resident sorcerer, Dafydd "Daffy" Blake, about what one could only assume was the explosion.

"What are you, a total moron?!" demanded Dafydd. "I told you, you have to release the energy gradually, or it will explode!"

"You told me 'gradually' part," Ciel began, raising his tone at the other boy. "...but conveniently forgot to mention how 'gradually', and the fact that it would explode!"

"It's fire!" shouted Dafydd. "I thought it was bloody obvious!"

"Ciel! Ciel! Do you... Haha! D-do you..." Alois called, trying to speak in between laughing and gasping for air. "Do you have any **eyebrows** left?! Pfftt-haha-ha-hah!"

"SHUT UP!" the bluenette shouted, turning to the blonde, covering the area of his face just above his eye with his hand. His cheeks were red and covered with soot. Fortunately for Ciel, it would only take a few moments for it it grow back, however, it would take much longer for Alois to stop teasing him about it. The Phantomhive lad's reaction only renewed his fit of giggles as well as chuckling from the butler, which came forth regardless of his efforts to conceal his amusement.

"Whoa! Ciel burned off his eyebrows?!" Luka asked in a loud voice. "That's bloody hilarious!"

"It's not funny!" the bellowed the Phantomhive lad, prompting the small boy to hide behind Sebastian, somewhat.

"Well then learn how to do the damn spell!" said Dafydd, placing his hands on his hips. "Honestly, for a demon your age to not be able to use fire-spells is goddamn ridiculous!"

"Quiet! It's not like there's a bloody handbook to read!" answered the bluenette.

"There is! I own some, dumbass!"

"Who're you calling 'dumbass', you Harry Potter wannabe!?"

"At least I can actually use magic, Captain midget! Just shut up and try the bloody spell again!"

With that, Ciel removed his hand from his head, with fresh eyebrows in it's place, and them at his sides, clenching them into fists. He grit his teeth, and glared at the boy with the ponytail and too many rigs, as if he were trying to stare him down. When that didn't work, he took a deep breath, sucking up all of the oxygen that he could. His eye began to glow, as he recited the incantation.

"Spiraculum Gilgrim!" he shouted, aiming his breath straight at the wizard. This time, he was sure to try expelling the energy through his mouth more slowly than he did the last few times, before releasing it out into the air, creating a raging inferno; Dafydd was right in it's path.

The sorcerer quickly jumped out of the way with a yelp, ducking down, and landing on his stomach, laying flat on the ground as the bluenette's brilliant yellow, red, and orange flames passed over his head. Later that evening, he would find out that the other lad had sindged the end of his ponytail, but that is neither here, nor there. Hesitantly, when he no longer felt the wave of heat, he looked up, only to see the Phantomhive smugly smiling at him. Dafydd furrowed his brow, and forced himself to a standing position before dusting himself off.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?! You could have burnt me to a crisp!" he shouted.

"You told me to 'try the spell again'." Ciel answered, innocently.

"Not on me!" Dafydd said back.

"Maybe you should clarify, next time."

"Maybe you should be more grateful that I'm even bothering to teach you this crap!" the sorcerer grimaced, turning his head to address the blonde menace. "Alois! What on earth is it that you see in this asswipe!? He's downright evil!"

"Well, he's a demon, so that's to be expected." Alois replied, having recovered from his laughter. He sat on the grass next to Luka, as the two poked an anthill with a sticks. "He's nice to me, but the opposite is said for people he doesn't really care for."

"What the hell?!" Dafydd exclaimed. "I saved your lives!"

"That doesn't mean I have to like you." the bluenette said bluntly, causing the sorcerer to furrow his brow.

"I'm teaching you how to cast some high-level spells, here, for crying out loud! What do I have to do to get some respect?!"

"You could start by not flirting with my boyfriend whenever you see him."

"Can you blame me? He's absolutely adorable." spoke the sorcerer, gesturing to Alois, who was busy squishing ants with his younger brother. "Besides, he won't stay yours for long, if you keep acting like a total prick."

"Hey, Alois, want to find out what happens when we stick Dafydd's head in that anthill?" asked the bluenette, gaining a giggle from the blonde menace and his brother.

"Now, now, Ciel. Play nice." Alois said, wagging his finger at the Phantomhive to mock-scold him. "Or at least pretend to..."

The entire time that this conversation was going on, Sebastian stood and lamented the fate of the garden. It would take him awhile to replace the burned flowers and greenery. It was at times like this that he really wondered about whether or not the children do these kinds of things on purpose...

* * *

 


	262. The Greatest Mystery of All

Warwick Academy: what is perhaps the most prestigious and refined school in all of the United Kingdom. It's academics, athletics, and arts programmes are second to no other. Yes, other children in the London area have definitely heard of this school, many wishing that they could attend as well, or at least see if everything said about the school is true;. Things such as that the campus is massive, taking up two blocks of city streets and two more in the direction vertical to that, that the students themselves are all sophisticated and on a whole other level than most children. Why, it is said that the very air of Warwick Academy is more fresh than that of any ordinary school.

Do the children of Warwick have any worries? Surely not, being from well-off families and able to obtain practically anything their hearts desire, and all. However, it is just to the contrary! Why, even the Sensational Seven (especially the Sensational Seven) have their own worries and doubts. And just what our lads fretting about today? Grades? Relations? Their futures as upstanding members of society?

"How on earth do you talk to girls?" asked Audrey. "Every time I try, I always end up looking like an idiot!"

"That's because you are and idiot~!" answered Daniel, receiving a playful punch to the arm from the Baines lad.

"Dan, you, of all people, have absolutely no right to say that." Kristopherson said with a patronizing look, leaning forward onto the surface of his desk in order to be better part of the conversation.

"What's that supposed to mean?!" demanded the Son of a Politician.

"It means you're a fucking idiot. Weren't you paying attention?"

"Girls, please, you're both pretty." said Alois, oddly being the one to end a squabble before it started. "Bones, just be yourself. Act like you would while talking to one of us."

"I can't." Audrey replied. "Girls are attractive, and you lot aren't."

"Why the sudden interest? Is there someone you fancy, or something?" asked Preston, teasingly.

"Not really." answered the reaper-boy. "I mean like 'in general, day-to-day conversation', sort of talking to girls. I just can't do it."

"Me neither..."

"That's just because you're both geeks!" Daniel said in an unnecessarily loud voice. "It's easy! All you gotta do is make them laugh!"

"And exactly how many women has that worked for you, Dan?" asked Kristopherson, a smirk playing at his lips.

"Your sister." replied the Westley lad, receiving a punch to his other arm, making him now balanced.

"I'd be careful, if I were you, Danny," the faux-blonde began. " Ana says that she might be starting to have second thoughts about you two..."

"What?!" demanded the Westley boy, grabbing the other boy's shoulders. "Why?! Wha'd she say?!"

"Oops, did I accidentally let that slip?" Kristopherson said in mock-innocence. "I'm so sorry, but that's classified information!"

"You wanker! Just tell me what she said!"

"Nope. Can't do it. I promised."

"Fuck that! 'Bros before hoes'!"

"She's my sister..."

"She's not a 'bro', and I'm not a 'ho', Kris!"

"Oh my God, just kiss already~!" shouted Alois, making sure to gain the attention of those in the immediate vicinity, and encouraging Daniel to release the other boy.

"Sod off, Trancy! I'm not a homo like you!" he answered before turning back to the Miles boy. "No offense."

"None taken." Kristopherson answered, smoothing out his blazer. "Besides, who would want to make out with your sorry self, anyway? Trust me, my feelings aren't hurt."

"Shut up!"

"Relax, Daniel. He's obviously just messing with you." said Ciel, maintaining his level-headed attitude even with the blonde menace hanging all over him.

"Wait, so Kris does wanna make-out?!" Daniel asked, knowing full-well that the bluenette was referring to the conversation prior to that.

**"Hell no, I don't!"**

"Oh yeah, Kris only has a thing for blondes, right?" asked Audrey, causing the faux-flaxen boy to blush.

"Better keep Kris away from your man, Ciel." joked the politician's son while giving a nod in the direction of the Trancy lad.

"I guess that's one thing Kris and Ciel have in common, huh?"

"I feel so honoured." Alois teased, giggling at the small flush that formed on the bluenette's cheeks as he looked away.

"I don't have a thing for blondes." insisted the Phantomhive lad, trying to ignore the menace's pestering.

"Neither do I." said Kristopherson, crossing his arms. "What happened to the original topic? Does anyone here know how to talk to girls? I certainly don't, or not in the way you want to."

"It's really not that difficult." said an unexpected voice, causing the others to whip their heads in the direction it came from. Travis sat in his desk, next to Preston's and actually spoke.

"Alois was on the right track with the 'be yourself' thing." he continued, his face just as serene as ever. "But instead of talking them like you talk to us, you should just be polite and treat them like you would anyone else. They aren't aliens, after all..."

"That still doesn't take care of the 'nervous' thing..." said Preston.

"Yes it does. Don't let yourself be nervous. Girls are people too, and most likely appreciate being treated that way." Travis replied. "If you act like you're scared of them, they probably won't be that into you. Besides, they aren't that scary to begin with."

For the remainder of the class period, he, Audrey and Preston discussed the topic, while the others simply stared in disbelief...

"Kris still has a blonde fetish..." muttered Daniel.

**"I do not!"**

 


	263. What Just Happened?

"Important announcement!" shouted the Westley lad as he stormed into his first period class, charging straight up to his friends while waving around a piece of paper. "I said I have an important bloody announcement!"

"You flunked maths again?" asked Preston, arching an eyebrow.

"No."

"You won the idiot of the year award?" asked Kristopherson, earning a mean look from the politician's son.

"No!"

"The Americans are coming?" asked Audrey.

"No...?"

"You're pregnant?" Alois asked with a grin.

"FUCK NO!" shouted Daniel, shoving the paper he had flailed in the air so ruthlessly before in the other's faces. "Look!"

The other lads scanned the paper, at it's battered appearance coming from both a combination of the Westley boy waving it around so much and the fact that he had torn it off of a lamp post he nearly walked by on the street. On it said something about a small carnival, but the paper was yanked away again before anyone could actually read it clearly. Daniel smiled down at the seated lads, all of them knowing full-well where he was going with this.

"You want us to go to some cheap carnival?" asked Kristopherson, furrowing his brow and looking up at the boy questionably.

"Naturally. What do you say? Sounds like fun, right?" asked the Westley lad, ignoring the answers that his friends' faces were giving him.

"Where did that say it was?" asked Audrey. "Waterloo?"

"Weybridge." said the bluenette with a frown. "That's thirty minutes from Waterloo."

"Why in blazes would we want to go to that?" asked the faux-blonde. "It's probably run-down and dirty, with a bunch of weirdos running around."

"I think it sounds like a right laugh." Alois chimed in, clapping his hands together with a huge grin.

"Yes! Alois is in!" cheered the son of a politician, pumping his fist in the air. "So I'm guessing that means the Ciel is automatically coming, too?" He grinned at the bluenette, who simply grumbled and folded his arms across his chest.

"Two are in~! What about the rest of you?"

"Do they have a haunted house?" asked Audrey, looking up from his Nintendo DS for a moment.

"Hell yeah."

"I am so there."

"Preston? Travis?" Daniel grinned, looking over to the two boys who were usually quiet.

"Sounds like fun." spoke Travis, offering the politician's son a small nod.

"I have a bad feeling about this..." said Preston, rubbing his head. "I guess I'll go, anyway..."

With a ever-widening smile, Daniel then turned to the final member of the seven. He put his hand on the faux-blonde's shoulder, ignoring the lad's skeptical look.

"What about you, 'Princess'?" Daniel asked. "Care to join us?"

With a sigh, Kristopherson swatted the other boy's hand away and said: "Fine, whatever. Just don't call me 'princess' ever again. I will hit you, next time."

"Ooh, kinky~!" Alois teased.

"Sod off, Trancy!" Kristopherson snapped.

"Oh, you're so cute when you're angry~!" the blonde menace cooed, his smile widening as he looked over at his bluenette boyfriend.

"Don't worry, you're still the cutest, my dear, sweet, little poochiekins~!" he said, wrapping his arms around the Phantomhive's neck and playing with the other boy's hair while rubbing his cheek against Ciel's.

"Shut up." the bluenette ordered, doing his best to remain stoic, which was ruined by the slight redness that dusted his cheeks.

"Alois, do you get off by pissing people off, or what?" asked Daniel, as he and the others simply stared at the duo.

"Why so curious, Danny-boy?" the menace teased.

"Fuck off! I don't really wanna know! And DON'T call me 'Danny-boy'!"

"Why not? It's totally cute~!"

"Is it just me, or is Alois acting worse than usual?" asked Preston, pointing out the obvious observation that everyone else wanted to.

"He gets this way when he's excited about something..." Ciel answered, finally prying the blonde menace off of himself.

"How can I not be?" Alois asked, giving a dramatic pose. "I simply cannot wait to go to the 'cheap, dirty, run-down carnival' and see all of the 'weirdos'!"

"I'm sure you'll fit right in, Alois." Audrey teased. "Maybe they'll offer you a place in their colony?"

"Yes! We must all join in the carny-colony!" Alois jokingly declared.

"You're on your own, Trancy." spoke the faux-blonde seated a few chairs over from the true one. "I'll go, but I have better things to do with my life than live inside of a dirty attraction."

"Why not?" asked the Trancy lad. "I'm sure that if you didn't shave for a few days, we would be able to pass you off as 'the bearded lady'."

"Oh, piss off!"

"You shave your face?" asked Preston, rubbing his own chin.

"Yeah. So? I shave my legs, too..."

"Is that all you shave?" Alois inquired, wiggling his eyebrows.

"Leave me alone!" Kristopherson barked, punching the blonde menace in the shoulder.

"Oh, so you do shave your-"

"Shut up! I'm not giving you any information on that subject!"

"It's okay, Kris~!" the blonde menace said in a sing-song voice. "I hear removing the forest makes the tree look bigger!"

"Stop talking about my crotch!"

"Does it? I didn't know that..." Daniel said, absent-mindedly, snapping back to reality when he noticed that he was being stared at by the others. "The fuck are you lot starin' at?!"

"Daniel has a tiny dick~!" declared Alois.

"I do not!" the Westley boy snapped. "Stop talking about people's dicks! Phantomhive! Control your woman!"

"Sorry, I can't hear you. I'm busy not being part of this discussion." the bluenette said before ignoring the group in favour of schoolwork.

"If it makes you feel better, Danny-boy..." the blonde carried on, making sure to call the brown-haired lad by his least-preferred nickname, "Mine is five-point-six inches."

"What the fuck?!"

"This has got to be the absolute gayest conversation yet..." Audrey said with a sigh.

"Alright, Alois, that's too far..." Ciel intervened, setting down his pencil, and turning to stare the blonde down. "...And before you say anything: no, I'm not being possessive. It's that I know where this conversation is going to steer next."

"Don't worry, Ciel..." Alois replied, innocently. "I already know how big you are, so I'm not going to ask!"

"Alois!" The bluenette warned, "If you don't stop talking about other people's... things... you are NOT going to the carnival!"

Luckily, the blonde menace met the Phantomhive with his desired response, only giving a small, quiet pout while crossing his arms. There was a long silence that followed, hanging in the air and nearly suffocating the seven as they sat there, not knowing what to say. Eventually, however, Daniel came to the rescue. With a chuckle, he said:

"Eight inches..."

"Sounds like a medical problem..." Alois retorted with a snicker.

"Can we please not talk about dicks?" asked Audrey, moving his bangs out of his face so he could shoot the "dumbass duo" a look. "Asses, too. Can we please not talk about dicks or asses?"

"Tits?" asked the Trancy lad, tilting his head to the side.

"Tits, I can live with."

"I am ashamed that I know any of you..." said Ciel, rubbing his temples. To which the blonde menace replied:

"I love you too, muffin."

 


	264. Cannibalism Is Bad

It was a lovely Saturday, around noon-time, when the Sensational Seven finally arrived at their destination. They had met with Kristopherson earlier, who was elected the driver for the day, as the only other two who had their licensees were Preston and Daniel. Preston only had a license for a small, motorized scooter, while Daniel was vetoed for supposedly "obvious" reasons. Non of the lads thought that they would ever survive the ride to Weybridge, had they allowed him to.

The entire ride mainly consisted of teasing, pestering, joke-making, and yelling at the GPS on the dashboard to "shut up". Kristopherson would occasionally yell at the lads in the back rows of the SUV he had borrowed from his parents to behave, as Alois apparently forgot how to behave in public, and Daniel's own perversions certainly weren't helping. That said, the day was actually having a good start, as most of this was perfectly normal for the group.

The boys had to dress warmly, in order to protect themselves from the cool, late autumn air, which smelled like sickeningly sweet carnival food all mixed together. The scent made some gag, while it made others:

"We have to go eat something." said Audrey. "Don't argue. We have to."

"Didn't you eat breakfast?" asked Preston.

"I did. I ate a doughnut." the reaper-boy replied, guiding the others through the crowd in search of food.

"That's hardly a 'breakfast', Bones..."

"Silence, nay-sayer!" declared Alois in an overly dramatic manner. "'Tis the breakfast of champions!"

"Oh, and what did you have for breakfast, Trancy?" asked Kristopherson, expecting some sort of perverse answer. He was smiling, but ceased doing so as the other blonde's face darkened.

"The souls of the innocent." Alois said, with a twisted smirk. It made a chill go down the other's spines, and he had to laugh at the end just to point out that he wasn't serious. "Kidding! I'm only kidding~!"

"That's not bloody funny..." said Daniel, unconsciously hiding behind the Miles boy.

"You know what, Daniel? You're absolutely right." spoke the bluenette with a smirk of his own. "It's hilarious."

"Stop being all demon-y and stuff, and help me find food." said Audrey, looking back to the others after he discovered that he was only walking around in circles.

"Human food." he added, after noticing the blonde menace opened his mouth to say something. Alois closed his mouth again.

Then, he got an idea. With a mischievous grin, he stepped behind Preston and grabbed his shoulders. He then gave him a gentle push, forcing him to take a step forward.

"How about some Indian food, then?" he jokingly asked.

"Stop talking about eating people!" Preston whined, tensing up at the blonde's statement.

"I think the food vendors are this way." said Travis, stepping in to move the conversation away from the subject of cannibalism.

"How do you know?" asked Daniel.

"I think it might have something to do with the amount of liter along this particular path, yes?" asked Kristopherson, gaining a nod from the massive Sullivan boy, as Travis then lead the way. "Honestly, how on earth you convinced me to come to this place, is beyond me."

"Oh, quit your bickering, Princess. You know you just wanted to hang out with us." said Daniel.

"I told you to stop calling me 'princess'!"

"As you wish, fair lady."

"Hark! What lies beyond yonder horizon?" spoke the blonde menace. "It is the food court! To arms! The fatty-food awaits!"

"Why are you talking like that?" asked Preston.

"He's just carrying on." Ciel answered for the Trancy lad. "Don't think anything of it."

"That's not how people talked back in the Victorian era, is it?" asked Daniel, causing the demonic duo to look at him questioningly.

"Hell no, it ain't!" Alois said. "That's Elizabethan English! Those Elizabethan wankers are weird."

"It's more like 'pseudo-Elizabethan' English." the bluenette corrected.

"Who cares? There is food here." said Audrey. "I'm going to go get some. You may either join me, or you may not. I don't care. I'm leaving, either way."

"Wait, Audrey! We shouldn't get split up!" Preston called after him/

"I'll go after him." said Travis. "Let's all get something to eat around here, and meet back up at one of those tables."

"Roger that." said the blonde menace, placing his hands on Preston's shoulders again. "We'll just eat Preston. See you there~!"

"Wait! Travis! Wait for me!" the Indian lad, wiggling his way out of the demon's grasp and following the tallest of the bunch. All Alois could do was laugh at him.

"You're horrible." Ciel said, holding back a smile.

"You are, too, for finding it funny." the blonde retorted, gasping the other lad's hand and intertwining their fingers. "So, where are you queers going to eat?" he asked the remaining humans.

"I don't know yet." Kristopherson said casually. "What about you faggots?"

Daniel was kind of taken aback by the use of those words. It almost took him a moment to realize that the two blondes were only joking. It was then, however, that something else registered, causing his brow to furrow.

"I am not gay!" he snapped, causing the blonde menace to smile.

"Nah, you're a total woofter." Alois jokingly said. "Isn't he, Kris?"

"Oh, absolutely." the faux-blonde replied. "He's definitely a poof."

Daniel's face turned red at that. His nostrils flared as he shouted: "I am not a poof!"

"Whoa! Careful, now, mate!"spoke the Trancy boy, placing his free hand in the air as if he were shocked. "Only man-lovers can use that word!"

"Shut up!" barked the Westley lad. He placed his hands in his pockets began to storm off. "I'm going to get some food. See you lot at the table."

The lad's actions made Alois giggle, while Kristopherson and Ciel simply rolled their eyes. With a sigh and a quick nod to the others, the faux-blonde followed after the fuming Westley, leaving the demonic duo on their own. Alois' grin never subsided.

"What a baby." he said, turning to the bluenette. "So? What's the plan, Romeo?"

"Please don't call me that..." the bluenette said, shaking his head. "I don't know what to do. I'm not hungry, and I know for certain that you aren't, either."

"Just because I don't need to eat, doesn't mean I can't." the blonde replied. "There's all kinds of weird stuff here that I've never seen before, though. I wouldn't even know where to look!"

"That's carnival food, for you..."

"As appetizing as all of this obviously artery-clogging food looks, are you sure that I can't just have you?" the blonde asked, innocently latching onto the bluenette's side.

"Alois, what is with you and cannibalism toda-" Ciel stopped as the blonde's words completely processed. He turned to the other boy, a slight pink tint dusting his cheeks, and narrowed his eye.

"No." he said.

"I know, I know. I'm just messing with you." Alois said with a giggle.

"Oh, and were you 'just messing with' Preston, as well?" asked the Phantomhive, arching an eyebrow.

"Of course I was." replied the blonde. "You're the only one I would ever say that seriously to, but we're in public, which definitely isn't the place for such acts of intimacy." He paused. "Unless, of course, you..."

"No." Ciel said flatly. He knew full-well that the blonde was only joking, but he simply couldn't just let the lad get away with it. He watched as the blonde tilted his head back with laughter.

"Then I guess we'll just have to go join the others, instead." Alois said finally with a big grin.

"Fine. Whatever. Can you please just try to act appropriately, for once?"

"Aw~! You're so cute when you try to keep up that 'cool guy' act~!"

"Shut up..."

 


	265. Separation of Search and Hate

"Where are they?" asked Preston, scanning the large crowd.

"I have no idea." answered Audrey while munching on a hamburger. "I can't find any of them with all these people around. It's like a massive 'Where's Waldo'."

Not even half and hour after they arrived, the sensational seven had gotten separated. While they wisely agreed to have a rendezvous point, they had obviously picked the wrong day to come to the fairgrounds, as the place was absolutely flooded with people. The ocean spanned out as far as the eye could see, and with no other options, Travis decided that it would be best to call one of the others in order to find out what happened.

"Uh, well, we're kind of lost..." said Alois, explaining the situation. "We accidentally got caught in the crowd, and had to follow the flow it, y'know? I have absolutely no idea were we are..."

"Are you still in the food court?" asked the tall Sullivan boy.

"No, I think we're in the games..." the blonde replied. "Is Kristopherson there with you guys, yet?"

"He's not with you?" Travis answered with his own question.

"Nope. He went after Dan after he threw a bitch-fit and stormed off."

"So Dan isn't there, either..."

"It's just me and Ciel." Alois replied. "Want us to try and find them?"

"That's alright. I'll just call them." said Travis. "Where should we regroup?"

"Aaaaand the phone goes to the person who can actually plan shit." the blonde said before thrusting the cellphone into the face of the bluenette. With a roll of his eye, Ciel took it from the silly lad.

"Are you still there, Travis?" he asked after placing the device up to his ear.

"Yeah. Where should we regroup?"

Quickly, Ciel lifted his head up in order to take a look around. He scanned the area for a moment or so before setting his sights on the one thing anyone could see from anywhere in the nearby vicinity. The bluenette placed the phone back up to his ear.

"How about the Ferris wheel?" he asked. "Can you see it from your location?"

"Yes."

"Then head toward that." said the bluenette. "You said you would take care of calling Daniel and Kristopherson?"

"Yes." Obviously, he wasn't going to get any more out of the usually silent lad, so shortly after that last word, he hung up. He handed the phone back to Alois, noticing a pout on the boy's face.

"What is it?" asked Ciel.

"What?" the blonde replied.

"Why are you making a face?"

"Face? What face?"

"That face." the bluenette said, poking the blonde's cheek. There was a pause as the other boy gently waved the finger away.

"Oh, I see..." Ciel began with a small smirk, "Were you hoping to spend some time alone together?"

"Shut up..." Alois said, crossing his arms indignantly over his chest. He averted his eyes off to the side, trying to hide the extra pinkness of his cheeks at the same time. Gently, one of his hands was forced out of it's position and into the other lads', their fingers intertwining as the bluenette allowed himself to emit a small chuckle.

"You're silly." he said.

"You're stupid." the blonde automatically replied. His face involuntarily went from embarrassed to somewhat pleased in a matter of seconds, his mouth morphing into a gentle smile. Their little "moment", however, was cut short due to an absurdly annoying sound.

"Poofs!" shouted a voice, followed by laughter somewhere behind the duo. They turned their heads to see a group of teenagers shouting and laughing at them. "Woofters!"

Ciel furrowed his brow and scrunched his nose in utter disgust from the group's behaviour. His eye quickly shot to Alois, who in turn, winked at him. Immediately, the bluenette knew what was going to happen. Alois was up to absolutely no good.

"Oh my god! Leave me alone already!" Alois shouted, looking frantic, and straight into the eyes of the main offender. "I told you a hundred times! I don't want to go out with you! So stop following me!"

The main boy's eyes widened in horror as the people within earshot began to stare at him. His friends looked shocked as well. Before he could even begin to defend himself, Alois shouted again.

"See him, Ciel?!" Alois asked, turning to the bluenette. If he hadn't seen the small twitch of a held in smile on the corners of the blonde's lips, Ciel might have thought he was serious. "That's the guy I was telling you about! The one who keeps following me everywhere!"

"Shut up, you lying faggot!" the offending lad shouted in response, his face red, and a mix between anger, embarrassment, and fear in his expression. "I don't even know you! You better shut up before a beat the shit out of you!"

"He threatened to hurt me if I told anyone, before!" Alois continued. "I'm so sorry I got you into this, Ciel..."

"It's not you're fault, Alois." the bluenette said, playing along. "You, there! You better leave him alone before I call the police, you disgusting pervert!"

With that, the group of teenage boys was nearly tripping over themselves to flee. The way the duo sounded gave the illusion of actual seriousness. Members of the crowd were whispering about them, wondering if they should intervene or call the authorities. After the offensive, and offensively ignorant lads were gone, the demonic duo fled the scene as well, navigating through the crowd while never letting go of the other's hand as to not get separated.

"That was so beautiful, that I could just cry!" the blonde declared with a big grin. He giggled at the show that they had just put on, and was somewhat proud of both he and his partner. "You're a pretty good actor. Ever thought about being in the next school play?"

"Thanks, but I think I'll pass." the bluenette replied, a smile gracing his visage as well. "That was some impressive quick-thinking. The looks on those boy's faces were especially funny."

"Why, thank you, my good man."

They came to a stop near the Ferris wheel, having fled the scene of their humiliating. The structure was tall; tall enough that you could see it from the ground in practically any location around the fair. It's bright and festive paint helped it stand out against the sky, attracting attention no matter where you were. It was no London Eye; not by a long shot, but it was still impressive.

Yet the duo's interest was not held by the massive, circular, metal structure, but rather in each other. They simply couldn't stop smiling at the mischief that they had just caused. It felt like such a long time since they were able to do so. There was always some mission to carry out, or some enemy to fight, instead. Moments like this simply felt scarce to the eyes of the two demons, and part of them wanted it to last.

"Have I ever told you that I bloody love you?" Alois asked, his cheeks starting to hurt from grinning so much. His arms made their way around the bluenette's torso, while the other boy's unconsciously did the same.

"Probably more times than I've said it to you." Ciel replied, his mouth far past the point of trying not to smile. "Which I do, by the way."

With a giggle, the blonde menace closed the gap in between their faces, connecting their lips. They didn't seem to care that people could see them. Even Ciel, who is so worried about how others perceive him, didn't mind. He was far to lost in this one, slow, tender kiss that he simply couldn't be bothered, as mothers shielded their children's eyes from the image of two boys engaging in intimacy.

"You get left alone, and this is what you do?" called a familiar voice, prompting the pair to separate. There stood Audrey, Preston, and Travis, right in front of them. Neither demon even noticed that they had arrived.

"You immediately start snogging, huh?" Bones continued. "Calm down, you two, you're confusing the children."

"We weren't 'snogging'." Alois corrected, his face somewhat flushed. "It was just a little kiss."

"That still doesn't change the fact that you're in public." said Preston. "That's still kind of tacky..."

"You wouldn't mind if we were girls." the blonde menace retorted, knowing this was probably true. "So shut up."

"Have any of you heard from Kristopherson or Daniel, yet?" Ciel asked, changing the subject.

"Yeah." said Travis. "Apparently Daniel saw Kristopherson trying to follow him, so he kept trying to distance himself because 'he was being chased', and they ended up in completely the wrong area."

"Wankers." said Alois. "Mostly Dan. What an idiot."

Ciel simply rolled his eye at the blonde menace, noting the blatant hypocrisy in his statement. It was Alois who almost certainly got them lost on purpose just so he could spend time with Ciel. It was such a ridiculous idea, on the blonde's part, that it was somewhat endearing.

"How long is this stupid line?" asked Kristopherson, as he and Daniel waited in line for one of the many attractions. The politician's son had insisted that they stop on their way to meet the others on their way, but the line was taking much more time than expected.

"How was I supposed to know that there were going to be so many people?" asked Daniel. "Oh course everyone's going to want to ride the bloody roller coaster..."

"Whatever." said Kristopherson. "Why don't we just go meet the others and come back when there's less people?"

"And lose our spot in line?! No way!"

"Why are you such an idiot?" Kristopherson sighed. "Look, there's a ride with a shorter line over there. Why don't we get in that one? It'll be a lot quicker, and we can still always come back to this one."

"What's the line for?" asked Daniel.

"It's for... the... roller coaster..." the faux-blonde said, trailing off before shooting Daniel a mean look. "You got us in the wrong bloody line, retard!"

"How was I supposed to know?!" replied the politician's son. "Everything's all jumbled together!"

"You could have looked to see where the thing went!"

"Why didn't you?!"

"Because I didn't think you were that stupid!"

The two bickered and argued back and forth, unconsciously moving with the line whenever it advanced. When they finally looked up from their squabble, they were at the front of the line. It was then that they realized where they were. They were in line for the Ferris Wheel the entire time. Kristopherson introduced his forehead to the palm of his hand at the ridiculousness.

"Hell, no, I'm not getting on that!" said Daniel.

"What?! Why not? We're at the front!" the faux-blonde asked.

"I don't want to look like I'm on a date or whatever with you!" the brown-haired boy said, crossing his arms.

"Good! Because that makes two of us!" Kristopherson said, furrowing his brow. His expression changed completely, however, when he hatched an insidious plan.

He moved behind the other boy, and placed his hands on Daniel's shoulders. Then, with a mighty shove, he pushed him forward, leaving the boy nowhere else to go but inside the small box-like cars that hoisted it's riders into the sky. Then, the faux-blonde climbed in, himself, and the attendant closed the door.

"What the hell?!" Daniel demanded of the boy seated across from him. "I thought you just said that you didn't want to!?"

"I don't, but I can still make you look like a complete homo." Kristopherson replied, folding his arms and crossing his legs in a very casual, yet somewhat peevish manner. "You've done nothing but cause me problems all day, so I might as well get you back for it."

"What the fuck?! What did I do?!"

"You ran off, causing everyone, including me to worry, got us lost, made us late for meeting the others by getting us stuck in line for the wrong ride!"

That made Daniel be quiet. A long silence unwelcomely loomed in the air as he attempted to fabricate a response. He couldn't. The Westley boy wasn't exactly clever, you see. He wasn't witty, and he wasn't exactly the brightest, but he knows when he makes a mistake.

"I'm sorry." he said finally, as the ride began to move. He looked down at his hands in his lap, and twiddled his thumbs as he waited for the other lad to respond. With a sigh, Kristopherson spoke again.

"It's not that bad, I guess..." said the pink-loving Miles boy. When he saw Daniel perk up at his reply, a smile graced his face. "I didn't even mention the worst part, though."

"W-what's that?" Daniel asked.

"Because of you, I didn't get to talk to any cute boys." Kristopherson jested, his grin growing wider by the frown on the other lad's face.

"Oh, piss off!"

"It's true!" insisted the faux-blonde. "I had to chase your sorry self, instead! Why do you think I got all dressed up?"

"Oh, so you're just a man-whore, then?" asked the Westley boy with a smile. "So that's why you're wearing that sissy little not-jacket while it's bloody freezing?"

"It's called a cardigan, genius." Kristopherson corrected. "Why? Worried I'll catch a cold?"

"No. It actually might be kind of funny to see you all sick and shabby-looking."

"Haha, like hell, I 'll let that happen!"

"Why? Worried about looking cute, princess?"

"In front of you? No." Kristopherson paused. "Oh, do you really think I'm 'cute'?" he teased, batting his eyelashes at the other lad.

"Hell no." Daniel insissted. "You look like a prissy little faerie-boy."

"That's fine. I'd never dress up for you, anyway."

"Why? Because I'm not a blonde?" joked the Westley boy.

"No, because I'd like to have someone with human-level intelligence." the faux-blonde replied. "I don't date chimpanzees."

"Your sister does."

"Yeah, but she's weird."

**CLANG!**

Suddenly, the wheel abruptly stopped turning, shaking the boxes and swinging them back and forth. From below, smoke could be seen coming from the control panel. As the attendant frantically tried to fix it, a group of boys looked up, one of them with a phone next to his ear. Ciel couldn't reach either Daniel, Kristopherson.

 


	266. CLANG! CLANG!

_**CLANG!** _

There it was again. The small, airbourne box swung violently on the abrupt stop. It's patrons were screaming, frightened as to what on earth could be happening. Kristopherson was thrown forward from the force, and landed on the other side of the car, uncomfortably close to the Westley boy.

It wasn't the fact that he was leaning against another boy that scared him, nor was it the fact that he was nearly straddling his leg. It was the fact that his head was positioned to the side of Daniel's, allowing him to see out the window behind the boy. He looked down. They were at the very top of the wheel. The faux-blonde's head was spinning as he looked at the ground. It was so far away, and they didn't have any way to get down. He was so lost in this, that he didn't even noticed Daniel pushing against him, trying to force him off.

_**CLANG!** _

The box moved forward and stopped again, sending Kristopherson back into his own seat and snapping him back to reality. Now, it occurred to him that Daniel was now pressed up against him, the Westley's knee in between his thighs. The other boy was thrown along with him due to the combined force of the Ferris Wheel and because he tried to shove Kristopherson off of himself. Kristopherson's brain had now completely shut down, making him unable to respond, due to the shock of what was happening, and the fact that all the blood from the necessary organ was moving to his face.

"What the fuck?!" Daniel shouted, nearly jumping off of the other boy and sitting back into his own seat. "What the fuck are you doing?!" His yelling finally caused the Miles lad to start functioning somewhat normally again.

"I'm not doing anything!" he shouted in return. "It's the bloody wheel! It's-!"

_**CLANG!** _

This time they both grabbed the rail that was intended to be used as assistance in climbing into the car so they would be sent flying again as it shook. Just as suddenly as it had started, it had stopped, leaving the two boys dangling above the fair. Even the smallest movement they made caused the car to rock, so both terrified boys simply stayed still, looking across to the other as if hoping that they would somehow have the answer to their problem.

"What do we do?!" Daniel asked. His fingers were griping the rail so hard, that his knuckles were turning white.

"How the hell should I know?!" Kristopherson answered.

"Well we have to do something!"

"Yeah, Dan. You're right. Why don't you work on growing a pair of wings while I try to make a parachute out of my cardigan!"

"What the hell?! What was that for?!" demanded the Westley boy. "It's not my fault the thing's broken! Do you seriously think I did all of this on purpose?! I didn't do it, so don't treat me like I did, Kris!"

The faux-blonde opened his mouth to speak, but quickly closed it. He simply couldn't argue. Daniel was right. It wasn't anyone's fault that the wheel was malfunctioning, at least it wasn't either of theirs. The faux-blonde took a deep breath, hoping to ease his nerves.

"I know..." Kristopherson said finally, his voiced calmed down somewhat. "I'm sorry, Danny..."

He furrowed his brow in concentration, trying to think of any possible way out of this situation. It was easier said than done, with his fight or flight responses going haywire, and the gentle rocking of the box they were housed in to distract him, constantly reminding him how high up they were. He was shaking somewhat, causing the chilled air from before to not register. Something else, more important, however, didn't either.

"What's that sound?" Daniel asked, snapping the boy from his trance. As he began focusing on that, he realized that it was coming from his pocket. Slowly, he moved his arm in order to dig for whatever it was, pulling out his pink cellphone.

"What kind of retarded ringtone is that?" the Westley boy asked. "Is that that Austra stuff you listen to?"

"Shut up." Kristopherson shushed, pushing the button and placing the device up to his ear. "H-hello?"

"Kristopherson? Where are you?" asked the voice on the other end. The sound of the Phantomhive's voice made Kristopherson utter a massive sigh of relief, somehow. "We've been waiting for almost half an hour."

"W-well, y'see..." the faux-blonde began, having difficulty forming his words. "Long story, short: we're stuck at the top of the Ferris Wheel..."

"Just what I was afriad of..." the bluenette muttered. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. A little bruised, but fine... I think..." Kristopherson replied.

"And Daniel?"

"He's alright, too."

"Except for you feeling me up, earlier." the Westley boy interrupted, causing the Miles lad to shoot him an absolutely rotten look.

"What's the situation down there, Ciel?" asked the pink-loving lad. "Do you know?"

"Not a lot, but the control panel seems to be malfunctioning, and there seems to be something wrong with the gears or the motor, from the sounds of things." Ciel answered. "They've called the fire department to start getting passengers out while they fix it, but I doubt their ladder is tall enough to reach the higher up cars."

"Great." Kristopherson grumbled. "That's us."

"Of course..." the Phantomhive said, fighting off an inevitable headache. "I'll try to figure something out. In the meantime, you'll just have to stay put, but I don't really think you need me to tell you that."

"Can you please just try to get us down?" asked the faux-blonde.

"I'll see what I can do." said Ciel, and with that, he hung up, looking up at the massive structure.

"Let me guess..." Alois began. "They're up there, aren't they?"

"Yeah." replied the bluenette.

"In heaven."

"No." Ciel said, rolling his visible eye. "We've got to figure out how to get them down."

"Why not just climb up there?" asked the blonde menace. "I bet we could."

"Yes, and let's reveal the fact that we aren't human to the entire fair, why don't we?" the bluenette answered.

"Sarcasm is unbecoming of you."

"We need another way..."

"We could just wait until the fix the thing." said Audrey, placing his hands in his pockets.

"That could take hours, Audrey." said Ciel. "The worst-case scenario there, is that they end up spending the night, and that's if the wheel doesn't do something that kills them."

"How could that kill them? It's a Ferris Wheel." the reaper boy replied.

"That thing isn't stopped." said Preston, pointing up. "The motor is still running. Right now, it's just stuck. As soon as the catch let's go, it could fling them around so violently, that they could get severely hurt. It doesn't help that the attendants are messing with the controls, either. They could be trying to increase the speed to get it unstuck, which is bad. That could kill them."

"There's others on that ride, too." said Travis. "Kids."

With that, the bluenette stopped to think, pondering the many different possible scenarios. They could wait for the ride to be fixed, but then again, that could take far too much time. It was very cold out, and it was doubtful that the pair would hudle together for warmth. The fire department was on their way, but their ladder was far too short to reach them. Alois' suggestion to simply go up and get them still stood, but there were too many witnesses. Ciel thought, and thought, and then, he smirked.

The lad took out his cell phone and dialed it, ignoring the stares of the others. Audrey, Preston, and Travis had no idea who the bluenette was talking to, or why. More importantly, they were unsettled by the smirk that graced his face. One lad wasn't. Alois. He knew better. The blonde knew that whoever the boy was talking to, was now going to give them dicretion. When the lad finally stopped talking and put the mobile device away, a smirk of his very own appeared on the blonde's face, his icey blue eyes laughing.

"Who was that?" asked Audrey.

"A friend of mine." Ciel said. "We're actually related, to some extent."

"Whoa! Wait! You have relatives?!" asked Preston, shocked by the news.

"Of course I do. Distant relatives, but they're still relatives." the bluenette answered. "He's my cousin Edward's great, great, etc. grandson. And yes, he's human."

"Is it jolly ol' Rupert?" Alois asked, smiling.

"Yes." Ciel said with a somewhat proud smile of his own. "Sir Rupert Middford, member of the Round Table Conference and important military official."

"What is he going to do?" asked Audrey. "Blow it up with a tank?"

"Better than that." the bluenette replied. "He's going to keep the news at bay. I'll be right back. I need to go to the office and start an evacuation. Alois, you stay here and keep me updated, and also make sure nothing else goes wrong."

"Yes, my master." Alois answered.

"What about us?" asked Preston.

"Same as Alois. Keep everything under control." Ciel said, as he began to walk away. "Also, don't die."

"Wait, wait, wait! What does that mean!?" the Omid lad demanded.

"Whatever it takes." answered the blonde menace, looking up at the wheel.

 


	267. Work On A Weekend UGH

"What the hell are they doing?" asked Daniel, looking down at the people below.

For some reason, it appeared as though the patrons were all heading in one direction, as opposed to the erratic flow of traffic from before. They were all converging to one location on the other side of the grounds, and the Westley boy had no idea why. He stared at them for a while longer, before turning to his friend.

"Hey, Kris, what's off in that direction?" he asked, watching as the boy moved over in his seat in order to look out the window.

"I think that's the way to the exits." the Miles lad replied. He pointed his finger off into the distance. "See? Over there is the Tilt-A-Whirl. We passed it on the way in." After he finished his sentence, he retracted his finger, drawing it closer to himself before rubbing it with his other hand.

Daniel arched an eyebrow as he watched the boy for a moment. Was it just his imagination, or was Kristopherson not looking that well? The faux-blonde's skin was unusually pale, except for his fingers, nose, ears, and lips, which were all now unusually pink. He was very fidgety, in that he was constantly rubbing his hands together, occasionally pausing to blow on them before repeating the process. Kristopherson was sitting oddly as well, with his arms drawn in close, and his back somewhat hunched. It only straightened when the faux-blonde shivered. A grin formed on Daniel's face as he pieced all of it together in his mind.

"You're freezing your ass off, aren't you?" he asked with amusement in his voice. He only became more so as the other boy looked at him, brow furrowed and a prominent frown on his face.

"Shut up." Kristopherson replied. "How was I supposed to know we'd get stuck up here for who knows how long?"

"You wanna to borrow my jacket?" Daniel asked.

"No way. Who knows when the last time you washed that thing was?" Kristopherson replied, not noticing the eye-roll that the other lad was giving him. He looked up again when he felt the car moving a bit, watching as the Westley boy began to take off his jacket.

"What are you-?" The faux-blonde was cut-off when he was hit in the face with a piece of fabric. It landed in his hands, and he looked at it for a moment before looking back up at Daniel confusedly.

"You're supposed to put it on, stupid." Daniel said, pointing to the blue and yellow Warwick Letterman jacket. "Don't argue. Just do it. Who cares about fashion when you're freezing?"

"What about you?" Kristopherson asked. "I can give you my cardigan if you want..."

"I don't need it." Daniel said. "Besides, there's no way I'll wear your gay-ass faerie-thing"

"You just said 'Who cares about fashion when you're freezing'!?"

"I'm not freezing, yet, though. When it gets unbearable, we'll switch. Just put the thing on before I change my mind, Princess." Kristophersin rolled his eyes at the nonsensical lad seated across from him, and slipped the jacket around his shoulders. He shuddered.

"Ugh, it's still warm." the lad said, making a disgusted face.

"At least you're not cold!" Daniel said with a laugh. The two simply sat there in silence for a brief moment, neither knowing what else to say.

"Hey, Dan..." Kristopherson said finally, grabbing the attention of the other.

"Yeah?"

"Is this your way of coming onto me, or something?" The faux-blonde snorted when the Westley boy furrowed his brow, his cheeks slightly pink.

"Piss off!" he shouted, leaning forward instead of standing up in the small space, his facial features exaggerated. "No! NO I AM NOT!"

"Oh, thank heavens!" Kristopherson said, a smile present on his face. "...You're still an idiot. For a second there, you were almost attractive!"

"What the fuck, Kris?!"

"Lighten up, Danny-boy, I'm only messing with you."

"Shut up! You scared me, alright?!"

"What? Did you honestly think you had a chance?"

"NO! AND STOP LAUGHING!"

"Did you hear that?" asked Alois, looking up at the wheel. The rest of the Sensational Seven stood with him, following his eyes after the question and feeling awkward that they were the only ones not leaving the fair.

"Hear what?" asked Preston.

"Never mind. It's probably nothin'." said the blonde menace, turning to see that Ciel had returned. "How goes it?"

"Pretty smoothly, so far." Ciel said, yet a frown persisted on his face. "Unfortunately, though, Rupert gave Sir Integra a call..."

"Oh my god, is she coming to help?" asked Alois.

"No, but she sent a team of her men to keep the news at bay instead of Rupert sending his."

"Why is that a bad thing?" asked Audrey. "If they're with H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G., you won't have to lie to them so you can use your abilities to get everyone down."

"Yes, but now I owe Integra." the bluenette said with a shudder. "Either way, the fair is almost completely clear, except for the staff, but they'll be leaving soon as well. When they do, Alois, I want you to use your vines to get as many people as you can out of there. I'll be helping too, but you can get more out than I can, that way."

"Yes, my master." Alois teased, knowing how much the bluenette hated when he called him that.

"But wait, those people will be able to see you, so what will you do about them?" asked Preston.

"They'll be put into H.E.L.L.S.N.G. custody for a while while they recover from the initial shock." Ciel began. "While they're doing that, I've been working on a spell that can erase certain memories, and replace them with knew ones."

"Isn't that like tampering with a cinematic record?" Alois inquired. "They won't be able to get into heaven if you do that."

"They can." replied the bluenette. "It's kind of like what Sebastian and I did with security at the airport when we went to New York. It only changes what the victim is able to recall, not what the record states happened."

"Damn, you really are Satan." said Audrey.

"Having Dafydd teach you magic was a good idea, huh, Ciel?" Alois asked, smiling at the blunette's frown.

"Just shut up and get to work..."

* * *

 


	268. Spring-Heeled Jim

"Tell me when it's clear." Alois said, pulling the hood of his purple jacket over his head, and ruffling his bangs a bit so his face wasn't entirely visible.

"Just a few more minutes." Ciel replied. His jacket didn't have a hood, so he had to borrow Travis'. The sleeves had to be rolled up, somewhat, and it had to be zipped up, just so it would stay on. The demonic duo hid in the shadows behind one of the nearby rides, just in case they were seen, while the others stood even further back from the wheel, as to not get in the way.

"Pft-!" Alois continued. "That thing is way too big for you."

"Shut up."

"Oh, you're cute. Get over it." the blonde said, looking back toward their target. "What's taking so long? Why can't we just get this over with?"

"We have to make sure everyone is cleared out, so we're seen by only the least amount of people as possible." Ciel answered. "We can't move until I get the call."

"Hmm..." hummed the blonde menace, looking up at the Ferris Wheel. "Hey, Ciel?"

"What?"

"I don't know if my vines can reach that high."

"Well, then only go for the lower cars." said the bluenette. He looked up at the blonde, noting his appearance.

While Ciel wore Travis' black hoodie over his usual black and blue attire, black pants, a blue jacket, and a white dress shirt, the blonde menace wore what looked like an updated version of his old signature outfit. Alois wore a purple hooded jacket, now zipped up only part way, with his green T-shirt peeking out. Black jeans hugged his legs, while ordinary tennis shoes engulfed his feet. This wouldn't have been so odd to the bluenette, had the blonde not put up his hood and messed with his hair, almost making himself resemble a blonde Audrey, only shadier.

"You look like some hoodlum." Ciel said.

"Sexy hoodlum." the blonde corrected with a smile.

Soon, the Phantomhive boy received a text message, conveying that the last civilian had left the fair, aside from the people trapped within the Ferris Wheel. News vans were outside, yet none of them were granted any information, or entrance, as to keep the duo's demonity a secret. With this, they decided that it was time to advance. They did this silently, without a single word.

The demons dashed out into the light, closing the gap between them and the offending Wheel, before each paused for a brief moment to leap as high as they could. It was always somewhat unnerving, being that high up, as most of the time, the lads keep their feet on the ground. Screams were heard as they each landed on top of a metal box, startling the patrons.

They paused for a moment, as Alois tried to use his vines, but alas, they would not reach, just as predicted. He was much too far away from the ground to get any results. He looked up at the car above his, signalling to the bluenette that "Plan A" was not going to work. Ciel signaled back, conveying that he got the message, and giving the OK to move onto "Plan B". This plan consisted of them each taking as many people as they could down, hopefully clearing one car per trip, and then going back up again in order to fetch another group. As the rescued humans tried to leave, they would be held up by H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. troops so that their memories of the "jumping boys" would be deleted or replaced. Alois ducked his head into the car he was standing on.

"¡Hola!"

"AAH!" the people inside screamed, just as the blonde had expected of them.

"Well then..." he said, not quite sure how to respond. "Who wants to get down from here?"

"Are you crazy?!"

"Do you want the honest answer, or the one that I just made up?" asked the demon. "Either way, you're comin' with me."

With that, he grabbed one of the passengers, throwing them over his shoulder, while grabbing the hand of the other with his free hand, causing them to start to plummet toward the earth. Alois was able to hold the second passenger in a manner that wouldn't kill them before his feet hit the ground. The blonde's ears were ringing from the terrified screams of the people he was saving, and as soon as he released them, he felt a stinging sensation as the woman of the pair slapped him before running off with her date.

"You're welcome!" Alois sarcastically shouted after them, rubbing his cheek. With that, Ciel appeared next to him, letting go of his own rescuees.

"Could you please try not to terrify people?" asked the bluenette, placing a hand on his hip.

"You never said anything about that." the blonde said. "You told me to get them out 'as quickly as possible'."

"Because I thought it was obvious." Ciel replied.

"I'm sorry, but I just don't have the people-skills that you do."

"Just try to be more careful. Remember I'm the one who has to rewrite their memories, yes?"

"Uhm... Kris?" spoke Daniel, looking out the window.

"Yeah?"

"I think Alois and Ciel are on their way..."

"Well, it's about time..."

"Kris?"

"What?" the faux-blonde asked, jumping as the Westley lad turned to face him with a look of terror on his face.

"How long have they been able to do **that?** " Daniel asked, pointing downward. Hesitantly, Kristopherson forced himself to follow the lad's finger, and felt his eyelid twitch as he set his sights on the audacious display.

The pair witnessed as the demonic duo jumped up on top of the cars, taking people out of them, kicking and screaming, before jumping back down onto the ground and releasing them. The shear shock of seeing their friends performing such a thing was enough, but their uneasiness only grew as a new thought dawned on them. Their secret was out.

"What the fuck are they thinking?!" asked Kristopherson to no one in particular. "Are they trying to start a nation-wide demon-hunt, or something?!"

"I dunno..." said Daniel, almost spellbound by the sight. "But if it's Ciel and Alois, I'm sure they have a plan." He looked over at the faux-blonde. "They always do."

Kristopherson sat quietly for a brief moment, reflecting on that. As much as he hated to admit, Daniel was right. The demonic duo seldom did something without a purpose, or thought. Even Alois had his own form of logic and reasoning in his silliest of actions. Perhaps it was safe to assume that the two had some form of backup plan, or solution to the problem, but as the faux-blonde watched the demons, he wondered what exactly that would entail.

"What are you doing?" asked Daniel, watching as the other boy started taking off his jacket, before shoving it in the Westley lad's face.

"Here." said the Miles boy. "So they don't think you were being all gay and stuff when they get here."

"Oh... Thanks." the politician's son said, taking back the garment. When he put it back on, however, he wrinkled his nose. "UGH! It's still warm!"

"Now you know how I felt." Kristopherson said.

**THUD!**

"Wassup, playas?!"

"AUGH!" The two boys screamed in surprise when the blonde menace suddenly appeared, peeking in the window.

"Jesus, what is with everyone and yelling at me today, huh?" asked the blonde.

"How long have you been there?!" asked Kristopherson.

"Not that long." Alois casually replied. "So, what's this about something 'still being warm'?"

"What the hell, Trancy?!" demanded the politician's son.

"What? You're the one who shouted it, not me!" Alois said, opening the door of the small metal box. "You coming, or what? I don't have all day."

Both Daniel and Kristopherson went pale at the question. They were at the top of the wheel, which was several stories high, and they would have to place their lives in the hands of the blonde menace for a few terrifying seconds as they plummeted toward the earth at ridiculous speeds. Neither of them wanted to. The very though was horrifying, but what other option did they have?

**THUD!**

Another demon landed on the roof. This time, the bluenette peeked in on the side opposite to the blonde. His face was confused, and somewhat impatient.

"What are you doing?" he asked, arching an eyebrow. "You're the last ones. We need to hurry up and get out of here."

"W-we know... It's just that..." Daniel trailed off.

"L-look, why don't one of you take one of us, and the other takes the other, yeah?" asked Kristopherson.

"Whatever. Just hurry up!" Alois said.

"I call Ciel!" Kristopherson declared, beating the Westley lad to it.

"No fair!" Daniel argued, watching as the faux-blonde crawled over to the Phantomhive boy. "What if Alois drops me?!"

"Hey!"

"No offense, mate."

"You snooze, you loose, Danny-boy!" Kristopherson said, as he latched onto the bluenette.

With one arm, Ciel held onto Kristopherson, and with the other, he held onto the roof. He lingered for only a few moments before letting go, gravity sending both he, and the Miles lad downward. Daniel simply sat and watched them, as they grew smaller and smaller as they neared their destination. He then looked to Alois, who simply shrugged before extending a hand.

"Don't worry Danny." he said. "I'll be gentle."

"One: Don't call me 'Danny', and two: Don't ever say anything like that to me ever again." the Westley boy replied, reluctantly wrapping his arms around the neck of the blonde demon.

"What? No homo." said Alois. "Ready?"

Daniel took in a shaky breath, and held it, closing his eyes and tightening his grip on the demon. Slowly, he nodded, causing the blonde to smile. Alois' grip on the metal box relaxed before disappearing completely.

"Wheeeee~!" Alois shouted, before his feet landed on another car. He took another step before leaping to the next one, slowing his descent just as the bluenette had done with the other human boy.

He tried not to laugh at Daniel when they finally touched earth, given the fact that the boy was practically shaking. Alois almost had to forcibly pry him off, the lad was so frightened. The other lads had to cover their mouths in order to keep from smiling.

"No, Daniel! The only one who's allowed to hold me like that is Ciel!" Alois declared, and immediately, the politician's son let go, incredibly embarrassed.

"Same with you, Kris." he jokingly continued. "Don't you be touching my man, now, y'hear?"

"You mad?" the faux-blonde asked.

"Shut up, faggot."

"You first, queer."

"Looks like we have a bit of a cat-fight, here..." said Daniel.

"But Dan, Kris doesn't like pu-"

"DON'T EVEN GO THERE, ALOIS."

 


	269. We Know

Seasons changed since the incident with the Ferris Wheel, and late Autumn transformed into early winter. Nothing out of the ordinary appeared to be occurring, even as the head of Phantomhive house continuously learned newer and better magic from a certain sorcerer, before in turn, passing on what he knew to the odd sort of "family" he seemed to be forming. The chill that lingered in the air was nothing compared to that of the bluenette, who was starting to become immensely pleased with himself.

He wasn't exactly sure as to why he wanted this power, but he did. This power he was collecting was that in which he could use to better protect his country, his home, his friends, and most of all, this "family" of his that was undoubtedly precious to him, whether he was fully aware of it, or not. Sebastian, who had been by his side this entire time, had grown on him, as well as Luka, who had warmed up to him immensely since that summer. Alois, who he had once despised, was now one of the most important people in his life, in that it was the blonde menace who had seen at his most vulnerable.

It was Alois, who had invaded his mind all those years ago, and peaked at it's contents, gazing upon the memories of the bluenette's past just as Ciel had done with him at the time. He had seen what he was not supposed to have seen; what no one was supposed to have seen, the fact that Ciel could feel things such as fear, sadness, and even guilt. It was also Alois, who had made him become more emotionally vulnerable, as well. The bluenette was left no choice, but to express his feelings, and show the "him" that was supposed to no longer exist; The "Ciel" that had a heart.

His heart grew, accommodating not just Alois, but the other demons as well. The Sensational Seven had also achieved his care, as well as a few others, including colleagues. The bitter, harsh, cruel, "Ciel" from over one-hundred years ago had sweetened, much to his discomfort. He did not like acknowledging these feelings, but he didn't like not having them, either.

Indeed, this little circle of his was constantly changing him, but not in a warped sort of sense. So much has changed in only a few years. As the holidays grew nearer, this became obvious.

"I was thinking we would try to do something for Luka's first twenty-first century Christmas. Any ideas?" he said, shocking his friends, who simply stared back at him in shock.

"Who the fuck are you?!" demanded Daniel, pointing at the bluentte. "What have you done with Ciel!?"

"What?" was all Ciel could say in response.

"Ciel, you're so sweet~!" Alois said in a sing-song voice. "We already put up the tree and stuff. Trust me, that'll be plenty."

"I would expect Ciel to be the Grinch type..." said Kristopherson. "Do demons even celebrate Christmas?"

"Only when there's people to celebrate with." replied the blonde menace. Apparently, before I showed back up, the last time even a wreath was anywhere near Phantomhive manor was back in the 1800s."

"Sebastian insisted." Ciel said, as though he needed to clarify. "It just seems like such a pointless holiday, that I didn't see the point in bothering with it. My attention was better used on Funtom, since Chirstmas is always the busiest time of year for us."

"Yet you want to do something for Luka?" asked Preston.

"Well... He just seems so excited about it, so..." the bluenette trailed off, his cheeks turning pink and his brow furrowing at the sight of the blonde menace smiling at him in an almost silly fashion.

"Maybe we could all have a party, or something?" suggested Daniel.

"Remember Luka is eight, Daniel." said the faux-blonde. "You'd have to behave."

"Just what are you trying to say, Kris?" asked the politician's son.

"I'm saying you're an idiot."

"I'm pretty sure Luka would like the company." said Alois. "He's always wondering when the next time he'll see you all is. He can't go out that much anymore because of his horns."

"Have you tried putting a hat on him?" asked Preston.

"Yeah, but they won't fit on his head!"

"What about a hood?" asked Kristopherson.

"Haven't tried that, yet..." replied the blonde menace. "As for the party, though, unless one of you is willing to provide a place, it has to be approved by Sir Phantomhive, over here."

"I don't mind." said the bluenette. "We can decide a date before then. It would probably be during winter break."

"Oh, I wouldn't be able to go, then." said Audrey, resting his chin in his palm. There was just a slight twinge of disappointment in his voice that could almost go undetected. "I've got family coming over, and they'll be there all during the break. I'm supposed to 'be involved'."

"You're mom's family, or your stepdad's?" asked Preston.

"Both." replied the reaper-boy. "My mom's parents, her brother, and his wife and kids, with my dad's parents, his sister, her husband and their kids. It's going to be awful."

"Whoa, if it's got you sulking, it must be bad." said Daniel.

"I'm guessing that you don't get along with them?" asked Kristopherson.

"Oh, I get along with them just fine." said Audrey, sounding annoyed. It was unusual for him, so it was somewhat unsettling. "It's just that every time they come over, they give us crap for me even existing. My mom's parents are pissed that she had me while she wasn't married, and my dad's don't like it that he married a woman who already had a kid, and that I'm the heir to their company because of it."

"That's bollocks." said the Westley lad.

"In'nt, though?"

"What about the others?" asked Travis.

"The rest of them get along with us just fine." the boy in the skull beanie answered. "My aunt and uncle are nice, and while my cousins are kind of annoying sometimes, they're alright. It's just that my grandparents hate each other and don't like me."

"You hear that, you two?" asked Daniel, looking toward the demonic duo. He startled them, for a moment, before trying to lighten the mood. "When you two start having babies, you need to remember to support their decisions!"

"What the fuck, Dan?!" asked Alois.

"Daniel, what is wrong with you?" Ciel inquired along with him. It made the Baines lad laugh, so while it embarrassed the duo, the Westley boy's joke served it's purpose.

"Hey, you're demons. Demons are weird." he continued, grinning at the pair. "Alois might have some kind of 'mangina' that we don't know about!"

"DANIEL!" Alois warned, his face red, perhaps redder than that of the bluenette.

"Too far." said Ciel.

"Yeah, I gotta agree on that one, Dan..." said Preston. Travis simply nodded.

"Oh my God..." said Kristopherson. "A 'mangina'... I'm not even sure what to think about that..."

"Let's get down to business..." Daniel saing. "...To defeat the huns. Did they send me daughters, when I asked for sons~?"

"Shut up, Daniel!" commanded the blonde menace.

"You're the saddest bunch I've ever met, but you can bet before we're through mister, CIEL will make a man out of you~!"

"I mean it, Daniel!"

"Tranquil as a forest, but on fire within. Once you find your center, you are sure to win. You're a spineless, pale pathetic lot, and you haven't got a clue. Somehow he'll make a man out of you~! Skipping to the chorus!" Daniel continued his singing, while the others stopped their laughing in order to join in.

"Be a man~!" they sang, not caring about the odd looks they were receiving from their classmates.

"You must be swift as the coursing river!"

"Be a man~!"

"With all the force of a great typhoon!"

"Be a man~!"

"With all the strength of a raging fire; mysterious as the dark side of the moon~!"

"Goddammit, Daniel! Shut up before I shut you up!" Alois threatened. It wasn't like him to not be in control of the teasing in the group, and he was not happy about it.

"Whoa, somebody's on their period." said Daniel, putting his hands up defensively. His eyes widened, however, when the blonde menace stood up, placing his hands on the desk in front of him and leaning forward to directly meet the lad's gaze.

 **"Shut. Up."** the blonde ordered between clenched teeth. The look in his eye was enough to scare the Westley boy into heeding his wishes, as the boy slumped down in his seat. Following his actions, Alois sat back down as well, taking his seat next to the bluenette Phantomhive boy.

Ciel arched an eyebrow at the blonde's actions. To him, it was interesting how Alois quickly became so flustered, knowing that he wasn't the kind of person to do so. The observation sparked a bit of amusement in the mind of the bluenette, as well as some curiosity, and something else.

"Sssh... Alois, calm down..." said Kristopherson. "You're turning Ciel on."

"He is not." insisted the bluenette, crossing his arms over his chest.

"And so, the gayness intensifies..." said Audrey.

"That's not the only thing." added Daniel. "...If you know what I mean."

"Yeah... We know..."

* * *

 


	270. Luka Speaks

When I wake up, the house it always lively. Usually, big brother and Ciel are up before me, so they're getting ready for school, while Sebastian helps me get ready so we can drive them. I always have to wear a hood, whenever we go out, because of my horns, but I don't have to wear it in the car, because the windows are " _tinted"_ ; _whatever that means_. The uniforms that the kids at my brother's school wear are so cool. Ciel says that the middle school has one that looks like it, and so does the elementary. I was supposed to start next year, but we're not so sure anymore, 'cause I can't hide my horns, then.

They hurt really bad while they were comin' in, but they don't hurt as bad anymore. They're not like my brother's or Ciel's. They come out, and then move forward, like Jim's, but then they bend backwards, like a sheep's. They're real tiny, right now, but they're supposed to get bigger. They're also supposed to get shinier when I eat a soul, but the doctor says they don't want to let me, just yet. I wonder what they taste like.

After everybody gets dressed, we all climb into " _the Royce",_ which is Sebastian's favourite car. He doesn't like it when there's food in it, or if you put your shoes in the seats. He's funny about it. Sebastian says that he's willing to drive Ciel around, because if he gets a driver's license, he might drive the Royce, and mess it up.

_Oh, I wasn't supposed to tell anyone that..._

Anyway, we always drive big brother and Ciel to school every morning. I have to go too, because I'm not old enough to stay behind at the house yet. It's not bad, though. Riding in the car with everybody is fun! And sometimes, on the way back, Sebastian will stop and get the both of us ice cream.

He always gets vanilla, but I always try to get a different flavour every time, which doesn't always turn out well. If I don't like it, though, Sebastian trades with me. He's well nice like that. Though, I'm starting to run out of new flavours, so I dunno what I'll do when that happens.

_Wait, what was I talking about? Oh yeah!_

When we get home, I usually start my "school" with Sebastian. He teaches me all kinds of things that I'll need to know in order to blend in with humans. He teaches me maths, English, reading, _lots of history_ , and some science. Travis said that I'd start kindergarden, and already know everything, because apparently that stuff is all higher up. No one in our house has ever gone to kindergarten, so I guess Sebastian just didn't know.

It's fun when Travis comes over, though. He always watches me when everyone else is working. He's kinda scary-looking when you first meet him, but he's real nice! We always play together, and he even helps me with reading and stuff. He also knows a lot of neat things about animals, and even about animals I've never heard of!

My big brother's friends are all really nice. Audrey is kind of weird, but he's also really cool. He knows about all kinds of scary legends and stuff, so he always tells them when he's here. Preston knows about robots, and a lot about modern-technology. I swear, if he was evil, he could be like one of the bad-guys on the TV. Daniel's really weird. I don't get a lot of his jokes, but he can be pretty funny. One time, he hit Kristopherson in the butt with a book, and Kris made a really weird noise that sounded like a tiny dog. Kristopherson's really weird, because he acts kind of like a girl. He's really nice, but weird.

Ciel is weirder, though. I can't really ever tell what he's thinking. Sometimes, he looks mad, but isn't, at all, and sometimes, he looks happy, and is _really_ mad. _It's confusing._ He's really nice, though! He let me have my own room here, and even gave me toys and stuff! He's like a _short, blue, grumpy-looking Santa-Claus!_

He looks really young, but he acts like a grown-up. I would think that it was 'cause he's lived for a long time, and really is a grown-up, but my brother says he's always acted like that. He runs the house, owns this really cool toy-business, and works for the government. He's like a real-life spy, or something. He doesn't sound like the kind of person who could exist in real life, but _demons_ aren't supposed to exist either.

I also just can't quit feeling weird about him and my brother. They _kiss and stuff_ , and it's just... _strange._ I didn't know boys could like each other like that. I don't really get it. Still, Ciel makes Jim really happy, so it's fine. It's just a little hard to get used to.

Sometimes, we'll all go to the park and play, when they don't have school. Sebastian and Jim will push me on the swings, and Jim does this thing where he goes up really high on the swings, and then lets go, and it makes him fly really high and far! I wanted to try it, too, but Sebastian said it wasn't a good idea.

We'll also play tag, and hide-and-seek, but Sebastian always wins. We have no idea how he does it. Maybe he'll teach me, some day.

We have lots fun! I really like living here with everybody and trying new things every day. I wouldn't trade it away for anything. Not even ice cream!

 


	271. Free Willy

Warwick Academy: perhaps the finest learning establishment in the entire United Kingdom. It was difficult to think of a single school that could second it, as Warwick could not be bested by just any school. Warwick Academy was were the upper class of England and the surrounding countries sent their children to be educated in the ways of Literacy, Maths, Social Studies, Science, as well as in business, in preparation for their futures. The Academy also focused on culture and athletics. With unbeatable sports teams and fine arts programmes, combined with their academics, school system, staff, right down to the building everything took place in, Warwick simply could not be bested.

The fine-arts, was something that many students participated in, some more than others. Alois was one of the children who enjoyed art class, if not for the sole fact that he could play with things and make messes while being praised for doing so. Sadly, however, he was alone in this class, without his beloved Ciel, and all of his friends. All of them, but one, that is.

Kristopherson Miles, too, was a fan of the arts, but not for the messes he could make or the praise he could get, but for the sake of seeing his creations take form. He, too, was in this classroom with the blonde menace, being the only one capable of even attempting to make the Trancy lad behave. In fact, he spent much of his time doing so, as the blonde played with paint.

"What are you doing?" asked the boy in the pink tie, as the other dipped his finger in paint and drew on the table.

"Painting Jesus." Alois replied, continuing his work.

"On the table?"

"Yes, well, while I was working on this thing..." the blonde began, gesturing to the canvas that he was supposed to be painting, "...A few drops got on the table, and totally looked like Jesus. I'm just finishing it."

"Clean it up before the teacher sees." Kristopherson said, letting out a sigh.

"Fine, but first, you need to see it." the blonde menace replied, and with a roll of his eyes, Kristopherson reluctantly walked over to the boy's side, and glanced over the painting.

"Oh my God, it's Jesus..." he said, staring at the crude purple graffiti.

"I know, right?" Alois answered, prompting the boy in the pink tie to look up. It was then that he saw just what it was that the blonde was actually making.

"What on earth is that?" he asked.

"Don't like it?" the blonde inquired. " It's an abstract painting."

"It looks awful..."

"That's because it isn't done, genius."

Kristopherson simply stared at it for a moment. He said: "It looks like you're just randomly slapping paint onto a canvas..."

"But I'm doing it with feeling, Kris. With feeling." Alois answered, dipping his paint brush into some green paint, and flinging it onto his progress without even looking.

"You're so full of shit." Kristopherson said, or tried to before a bit of paint landed on his cheek.

"Problem, mister Miles?" the blonde menace smirked, amused by his friend's frown. Kristopherson dipped his finger into some red paint, and smeared it on the other boy's cheek.

"Now I am." he said, arching an eyebrow as Alois dipped his finger into some more paint. The lad brought his hand up to the faux-blonde's forehead, before scribbling on it, occasionally pausing to go for more paint. When he finished, he took a step back and admired his work. His friend was unconcerned until he laughed. It was then that the boy in the pink tie became concerned.

"What did you do?!" Kristopherson demanded, refraining from yelling as to not draw the instructor's attention.

"There's a dirty word on your face." the menace replied, struggling to hold in his giggles.

"What word?"

"'Fuck'."

"GET IT OFF OF ME."

Alois shrugged, and brought his hand to the Miles lad's forehead again, this time, trying to wipe away the offending word. All he really did was smear it, however, further digging himself into a hole. He then licked his hand, and brought it back up to the other boy's head in order to hopefully get rid of it, but he was stopped.

"Don't you dare touch me with that." Kristopherson warned.

"Well, then, what do you propose I do?" asked Alois.

"Go ask the teacher if we can go wash it off." the boy in the pink tie replied.

"Why me?"

"Because I don't want to have to explain why my forehead is green."

"Fair enough."

It was with great reluctance that the art instructor released the boys in order to rid Kristopherson of his unwanted and abnormal pigment. The faux-blonde walked the entire way to the boy's bathroom while covering his forehead with his palm, all while ignoring Alois' laughter. He became even more angry, however, when they arrived, and he looked in the mirror.

"I look like bloody Shrek!" he declared, furrowing his brow at the blonde menace.

"Oh my God, yes!" Alois giggled. "That is a beautiful comparison!"

"Shut up, 'Donkey'." Kristopherson replied, faking a Scottish accent to the best of his ability. He grabbed a paper towel, and held it under a faucet, before bringing the wet disposable towel up to his forehead and wiping it. Fortunately, the paint hadn't dried yet, so he didn't have to scrub it very hard.

Alois, too, took this opportunity to wash the paint off of his own face. After he was done, he looked over and saw that Kristopherson was almost there as well, so he waited on the other boy to finish so they could go back to class. He became confused, however, when the boy walked away from the sink and over to the strange installations on the walls.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"I have to take a piss." answered the boy in the pink tie, as he undid the zipper on the front of his pants.

"So that's what those things are for!" Alois said aloud, speaking as though he had reached some sort of epiphany. Urinals were not commonplace in his era, and no one had ever explained the purpose of those odd devices on the wall that only vaguely resembled a toilet.

"You seriously don't know what a urinal is?" asked Kristopherson, looking over his shoulder.

"Time-traveler? Hello~?" Alois replied, pointing at his own face. "How was I supposed to know? I didn't even know what they were called until you said that."

"Listen, I don't mean to be a drag, or anything, but can we please finish this conversation later? I'm trying to pee."

"Isn't it a bit weird to just whip your dick out, like that, though?"

"Shut up! I need to go!"

"But your dick is out!"

"You want me to piss my pants?!"

"No!" Alois argued. "Your penis is out in public!"

"Then go wait outside, dumbass!"

After that, it was silent. Kristopherson simply assumed that the menace had taken his advice and left. Thus, he resumed his business. Little did he know, however, that he was wrong, and that the blonde menace was actually much closer than he had thought.

"Oh my God, Kris!" Alois said suddenly, nearly scaring Kristopherson half to death.

"What?!" the faux-blonde demanded.

"Your dick is huge!" the Trancy boy shouted, causing the other boy's face to change into a deep scarlet.

"Pervert!" Kristopherson accused. "Stop looking at it!"

"Then don't have it out!" argued the blonde menace.

"Leave me alone!"

"Then put that monster away!"

"I have to pee!" Kristopherson said.

"That thing will destroy Tokyo if you let it go free!"

"Shut up!"

"Hurry up, 'Long-Schlong Silver'! We need to get back to class!" Alois declared.

"What the fuck, Alois?!"

"Shut up and finish your piss, 'Megadong'! I am offended by that thing!"

"Bullshit, you faggot! You're the one staring at it!"

"No, I ain't!" spoke the blonde menace. "Your foot-long penis is staring at me!"

"What the hell?! It's only six inches!"

"Six inches?! Bloody hell, that's not normal!"

"Shut up!"

"'Free Willy'!"

"Go away!"

"Phallic malice!"

"That's it! I give up! I'll go later!" Kristopherson declared, fastening his trousers and walking over to the sink to wash his hands, grumbling the entire time.

"I am so telling Ciel on you, Alois." he said, grabbing another paper towel.

"What?!" the blonde menace asked, it now being his turn to blush. "Why?!"

"I'm going to tell him how violated I feel after being sexually harassed!"

"Oh, come on, i-is that really necessary?"

"YES."

"I prefer his, anyway." said Alois, placing his hands on his hips. "It's perfect, while yours is an absolute monstrosity."

"SHUT UP!"

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I forgot how crude they were... Also, I forgot how many terrible words they used... Man, they've grown up a lot since this point... They would never call each other by those terms now... That really kind of bothers me, actually... Basically, I based these kids around the teenage boys at my school. The way they talk is based almost entirely around that. Grow the fuck up, you brats. Get a job. Pay taxes!
> 
> Until the next chapter, my duckies...


	272. RAH! RAH! RAH!

Warwick Academy! The creme de la creme of education in the United Kingdom. This school has molded the sons and daughters of the upper class into the successful individuals that they are today, or will be tomorrow. Yes, it is once again here that we make our scene on this day.

Many tan brick buildings covered the large campus, each specializing in a different subject. The math classes are in the math building, the English, and language classes are in the literacy building, the science classes in the science building, the art classes in the art building, and so on. As you can imagine, this involves quite a bit of walking to get from place to place, and it is for this very reason that high-heels are against school dress-code!

On this particular day, however, students journeyed to the rugby field, on the West side side of the campus in order to participate in one of the most common, and exciting of high-school events: a pep-rally. Navy and Gold decorated the campus as the final game of the year grew nearer. Why, even the Griffin statue at the school's centre was decorated in the school's colours, with streamers, and even a small party hat on the top of it's head.

Children shivered from the cold, as they impatiently waited for the event to start. Most of them didn't actually want to be there, but they did want out of their afternoon classes. Luckily for Kristopherson, unlike the cardigan he wore during the "Ferris Wheel" incident, he was actually wearing a coat, and it was the Westley lad who was freezing, as his Warwick jacket simply wasn't enough, even with his scarf. He especially wanted this even to be over.

"This is so boring." Audrey said, his elbow resting on his knee, and his chin resting in his palm, as he sat on the bleachers. "I wonder how many people actually come to these things to 'support their team'."

"That would be around precisely zero-percent." answered Preston with a smile.

"Yeah, not even the cheerleaders want to be here." said the blonde menace, leaning on the shoulder of his bluenette beau. He took the hand that wasn't occupied by the other lad's out of his pocket, and pointed at one of the girls. "I mean, look at 'em! They must be freezing half to death in those skimpy little skirts!"

"One of those skimpy cheerleaders is my sister, Alois." Kristopherson said, looking over to his sibling. He chuckled. "You're right though. I'm probably going to be hearing her complain about it after school."

"In'nt, though?" replied the blonde menace before snuggling back into the Phantomhive boy's side.

Ciel wasn't nearly as secretive about their relationship anymore. In fact, it would seem as though he had grown quite accustomed to it. He would hold hands with Alois, and allow the other boy to embrace him in public, sometimes even going as far as giving him a quick peck on the lips.

Yes, it was with Alois, that the Phantomhive lad felt the most at ease, while it was with Alois, that he was the most vulnerable. At the same time, however, it oddly made him feel a bit more at ease, having his icy heart embrace some warmth. That contact that he was denied, and denied himself was comforting, and he didn't want to let it go.

Still, he did feel a little self-conscious about what other people thought, but here, at Warwick, no one would bother him about it. He was Ciel Phantomhive, after all; one of the scariest students at the Academy. Not even teachers would mess with either he, or the blonde menace, save for one Mister Irons.

It was just normal for them, now. Their feelings hadn't waned, and they still felt butterflies every once and a while. They were just comfortable with it.

"Augh! My ass is gonna freeze off!" Daniel declared to no one in particular, complaining about the cold metal bleacher-seats. "When is this crap over with?"

"It hasn't even started yet, you twit!" replied a certain lad in a pink tie.

"Ugh!" Daniel groaned.

"It doesn't start for another fifteen minutes." added Travis.

"UGH!" Daniel groaned again, pressing his arms close to his body for extra warmth. "My ass can't handle this kind of abuse!"

The lad's brow furrowed, and his already pink-from-the-cold cheeks turned pinker when the true-blonde and the faux-blonde chuckled at his comment, while the bluenette simply rolled his eye. "NOT LIKE THAT!"

"You set yourself up for that one, Daniel." spoke Ciel, turning his gaze back to the field. "I've never really understood the point in these things. They're not going to sell any more tickets to the game, this way."

"Maybe it's a 'just for fun', thing?" suggested Preston.

"You think sitting on cold bleachers and watching something you don't really care about is 'fun'?" asked the bluenette.

"Nope." said Audrey. "It makes me hope that one of the cheerleaders accidentally gets dropped, or a rugby player trips."

"Now that, I can understand." Ciel replied.

The thought left him, however, as the team made their way onto the field, and the band began to play. The booming of the drums shook the ground, making one able to feel the Warwick "Fight Song". It's tune was similar to many other schools, but it was always arranged slightly differently each time. Ciel had heard it countless times before, already. It was a tune composed specifically to make one become excited, whether they cared about the sport, or not. That was simply what bands were for.

"Hey, Preston, aren't you in the band?" asked Alois, looking over to the Indian lad. Preston simply smiled.

"No, I'm in the Orchestra." he replied. "Marching bands don't have violins."

"I didn't know you were in a club."

"I am." said Preston. "Travis is in one too. He's in the Gardening Club."

"I tried the Photography Club." said Audrey. "Didn't like it."

"But you love taking pictures?" said Travis.

"I didn't like being told what to take pictures of by the Journalism Club." said the boy in the skull-beanie. Alois sat simply sat there, and took in this information, feeling odd for having nothing to add. He smiled, however, when he came up with a silly suggestion.

"Maybe next year, I should try out for the Rugby team~!" he said, causing the others to laugh.

"Are you serious?" Daniel said, finally. "You? And Rugby?"

"What? What's so weird about that?" Alois asked, his smile never fading.

"You would destroy them." said Ciel, causing some of the laughter to die down a bit.

"He's totally right." said Audrey. "That's a bad idea."

"On the bright side, though, Warwick wouldn't lose during the entire season." joked Preston.

"You know what's even better than Alois joining the Rugby team?" asked Daniel.

"What?"

"Kristopherson joining the rugby team." With that, the lads burst out into laughter, imagining the faux-blonde playing perhaps one of the most violent sports played in Western Europe. All of them, except for Kristopherson.

"Why's that funny? I could kick some ass." he protested, feeling as though his status as a man had been challenged.

"Face it, mate, you'd be complaining about getting your uniform dirty the entire time." joked Daniel.

"Dirty with the blood of his enemies." said Alois in a serious voice. "What would concern me, is Kristopherson in the locker rooms." The other lads were laughing while clutching their sides, imagining the shear awkwardness of that scenario.

"No, but seriously..." Alois continued. "He might accidentally club someone to death with his megadong."

"You're never going to let that go, are you?" asked Kristopherson, rubbing his temples and sinking into his seat from embarrassment.

"Your megadong?" asked Daniel.

"NO!"

"Can we please stop talking about this?" asked Ciel, rubbing his forehead. He knew Alois didn't really mean anything by it, but, and while he will never admit, it still bruised his ego, somewhat.

"Looks like someone's jealous." said Audrey, prompting a few teasing "oohs" from the other lads.

"I am not."

"It's okay, Ciel." said the blonde menace, smiling as he rested his head on the bluenette's shoulder. "You'll always be my favourite."

He raised his eyebrows when the bluenette gave his hand a slight squeeze, and looked up to see the other lad's eye looking at him, while his head was still pointed in the direction of the field. The blonde couldn't help but find him cute, with his face slightly flushed. The bluenette's odd actions made a giggle bubble up from the Alois' throat.

"...And my only." the blonde added, pecking the bluenette on the cheek. The other lads simply stared at the demonic duo, feeling extremely, and unbearably, awkward.

"I think I'm going to vomit." spoke a certain politician's son while making choking sounds.

"That was so gay, I think I'm seeing rainbows." said Audrey, blinking.

"You're just jealous 'cause you think we're cute." Alois said, not noticing the tall figure that stood in the aisle on the opposite side of the bluenette until he saw the expressions on his friend's faces. The other lads looked frightened, gazing past the blonde, and out of curiosity, Alois turned his head in order to follow their line of vision. Immediately, he wished he hadn't.

"Mister Trancy, I would advise you to keep your displays of affection outside of school, is that understood?" said the low, growl-like voice of the man.

It was Mister Irons, who stood there, hands behind his back, leaning forward at the waist in order to better stare the boy down. His looked exactly the same as when he was the Seven's homeroom teacher. His brow mean, and his cheekbones prominant with a frown seemingly placed permanantly on his face. His short, red hair stood out, yet was somehow muted by the brown suit-jacket he wore. He looked so much like his son, Nigel, and so different, at the same time. He certainly didn't look nearly as friendly.

"Sorry, sir." Alois said, with a nervous laugh. Few people could intimidate the menace, but Mister Irons was one of them.

"So, how's Nigel?" he continued, letting out a sigh of relief as he noticed the man's face soften, somewhat.

"He's doing just fine." replied the teacher, straightening his back. "He's started his new school, and is doing well."

"Where does he go to school?"

"Weston." the man answered. "We just can't afford the tuition, here."

"Does he know Oliver Midford?" asked Ciel, stepping into the conversation.

"Yes, I believe that's one of his friend's names. Why?"

"He's a distant relative of mine, on my father's side." the bluenette answered, confused for a moment when he was met with silence.

"Don't worry, he's human." he added.

"Oh, sorry. I was just confused." said Mister Irons. "How's Luka?"

"He's fit as a fiddle~!" declared Alois in a sing-song voice. "His horns are coming in, though, so he's been having headaches."

"Poor thing." the teacher replied. "He's a good kid. I hope he feels better soon-" The man's attention was suddenly grabbed by two boys, elsewhere in the stands, shouting rude things at the cheerleaders. He sighed.

"I better go stop this..." he said. "It was good to see you boys again." and with that, he left to go menace a different set of children.

"Why the hell wasn't he that nice when we were actually in his class?" asked Daniel, rubbing his arms in hopes of warming himself up. There was a slight pause before anyone spoke.

"I think it might be because he wanted us to do well, and didn't know how else to make us." said Ciel, watching as Mister Irons dragged a boy out of the stands by pinching his ear.

He liked this place. He liked seeing his friends, and he liked the atmosphere of this school, in particular, out of all of the schools he's been to. The thought of leaving it upon graduation actually saddened him, somewhat. He would graduate, and they would all scatter. Even if he did keep in touch with them, they would only grow old, and die. Yes, that was a thought that saddened him, deeply.

At the very least, there was one person who wouldn't. He was the one person whom the bluenette was closest to. That person was seated on the cold bleachers with him, and watching the field with mild interest. It was the blonde menace, who was curled up against him.

 


	273. An Accident Waiting To Happen

Books were thrown down on a small desk at the home of a certain sorcerer, as Dafydd Blake began to tear through one after the other in order to solve his current dilemma. Yes, it was no secret that the lad held certain affections for another lad, who went by the name of "Alois", but it was also no secret, that the heart of blonde menace, belonged to another. Frustrating, it was, to long for someone who doesn't return your feelings. Painful, it was, to see them happy in the arms of another, especially, if the person they adored was deemed "unworthy" by the hopeless suitor.

Thus, tired of the fruitless flirting, and the wasted, and downright _ignored_ advances, the young sorcerer decided to approach this problem in the only manner he knew how: _with magic._ Book after book, he read; page after page. Some of them old, some of them not, some of them in different languages, while some had no words at all, yet all of them, no matter what, said the same thing:

" _'You can never force someone to love you, and if you try, regardless of this, and call out the name of that person, it will surely backfire- blah, blah, blah, blah...'"_ the sorcerer half read, half ignored, leaning on his desk, with his chin in his palm. This was _not_ what the boy wanted to hear.

Who was this book, telling him what he can, and cannot do? He was a _master of magic;_ a " _magister magica_ ". Certainly, he knew more about magic than one silly book did. The instructions were just _guidelines,_ and surely, they could be tweaked in order to meet the needs of the user.

With that, he kicked the deck, sending his rolling chair, wheeling towards the large shelf in his room. He rolled up his sleeves before grabbing a few items, and then he kicked the shelf and went rolling back to his desk. He put the ingredients down, listing them off as he read them from the page.

"Pink candle, mint, aracia, thyme, some copper coins, some chalk..." he said aloud before opening a drawer on his desk and pulling out some matches.

He lit the candle, and cleared off a space on his desk. With the chalk, he drew a circle before placing a burner in the center of it. He left his room, but a few minutes later, he returned with a small pot of water, and placed it over the small fire.

It was around then that the muttering began. He muttered and mumbled, pausing to look back at the book for a moment or so, while he added the ingredients, including a few others. Once he was satisfied with his swill, he opened another drawer in his desk, and pulled out a small dagger made of topaz, and began stirring with it.

"Scientia de anima!" he said, calling forth his power. The small circle on the desk began to glow, and the flame on the small, pink candle flickered and danced from the winds called forth from places unknown.

"O Aphrodite, dea amoris, volo audire? Domine, Venus, si consideretur hoc concedentes cor meum verberans Romanorum? O Hathor o Heraclitus, tu mihi concedas, homo simplex, et misericordiam volui? O decus, o passionem, volo enim aliud quam Alois Trancy!"

With that, a small puff of pink smoke in the shape of a ring came forth from the pot, the lights faded, and the winds died down. Dafydd took the dagger out of the pot, and tapped it on the rim, knocking off any extra droplets of potion before sniffing it. The sorcerer smiled to himself, knowing that the potion was a success, as he wiped off the instrument with a cloth.

The lad was humming, as he went back over to his shelf, scooting items out of the way with his hand, before his fingers finally curled around a small bottle. It was small enough to fit in his palm, and relatively clean on the inside. It was the outside that was covered in dust. There were many things that magic can solve, but a filthy room is not one of them.

The bottle was soon filled with potion, and the pot was covered, as the sorcerer walked over to the edge of his bed, sitting down. He held the bottle up to eye-level, feeling the warmth radiating through it and watched as light from the fixture above him seeped past the liquid inside. This liquid would help him obtain the heart of the blonde menace, for sure, he was absolutely certain.

He let out a small chuckle before setting the bottle down on his nightstand. Dafydd sat for a few moments longer, before reaching behind his head to unfasten his ponytail, and getting up to prepare for bed. Tomorrow was going to be an exciting day, as it was the day that Alois would finally be his.

The very next day, he went to school as he normally would, a smile wide on his face. He sat down in his usual seat, and waited for the blonde menace. Anxiously, he continuously looked around the room, his eyes often fixating on the door that he knew the blonde would walk through. It was then that he had a horrible realization that made his heart sink.

How was he going to get the blonde to drink the potion?

Dafydd involuntarily slammed his forehead against the surface of his desk. The stinging sensation he was now feeling did nothing to drown out his anger at his own stupidity. The sorcerer grit his teeth, and stared at the bottle on the table in front of him, as if it held the answer. He was so focused on this, that he jolted in surprise when he felt something hit his outstretched leg as it sat in the aisle between the desks.

CRASH!

The sound of glass shattering echoed throughout the room. Dafydd blinked, and missed the entire thing happening. The bottle that was on the desk was no longer there, and fingers grasped at the corner of it, as if the person they belonged to was trying to steady themselves before they fell.

A pang of guilt ran through the sorcerer-boy as he saw them. His stomach did flips, however, when he looked down in the floor to see who they belonged to. It was Alois, who laid there, glass and potion mixed in his flaxen locks.

"Oh my God, are you okay?!" asked Dafydd, trying to help the boy up. His eyes widened when he saw that the blonde was bleeding.

"I'm so sorry!H-here, let me help you-" he was cut off, as his chin was held between the blonde's index finger and his thumb. A blush formed on Dafydd's face when he was the blonde's smile, and the look in his eye.

"Only if you'll kiss it for me." Alois replied in a seductive tone, his face close to the sorcerer's.

Dafydd's heart jumped for joy. His plan, albeit not in the way he intended, was a success!

The happiness he felt was short-lived, however, as a chill ran down his spine. Soon, the blonde was yanked away from him, and who was the culprit? None other than the blue devil, himself, Ciel Phantomhive. The bluenette glared daggers at the sorcerer, as if he was trying to kill him with his eye.

That boy was the only one in Dafydd's way, before, but not anymore. That blush on the blonde's face, that sultry look in his icy-blue eyes, that smile, that oh-so seductive tone that effortlessly escaped his lips, at that moment, they were not for the bluenette. They were Dafydd's. The wizard stood up, looking down on the bluenette with a smirk. Alois was now his. He had won.

"Why, hello, there, 'Satan'." he said in a cheerful, and yet patronizing tone. "How are things?"

"Don't touch him again." the bluenette said, wasting no time to beat around the bush.

"Oh, no, no, no, mister Phantomhive." Dafydd replied, wagging his finger in the other boy's face. "I believe you are mistaken. It was him, who was coming onto me."

"Don't flatter yourself, there's no way tha-mmphf!" The bluenette was cut short when his lips were assaulted by the blonde menace, and right in front of everyone! A blush formed on his face as Alois' arms snaked their way around his waist, his hands resting just above his buttocks. Soon, however, common sense kicked in, and Ciel pushed against the boy's shoulders, separating their faces, yet the blonde's grip on him still remained strong.

"What are you doing?!" the bluenette demanded, almost overwhelmingly embarrassed. At first, he tried to glare at the other boy, but his eye widened when he saw the blonde's face.

That was not the face of Alois, even when he was being flirtatious. Alois had never made that face before even the Phantomhive lad before. The blonde's visage was dazed, almost entranced, with a distant look in his eye and a weak smile on his face. One might mistake this as the look of a drunkard, but no, this was far from it. IT disappeared from the bluenette's field of vision, as the blonde leaned in to whisper in his ear.

"Hey, there, 'Papa-bear'..." Alois said in a breathy voice, sending shivers down the other lad's spine. Still, Ciel knew better. He knew where he was. He knew he needed to put a stop to this, whatever it was.

"Get off." he said, in as firm a tone as possible. The blonde simply hummed in response.

"But I don't want to..." he said, licking the shell of the bluenette's ear. Now that, was a sensation that brought back memories.

"Stop it, Alois." the bluenette ordered. "Whatever you're trying to do, stop i-" Ciel tensed up, his face turning red, as the blonde had taken his earlobe in his mouth, nibbling on it, and occasionally running his tongue in circles around the bluenette's earring. All the sensational seven could do was watch in complete shock and embarrassment, before the scene. That is, until Audrey finally saw the desperate look on Ciel's face, beckoning for assistance.

"What the hell has gotten into you, Alois?" Audrey asked, tearing the blonde from the Phantomhive lad's frame. His eyes widened, and his expression morphed into an odd combination of shock, and disgust, as the menace cupped his cheeks with his hands, all while letting out a small giggle.

"Aw~! Did you want some, too, Bones~?" the blonde cooed.

"Fuck no, I don't!" Audrey said, grasping at the other boy's hands in an attempt to pry him off. "Sorry, but I don't swing that way!"

Next, it was Kristopherson, who saved the day, granting Audrey a narrow escape from perhaps the most awkward moment of his life. The faux-blonde held the Trancy lad by his underarms, denying Alois the ability to grasp at him, while holding him off of the ground. He frowned.

"Hey, dumbass, don't you think it's kind of, oh, I dunno, messed up to just randomly try to molest people in public, and in front of your damn boyfriend, no less?!" he asked, his cheeks turning pink when Alois turned his head to face him.

"Huuuuh~?" the blonde wasn't really listening. "Hey Kris, did you know you have really pretty eyes?" Alois let out a small grunt of surprise the the Miles boy dropped him, simply allowing his dazed and confused self to hit the ground.

"Alois, what the fuck is wrong with you?!" asked Daniel, and it was with those words that the sorcerer's stomach sank. It all was his fault.

 


	274. Kiss-Crazy Fool O Mine

"Let's get him out of here." suggested Dafydd.

It was his fault that the blonde menace was in his current condition. Obviously, something was wrong, as Alois was now fawning over practically anyone within arms reach. Perhaps disregarding the instructions was a bad idea, after all...

"Let's get him cleaned up." the sorcerer continued, earning a hateful glare from the Phantomhive lad.

Ciel grabbed his blonde beau by the arm, and helped him back up as gently as he could, but as soon as Alois was up on wobbly legs, he latched onto the bluenette, wrapping his arms around his neck, and leaning his head against his shoulder. In response, the bluenette started picking glass out of the boy's hair.

"I guess you're right..." he mumbled, knowing that it was best to remove Alois from the room before the teacher saw him in this state. Surely they would think he was intoxicated.

"Okay. You do that, and I'll work on a way to reverse the potion." Dafydd answered, turning to walk away, but stopping as soon as his own words registered in his mind. His body tensed up as he felt the evil aura radiating at his back. Ciel was furious.

"You... did... this?" he spoke between clenched teeth. If it weren't for the fact that he was propping the blonde menace up at the moment, surely, he would have decked the sorcerer square in the jaw.

"Yes, I know." said Dafydd. "Just... come out in the hallway so we can discuss this, alright?"

"You're a sick bastard, Daffy." said Daniel, his expression just as angry and disgusted as the rest of the seven's.

"That's not what it was supposed to do! Just come on, so I can explain!"

With that, Dafydd, the demonic duo, Kristopherson, Daniel, and Audrey ventured out into the hallway, leaving Preston and Travis in the classroom, as they didn't want to "get in trouble". They were already in trouble, or rather, Dafydd was, and the demonic duo were, too. Ciel was having trouble maintaining his fury, as the blonde menace continued to pester him, yet he still maintain a glare that fixated on the sorcerer, demanding an explanation. Naturally, Dafydd was hesitant, but he had to speak, regardless.

"I tried to make a love potion." he said, laying all of his cards out on the table. There was no point in hiding anything, and if he had, and the bluenette discovered this, he would most likely be destroyed on the spot.

"You what!?"

"Please let me finish before you erupt into a fit of rage, Phantomhive." he continued. "I don't know how it got in his system without him drinking it. I think it might have gotten into his cuts from the glass, or something. Maybe it can be absorbed through skin? Who knows? All I know, is that I need to go home and figure out how to cure this!"

"Great, and then I'm going to kill you." the bluenette said.

"Whoa, do you know how messed up that is?!" asked Daniel. "That's like, mind-control and brain-washing!"

"Seriously, that's wrong." Kristopherson added, stabbing his index finger into Dafydd's chest, forcing him to back up as the faux-blonde spoke. "Alois loves Ciel, and you just tried to take that away from him? Alois was happy! And you know what? If Ciel doesn't kill you, I will!"

Dafydd's eyes widened at the Miles lad's words. He was right, after all. The sorcerer was so caught-up in the one-sidedness of his affections, that he forgot the most important element: The feelings of the one he admired. If he truly cared about Alois, he would have placed the blonde's feelings first. If he truly cared, why would he force Alois away from the one who made him happy, and into a false romance? That wasn't right. Why couldn't he see it, before?

Dafydd looked down at the ground, and spoke in almost a whisper: "I'm sorry..."

"You had better be." said the boy in the pink tie. When he turned away, the sorcerer spoke again.

"I'll make things right again, though!" He then turned in the opposite direction, and dashed down the hallway, still shouting. "You'll see!"

The others watched him for a moment before turning back to each other. Soon, however, Daniel smiled and said: "Damn, Kris, remind me not to piss you off!"

"I could..." the faux-blonde replied, folding his arms, "...But you would forget and do it anyway."

"Cieeeelll~!" whined the blonde, dragging the others from their thoughts. They looked over to see the bluenette trying to keep the blonde menace from doing anything he would regret.

"C'mon, Ciel, I just want a kiss~!"

"'No' means 'no', Alois!" Ciel answered, his face flushed, as he held the blonde away by his shoulders. This, of course, didn't create enough of a gap so that Alois couldn't touch the bluenette. The menace half-heartedly furrowed his brow, and curled his fingers around the other lad's blue tie, before tugging on it, trying to force him closer.

"Why are you being so stubborn?" the blonde asked, his tone seductive. "You know it'll feel good in a minute..."

Kristopherson choked on his own spit at that remark, his face turning a little pink from the sight. The sound caused the Trancy boy to look in his direction, dazed and confused, but then, a smile formed on his face, and he let go of the bluenette's tie.

It would appear that his attention shifted, as he stopped trying to latch himself onto the bluenette for a moment, and began to walk toward the faux-blonde. It was easy, as Ciel had been pushing him away, rather than retraining him. With every step Alois took forward, Kristopherson took one back, until the menace suddenly moved, grabbing the human's wrists and holding them above his head, pinning the boy to the wall.

"Hey, Kris~..." Alois purred. The Miles lad didn't reply, but instead tried to wrestle his way out of the blonde's grip. No dice.

"Let go, Alois." he warned, summoning as stern of a voice he could, but it was lacking the sort of authority that the bluenette possessed. His body tensed as the blonde ignored his order, grabbing the pink-loving lad's chin with the index finger and thumb of his free hand, and leaned closer. Krisotpherson's eyes widened for a brief moment, but quickly snapped out of his shock.

"Alois..." he said. "I'm so sorry for this..."

With that, he swung his leg forward with all of his might, kicking the Trancy lad right between his legs. Daniel and Ciel both winced at the sight, as Alois, himself, groaned in pain, his grip relaxing a bit while he was otherwise distracted. Kristopherson managed to get one hand free, and with it, he freed the other, and escaped to his comrades in bearing arms against this kiss-crazy fool.

With a pout, the blonde looked at them. He had obviously recovered quickly. Alois once again, walked toward the boy in the pink tie, but this time, Daniel stood in his way, slamming his palms against the Trancy's shoulders in order to stop him. Yet, the blonde did not.

Instead, his attention shifted to the politician's son, as he wrapped his arms around Daniel's waist, smirking when the lad's face turned red, and he completely froze. It was Audrey, who saved the lad's problems from progressing any further, by swiftly punching the blonde in the face.

Alois let go, allowing a rush of relief to wash over the Westley lad. Audrey raised his fists, getting ready to fight the flaxen-haired teen, to which Alois had the audacity to smile at. He righted himself, keeping himself from falling over, and said:

"That hurt, Audrey. I didn't know you liked it rough." The reaper-boy shuddered with disgust and discomfort, but didn't back down.

"Sorry, mate, but you know I like girls." replied Bones. With that, he took a step forward, swinging his arm as he did and aiming it straight for the blonde's face. Ciel took a step forward as well, reaching out to stop the confrontation, but it was too late.

Bones' wrist was grabbed before he could hit anything at all, and with it, he was spun around so that his back was facing the blonde, who held the boy's arm behind his head. Alois wrapped his free arm around the lad's waist, immediately making him claw at it with his own free arm, as he frantically tried to escape.

"What the fuck!? Let me go!" he shouted, surprised when he actually felt Alois' grip weaken. He wiggled the rest of the way out of the blonde's grip, turning to see what had happened.

It was Ciel, who held the blonde's chin in his hand, turning it around to face him. It was Ciel, who held his face inches apart from the other boy's. Yes, it was Ciel, who had made the menaces' attention shift.

"I'm going to call Sebastian." the bluenette said. "There's no way he can stay here, like this."

"What do you want us to do, then?" asked Daniel, still recovering from the shock of everything that just took place.

"Go back to class." Ciel replied, keeping just enough distance from the blonde to keep his focus. "Unless, of course, you'd like Alois to unwittingly molest you?"

"No way." said Daniel.

"Nope." said Kristopherson.

"NO!" said Audrey, hugging his own torso.

"I didn't think so." the bluenette said, taking a few steps backward, leading the blonde to follow by his chin. "Bring our things by to us, later, alright?"

"Alright." said Kristopherson. "Good luck."

"Yeah, you go have your sexy-time, and we'll just sit in class." said Daniel, placing his hands in his pockets.

"That's not my intention!" the bluentte shouted before rounding the corner. With that, he was gone, the poisoned blonde gone with him.

* * *

 


	275. What Do?

"Hey, Ciel~! You're not really going to call Sebastian, are you~?" asked the blonde, as Ciel led him through deserted hallways by his wrists.

"Of course not." replied the bluenette, quickening his pace.

"How naughty, of you, Ciel~..." Alois grinned, continuing to follow.

Ciel wasn't going to call the butler. He couldn't risk having the menace unwittingly humiliate himself by flirting with Sebastian or ruin his image with his brother, who would no doubt come too, seeing as though he couldn't stay home by himself. No, Ciel had lied in order to keep the others from following. He had to get Alois away from people. He had to save them, Alois' reputation, and perhaps most of all, himself from the sight of Alois being intimate with someone else.

Perhaps the bluenette would be considered a bit "possessive", but could one blame him? Here was the first person in ages, whom he felt a strong emotional connection to, and the first person he had felt feelings of romantic love toward. Of course he was going to do everything in his power to ensure that Alois would remain his, and his only.

They went from linoleum tiles, to concrete steps, as they traversed higher, and higher into the building. They climbed up two flights of stairs, before reaching some metallic ones on the third, and top floor of the building. Upward, they climbed, until at last they reached a metal door and behind it was an ocean of blue right above their heads. They were on top of the roof of the language building.

Once the door was shut, Ciel let go of the blonde's wrist, only to have the other boy snake his arms around the blonde's waist. Alois nuzzled into the back of the bluenette's neck for a moment, before he was forced off of the lad once more. Ciel held out his hand.

"Your cellphone." he said, motioning for the blonde to hand it over. Alois pouted.

"What on earth do you need that for?" he asked, walking over to the other boy. "I'm right here."

"Because of reasons." the bluenette said. "Give it here, or you won't even be getting the smallest kiss."

Reluctantly, the blonde complied, reaching into his pocket, and placing the small device into the bluenette's hand. Then, Ciel turned on the screen, and began to scroll through the contacts. When he found Dafydd's name, he sent the number a text, saying:

"This is Ciel. We'll be on the roof of the language

building when you've figured out how to fix this.

Come find us when you're done."

With that, he handed the device back to Alois, who grabbed the phone with one hand, placing it in it's rightful place, while grabbing the bluenette's arm with the other. He pulled Ciel closer, clinging to him. He said:

"Now, how about that kiss?"

"No." the Phantomhive boy said. "I lied. I'm not doing anything with you while you're like this." Alois half-heartedly furrowed his brow.

"Cheeky." he said, looking at the other boy with his dazed eyes. He pressed himself against the bluenette, forcing him to back away. Then, with a shove, Ciel's back was against the wall.

"Two can play that game." the menace continued, watching as blood rushed to the slightly shorter boy's face.

Fighting back didn't seem to be doing the bluenette any good, as he couldn't do so without fear of actually hurting the blonde. He opened his mouth to speak, but Alois covered it before any words could escape, trapping them in a nearly bruising kiss. It was careless, confused, and disoriented, much like the blonde was at that moment, yet Ciel was still powerless to stop it. It was Alois, after all, causing the bluenette to tense up as the blonde began to gently trace random patterns up and down Ciel's chest and sides.

Once they separated, Ciel regained a little sanity. Not a moment too late, either, as the menace's lips were lowered to the bluenette's neck, kissing it, and occasionally pausing to nip at it. This didn't go on long, however, as the Phantomhive lad summoned his strength back, and shoved the blonde, who unfortunately, had quite the grip on him, and thus, Ciel fell to the rooftop as well, which was somewhat hot where the sun kissed it's surface.

He acted quickly, recovering to grab the blonde's wrists, and pinned them down before he could latch onto the bluenette again. Alois whined, and he pouted, unable to think of a better solution while in this stupor. He wriggled, trying to free himself, but his efforts were for naught.

"Ciel~!" he whined. "Why are you being so difficult~?"

"I told you..." the bluenette replied, furrowing his brow as blushed all the way up to his ears. "I'm not doing anything with you while you're like this!"

"Liar..." Alois accused. "You kissed back~!"

"That's because you surprised me!" Ciel argued.

"But Ciel, I want you~!"

"No, you don't! You're just a... a..." Ciel paused trying to think of a term. "...A perverse zombie! You attacked the others, too, not just me!"

"Ooh~! Is Ciel jealous~?" The bluenette almost stumbled over his words.

"Isn't that normal?" he asked finally. "I'm your boyfriend, aren't I? Isn't it normal for someone's boyfriend to feel jealous when they start flirting with other people?"

"What are you talking about? You're the only one here."

"I know you're a bit loopy right now, but can you seriously not remember?"

"Ciel, I don't know what you're saying..." the blonde answered. "Why don't you lean closer so I can hear you~?"

That was odd. Alois didn't seem to have any recollection of attacking the others, yet when he did, he called them by name. He was aware of who he was attacking at the time, so why didn't he remember now?

At that moment, Ciel tried to figure out the exact effects that the potion had, remembering everything that had happened that morning, and the mythical, somewhat "traditional" concept of how a love potion worked. Alois would only go after one person at a time, whoever it was who had his attention, similar to the myth that whoever consumes a potion, or gets hit with Cupid's arrow will fall in love with the first person they see. He didn't even notice there were others in the classroom. The blonde was soley focused on, and lusted after whoever it was closest to him, or who was in his direct line of vision.

The bluenette's train of thought ceased when the boy underneath him began to struggle, and try to free himself. He clenched his eyes shut as he resisted, before opening them and looking up at the bluenette with those same, icy blue eyes that he knew well, but had lost all of their awareness. It was as though he was looking, but not seeing. Alois' expression was weak, but held a sense of urgency and dejection, and somehow, it made the Phantomhive boy feel sad.

"Alois, I can't." the bluenette said, tightening his grip on the blonde's wrists. "The only reason you're acting like this is because of a potion, not because you're doing it of your own free will."

"You like kissing me, don't you?" the blonde asked. "You like that and other things, right? So, why..?"

"Yes, but I can't." Ciel replied. "I have too much respect for you to take advantage of you like that."

"I don't want respect. I want love."

"Then why not have both?" asked Ciel. "Did you seriously forget that, too? That I love you?"

"Wha?"

"I said I love you."

"What are you-?"

"I love you, Jimmy."

"Shut up!" the blonde said suddenly, his face red. "Don't call me 'Jimmy'! It's embarrassing!"

Ciel blinked. "Wait, what?"

"What?" Alois asked.

"Are you still... you know...?"

"I know that I'm currently being crushed by a rather petite cyclops." the blonde retorted. "What are we doing here, anyway? Why aren't we in class?"

"You..." Ciel began, finding difficulty in forming words, at the moment. "You... You... You git!"

"What did I do!?"

"You arsehole! Wanker! Gormless muppet!" the bluenette shouted, his face red from embarrassment. He let go of the other boy, allowing him to sit up.

"What?!"

Ciel paused, taking a deep breath in order to calm himself down a bit before speaking; "Nothing. Nevermind. It's not really your fault. Sorry for yelling..."

"Okay, now I've got to hear this." the blonde said, leaning closer to the other lad. "Tell me everything." He narrowed his eyes when he saw the bluenette's blush darken.

"W-well, Dafydd made a love potion, and was going to give it to you..." he began, running his hand through his hair, trying to retain his composure.

"Uh-huh?" Alois replied with a nod. "Go on..."

"You tripped, knocked the bottle over, and it broke over your head..."

"Explains why I can't remember anything..." the blonde said, rubbing the spot where he was hit.

"Actually, you can't remember anything because it actually affected you." Ciel clarified. He paused, and rubbed his chin in thought. "It probably did because of the magic infused into it. Ordinarily, drugs don't work on demons..."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, magic shit." Alois interrupted. "More importantly: What. Did. I. Do?!" The bluenette's pause before answering didn't do anything to quell his suspicions.

"You kind of turned into a mindless zombie who kept trying to molest everyone you saw." Ciel said, causing the blonde to choke on his own spit.

"You're... You're joking, right?" Alois asked, trying to calm his coughing. The bluenette shook his head.

"You were really out of it..." he said.

"Just tell me!"

"You tried to kiss Dafydd and Kristopherson, and held Daniel and Audrey..." the bluenette answered, unable to dodge the question any further. Alois' face heated up before he could cover it with his hands.

"Oh, God... I can't face them, now..." he said, shaking his head. He looked up when he felt some pressure on his head, finding the Phantomhive boy running his fingers through blonde locks.

"I don't think they'll be mad at you." Ciel said. "They knew what was going on, so don't worry about it."

"I guess..." the fair-haired teen replied.

"Let's get to our next class. If you end up back here again, though, you'll know why." the bluenette said, standing up. He held out a hand to help the other, which, hesitantly, the menace took.

"Please don't let be do anything weird." Alois said.

"I promise." Ciel replied.

Thus, the demonic duo headed toward the door, leading back inside the school building, bidding farewell to the blue sky overhead. Back into the building, where they would have to retrieve their belongings from the rest of the Seven, and receive a full apology from Dafydd. It was as the bluenette opened the door, however, that Alois uttered yet another inquiry:

"Ciel?"

"Yes?"

"Are those hickeys on your neck?"

 


	276. Luka And Ciel

"Big brother, where are you going?"

Phantomhive manor, which stands on the outskirts of the city, is perhaps one of the most wicked places one could go in the area. It's history, and current residents, are indeed, quite sinister, despite their otherwise normal appearance and demeanor. There is the head of the house, his lover, and his lover's younger brother, as well as the houses' butler. However, our story for today, focuses on two particular residents of this odd house, and no, it's isn't the infamous demonic duo.

"I'm going to the doctor's office, Luka." Alois said, turning to face the younger lad. "They're going to make sure all of that gross potion is completely out of my system."

"Is Sebastian going to drive you?"

"Yeah."

"Then who's going to stay here with me?" the smallest of the demons raised his brow in surprise when he heard the answer.

"Ciel is."

Yes, the bluenette at the head of Phantomhive house would not be accompanying the blonde menace on this outing. It was somewhat unusual, but not unheard of. There was no need to make this entire venture a "family outing", therefore the Phantomhive lad opted to stay behind. As such, he would also be the one watching Luka, as Sebastian, could not.

Now, Luka did not dislike the bluenette. His somewhat nervousness about the Phantomhive watching over him stemmed from the fact that they had never been alone together for any long period of time. Ordinarily, either Alois, or Sebastian was there, too, but not this time. This time, Luka would be alone in the large house with it's head.

Ciel was somewhat intimidating, the Macken boy had to admit. His commanding presence could be somewhat overwhelming at times, and it was difficult to decipher what was on his mind. All of these thoughts were blatantly written across the youngest of the demon's face, causing the blonde menace to smile comfortingly.

"Don't worry," he said, playfully rubbing his brother's brown locks. "Ciel's nice. He's just a little 'odd'." With that, Alois crouched down to whisper in Luka's ear.

"If you want to know the truth, I think he's just as scared of you as you are of him." he said, flicking his eyes over to the bluenette, who was currently receiving tips and instructions from Sebastian, something he never would have thought would ever happen. Luka glanced over to him as well, before looking back to his brother.

"Okay." he said. "I'll try to take it easy on him." The brunette's words made Alois giggle, causing the Phantomhive lad to arch an eyebrow as he walked over.

Ciel really wasn't too sure about this. It was practical, and it was reasonable, but the bluenette really wasn't entirely sure how to interact with Luka. The boy was much, much younger than him, for starters, and was very naiive. He didn't quite know how to fit in with the Macken brothers, either. He loved the older brother, who loved both him and the younger brother, therefore Ciel loved the younger brother, too.

The bluenette was unsure, however, as to how "brothers" interact. Why, he was still unsure as to how to interact with Alois, romantically, sometimes, and now he had to quickly figure out how to be an "older brother", or risk Luka's disapproval. Ciel certainly felt silly, trying to gain the confirmation of an eight-year-old, but it was still important to do so.

"What time do you think you'll be back?" asked the bluenette, pointing at his watch.

"I don't know. Could be hours. Why? Were you going to be painstakingly counting the minutes?" asked Alois with a teasing grin. He jumped up, and pecked the other boy on the lips before he could even think about thinking.

"A goodbye kiss~!" he said in a sing-song voice, giggling when the bluenette's cheeks gained a slight pink tint, and full-out laughing when he saw his younger brother's face. Luka was looking up at them, sticking his tongue out, and acting as though he was going to be sick.

"What's wrong, Luka?" Alois asked. "Did you want big brother to give you a bye-bye kiss, too?" His cheshire-like grin only widened when the youngest of the boys wrinkled his nose.

"Ew! No!" Luka said, putting his hands out in front of him in order to block the advances of the blonde menace, as the older demon swooped down like a hawk. Alois kissed Luka's cheek before turning toward the door, grabbing his jacket as he went.

"Goodbye, my darlings~! Have a wonderful time~!" he called, waving. He blew one last kiss in the general direction of the other demons, and then left with Sebastian.

The door had shut, denying the cold winter winds further infiltration to the home. Alois had taken almost all of the sound with him, and the silence that remained was almost unbearable. The two stood there; Ciel and Luka, Luka and Ciel; basking in the insufferable silence as they awkwardly searched for something, anything, to say to the other. Soon, however, a thought passed through Luka's head, that immediately snapped him into a state of urgency.

"Hey, Ciel! What time is it?" he asked, his face both serious and excited at the same time. The sudden question startled the bluenette for a moment, before he finally looked down at his watch.

"It's nine o' clock, why?" he asked, blinking a few times.

"Pokemon is on!" the younger boy declared. "I gotta go!"

Ciel simply watched the small boy hurriedly dash away with a look of confusion on his face. He simply hadn't the faintest clue as to how to respond to that. Instead of even trying, however, he decided that it was best to leave the boy to his devices. As long as he was simply watching television, there was no way that he could hurt himself, or break anything, right? Thus, the bluenette walked upstairs to his office in order to hopefully get some paperwork done.

Curious and curiouser, however, after only a little while of walking, he found himself nearly being knocked down by the same small demon-child that had puzzled him earlier, and will most likely continue to do so for the remainder of the day. Luka whizzed right past him, carrying a toy of some sort, before uttering a quick apology to the bluenette and fleeing yet again. This time, the bluenette couldn't just let this go.

What on earth was with this kid? Ciel simply didn't understand at all. He didn't understand how on earth he was supposed to relate to this young, happy, excitable child, when he, himself, was none of those things. He would somehow have to find a way. Luka was now part of the family, after all.

As curiosity continued to get the better of him, Ciel found himself making his way toward the entertainment room. The lights were turned off, with the only illumination to speak of coming from the large television in the room. Bright colours flickered across the screen, casting dancing shadows along the walls and floor. There, on the couch, was Luka, absolutely beaming with delight at the cartoon when the bluenette peeked in the doorway. It was now that he realized that the Macken boy was holding a small, oddly-shaped green animal. It could only be assumed that the creature was a pokemon, but that wasn't the odd thing about this scene. No, the odd part was when the opening theme started, and the boy seated on the sofa starting singing.

"It's always hard,

When the journey begins.

Hard to find your way,

Hard to make new friends.

But there's nothing you can't do,

'Cause you've got the power inside of you.

It's not always black and white,

But your heart always knows what's right.

It's not about win or lose, it's the path you choose.

Let the journey begin,

Pokémon!"

Ciel tried not to laugh. He really did. Air escaped his face in a strangled snicker as he quickly clasped his hand across his mouth in order to stop it. Even if the bluenette didn't quite understand, he had to admit, Luka's childish actions were somewhat cute. His cheeks turned a little pink however, when the other boy turned around. Brown eyes stared into Ciel's blue and vice versa, for a moment, before the younger demon's cheeks turned red. Both of them were quite embarrassed for getting caught.

"Don't laugh at me!" Luka shouted, turning around on the couch and sitting on his knees to better look at the other boy. He tried to look angry. He really did. His face, however, contorted into a more embarrassed expression than anything else. The bluenette blinked for a moment.

"I'm not laughing at you..." Ciel answered, however, the Macken boy was not satisfied.

"Liar." he accused, and rightfully so, before sitting back down on the couch and turning his attention back to the television.

The Phantomhive lad wasn't sure what to do. He couldn't even tell if the other lad was really even mad at him, or not. He didn't want to leave Luka here, alone, yet he wasn't sure what to do if he stayed. Sooner or later, he made a snap decision, and stayed, walking over to the couch, and leaning against it's back, resting his chin in his palm as he blackly stared at the television.

This cartoon was just as confusing to the bluenette, as the child he was supposed to be watching. What were these creatures? Where did their powers come from? Why did they only speak their name? Why were these children simply allowed to roam into parts unknown? Why were they capturing wild animals and forcing them to fight one another, and why is that encouraged as some sort of international sport? They don't even bother to give their so-called "pets" proper names! So many questions arose in the mind of the bluenette from the few minutes he stood there watching, and only more would appear as the show went on.

"What do the people on this show do for meat?" Ciel asked, finally, the question tormenting in his thoughts. Luka looked to him with a confused look on his face.

"Huh?"

"There's no other kinds of animals on this show. Do they just eat the pokemon?" Ciel asked, unaware of the doubt and horror he was inflicting on this child.

"Nuh-uh! The pokemon are their friends!" Luka said, holding his odd, little plush-creature tight. "Maybe they're vegetarians!"

"But the kid is eating meat, right there? Look." the bluenette said, pointing at the screen. "See?"

A massive pang of guilt echoed through him as he looked down at the Macken boy's face, as he watched the screen. Luka's expression was one that was only worn by someone who had just learned a horrifying truth. His eyes were getting watery, as tears began threatened to form, as he clung to his animal as though he was afraid he would lose it.

This scene was all Ciel's fault. He knew it. It was his careless words that inflicted this wound. He should have thought before speaking, and now he was in danger of being hated by the only living relative of the one he loved. Ciel would have to think quickly in order to escape this mess. He walked around the back of the sofa, an took a seat next to Luka, before taking a deep breath.

"Oh... Well... I suppose that if they have the technology to beam the pokemon into, and store them inside pokeballs, then they probably have the technology advanced enough in order to artificially synthesize meat." the bluenette said, fabricating something out of thin air. He almost released an audible sigh of relief when the younger boy's expression softened.

"I'm glad." Luka said, looking over at the other boy. "That would've been awful! You can't just eat your friends!"

This boy was obviously not cut out to be a demon. He was much too soft. Luka may have been responsible for the eradication of an entire village, at one point, but his understanding of the weight of life and death was all wrong. He must eat souls, or he will grow old, just as a human would, and die without ever developing his demonic powers. How on earth were they going to fix this?

"Yes, that's horrible." Ciel said with a nod. "Not to mention kind of gross."

"But demons eat people, don't they?" Luka asked, surprising the Phantomhive boy. "I'll have to, someday, too, huh?" Ciel paused.

"Yeah." he said. "You do what you must."

"But they signed a contract, so does that make it okay?" the younger lad asked, tilting his head at the bluenette. "They knew what they were getting into, like I did, right?"

"I don't know if it makes it 'okay', but it makes you not feel as bad about it." Ciel said, a small twinge of melancholy in his voice. "No one really understands what losing a soul means until the day that it happens. It's still frightening, no matter how you look at it."

Once again, the bluenette was being unintentionally realistic with the younger boy. This time, however, the boy seemed to understand, and accept the concept. Funny, how he could with something so serious, but not when it was about a cartoon.

The demons sat in silence for a moment, watching the screen. Luka would occasionally look over at the bored-looking bluenette, and wonder if he was really bored, or if it was just his odd way of not being understandable, again. In truth, there were many things that Luka wanted to ask the bluenette, since his brother had told him how smart the Phantomhive was. Yet the lad's off-putting presence made him hesitate whenever a question popped into his head.

He hesitated, and he hesitated. The questions just kept coming, and he would keep them locked away in his mind, instead of asking them. He wondered why the bluenette was so distant. Was it because he didn't like Luka?

He shook his head. No, that couldn't be it. Ciel wouldn't let him stay, if he didn't like him. It was then that he remembered something that his brother said.

"I think he's just as scared of you, as you are of him." the blonde had told him, and the more Luka thought about it, the more it made sense.

Alois had told him that the bluenette often seemed colder than he really was. Perhaps the bluenette simply didn't know how to act around Luka, just as Luka didn't know how to act around him? More questions popped into his head, as he continued to think, until finally, he spoke.

"Hey, Ciel?" he asked, gaining the bluenette's attention. "Why do you like my brother?"

The question made Ciel freeze, almost. He had no idea where that came from, or how to answer it. He paused for a moment, giving it some thought.

"He's cute." the bluenette began, pink dusting his cheeks, which was lost in the faint light. "He's funny, and confident. He's creative, and he's strong..."

The bluenette was embarrassed. He was legitimately embarrassed. Here he was, having to convey something so personal to someone he wasn't entirely familiar with. He let out a small sigh before continuing.

"Alois understands me like no one else ever could." he said, twiddling his thumbs and refusing to make eye-contact with the other boy. "He's just got so many qualities that make him admirable, and he's absolutely stunning."

He caught himself on that last bit, and cleared his throat. "Anyway, I just love him, so..." he trailed off, unsure of what else to add. His thoughts were interrupted, however, by the wound of giggling.

"You really lose your cool when it comes to Jim, don't you?" Luka giggled, causing the blush on the bluenette's face to darken.

"And if I do?" asked the bluenette, arching an eyebrow.

"You should definitely get married." the younger boy said, crossing his arms. His face was serious.

"W-what?!"

Hours passed, and the demons watched several shows, together, and talked about various things. Ciel would tell Luka about various things he had seen, and things he knew, while Luka would exchange information about things he was knowledgeable about. Both boys learned new things, that day. By that evening, they were closer than they were when Alois and Sebastian had left, and when they returned, they found a rather odd picture.

"Hey, kids, you play nice?" Alois called, walking into the room. The bluenette turned to look at him, and pressed his index finger up to his lips.

"Be quiet." he said. "Luka is asleep."

Surprised, the blonde walked around to the front of the sofa, and tried his best to hold in his giggles. His brother was curled up into the bluenette's side, fast asleep while holding onto his stuffed animal, and Ciel had simply allowed him to stay that way. It was a sight that the blonde had never thought he'd see.

"What did the doctors say?" Ciel asked in a whisper, curious of the results.

"They said that I'm completely clean, and that there was probably some weakening phrase that allowed me to break down the potion." Alois replied in a similar tone, smiling. "Mind if I get in on this 'cuddle-party'?"

With that, the bluenette rolled his eye, and held up the arm opposite to the side of the younger Macken, inviting the older to sit down. Alois took off his coat and used it to cover up the smallest of the demons before taking his place near the Phantomhive's side, nuzzling into it in a fashion similar to that of Luka. He leaned upward to give the bluenette a small kiss.

"Want to know what the phrase was?" he asked, smiling.

"I think I have a pretty good idea." Ciel replied, just as the butlerwalked into the door.

"Young master..." he began, eyeing the scene as the bluenette tried to conceal his embarrassment.

"W-what is it?" asked the Phantomhive lad. Sebastian paused before speaking.

"Don't I get a hug, too?" he teased.

**"Shut up."**

 


	277. Warwick Where?

Morning broke, peeking through the lush leaves of the trees, warming the air as it illuminated the globe. It shone into the windows of the prestigious Warwick Academy, brightening the dark, empty classrooms, oddly devoid of children. Yes, it would appear that the entire campus was almost completely empty.

Was this the result of some world-ending event? A natural disaster? A deadly plague? No, it was not so, as maintenance workers still remained, keeping the grounds in pristine condition. But if the children weren't here, then where were they?

Air hit the blonde's face as he forced open a window, allowing a cool breeze to flow through the crowded bus. It wasn't a cheap bus; good heavens, no! It was a Warwick bus, after all, decorated in navy and gold, with the school crest on the side. There was air-conditioning, of course, but when this many bodies were enclosed in such a small space, it was bound to be a bit warm and muggy.

For what purpose were the Warwiccans venturing off school grounds? Why, it was due tot he fact that the Juniors of that year had done well on their final exams the previous year, and as a treat, were having a whole two-weeks off from school in order to participate in a special sort of "Summer Camp" that for one reason or another, actually took place in late spring. There would be games, activities, events, and much more for the children to enjoy. Other schools would be participating as well, including Weston Boy's School, and Tamworth Academy.

"Tamworth". It was a name that made most Warwick students wrinkle their noses in disgust. The schools had been at odds since their founding. The Tamworth Centaurs were the rivals of the Warwick Griffins, and much worse: was full of delinquents. Yes, the joke at Warwick was that Tamworth students were all the children who were too dumb, or otherwise too awful to stay at Warwick. It was tradition for Warwick Seniors to sneak onto the Tamworth campus every year and vandalize the other school's Centaur statue, decorating it in Warwick colours. Likewise, the Tamworth students would besmirch the Warwick Griffin statue, decorating it in green and white; Tamworth colours.

Weston wasn't nearly as troublesome, as the school generally kept to itself. Due to it's four-house system, there was simply no need to compete against other schools, and instead, Weston students would compete against the other houses. Sapphire Owl, Scarlet Fox, Violet Wolf, and Green Lion. These were their perceived "threats". They were always so caught up in their own rivalry with themselves, that Warwick and Tamworth seldom entered the picture.

"Alois, sit back down." said a certain bluenette, tugging at the Trancy lad's blazer jacket until the boy sat back down in his seat. "Don't stick you're head out of the window like a dog."

"Woof." the blonde replied. He had never ridden on a bus before, so naturally, he was quite excited. It was like a new adventure. "Are buses always this cramped?"

"Not always." Ciel replied, folding his arms. "It's just that we're trying to haul quite a few people, here."

"I feel bad for Audrey and Kris, though." Alois said, smiling. The reaper boy, and the faux-blonde had to ride on one of the other buses accompanying the first. "Can you imagine Bones trying to talk to Kris about games, or something?"

"That's too ridiculous to do so, Alois."

"Hey, 'Romeo and Juilan'!" called a familiar voice, as the demonic duo felt a kick to the back of their seat. The Westley boy had, of course, chosen to gain their attention in the most obnoxious way possible. "Remember: you'll both have to sleep in separate beds until we go home, if you know what I mean."

"But, Daniel!" Alois began, sounding dejected. "Ciel's so cuddly!"

"Yeah, when I think of Ciel, the word 'cuddly' seldom comes to mind." said Preston, joining in the conversation.

"He is, though!" replied the blonde. "He's so nice to snuggle and cuddle with underneath the cozy, cozy covers."

"...Until you start making out and things get all freaky, that is." added Daniel. "About how many times to do have to change those 'cozy, cozy covers'? Wink-wink, nudge-nudge, say no more, say no more!"

"Please, don't say any more." said Ciel, rubbing his temples and fighting away a blush.

The bus began to slow down as they reached their destination, a lake. Around the lake was a camp ground, with many small cabins, a mess hall, and various other things that the students would need to stay there. It wasn't your average, run-down summer camp, however. This site was worthy of the three richest school's in the country! Each cabin had heating and cooling systems, and a bathroom complete with shower, so they were hardly "roughing it". One might even call into question.

There would be four students to each cabin. Boys would bunk with other boys, and girls with girls. To keep things semi-civil, they would also only bunk with students from their school; Warwiccans with Warwiccans, Tamworthians with Tamworthians, and Westons with Westons, but only those of the same house, of course.

Naturally, the Sensational Seven were split up, just as many of them had expected. They went up to the bulletin board, and read their cabin assignments. Naturally, the Warwick staff, or rather, Mister Irons, knew better than to let the demonic duo bunk together. In cabin Twelve was Ciel, Kristopherson, Daniel, and Travis. In cabin Thirteen, was Alois, Preston, Audrey, and- oh no,- Dafydd.

Ciel furrowed his brow at this. There was no way that he was going to allow that sorcerer near his blonde menace after the stunts he had pulled earlier in the year. The bluenette looked to Alois, and motioned for him to follow him, as he walked away from the post in order to seek out a change. Their instructor, now chaperone was not hard to find.

"Mister Irons, is it at all possible for me to trade rooms with Alois?" he asked, causing the chaperone to arch an eyebrow.

"That depends." the teacher replied. "Why?"

"Dafydd is a rapist, that's why." Alois said. "He fancies me, and he's creepy about it. I don't want to room with that!"

Now Irons was very confused. He expected something less black and white from the duo. He expected something somewhat malicious, or schemeing. The teacher stood there for a moment, and thought, trying to come up with any way that this could be some kind of trick. He was dealing with demons, after all, and as a former H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. soldier, he was naturally cautious.

"Alright," he said, sighing. "You can switch." With that, he took out his clipboard and made a note of it. A snort came from the blonde menace as he saw a somewhat smug expression grace the face of his bluenette beau for a very brief moment after the teacher had walked away. The noise made Ciel look at the other boy in confusion.

"You do know that now this means that you will have to put up with Daffy, right?" asked the blonde, partially covering his mouth with his hand to conceal his amused grin. It was almost regretful that he wouldn't be able to witness the bluenette and the sorcerer quarreling.

"Better me than you." said the bluenette. "I don't want him using any more weird potions on you again."

"Yeah, that would be nice, but what if he does something weird to try and make you hate me, or something?"

"I'd like to see him try." the Phantomhive boy said, his arrogance showing. "If he tries anything questionable, I'll knock him back down to size."

"Ooh~! Scary~!" the blonde said with a giggle.

"I'm actually more concerned about whether or not you'll be able to survive on your own." Ciel teased.

"Oh, I will. I've done it before, remember?" Alois replied, clinging to the bluenette's arm. "While you worry about that, I'll worry about whether or not I'll be able to contain myself when I do see you around. I might have to tease you a bit more than usual."

He pulled away, giving the Phantomhive lad a couple of winks, and nudging his arm with his elbow twice. Ciel looked at him confusedly, before he suddenly realised what the blonde meant by that. Instantly, a blush formed on his cheeks.

"Don't you dare." he warned, trying to seem threatening, but for once, failing. Alois simply giggled.

"Say no more, say no more." spoke the blonde. "I should probably go help Kristopherson unload his entire closet. I'll see you later, Poochie."

He briefly pecked the bluenette on the lips before taking off, leaving the bluenette to wonder as to whether he was actually serious, or not. Perhaps part of him was actually hopeful that he was, but that is neither here, nor there.

* * *

 


	278. Talkin' Smack

"Hello, Spitfire~!" called a certain sorcerer, as he pranced happily into his assigned cabin, bag in tow. The boy was extremely excited about the week, something that he he wasn't quite before, but then he read the room assignment sheet. He would be in a cabin with his crush in cabin number thirteen, without that meddlesome Phantomhive boy in the way, he discovered. Now was his chance to make his move, and secure the heart of the blonde menace once and for all!

...Is what he would have thought, if upon entering he hadn't noticed that Alois wasn't in sight. Instead, there was his rival in love, Ciel Phantomhive, unpacking his things. Dafydd's jaw dropped at the sight. He counted Preston, Audrey, himself, and then there was the bluenette, taking the fourth seat in the cabin instead of the blonde. The sorcerer furrowed his brow.

"What in blazes are you doing here?!" he asked, pointing his finger at the demon-boy accusingly.

"Getting settled, of course." Ciel replied. "I suggest you do the same."

"No, no, no, no!" Dafydd said, shaking his head. "Why are you here?! This isn't your room!"

That arrogant look that the bluenette flashed Dafydd in response infuriated the sorcerer. He put two and two together, and realized that the demon had done something to thwart his plans once again. Dafydd threw down his bag and walked over to the shorter boy, looking down at him with a frown.

"What did you do?" he demanded.

"Simple, I asked for a room change." the bluenette said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "Alois and I told mister Irons that he wasn't comfortable with rooming with you, so he allowed us to trade. Now, would you terribly mind stepping out of my personal space?"

"'Not comfortable with-'?!" Dafydd couldn't even finish the echo. "How is he 'not comfortable with' me?!"

"Seriously, Daffy?" asked Audrey, setting down his black suitcase with a skull key-chain on it. "After the stuff you've pulled, I would be afraid, too."

"That was an accident."

"That still doesn't change the fact that you tried to make a love potion in hopes of making him not like Ciel anymore." replied the reaper-boy. "That's messed up, Daffs. That's well messed up."

"Oh, shut it, Skeleton-boy!"

That made Audrey angry. No one brought up his genetics, like that. He never knew his father. He only found out what he was at the beginning of high-school, realizing that many, many, things he knew in this world were wrong, and bringing that up as a negative made Audrey understandably angry. Bones clenched his fists, and stomped over to the sorcerer, acting as though he could punch him at any moment. Dafydd took a defensive stance, preparing for a fight, but luckily, before things got too out of hand, an unexpected hero intervened.

"You guys, please!" Preston shouted, walking over to step between the two. "How are we supposed to get along for two weeks if we can't even keep from fighting on the first day?" With that, Audrey stopped.

"Fine." he said. "But 'Hufflepuff', here, better not call me 'Skeleton-boy' again."

"'Hufflepuff'?!" Dafydd echoed, watching as the reaper-boy walked away.

"Let it go, Dafydd." said the bluenette, going back to his own task. Dafydd's head turned in order to face the sound, arching an eyebrow. "Preston's right."

"I'm not taking orders from you!" the sorcerer said. "You're my enemy!"

"Whatever, Dafydd..." Ciel said with a sigh. He rubbed his temples in order to vainly fight off an imminent two-week long headache. Truly, thirteen was an unlucky number.

Adversely, things were going quite well next door at cabin twelve. It's members were all members of the Sensational Seven, and all of them got along quite well. However, Daniel and Travis weren't quite sure what to say to the greeting they received upon entry.

"Welcome, straight men, to the gayest cabin in the camp!"

The blonde menace was joking, of course, but it was still incredibly strange. Kristopherson snorted, trying to hold in a laugh while unpacking his things. Travis simply walked in and set his stuff down, while Daniel simply stood there for a moment longer.

"What?" he asked.

"Get in, or close the door, Dan." Alois instructed. "You're letting all the rainbows escape."

With a roll of his eyes, the Westley lad waltzed into the cabin, shutting the door behind him. There, he saw Alois, Kristopherson, and Travis, all in the process of getting settled in. Kristopherson was putting clothes in one of the dressers that came with the room, while Alois simply tossed his bag into a corner and climbed onto the top bunk of one of the beds, and watched everyone from above. Travis had finished unpacking, and simply stared out the window, watching a squirrel prance about.

"Oh good, Travis is here." Daniel said, smiling. "I thought this might be a 'gays only' cabin, for a second."

"I'm not gay." said Alois. "I'm bisexual."

"You still like dick, Trancy." spoke the Westley lad, looking up at the blonde. "You count."

"Is that a problem, Westley?"

"Oh, no, no, no!" said Daniel, shaking his head. "Just as long as you and Kris keep your hands to yourself."

"Oh no, so does that mean I can't tap that hardly existent ass of yours, Danny?" asked the boy in the pink tie, his words absolutely dripping in sarcasm. "That's a real shame." Daniel frowned, and turned to face the faux-blonde.

"At least I don't have a ghetto-booty, unlike someone." he retorted, making the Miles lad form his own frown. Pink slightly dusted his cheeks, causing them to bear resemblance to his tie.

"You just gonna let him talk about you like that, **Travis?"** asked Alois, jokingly. The Sullivan boy turned away from the window and looked at the blonde, confusedly. He hadn't heard the beginning of the conversation.

The ridiculousness has only begun...

 


	279. A Rather Awkward Situation

Morning broke, the sun's warm rays kissing the treetops as light seeped through their branches. The soothing sounds of waves were faintly audible from the nearby lake, and birds sang a beautiful good-morning melody, welcoming the first day of the trip. Calm, was the camp, as students were preparing for the day, shuffling around, going through their morning routine, and getting breakfast. Yes, all was quite peacful, giving the most serene of atmoshperes, that is, unless you were within earshot of cabin thirteen.

"Piss off, Phantomhive." spoke a certain sorcerer as he hastily tied his hair back into a ponytail.

"What did I do this time, Dafydd?" the bluenette responded.

Everything had gotten off to a rocky start, seeing as though both he, and the sorcerer where in some silly way, "enemies". From their arrival, to that very moment and onward, the two had been silently filling the air with spite for one another. It was nearly suffocating to both Preston and Audrey, who, for the most part, opted to instead talk about science-fiction and video games whilst ignoring the other two.

"Quite starin' at me." Dafydd said, furrowing his brow. "It's freaking me out."

"It's hard not to." the bluenette replied. "That mullet of yours is just so ridiculous."

"Wha'd you say?!"

"Ladies, please, pipe down. It's too early for this." said Audrey, still wearing his glasses. He hadn't yet put his contacts back in that morning, and the boy was almost unrecognizable.

"Do you honestly think I'm trying to pick fights?" asked Ciel.

"Not really." replied the reaper-boy. "I think you're trying to ignore him, but he's making it difficult."

"Spot on." said the bluenette. "I'm getting a headache, so I'm going to be going on ahead-"

"Oh, no! You're just going to see Alois!" interrupted the sorcerer, pointing his finger accusingly. "Sneaky bastards, you demons!"

"Have you forgotten that Alois is a demon, by any chance?" asked the Phantomhive boy, arching an eyebrow. Dafydd's eyelid twitched in annoyance.

"He's not inherently evil like you, though." he retorted.

"I'm told my evil-nature is part of my charm, though." Ciel said, a smirk playing at his lips. The other lad was about to open his mouth to reply, when a knock was heard at the door.

The knock was brief, and the inhabitants of cabin thirteen didn't even get the chance to move. The door swung open, hitting the wall, and from behind it, was yet another devil. Alois stood there, his clothes somewhat untidy, as he hadn't the chance to straighten them out due to his hurry. His face was serious, with a hint of surprise, and something else that couldn't quite be placed, but what could be known was that the boy was filled with haste over something.

"Alois?" called Preston. "What are you doing here?"

"Hurry..." the blonde menace said. "Come quick! It's Kristopherson! He's... he's..."

"What is it?" asked Ciel. "Alois, what's wrong with Kristopherson?"

"No time to explain!" the blonde said, turning to walk back out the door. "Just follow me!"

With no time to waste, the lads high-tailed it next door to cabin number twelve. Once there, nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Everything looked fine, except for the odd, somewhat-frightened, somewhat-something-else, look on Daniel's face. The other looked around the room, but there were no signs of-

"What the hell are you lot doing here?" asked a voice. The lad turned their heads to see Kristopherson standing next to one of the dressers, rummaging through the drawers. Well, it was Kristopherson, but it wasn't quite.

The faux-blonde's brow was furrowed, his face in a scowl. There was a bit of stubble on his chin, and his eyes were tired, just as the rest of him looked. His hair was down, the somewhat longer-looking locks that the boy usually swept behind his ears hanging on both sides of his face. Immediately upon seeing him, Alois burst into laughter.

"This was the 'emergency'?" Ciel asked, that being the only thing he could think to say at that point.

"'Emergency'?" the blonde menace echoed. "I never said there was 'emergency'. I just didn't want you to miss Kris being shabby." All the bluenette could do to reply, was introduce his forehead to the palm of his hand.

"Well, I'm so glad you're amused!" the faux-blonde said, annoyed. "Do me a favour, and leave me alone. I'm trying to get ready, here."

"Someone obviously isn't a morning person." Audrey said with a grin. He, Preston, Alois, and Travis were doing their best not to laugh.

"Piss off." Kristopherson hissed, taking his time to pick out his outfit for the day. The other lads simply decided that it was best to leave him be, for the time being, and have him catch up to them, later.

The Sensational Seven, plus Dafydd, ventured to the Mess Hall in order to get breakfast. Despite it's grand size, the building was still quite crowded, as three different schools were trying to fit into this one building. There were the Warwick students on one end, the Tamworth students on the other, and in between them were the Weston students, all separated in their space by houses. It wasn't a conscious decision on anyone's part. It was simply the way the students divided themselves, sticking with the group most familiar to them.

Predictably, our favourite group of lads were having trouble finding a place to sit amongst the ocean of people. They might have just needed to get their food, and eat outside, like many others had decided to do, rather than brave the storm. Collectively, they were all about to agree on this, when a somewhat familiar voice called out to them.

"Alois! Audrey! Ciel!" it called. It was quite nearby, so they didn't have to strain to hear it. It came from the direction of an unofficial "Weston-table". The lads were able to find it, easily, because the owner of the voice stood up, and waved at them.

It was Nigel Irons, the son of their teacher, and former host for the soul of Alois' younger brother. It was the ginger who had summoned them, beckoning them over with a warm smile plastered across his freckled face. Next to him, sat another boy, who smiled pleasantly at the group as well. Alois couldn't help but think that he somehow looked familiar.

The other boy had emerald green eyes, and an innocent, almost dainty look about him. His golden blonde, curly hair framed his face in waves, with one single lock slightly longer than the others hanging down on his left side. Yes, he looked very familiar, indeed. The blonde menace couldn't quite place him, however. He and his friends, however, walked over to the mostly-empty table where the boys sat. It was when Ciel, of all people, looked at the mystery-boy with a smile and greeted him, did the Trancy lad become really confused.

"I didn't expect to see you here, Oliver." the Phantomhive greeted with an odd amount of pleasantness. "How have you been?"

"I've been just fine." the boy, known only as "Oliver" by this point replied.

"Oh, so you know each other?" asked Nigel. "I was about to introduce you!"

"I know him, but the others probably don't." the bluenette said, holding out his hand to gesture toward the mysterious blonde Weston student.

"This is Oliver Midford, the second son of Sir Rupert Midford." Ciel said, moving his hand to gesture toward his own friends. "Oliver, this is Audrey, Daniel, Preston, an annoying wizard, and my boyfriend, Alois."

"Hey!" Dafydd shouted in protest.

Alois immediately felt butterflies when Ciel mentioned the mystery boy's name, his surname, specifically. "Midford". That was the name of Ciel's former fiancee, and cousin, Elizabeth Midford. Alois was meeting a member of Ciel's family for the first time, so of course he was a bit nervous.

His uneasiness was only heightened when the bluenette so casually introduced him as his "boyfriend". The way he said it implied that the bluenette talked about him to the Midfords. It made the blonde menace question just what kind of things Ciel had been saying about him.

"'Sup?" said Audrey.

"How goes it?" said Daniel.

"Hello." said Preston.

"My name is 'Dafydd'." said Dafydd.

"It's.. uh.. nice to meet you." said Alois, somewhat bashfully, his cheeks somewhat pink.

"Oh, so you're Alois?" Oliver asked, smiling. "It's good to finally meet you. I've heard so much about you from Ciel. Well, mostly from my father, actually, who passes it on from Ciel."

"I can't trust Rupert with anything, can I?" asked the bluenette, jokingly. He glanced over at the blonde, noticing his slight nervousness, and smirked. Grabbing the Trancy's hand, he asked: "Do you mind if we sit here? We can't find a place to eat."

"Not at all." said Nigel, motioning for the Warwiccans to sit down. "I'd also like to hear about how Luka's doing."

"He's doing good. He's got horns, now, so he has to wear a hood outside, but he's doing well." Alois said, turning his attention to the Irons lad, forcing his focus elsewhere.

"Horns?" echoed Nigel.

"Yeah, they're really cute." the menace answered. "They look like they belong to a sheep!"

"Oh my god, that sounds brilliant!" the ginger replied with a chuckle. "You need to send me a picture sometime!"

"Will do. You might have to send me a text to remind me, though." Alois said. "He got Ciel to watch Pokemon with him awhile back, and fell asleep snuggled up next to him. It was absolutely adorable!"

"I didn't know you were good with kids, Ciel." teased Audrey.

"I'm not..." the bluenette replied, trying to maintain a look of indifference.

"Don't worry, Phantomhive, you'll probably get better at it after you and Alois start having babies." Daniel said with a laugh.

"What the hell, Westley?!" demanded the bluenette. Alois simply responded by punching the politician's son in the arm.

"We're both men, Daniel!" he said, causing the brown-haired boy to laugh.

"Hey, now, I never said anything about you getting pregnant." Daniel replied. "Adoption is always an option, you nasty perverts."

"Daniel, pissing off demons is a good way to shorten your life-span." said Audrey.

"Nah, they're too nice to actually kille me or... some.. thing..." Daniel trailed off, as something on the other side of the room caught his eye. Curious, the others followed his field of vision, finding Kristohperson, who was looking around the room, most likely wondering where they were.

That's not what concerned them, however. What concerned them was that a familiar face was making a beeline toward him. The person was a Tamworth student. His name was Cameron Gully.

 


	280. One-Sidedness Is An Unpleasant Thing

"Oh, no..."

Cameron Gully, for those of you who can't remember, was a student of Tamworth. He was on the school's rugby team. Cameron was also a homosexual, and was Kristopherson's former boyfriend.

Yes, the relationship had started out splendidly, with back and forth text messages in class, and hanging out on Friday nights. They never got very far, however. Unfortunately, the relationship ended on a sour note, after the Tamworthian was manipulated by a holy-relic wielder, Murdock Springfield, who convinced Cameron that the friends of the boy in the pink tie were dangerous, supernatural freaks who would most likely kill him, or worse. Cameron had good enough reason to attack the seven alongside Springfield, but at the same time, Kristopherson had every good reason to be angry with him. The boy did try to kill his friends, after all.

Now, the Tamworthian had spotted his former love interest, looking confused, as though he was looking for something. Thus, the lad had used this as an excuse to get up, and talk to the boy, perhaps in hopes of apologizing. It didn't matter, though. It didn't matter what his intention was, or what he said. Krisotpherson did not want to talk to him.

Upon seeing him, the faux-blonde furrowed his brow, and immediately looked away, pretending not notice him. He felt uneasy, being oddly anxious and somewhat angry at the same time. Kristopherson's stomach fluttered, and his cheeks were slightly pink, but not in a way that was positive. He had held hands with that boy, he had hugged that boy, he had spent lots of time with the Tamworthian, talking about nothing in particular, but now, he simply wanted to forget any of it ever happened. He couldn't forgive Cameron for what he tried to do to his friends. Even if he was a kind person, even if his intentions were good, Kristopherson simply could not forgive the Tamworth student. So, when the boy walked up to him, smiling at him somewhat awkwardly; bashfully, even, the Miles lad had to do his best in order to maintain his composure, and more importantly, get rid of the object of his uneasiness.

"Hey, Kris..." Cameron said, his voice somewhat shy. He scratched the back of his head nervously, waiting for the other boy to respond. "How have you been?"

"Just fine." Kristopherson replied, turning his head to look at the Tamworthian, giving the most bored expression he could manage. "You?"

"Not too good." the true-blonde admitted, looking down at the ground. "Everything's been a bit rough on me, lately. I'm about to lose my spot on the team, y'know.."

"Really? Why?"

"They found out I'm gay." Cameron said, looking the other lad in the eye, blue on brown. "They're not to okay with me in the changing room, as you can probably guess."

"I know the feeling." Kristopherson replied, beginning a long silence, as neither boy knew what to say next.

"L-listen..." the Tamworth lad began. "...I'm so sorry for what I did, before. I just didn't know. It was stupid, and I'm just so sorry..."

"It's fine." the Warwick boy answered. "What's done is done. It's in the past, so there's no use worrying about it."

Cameron sighed, a rush of relief coming over him. "Thanks..." he said, offering a nervous grin. "I... I also want you to know that... I haven't stopped thinking about you..." Kristopherson furrowed his brow again.

"Is this the part where you try and win me back?" he asked, folding his arms. "I'm sorry, but an apology just won't cut it. I just can't see you the same way anymore after what you did."

"But you just said-"

"I said that there's no use worrying about it because you can't take it back. I never said I forgive you." the faux-blonde answered, sticking his nose in the air, somewhat. "You're cute, I admit, but you're not cute enough for me to forgive you for trying to kill my friends."

"But Kris, I-" Cameron started, only to be cut off by the faux-blonde.

"Don't call me 'Kris', either." he said. "Only my friends and relatives can call me that."

Cameron took a step forward, grabbing the boy's wrist. "Kris, I still love you!"

"I **don't** love you!" Kristopherson retorted, clawing at the slightly taller boy's hand with his own free one. Before the Tamworthian could respond, however, he was struck in the face, letting go of the Miles boy's wrist while he was distracted by the pain in his cheek.

"Hands off my best mate, jackass!" shouted Daniel, rubbing his knuckles. A person's face was much harder than he thought.

The boy had made his way over, followed by the rest of the Seven, and their Weston allies from the house of Green Lion. Kristopherson jogged over to his group, and looked back at the Tamworth boy, with a slightly confused face. The others stared down their horribly outnumbered opponent, discouraging him from fighting back.

"This isn't any of your business." Cameron said, straightening himself while rubbing his cheek. "This is between me, and Kris."

"I'm sorry, but the fact that you put your hands on our friend makes it 'our business'." said Alois. "I suggest you retreat now."

At that moment, the group had the attention of most of the cafeteria. The attention was somewhat unwanted. Other Tamworth students came over, siding with Cameron, while some Warwick students came over to back up the Seven. Chaos ensued when the scorned Romeo of Tamworth came forward, forcing his fist to come in contact with the Westley lad's face, knocking him to the floor. At that moment, both sides sprang forward, and waged war.

All, except the Seven, themselves. Daniel was going to get back up and fight, but he was stopped by a certain bluenette. Ciel, of course, knew that it was wisest to retreat, for now. There was no need for them to be there to take the fall when the teachers came to quell the violence. Thus, the Sensational Seven, along with their Weston associates (and Dafydd) vacated the premises, leaving the brawl in one piece.

"You dated a total weirdo, Kris!" Alois declared as the group retreated.

"Tell me something I don't know!" retorted the pink-loving lad. He looked at the Westley lad, seeing him clutch his face as they ran.

"You okay, Dan?" he asked, summoning the brown-haired lad's attention.

"Yeah." the Westley boy replied. "It hurts, but I'll live."

"Now you can say you've been in an actual fight, Dan!" said Audrey.

"Hey! I still have a scar from when I was shot at school!" Daniel protested. "That's gotta get me some cred!"

"Dan didn't choose the thug life, the thug life chose Dan." Alois joked. causing the others to laugh.

"Damn straight." said the Westley lad.

When they came to a halt, the lads went inside cabin twelve in order to socialize and catch up. From the Warwick lads, to the Weston, one by one, they piled in, finding a way to fit all ten of them inside a cabin that was only supposed to accommodate four. They joked, and talked, having a wonderful time while they waited for the actual scheduled events for that day.

"Hey, Dan?" Kristpoherson called, gaining the attention of the politician's son while the others talked about the newest episode of Doctor who.

"Yeah?" Daniel answered.

"Thanks for helping me out back there." said the faux-blonde. "Sorry you got punched, too."

"No worries, mate!" replied the Westley boy, ruffling the other lad's hair, much to Kristopehrson's displeasure. "What are best friends for?"

"Y-yeah..." Kristohperson said, smiling faintly. "'Best friends'..."

 


	281. Dan's Mum

Warwick Academy: Well, it's Junior-year students are actually not there at the moment. Currently, they're at a camp, designed as a supposed "treat" for doing well during exams. However, things had gone awry, and it wasn't even noon on the first day, yet. Cabin-mates weren't getting along, old rivalries and scars reemerged, and a fight had broken out in the cafeteria that morning, causing an all-out melee amongst the three schools. Honestly, what could go wrong next?

Simply ask the voice over the intercom for an answer. It was a speaker, set on top of a pole in at the centre of the camp. There were others like it, carrying sound to the farther outreaches of the camps borders.

"Attention Campers:" the voice said. "Due to the events that took place this morning in the cafeteria, the first event of the day has been cancelled, in favour of going over a few more ground rules in at the gazebo. Have a nice day!"

"Great." spoke the blonde menace, seated on one of the beds in the small cabin. "Now we're going to have to sit through a lecture."

"Aren't you used to being lectured?" asked Kristopherson, seated across from him.

"Are you suggesting that I may be a delinquent, of some sort, good sir?" the Trancy boy asked with a smile.

"Indeed I am, 'old bean'." his pink-loving friend replied with a chuckle.

"Hey, Pink-Princess and Purple-Princess," called Daniel, standing in the doorway. "C'mon! We gotta go get bitched at!"

"Can't we just stay here?" Alois whined. "It's not like anyone will notice."

"If you don't hurry, I'll tell Satan that you were sitting on the bed with Kris the last time I saw you." the Westley boy threatened, forcing the blonde menace to reluctantly get up, with a roll of his eyes.

"Funny, how the threat of being in trouble with Ciel is so effective." said Kristopherson, getting up, himself.

"Shut up."

The gazeebo was packed to the brim, collective whispers and conversations turning into a massive buzzing that reverberated of it's walls. The members of cabin twelve met up with thirteen, and took a seat, just as Mister Irons walked over, and stood on a nearby table. He whistled to get everyone's attention. Suddenly, the roaring hum turned to silence.

"Listen up!" the teacher bellowed, his own roar taking the place of the previous one in shaking the building. "I want all of you little ankle-biters to get something through your thick heads, and into that tiny brain of yours! While we may not be on your designated campus, school rules still apply."

"The fight this morning," he continued, "shouldn't have happened! If it ever happens again, those responsible will be rewarded with a bright, shiny, new **expulsion** of their very own! May they treasure it forever."

"Ya got that? No knocking heads, or I'll knock yours! Is that clear?!"

"Yes, Sir." Mister Irons' audience said.

"Well, thank you very much!" the man said. "Now, since you obviously didn't quite understand the rules the first time, let me give you a friendly reminder! Curfew is at nine-o-clock. Any student caught outside of their cabin any time past that time, is going home with whatever punishment we teachers collectively decide to give you. Boys are not allowed in the girls cabins, and girls are not allowed in the boys. No exceptions. The rules for Public Displays of Affection are also the same as at school. Always show up where you're supposed to be, when you're supposed to be there! Is there anything I'm missing?"

Alois raised his hand. "Trancy! Put your hand down!" Alois lowered his hand.

"I'm sure the P.D.A rule applies to you, too, Alois." Audrey whispered, so that the teachers wouldn't hear.

"You're just jealous 'cause Ciel and I are adorable." the blonde menace jokingly replied in a similar tone.

"Hahaha, no."

"Alois, keep yourself under control." said Krisotpherson. "I don't want to wake up to anything weird in the middle of the night."

"Like your hair, this morning?" Daniel teased.

"More like your mum." the faux-blonde retorted, earning some snickering from his friends.

"Are you suggesting that my mother is of a questionable stature?" asked the Westley lad.

"I'm suggesting your mum's a whore."

"Like Audrey at a gaming convention?" asked Preston.

"No, more like Alois on magic mystery juice." replied the Miles boy.

"Hey! That was one time!" Alois protested. "It wasn't even my fault!"

"Oi! Trancy! Shut yer trap!" shouted Mister Irons from his improvised stage.

"I bet that's what Dan's mom said..." the menace muttered.

"That doesn't even make sense, Alois..." spoke the bluenette in a hushed tone, leaning in closer so the other boy could hear.

"Hush, my crazy little love..." the fair-haired demon said, pressing a finger to the other boy's lips while trying to hold back a grin. "...things don't always have to make sense."

 


	282. Night-Mares

_"Dad! I don't want to ride the horse!"_

It was a cloudy day on a ranch, somewhere in Wales, a father is going to teach his son how to ride a horse. Just by looking at the man, however, one could tell he didn't belong on a ranch. The closer they walked toward the ranch-hand, the more he could tell, that this would not end well.

The father's clothes were too clean, and too stylish; not appropriate for the occasion, in the slightest. He simply had an air about him that seemed as though he was far away from home. The man's hair was trimmed just so, dark brown locks arranged precisely, and his eyes were auburn, looking down at his unreasonable child, who obviously didn't know what he was saying. The man was an actor, his wife, a fashion designer. His name was _Kristopher Miles,_ and his son was appropriately named " _Kristopherson"._

The boy, aged ten, did not like this. He didn't want to be anywhere near such a large animal, even if his father would be by his side. He could fall off, scraping his knees, or he could be thrown off, causing greater injury. The horse could stomp on him if he hit the ground, and Kristopherson knew, just by looking at the animal, that if that were to happen, his life could very well be in danger.

"I don't wanna ride the horse!" he said, crossing his arms. His father looked at him kindly.

"Now, Kristopherson, _you're_ the one who was excited about seeing the animals all week, weren't you?" he asked. The man crouched down to the lad's level, and ruffled Kristopherson's _then-brown_ hair. "Come on, you're going to _love_ this! Daddy rides horses all the time for TV. It's _easy!"_

"But what if I fall?" asked the boy, looking up.

 _"You won't fall."_ said the man. "I'll be right there next to you, guiding the horse. I'll catch you if you slip, alright?"

_"Okay..."_

With that, the ranch-hand selected the calmest of the horses in the stable. He held onto the reigns while Kristopher helped his son up onto the animal's saddle. He was froze. He was high of the ground, and he could feel every movement, from the largest, to the smallest, of the animal underneath him. As soon as his father let go of him, Kristopherson held onto the saddle-horn as tightly as he could, until his knuckles turned white.

The boy stared straight ahead as his father took the reigns, and began walking along side the horse. He was shaking, but this subsided after awhile, as his bidy began to lose some tension at the foreign feeling. Kristopherson couldn't tell if he was having fun or not, yet, but he did hear the ranch-hand calling for them. He turned his head, facing the stable, as he listened closely in order to figure out what the man was trying to say.

"Hey dad," Kristopherson said, "I think that guy wants us to go bac-"

_CRASH!_

Thunder resounded throughout the heavens, causing the boy to jump, but more importantly, it had spooked the horse. With a mighty _neigh,_ it raised up on it's hind legs, causing Kristopherson to grip the saddle tighter. His father tried desperately to calm the horse down as the ranch-hand ran over.

_CRASH!_

It was too late. The horse began to buck and kick, forcing poor Kristopehrson to let go of the saddle, falling to the ground with a _thud._ He looked up, seeing the fearsome creature raise it's hooves from a bug's-eye view. The boy clenched his eys shut as he defensively put his arms in front of him...

" _Kristopherson!"_

 _"AUGH!"_ the faux-blonde screamed, his eyes snapping open again, only for him to discover that he was in his bed, at camp, six years later. He was sweating, and his heart was pounding. In front of him, stood a confused blonde boy, who, after a moment or so, he recognised as Alois Trancy.

 _"What?"_ he demanded, scowling and wiping some of the sweat from his forehead.

"You _alright?"_ Alois asked arching an eyebrow. "You were freaking out in your sleep. Not to mention _, that horrible scream just now_. What's wrong? Is _the boogeyman_ after ya?"

Kristopherson was not amused. He kicked the blankets off of himself, and stood up, stretching for a moment. Slowly, he made his way to his dresser.

" _Shut up..."_ he said.

"Hey, everyone has bad dreams." said Alois, patting the faux-blonde on the shoulder. " _This one time, I dreamed that we were all turned into cats_ , and we had to live like cats until we figured out how to change back. Then, everything got _weird,_ and this freaky _talking frog_ showed up, and-"

"Alois," the other lad interrupted. _"Not to be a dick or anything,_ but _I really don't care, right now."_

" _That bad_ , was it?"

 _"No."_ Kristopherson said, with a yawn. _"It's just too early_."

What did it mean, that dream of his? Was it just a random recalling of memory from a restless mind? Perhaps. Perhaps not. It was difficult for him to say, really. Kristopherson had developed a number of questions in regards to superstitious ideas, but now, he knew demons and other creatures were real, so why not? What was plausible and what was not has changed.

Demons, grim reapers, angels, vampires, werewolves, sorcerers; all of which were said to have not exist, and yet he had seen them all with his own two eyes. Magic exists, so what was to be regarded as fairytales and superstition, now? Nothing seemed to be impossible. At this point, the only thing Kristopherson was doubtful of the existence of was a _proper boyfriend._

He and the blonde menace made their way outside, where the rest of their cabin-mates, as well as the gentlemen from cabin thirteen were waiting. They were all dressed in their swimming gear, as today was the day where they were scheduled for water-sports. The late springtime water would be cold, but that was the least of their worries. What worried them was that the Tamworth students would be there, as well.

"They'll probably talk a lot of shit," said Audrey, "But I doubt they'll actually do anything. At least, not with _mister Irons_ around."

"Yeah, Mister Irons is probably going to be the chaperone, since he is the scariest." said a certain politician's son. "Especially with all the _cute girls in swimsuits!_ Gotta keep them _safe,_ you know~!"

"Is _that_ why you're so excited?" asked Kristopherson, walking down the steps to join them. "Should I tell _Ana?"_

_"You wouldn't dare."_

"Are we going to have to report you to someone, Westley?" asked a certain bluenette.

"Ciel, why are you even asking that?" inquired a certain blonde menace, who automatically attached himself to the Phantomhive, hooking his arm in the other lad's. "You already know that the answer is _'yes'."_

Ciel somewhat shied away from the action. While the bluenette enjoyed the contact, he still wasn't entirely comfortable being so close in public, especially in such a way that lacked subtlety. His had his pride, and he had his ego. Which the fact that they were both men, and the fact that relationships between men of their nature were not entirely accepted, it made it difficult for the bluenette to feel entirely alright.

His blonde beau, however, was the opposite. He somewhat needed the contact to feel comfortable, as a security gesture. With the fact that both he and the bluenette were now in separate living quarters, this proved to only intensify. This was only the second day of the trip, and clearly, Alois was going to have problems.

If Ciel were not there, he would be able to manage, just as he did while he was at the H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. camp, the year before. However, since the bluenette was there, the menace subconsciously required more attention. It was an odd balance, but then again, the demonic duo are quite _odd people._

Once everyone had gathered, the group ventured toward the lake, occasionally pausing to look at a map in order to even find it. The camp was large, but it did not take them long. When they arrived, they saw the lake, with it's glistening blue waters, and surrounding trees. There was a dock, and on it stood Mister Irons, watching the children who were already in the water.

The man had on swim trunks, and a plain, solid blue t-shirt with yellow trim. Warwick colours. The students had never seen him dressed so casually before. He usually wore suits. On further inspection, however, the Sensational Seven discovered why.

Tattoos. Tattoos on his forearms, and peeking out of the sleves of the shirt. They weren't symbols that were recognizable to the average civilian. They were of symbols that warded off evil. The images were drawn in special ink, and were designed specifically for the purpose of repelling things like Vampires, and demons. The majority of the symbols, however, were meant for vampires, the number-one enemy of a certain organization; H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G.

"Oh my god, Irons is _jacked!"_ Alois said, pointing at the man. Fortunately, they were out of earshot, so he wouldn't be heard.

"So you fancy _muscles_ now, do you, Trancy?" joked Kristopherson with a chuckle.

"Nah. I'm not into _tattoos_ , or _old guys_ , either." the menace replied. "Besides, I prefer _bluenettes_ to _gingers_ , any day."

"Who cares?" asked Daniel. "Ladies~! Ladies, everywhere! Finally! _A trip where there's dames involved!"_

"I'm _so_ telling Ana on you." Kristopherson said, as he and the others began to leave the politician's son behind. "Maybe she'll dump you and get a _real_ man?"

"Hey! That's not funny!"

"Yeah, _I really hope she dumps you_."

 


	283. Something is Afoot

occasional yacht, as one ventured further out, originating from the opposite side of the shore. Yes, it was a calm place, far too calm for the tastes of the Seven.

"This is so boring!" complained Daniel, speaking just what everyone was thinking whilst they sat on a large rock near the water.

They weren't permitted to play in their usual manner, splashing each other and dunking each other in the water because of the rules set in place by a certain teacher. They couldn't skip rock without breaking those same rules. They craved some excitement, and they weren't quite sure what else to do but sit and talk.

"If I knew it was going to turn out like this, I would have brought my DS..." said Audrey, resting his chin in his hands as he looked out at a yacht sailing on the other side of the lake.

"We could always bury Preston with the pebbles..." Alois suggested, pointing to the shore.

"Why me?!" demanded the Omid lad.

"Because there would be less resistance." the blonde said jokingly darkly as he played with the bluenette locks of his significant other.

"Why don't we bury you?" asked Kristopherson.

"Because, why would I want to cover up my awesome sexiness?"

"Because it absolutely blinds me." the faux-blonde said, his words dripping with sarcasm, and his eyes rolling.

"We should bury Kris." said Daniel.

"What?! No!" the pink-loving lad protested.

"Why not?" asked the Westley lad. "It'd be funny to see you complain about getting your swim trunks and T-shirt dirty."

"Oh! Can I change my vote to Kris, too?" asked the Trancy boy.

"Piss off!"

"I say Alois." said Audrey. "He's the one who suggested it, so he should get buried."

"Agreed." said Preston. Travis gave a small nod.

"What say you, Ciel?" asked Daniel, turning to the bluenette. "Alois, or Kris?"

"Either way, if we go by the 'majority rules' philosophy, Alois would end up getting buried, anyway." replied the Phantomhive lad, a smirk growing on his face. "Besides, it should be pretty fun to see."

"Oh, you're so mean..." said the blonde menace. He stood up, placing his hands on his hips. "Whelp, get digging, gentlemen! I haven't got all day!"

"Let's dig over there, by the water." joked Audrey.

"Yeah, the water should help him feel relaxed." Kristopherson added.

"You asses!"

The lads dug for a few minutes, simultaneously creating a pile of pebbles next to their shallow grave. Dirt and dust covered the lad's hands when they were done. The blonde menace laid down in it, placing his hands behind his head, as though he were relaxing, yet he winced when the first batch of pebbles were placed on his torso.

"Cold!" he shouted, unhappy with the temperature of the rocks. This only made the others laugh, and encourage them to continue. Even Ciel was having fun with this, odd as that may be.

"We're out of rocks." said Audrey.

"What?" asked the blonde, playfully. His head was sticking out of the ground, and his legs were still visible. "This is an outrage! I demand more blankets, at once!"

"Indeed. This is shameful customer service on our behalf." said Kristopherson. "Please forgive me. Allow me to go fetch you more 'blankets', good sir!"

He chuckled as he turned in order to get more pebbles for his friends, followed by Daniel, who agreed to help him. The others stayed behind, making sure that the small rocks that were already covering the blonde wouldn't fall off, whenever his body shifted. As for the blonde himself, he began to make faces at the bluenette, out of the boredom of having to lay there for so long, trying to make the other boy laugh. The Phantomhive boy's smile might have eventually transformed, giving the blonde the response he desired, had it not been for what was heard instead.

"AUGH!"

It was a scream. Not just any scream. It was Kristopherson. Immediately, the other boys sprang into action, the blonde menace destroying the other's hard work as he got up to do so. When the boys finally reached Kristopherson and the Westley lad, they were both looking at the ground, Kristopherson with his hand over his mouth. As they got closer, the two looked at them, their faces both disgusted and horrified. Even closer, and they saw what was so disturbing.

A severed human foot; that's what it was. The skin was pale, with a bluish tint, showing that blood had already drained from it. That was disturbing, but that the fact that it was severed, made it even worse. It was torn from the ankle, bone sticking out from mangled flesh. All the boys could do was stare at it for a moment, their stomachs turning. The very sight of it made them feel sick, but they became really frightened when their mind wandered to the question of why the foot was there, and in this condition. Naturally, it was Ciel to snap out of his daze, first, shifting into his "working" mindset.

"Preston, Travis..." he called, summoning the others back to reality. "...Go find mister Irons. Tell him that we need an immediate headcount of all of the students here, and that we have 'a situation'."

"Do you want us to tell him what we found?" asked Travis.

"Yes, but tell him not to tell the other teachers yet." Ciel crouched down to look at the limb, eyeing it carefully.

It was large, but not large enough, or worn enough to be that of a full-grown adult. It was most likely a teenager; from the size, and the prominence of the joints, it was most likely that of a male, but he knew that they should probably check the attendance of the girls as well, just to be on the safe-side. The pigmentation of the limb was actually normal for a drowning victim, due to the lack of oxygen providing the blood with it's reddish hue, however, this was not the case.

Maybe this person was drowned, at first, but it certainly wasn't an "accident". It was intentional, obviously, by the fact that it was severed. This wasn't as concerning, if it had been cut cleanly, but the appendage was torn, not cut. It was obvious to the Phantomhive, that this was not the work of a human being. Alois sighed, joining the bluenette in staring at the foot. He said:

"Well, I guess that's the end of this vacation..."

 


	284. Mister Freeze

A severed human foot was found on only the second day fo the Junior Reward camp. It was found by the lake, torn at the ankle. Students and teachers alike were none the wiser, only the Sensational Seven, Mister Irons, and a certain irritant of a sorcerer were aware of the occurrence. Mister Irons, being aware of the true nature of the demonic duo and their "part-time job", as he was a former member of H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G., was requested to take a head-count of the students currently in the camp, and pass the information back to the Phantomhive and Trancy lads. Even though he had fought their kind for a good portion of his life, the man could not deny that they would be able to solve this mystery, and eliminate the threat quickly, preventing further deaths, and ensuring the safety of the children.

"How long do you think it will take to count everyone?" asked Preston, as the group met back at cabin number thirteen, making it their unlikely headquarters.

"There are three different schools at this camp." answered a certain reaper-boy, lounging lazily on his bunk. "It could take a while."

"Then what?" asked Daniel. "We find out who could have died, and then what?"

"We find out who knows them." Ciel replied, rubbing his chin as if he were thinking. "They weren't supposed to be down by the lake before we all went together. Surely they weren't alone. There was probably a group of people there with them; being a bunch of rambunctious teenagers on a school trip, who might have seen something." he explained.

"Maybe our culprit is actually among the group." suggested Alois.

"My thoughts, exactly."

"Okay?" said the Westley lad. "But why'd you tell me and Kris to get you a plastic bag after you sent Preston and Travis to talk to Irons?" Ciel folded his arms in response.

"I needed something to put the evidence in." the bluenette said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. The others simply stared at him, all hesitant to ask the question that now plagued their thoughts.

"Ciel..." Kristopherson began, rubbing his forehead, bracing himself for the answer to the question that he was about to ask. "...Where is the foot now?"

"It's in the refrigerator, of course." the bluenette so bluntly replied, gesturing to the small, mini-fridge placed in the room, as it was in all of the other cabins. One could imagine the looks on the others' faces with little description.

"Are you serious?" asked Krisotpherson.

"Of course." Ciel answered. "Where else am I supposed to keep it?"

"I had food in there!" said Audrey, hesitantly crawling over to the fridge that was place on the floor. Slowly, he reached for the handle...

"Don't do it, Audrey!" said Preston. "I don't want to see it!"

It was too late. The door was open, and sure enough, there, on the shelf sat the severed foot in a large zip-loc bag. The reaper boy wrinkled his nose in disgust, as he pinched the top of the bag with his index finger and thumb, and held it up so he could see it. He was sure to keep it an arms distance away from himself.

"Ugh! Put it back!" said Kristopherson, turning his head and shielding his eyes. Preston and Travis did the same, while the rest simply looked revolted. Everyone but the demonic duo, of course.

The pair had seen some horrors in their time. Walking rotting corpses, murder scenes, horrific accidents, and more. They were not very squeamish at all, by this point, and simply sat there calmly, as the other lads irked.

"Your boyfriend's a complete psycho..." said Dafydd, leaning to the side to whisper to the blonde menace.

"No, he's not. He's a high-functioning sociopath." Alois replied.

"He's demented."

"I know." answered the blonde. "Isn't it hot?"

"Audrey, please don't touch my foot." said the Phantomhive, snapping the others out of their daze. "I still need that."

"What possible use could you have for a frozen foot?" asked the Baines lad, causing the bluenette to roll his eye.

"To figure out who, or what did this, of course."

The bluenette reached over, grabbing the foot. It's coldness seeped through the plastic, and it's clamminess was registered by the bluenette, but he didn't mind. He looked at it through the clear plastic, turning it, occasionally. What he saw confirmed what ha had feared.

Teeth marks. There were teeth marks on the foot. They were faint, but there. The appendage was actually bruised in a spot or two, from the force used to grip it. Ciel was bothered even more so, however, by the fact that the marks weren't the same each time. They were dull in some places, but sharp in others, where it actually broke the skin. As he looked closer to where it had been torn off, the marks actually went in quite deep. This wasn't a murderer. This was a predator.

With a frown, the bluenette examined the appendage, his eyebrows furrowing deeper each time he found something unpleasant. They others simply watched him, to rather, the foot that he was holding. Their yes simply could not stray from it, and their thoughts couldn't stray from the way the bluenette was holding it so calmly.

The teeth marks changed. Ciel couldn't quite tell if it were multiple predators, or just one. He wasn't quite sure which was worse. Multiple predators was problematic for obvious reasons, however, if this was just one, that means that teeth that made these marks were changing. They were dealing with a shape-shifter.

Startling the boys, the door swished open. The bluenette quickly hid the foot behind his back as Mister Irons walked in with a clipboard. The man had seen the appendage, but chose to ignore it. The boy was a demon, and a detective. That's all the rationality he needed.

"Phantomhive, Trancy, Westley, Miles, Omid, Sullivan, Baines, Blake, you're all here." he listed off, checking their names off before tossing the clipboard at the bluenette's feet. "There's your headcount." he said.

"Thank you, Mister Irons." Ciel replied, picking it up and flipping through the pages clipped to it.

"Did you find out anything new?" the man asked, crossing his arms.

"I think so. This is a predatory attack." the bluenette said. "There are either multiple predators, or we may be dealing with a shape-shifter."

"What makes you say that?"

"The bitemarks on the foot are all different. The gradually start to cut deeper and..."

"On second thought, I don't want to know." Mister Irons replied, rubbing his temples. "I'm just going to take your word for it."

Ciel continued to look over the list, flipping through page after page of names while the blonde menace teased the others by holding out the foot near them. Everyone seemed to be accounted for, except two names. One of them was a boy by the name of Connor Dudley, from Tamworth, and-; the bluenette froze.

"What is it, Ciel?" asked the blonde menace, concerned. The bluenette looked up.

"There's two people missing." he said. "One of them is from Tamworth, named 'Connor Dudley', and the other one is..." he trailed off.

"Who?"

"..Oliver Midford."

* * *

 


	285. The Hunt for the Green October

It was night. The forest was cloaked in darkness, as a blueish black void of nothingness hung overhead, the only thing there being small, bright crystals floating around in space. The camp was quiet. Boys, girls, men and women alike lying asleep in their respective cabins, awaiting the morning to come. There were, however, a few exceptions.

The demonic duo, being the only ones who did not require sleep, were stirring, patrolling the forest while searching for one of the missing lads, or their remains, at least. Why the forest, and not the lake? Because, should one of the missing lads, by chance, be alive, if they weren't on the camp's grounds, then where else would they be?

With an odd sense of urgency, they searched. Ciel and Alois searched for anything, using their superior demonic senses as their guides, yet found nothing, causing urgency to grow. This came from, not the blonde, but from the bluenette, instead.

Yes, it was Ciel, who was the one who was absolutely restless. Not only was it his duty as the queens gaurddog to protect the public-, the students, but it was also his duty to his kin to protect them as well, and one of the lads who went missing, just so happened to fall into the latter category. Oliver Midford, however small in amount, however deluded, being of Midford lineage, also had Phantomhive blood. The marriage of his aunt, his father's sister, was responsible for this. It was his honour as a Phantomhive that made this essential, but it was more than that.

The Midfords, living remnants of his family, his aunt, her husband, their children, his cousins, one of them being his former fiancee and childhood friend; he left them all behind without a single word. All that was received was a note, informing them that he had died, somehow. No "why", no "how", just a note. "In memory of Ciel Phantomhive, December 14th, 1878-August 26th, 1889, aged 13 years."

What had they felt, at receiving that news? What had they felt, at receiving no explanation? What had they felt? How did they react? The questions kept piling up, and they would never have an answer. The bluenette knew his decision was for the best, and he knew he had made an obligation to carry it out, but did he feel even the smallest pang of guilt because of it? Of course he did. They were his family, and he loved them.

He knew that he had hurt them greatly with his supposed "untimely death", and he would never see them again. He had to keep going, even if he wanted to look back at them. Looking back wouldn't do him any good. Looking back would only make things worse.

Ciel must move forward, and he will. Yet, the guilt remains. Finding Oliver wouldn't bring them back. Making sure he was alright wouldn't spare their grieving. It wouldn't right the wrongs of the past, yet he needed to do this; for their sake.

If was illogical, irrational, and yet understandable. At least the blonde at his side felt so. He didn't even need to ask why the bluenette was moving in such a frantic manner, or why his expression was a bit "off". He understood entirely, and he also understood that the bluenette wasn't quite in the right frame of mind, at the moment.

While they were searching for a child who was more likely dead than not, there was potentially a predatory shape-shifter, or maybe two, with a taste for human flesh inside the camp. They were the ones best suited for protecting it, and yet they were not. With a sigh, the blonde finally spoke up.

"Hey, Ciel? Why don't we split up? We can cover more ground that way." he said, watching the other boy, waiting for a response. He was genuinely surprised with the one he got.

"No." the bluenette said simply. Why? That didn't make any sense.

"Huh?" the blonde asked, unsure if he actually heard what he thought he did.

"I said 'no'." Ciel repeated, looking ahead of him, where he was walking. "I need you here."

"Why?"

"Because we don't know what we could be up against." Ciel answered. "If one of us runs into this thing, we might not be able to kill it on our own."

"Ciel, we're demons." the blonde said. "You can use magic and wield shadows, I can control plants. In case you haven't noticed, there's lots of shadows and plants around here." He motioned around them at the nighttime forest for emphasis. He then reached into his jacket, taking out his Kaspar pistol that he brought in case of such of an event. "Not to mention, we have anti-freak weapons. I think we'll be fine."

"This isn't up for debate." the bluenette said, finally looking at the Trancy lad. "Let's go, we have a lot of ground to cover."

"I just said that..."

"Did you?" The blonde menace sighed, placing one hand on his hip while rubbing his forehead with his other. He then placed his hands on the bluenette's shoulders.

"Ciel, I know you're worried, and I understand why, but if Oliver's gone, he's gone, and there's nothing we can do." he said. Ciel simply furrowed his brow.

"I know that." the bluenette said, shooing the other lad's arms away. "We still can't deny the possibility that he may still be alive."

"I agree. That's why we need to hurry, and splitting up will be faster." Alois pulled out his cell-phone and looked at the time. "It's 12:30, now. Let's meet back at the cabin in a few hours. What time should we?"

"Alois, I don't want to split up."

"Why? Are you scared of the big, bad, forest, or something?" the blonde said, trying to put some humour into the situation. His companion, however, was less than amused.

"Of course not." he said, his tone slightly irritated.

"Don't get mad at me." Alois replied. "You're the one who's not making sense, Ciel."

"I'm not mad."

"Then what is the problem, here?" When the bluenette didn't answer, and instead turned around to start walking again, the blonde rolled his eyes.

"Look, we're not going to make any progress, this way." Alois continued, turning in a direction different to that of the other boy. "I'm going to search on my own. I'll see you back at the cabin in a few hours."

As he spoke that final sentence, he heard the crunching of twigs from behind him. He turned, preparing for a fight, but instead found the bluenette wrapping his arms around the blonde's neck in an embrace. Alois had to admit, he was surprised. This was definitely behaviour unusual for the bluenette.

"Ciel?"

"I just don't want to lose you, too." the Phantomhive said, resting his forehead on the blonde's shoulder, so the other boy couldn't see his face.

He was definitely embarrassed. It was childish, irrational, and yet, it still concerned him, all the same. He knew that the likelihood of the blonde's demise was nearly naught, yet he still didn't want him to leave his sight. Ciel relaxed a bit, as he felt a hand stroking his hair in a soothing manner, and an arm around his waist.

"You're not going to lose me." Alois said. "I wouldn't let this whatever-it-is kill me. I know how pissed off you'd be, if I did! We're going to eliminate the threat, just like always, and we're going to go home together, just like always."

The hand that was stroking the Phantomhive lad's hair made it's way toward his cheek, cupping it briefly while guiding his face upward to where the blonde could see it. He then guided the bluenette closer, to where their lips were almost touching. Before he could guide him the rest of the way, it was Ciel who closed the gap.

The kiss lasted longer than either of them actually intended. Odd, how not doing so over the past few days had affected them. They didn't realize how much they would miss such a now mundane action. Their lips moved in synch as they embraced, simply enjoying each other's presence. This however, was interrupted by a very distinct and unignorable sound.

"H-hello? Is someone there?"

It was weak, but both lads could hear it, causing them to separate. They both paused for a moment, allowing the voice to register. It was then that Ciel perked up.

"Oliver!" he declared. "Oliver, is that you?" The demonic duo listened as they ventured in the direction that they had first heard the sound.

 


	286. Cliffhanger

"Oliver?"

The demonic duo called for the Midford boy, who would occasionally answer back with an "over here!" or "this way!" in response. It was pitch black, however, since the Phantomhive and Trancy were both demons, they could see clearly. This, however, didn't change the fact that they didn't see Oliver anywhere. With a deep breath, Ciel did his best in order to try to calm his nerves, in order for him to try and use his sixth sense to find the boy.

"This way." he said, motioning for the blonde menace to follow him. The other boy nodded, and did as instructed, however, one thing did occur to him.

"What if it's the shape-shifter disguised as Oliver?" asked Alois. "How will we know if it's him or not?"

"Sixth sense will pick up on that." the bluenette replied. "I'll ask him a few questions, just to be sure, however."

"Sounds like a plan- ugh!" The blonde was cut off when the bluenette stopped, and yanked on the back of the blonde's shirt-collar, forcing him backward.

"What was that for?!" Alois demanded, turning to look at the other a roll of his eyes, Ciel pointed at the ground in front of him, revealing that there was no "ground" there at all.

"Watch where you're going." he said, as the blonde menace stared wide-eyed at the cliff. How on earth did he not know that was there?

"Ciel? Alois? Is that you?" called a weak voice, obviously straining for volume. It was close, but where was it coming from? Alois brushed his hand against Ciel's shoulder, beckoning his attention, and pointing. It was then that the bluenette peaked over the cliff as well, seeing the Midford boy sitting there, looking up at them from a ledge along the natural rock wall.

Oliver was dirty, and looked tired. Dark circles were underneath his hopeful eyes, and bruises decorated his skin as he clutched his ankle in pain. The boy had fallen and stumbled down the cliff, landing on the ledge merely by luck, instead of smashing against the rocks below. Oliver wasn't lacking in physical fitness in any way, he went to the H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. summer camp, after all, however, from what the bluenette could see, he had hurt his ankle on the way down, and simply couldn't climb back up.

Poor lad. He was stuck there for an entire day, injured, tired, and probably hungry. He was looking up at the duo, a smile forming on his face against his will. He was almost certain that no one would come for him.

"Oliver, are you alright?" called the bluenette.

"Yeah, I'm alright." Oliver replied. "I think I twisted my ankle when I fell down here, but I'm okay."

"Just stay put. We'll get you out." the Phantomhive boy said, examining the cliff in order to find the best way to get down there. Before he could, however, the blonde menace was had already began to climb his way down there.

Alois was used to climbing. He had climbed trees and rocks all throughout his childhood, and was well aware of what he was doing. While his bluenette companion had chosen to think about it, he had made the decision to go ahead, using his own skills. He knew that Ciel would be mad at him for doing so without word, but he was more concerned about getting the job done at the moment. Impressing the bluenette's relative and making a good impression couldn't hurt, either.

"Alois! What are you doing?!" the bluenette called. Alois had been caught.

"I'm going to get Oliver, what's it look like?" the blonde replied, looking up at the other boy. "Relax, I've got this. I've done stuff like this all the time, so just wait there, and I'll bring him up." Before he could say anything else, the bluenette had begun to descend as well.

"I'm not letting you risk yourself like that." Ciel said, as he climbed down. "What if you fall? Who's to save you then?"

"Ciel, I'm a demon. I did this when I was human, too. I can manage." the fair-haired lad insisted, watching the other boy climb down. "You're the one who should be careful. Have you ever climbed anything in your life?"

"I've climbed a clock tower, before..." the Phantomhive replied.

"That was me in your body."

"We climbed a Ferris Wheel a while back, didn't we?"

"Climbing a Ferris Wheel, and climbing rock is completely different." the blonde said, looking up at the lad. "You've lived one-hundred and thirty years, and haven't climbing anything like this? Get that cute ass of yours back up there before you fall."

"Are you seriously staring at my ass? Now, of all times?!" Ciel replied, his blush hidden by darkness.

"It's hard not to when it's in my face." Alois answered. "You better climb back up before you put another crack in it, Ciel."

"Shut up!" the bluenette barked, shifting his weight onto the next rock as he ignored the blonde's suggestion.

"Ciel! Don't put your foot there! It's a weak-"

Alois didn't even get to finish his sentence before the stone gave way under the extra weight, startling the bluenette. He fell, hands scrapping against the rock wall in order to slow, if not stop his descent. He fell to the platform that Oliver sat on, landing on his back, which completely knocked the wind out of him. His relative sat, wide-eyed, as the bluenette let out a pained groan, grasping at his back and the back of his head.

"Ciel, are you okay?!" Oliver asked, crawling over to the boy in order to help him.

The pain started at the back of his head, and along his spine, before shooting forward toward his front and then radiating to the parts it hadn't reached. Ciel could feel pain in the center of his forehead, and in his lungs, his breathing uneven and his head fogging up. He couldn't hear Oliver over the ringing in his ears, but was aware that he was talking. Taking a quick guess as to what he was saying, he uttered a small "I'm fine", that sounded almost like a growl. If he were human, he would need immediate medical attention, but since he was not, he only needed a moment to recover.

Ciel lied on his back for a moment, watching the blonde menace who was still on the wall. He scrunched his eyebrows together as he observed that the blonde wasn't moving, and was instead looking down at himself and Oliver, with an odd expression on his face. It took Ciel a brief moment to understand the meaning of this, but when he did, he immediately knew. He could feel the platform shifting underneath them.

His hearing returning, he could hear the sound of crumbling and shifting rock, and he looked over at Oliver, who was obviously terrified. He forced himself to move over to the other boy, picking him up in a manner similar to how his butler would have done to him in the past, and prepared to make a jump. His leg muscles tensed, but his leverage was destroyed as the rock crumbled underneath his feet. He had nothing to push against. He was falling again.

There was a third person, however, who was not very keen on this idea. Alois cocked his arm backward before slamming his hand against the wall. His eyes glowed red as green vines sprang forth, growing at a rapid pace from their locations in the earth's many cracks and crevices. Downward, he directed them, instructing them to wrap around the bluenette's waist, who abandoned his original method of carrying Oliver in order to wrap his arms around the other boy's waist, getting a better grip.

On the opposite end, Alois was griping the vine from it's place on the wall, his arm tensing. His eyes glowed again, and more vines sprouted, wrapping around his torso. Once he was secure, he shifted his feet, and grabbed the lifeline of the other's with both hand, now that they were free. He began to pull on the vine, bringing the lads up. It was a slow process, but it was working.

"See? What did I tell you?" he said, a hint of amusement in his voice. "Stubborn, as always, aren't we?"

"Shut up..." the bluenette said, somewhat embarrasedly. "I get it, already..."

Suddenly, there was a snap. Alois turned to the vines holding himself up, which were starting to break. Because he had to call so many, the strength of the plants was weakened, causing them to snap. He looked back to the Phantomhive and Midford, who were looking up at him, confused as to why he had stopped pulling, and then he looked back again.

To the lads, and to the vines, he did this a few times before furrowing his brow and tightening his grip on the vine in his hand. He began to wing the vine back and forth, gaining momentum, much to the others' displeasure.

"What in blazes are you doing?!" the bluenette demanded. Oliver simply clung to his kin for dear life.

With a grunt, he used this new-found inertia, and swung the vine as hard as he could, sending the others flying upward. The violent movement he needed in order to do so snapping the remainder of the vines holding himself up. The boys passed each other, one going upward, and the other going down.

Ciel and Oliver made it up the cliff, rolling, tumbling, and skidding across earth as the landed on solid ground. They had a few new scrapes and bruises, but were otherwise alright. Once he regained some sense, the bluenette's eyes widened, and he began scrambled to get up, heading in the direction from which they came. Oliver would be fine where he was, for now, but what about Alois?

"Alois!" he called, sitting on his knees and looking over the cliff.

Below him, he saw the blonde menace, dangling while grasping a small rock that protruded from the wall. His fingers were twitching and bloody from scraping against rock in an attempt to save himself, but he maintained his grip, reaching up with his free hand to keep himself there. The blonde grit his teeth at the pain of dust and dirt getting into his fresh cuts.

"I'm okay!" he called, finally. "Just gimme a minute to climb up!" Ciel let out a sigh of relief.

Knowing that the blonde menace was alive and well, the bluenette could turn his attention to Oliver, who was now sitting up and clutching at his ankle. That rough landing probably didn't do much to ease his pain. The bluenette got up and walked over to the boy before crouching down next to him.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

"Well, my ankle hurts a bit more than it did earlier." Oliver replied. "I'm hungry, thirsty, I need a shower, oh, and there's a killer lady on the loose, but I'm sure you already know that."

"'Killer lady'?" echoed the bluenette. "How do you know it was a lady?" The boy looked over to the bluenette, his face pale.

"Because I saw her." he said, looking at the ground. "I saw her kill someone..."

"Where?" Ciel asked, "What happened?"

The Midford took a deep breath, trying to calm down. He had been through a lot over the past two days. Not even shooting ghouls at H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. for practice could have prepared him for what he saw. He opened his mouth to speak, fumbling to find his words.

"It was past curfew, yesterday night." he said. He knew hiding anything wouldn't do anyone any good, seeing as that thing was still out there. "Some of the Tamworth boys walked past our cabin, and I wondered where they were going. I tried to wake up Nigel to go with me, but I couldn't, and went on my own. I followed them for a little while. They stopped at the lake. They met up with a few girls from their school, and were swimming."

"One of them saw me, though." Oliver continued. "He shouted at me for a bit. I tried to run, be he and a few others started chasing me. Eventually I lost all of them, but the first one, and by that time, we made it to that spot around the dock, y'know? That's when she appeared..."

"Who?" asked the bluenette. "Who is 'she'?" Oliver paused before speaking again.

"I don't know who she was. I don't know what, either." the Midford boy said, looking down at his folded hands. "She was in the water. Very pretty, too, almost like she was some kind of mermaid. She called out to us, asking us if we'd like to swim with her. I didn't think there was anything right about her at all; the way she was out by herself in the middle of the night was suspicious, and see seemed almost otherworldly. I didn't go into the water, but the Tamworth bloke who was chasing me did. That's when she... she..." Oliver put his head in his hands.

"She tore him to pieces!" he said, his voice cracking. "She grew claws, and her eyes started glowing! She tore open his shoulder with her teeth and started dragging him down into the water! The more he struggled, the more he was torn apart!" He shook his head, and his voice went soft.

"All I could do was run away. I was so scared that she would come after me, next..." he continued. "I ran into the woods to hide, but it was dark, and I fell down the cliff and twisted my ankle. Pathetic, aren't I? I'm supposed to be a H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. trainee..."

"That's not pathetic at all." the bluenette said. "You were unarmed. There was nothing else you could have done. It's not your fault at all, Oliver. There's nothing shameful about surviving." The Midford boy looked up at his relative, a small smile forming on his face.

"I guess not, is there?" he said. It was then that they heard rustling from the cliff.

Huffing and puffing, the blonde menace crawled his way up, his torso now on solid ground with ihs legs dangling over the edge. The cuts and scrapes on his hands had healed on his way up. Still, he was quite a mess. Climbing wouldn't have been nearly as tiresome, if at all, had he not used so much energy with making his vines. Ciel bidded Oliver a quick "thank you" for his information, before walking over to the Trancy boy, pulling him up the rest of the way.

"What about you? Are you alright?" he asked.

"Uuuggghhh..." the blonde groaned, flipping himself on his back.

"Was that a 'yes-ugh', or a 'no-ugh'?" the bluenette inquired jokingly.

"Shut up, you klutz." Alois replied, lazily swiping at the bluenette's foot. "I told you not to climb, but 'Noooo~! Phantomhive knows everything~!'"

"Sorry." the bluenette said bashfully. "I was worried that you would get hurt, but I only ended up hurting you more, instead..."

"Don't worry about it." the blonde said, smiling. "You can just make it up to me with your body."

"Hahaha, **no**."

 


	287. Down By The Bay

"What is he doing here?" asked a sleepy faux-blonde.

Oliver Midford had returned to the camp safe and sound, however, he required medical attention, and something to eat. Both the infirmary, and the mess hall were closed during this hour, so the demonic duo did the next logical thing: sneak him back to cabin twelve. The bluenette had the first aid kit that was under the sink in every cabin, and was wrapping up his relative's ankle, while the blonde menace busily rummaged through the cabin's small refrigerator for some food for the boy.

"It's a long story." said Alois, looking back at the Miles lad from over his shoulder. "We couldn't bring him to Ciel's cabin, because he hasn't eaten, and the food in their fridge has been contaminated with severed foot."

"Makes sense." Kristopherson replied, rolling over in his bunk before trying to go back to sleep.

"Ciel, are you sure you don't have some kind of freaky foot-fetish, or something?" asked Daniel, leaning over the top bunk, which was just above Kristopherson's head. The bluenette frowned as he finished wrapping the Midford boy's ankle.

"I don't have one." the Phantomhive boy said, shooting the Westley a mean look. As if on cue, Alois chimed in.

"Trust me, I would know." he said. He blushed, however, when he remembered that Oliver was there, and realised that he had just said something completely inappropriate.

"Seems legit." Daniel said, grinning at the menace's faux-pas. "You have to give me details about how you found Ollie, tomorrow."

"And if I don't?"

"I'll leave you alone in the cabin with a evil, morning-Kristopherson."

"Ooh~! I'm so scared!" the blonde said, grabbing some food from the fridge and walking over to his bluenette companion and Oliver. "What's he gonna do? Criticise my outfit?"

"I'll do much more than that, if you lot don't shut up." the faux-blonde interrupted.

"Sorry, princess, we'll let you get you beauty-sleep." spoke the Westley lad, peeking down at the bottom bunk, and grinning at the now seemingly upside-down Miles boy.

"I highly appreciate that, Danny." Krisotpherson replied, specifically in an attempt to annoy his friend; an attempt that failed, and did nothing but encourage the boy.

"Would you like me to sing you a lullaby?" Daniel teased.

"I would like for you to shut the hell up."

"I'm not good at that, though."

"And you're good at singing?" asked the blonde menace, as the other blonde seated next to him on the floor stuffed his face.

"Yeah. I was in choir all through elementary and middle-school, mind you, and even won competitions." the politician's son said indignantly.

"This, I have to hear." Alois said.

"No..." groaned the faux-blonde, putting a pillow over his head.

"You just don't want me to, because you find it unbearably attractive, don't you?" Daniel continued to tease, reaching down to poke the other boy's leg, who immediately kicked the hand away. "No homo, of course."

In a huff, the faux-blonde sat up, pushing his bangs out of his face, and swinging his legs over the side of the bed. He reached down and grabbed his shoes, putting them on before grabbing his pink hoodie and donning that as well. He got up and began heading toward the door.

"I can't sleep like this." he grumbled. "I'm going for a walk. When I get back, I hope you've all learned how to shut your traps."

And with that, he walked out the door. The room was silent for a moment, the remaining boys all pausing to look at each other. They knew that arguing with the faux-blonde in his drowsy state was useless. The boy was more stubborn, and irritable than ever. They simply couldn't allow him to go out on his own, either, seeing as there was some sort of predatory, shape-shifting woman on the loose. It was the bluenette who spoke first.

"I'll follow him." he said, standing up. "We can't just let him go out with that thing on the prowl."

"Alrighty." Alois replied. "Ring me a bell, if you need me to save you." He motioned, placing his pinky and thumb up to the side of his head like a cell-phone, and laughed when the bluenette rolled his eye, recalling the events that happened only an hour ago.

Moments passed, after the bluenette left, leaving the remaining four lads in silence. Now, Alois, was feeling quite awkward, being around a member of his bluenette beau's family, and especially one he seemed to care quite a bit about. His uneasiness was heightened by remembering the implication behind his earlier outburst, where he claimed to certainly know if the Phantomhive had a "foot-fetish".

"Why the bloody hell did I have to say that?!" he thought, internally kicking himself. "Do I want the Midfords to think I'm some kind of sex kitten or concubine?!"

"Uhm..." Oliver said, startling Alois and ripping him from his little dilemma.

"Y-yes?" answered the Trancy, turning to face his fellow blonde.

"Thanks again, for saving me earlier." the Midford boy said, offering the other lad a smile. "If neither of you came to get me out, I might've died after a few days."

"Oh! I-it's no problem! It's my job, after all!" Alois said, dutifully. He returned the smile, somewhat bashfully.

This lad had an odd sort of gentle atmosphere about him. He certainly wasn't like the girl Alois had danced with at that costume party many years ago. Oliver was calm and soft-spoken, with a certain disarming air about him that took away some of the uneasiness of the menaces' nerves. Somehow, he reminded Alois of his former maid, Hannah Annafelloz, to a small extent.

"I see." the Midford boy said. "It was still pretty brave of you. I'm also glad to see Ciel acting so lively. He seems like a much happier person, and I guess I have you to thank for that, as well."

"I-It's no big deal. I love him, so I course I want him to be happy." Alois replied, glaring up at the Westley boy's bunk as he heard a snicker. "Are you done eating?"

Oliver looked down at his plate, which was now completely empty. He didn't even notice he had eaten it all. He said: "Oh, yeah. Thanks a lot for the food. I was starving."

"You don't have to thank me for everything." Alois said, taking the empty plate from the lad. "Do you want some more, or do you want to take a shower?"

"A shower would be nice." the Midford said. "I haven't showered for awhile. I know I probably stink."

"So does Daniel, but we tolerate him."

"Hey!" Interjected the Westley lad.

"The shower is right through there." Alois continued. "Do you want to borrow some clothes?"

"Oh, no thanks. I don't want to be any trouble..."

"It's no trouble at all! Wearing those must feel pretty gross, huh?" spoke the menace. "Just head that way, I'll get you something to wear. Just as long as you're okay with purple."

"As frowned upon as it is to wear another houses' colours, I might just have to take you up on that offer." Oliver replied, walking toward the bathroom. While he did that, the blonde menace did as he offered, and began rummaging through his clothes in order to find the other boy something to wear, hearing the sounds of Daniel trying not to laugh.

"What?" he asked, finally giving in to ask what was so amusing to the brunette.

"Trying to impress the in-laws, eh, Trancy?" Daniel asked in return.

"Shut up."

"Hey, I'm not judging." the Westley boy said. "After all, if you're going to be the future 'Missus Phantomhive' one day, it's only natural for you to want his family to like you."

"Why am I going to be a 'Missus'?" asked the demon.

"You know damn well, wink-wink, nudge-nudge, say no more, say no more."

"Shut up."

With that, the blonde's mobile phone began to vibrate, the screen lighting up. The boy dug in his pocket for it, picking up and placing it next to his ear. He knew who it was, and he knew this couldn't be good.

"Yeah?" he greeted, as he shifted suddenly away from the mindset that would have done so with more politeness.

"Get over here." the voice on the other end said, obviously the bluenette's.

"Where are you?" Alois responded, freezing with a shirt and a pair of pants slung across his arm.

"By the docks."

 


	288. Terror At The OK Corral

"I can't sleep like this." grumbled a certain faux-blonde. "I'm going for a walk. When I get back, I hope you've all learned how to shut your traps."

With that, Kristopherson stepped outside, closing the door behind him. The night air was chilly, even though it was late spring. He knitted hit eyebrows together, finding it needlessly irritating as he zipped up his hoodie, and stepped onward.

He was annoyed, and frustrated. Kristopherson liked to sleep. Anything preventing him from doing so was automatically susceptable to his irritable wrath. He was more annoyed than usual, however, due to what was said before by the Westley lad.

"You just don't want me to, because you find it unbearably attractive, don't you?"

The boy was only joking, but the words echoed in Kristopherson's mind like a broken record. They infuriated the faux-blonde, much more than he would ever want. Why? Because Daniel wasn't entirely wrong.

True, given the Miles lad's sexual orientation, he did indeed, find men attractive. He had found himself eying members of the sensational seven from time to time, finding interest in any number of given qualities at a time, just like any other person would, however, it was Daniel, who genuinely made him angry. This anger Kristopherson felt was not directed at the Westley lad. No, this anger was directed at Kristopherson himself, for finding the boy especially attractive out of the group.

Daniel was an idiot. His wardrobe horrible, his grades awful, his overall intelligence almost obscenely low, at times, and yet, he had many good qualities as well. Kristopherson had known the boy long enough to see them. His worst quality, however, which was the one that made Daniel, while his best friend, it also made him Kristopherson's worst enemy. It was the fact that Daniel was a heterosexual.

Never, would the faux-blonde allow this attraction to grow into anything more. Should he ever, he was doomed to an inevitable heartbreak, and moreover, the Westley boy was currently romantically involved with his year-older sister. Should the two ever marry, the faux-blonde would suffer a lifetime of false smiles that masked horrible emotional agony. This would not happen. He would not allow it.

A heavy sigh escaped Kristopherson's lips. He had initially come out on this walk of his in order to rid his mind of these thoughts, but instead, it only seemed to heighten them. He tried to force his mind on the landscape around him, brightly illuminated by the moon above his head. Granted, it was still dark, but, it wasn't frightening, since he could see.

Eventually, he made it to the lake, and he stood on it's edge, watching the moonlight dance just on the water's surface. It made him feel better, somehow, not thinking about anything but the water. Soon, however, his thoughts wandered from the water, to the severed foot that he had found on it's shore. He rubbed his temples as he tried to forget.

Finally, he looked down at the ground, and saw a smooth rock, like the many that he and his friends had tried to bury the blonde menace in. He bent down, and picked it up, taking his time to run his fingers along it's surface, taking it in, almost memorizing it. Then, in a sudden movement, he furrowed his brow and swung his arm, letting go of the rock and sending it flying toward the water. It skipped about four times, which pleased him, however, his moment of contentment was interrupted by the sound of hands clapping. He turned to his side to see a woman seated on the shore, a few yards away.

Odd, she looked, however not unattractive. Her long black hair was wet, as if she had just been swimming, dripping onto the ground, and she was wearing a black swimsuit. Odd, how someone could swim in this chilly air, so late at night. Her skin was pale, wrapped around a slender frame, it was those pale, thin hands that were clapping, drawing the faux-blonde's attention. It was when she actually turned to look at him, that a chill ran down his spine. The woman's eyes were bright green, and oddly distinguishable in such dim light at such great distance.

"That was a good one." she said, her voice smooth, and silky. "Watch this."

She picked up her own rock, assuming a good stance, before cocking her arm back in a similar manner to how the lad had done. After a small moment, she released her arm, sending the stone flying, skipping six times across the water before finally sinking. Kristopherson simply raised an eyebrow.

"How did you do that?" he asked.

"Easy." the woman said. "It's all in the wrist. The name's Kelsey. You?"

"Kristopherson." the Miles lad replied. "Isn't it a bit late to be swimming and throwing rocks?"

"One could say the same for you."

"I have my reasons."

"Who's to say that I don't?" She sat down on the ground, and patted the area just next to her, beckoning the boy to join her. "Wanna talk about it?"

Kristopherson took a step forward, and froze, his eyes wandering to hers for a moment. Those green eyes were disturbing. They weren't normal. It was then that a horrifying thought came into the faux-blonde's head. What if this person was the shape-shifter?

"You're not trying to chat me up, are you?" he asked, trying to find some answers.

"No promises." the woman winking in response.

"It wouldn't do you any good." Kristopherson said. "I'm batting for the other team."

"Huh?" the woman asked, tilting her head in confusion. "I don't know what that means. Why don't you just come over here, so we can talk?"

"I can hear you fine from right here," the faux-blonde said. "what I meant by that was that I'm not interested in girls."

"Maybe I'm not interested in dating, either?" the woman asked. "Maybe just a little fun?"

"No, no, no, you don't get it at all." The faux-blonde said, placing one hand on his hip while rubbing his forehead with the other. "What I mean is: I'm gay."

The woman, known only as "Kelsey", raised her eyebrows at this. For some odd reason, she seemed genuinely surprised. She stood up, her piercing green eyes never leaving Krisotpherson's brown ones.

"What?" she asked, sounding less like a question, and more like a growl. Her eyes flashed, and Kristopherson tensed.

He shouldn't have kept talking. He should have ran while he had the chance, but Kristopherson, being the snarky, sarcastic lad that he was, simply couldn't' help himself. The boy went running every morning, and could have very well made the Warwick track team, but whatever this woman was, he wasn't sure if he could outrun her. Kelsey took a step forward, and he took a step back.

"Is there I problem?" he asked, doing his best to keep his voice calm. "I'm gay. I'm here, I'm queer, get used to it."

With a snort, the woman in front of him furrowed her brow, her eyes wide; wider than thought to be possible. When she bared her teeth, her sharp, jagged teeth, the Miles lad knew it was time to leave.

His muscles tensed as he immediately began to run. He ran, and he didn't look back. Over the small rocks that lined the shore, and up toward camp, he ran, hearing the increasingly heavy-sounding, fast-paced footsteps being him. The hair on the back of his neck stood on end, his heartbeat accelerating, breath quickening, every nerve screaming, and screaming one word: "Run."

The footsteps to his back were getting louder, heavier, faster, and he could hear snarls and snorts from whatever it was. He did not dare turn around. If he did, he knew he was done for. Suddenly, what sounded like many feet hitting the ground at once was heard, as a massive figure flew over his head, drops of water splashing on his face from it's body, as it landing in front of him. Kristopherson froze. His body locked up, as did his mind, going completely blank. All he could do was stare back at the creature's glowing green eyes. The shape that the shape-shifting creature had to take, was one that something that Kristopherson feared deeply, and irrationally.

A horse.

It's coats was a murky, dark greenish black, and was perpetually soaked. It's white mane dripped lake water to the ground, as if it were producing it, and it had various twigs, and some mud tangled within it's locks. The horse's body was brawny, much more so than your average stallion. It towered over Kristopherson, menacing the lad with every fiber of it's being, and he was not a small lad, either. He was a seventeen-year-old boy, and he was frozen in fear, while confronted by this creature and it's ugly, yellowish, jagged teeth.

It puffed out it's chest, sucking in the cool, night air, and released in not a small whinny, but a roar. The faux-blonde's legs simply gave out at that moment, and he fell to his knees, staring up at the monster. He trembled as it unhinged it's jaws, and tears began to form in his eyes as it came closer. He could feel it's damp breath on his face, and yet he couldn't move. He was completely frozen in fear.

THWACK!

The monster's face turned away as the creature hissed at the pain of the sole of a certain bluenette's shoe coming in harsh contact with it. Kristopherson snapped from his trance only after he was picked up and swung over the other boy's shoulder as they began to make their escape.

"Ciel?!"

"Don't you know that it's not a good idea to go for a walk at night with a predatory shape-shifter on the loose?!" the Phantomhive boy asked, darting between a few trees.

"I wasn't thinking about it!" the pink-loving lad protested. "Wait, were you following me?!"

"I had to make sure you didn't get killed, didn't I?" Ciel answered with a question. "What kind of friend would I be if I just let you die?"

"Why didn't you help me sooner?! That thing nearly killed me!" Kristopherson snapped.

"I thought you would run, not collapse!" replied the bluenette.

"I have equinophobia! Horses terrify me!"

"That's stupid!"

 **"You're** stupid!"

Suddenly, the monster came crashing through branches, neighing and roaring, nostrils flaring, and eyes glowing, as it seeked out the boys. It ducked it's head down and brought it back up again, striking the bluenette in the side, and sending both he, and the Miles boy flying, both landing on the ground with a harsh thud. The rocks underneath them shifted, and the bluenette looked down to see that they had made a full circle back to the docks.

He stood, noticing the faux-blonde cowering at the sight of the creature. Ciel pulled his cellphone and dialed Alois, requesting backup. After listening to the dial tone for a few moments, the blonde picked up.

"Yeah?" greeted the blonde menace on the other end of the line, as he shifted suddenly away from the mindset that would have done so with more politeness.

"Get over here." the bluenette said, all while trying to stare the creature down.

"Where are you?" Alois responded, getting straight to the point.

"By the docks." He could hear the blonde moving, as if rushing to do something else really quickly. Ciel heard some talking in the background before the blonde finally answered.

"What happened?" he demanded, his voice obviously worried.

"We found the shape-shifter." Ciel replied. "It's a kelpie."

"A what?"

"A kelpie."

"What in god's name is a bloody kelpie?" Ciel sighed, listening to the blonde carry on.

"It's a horse-monster that lives in lakes." the bluenette explained. "It lures men to the water in the guise of a woman, or tricks children into getting on it's back, and carries them into the water, where it then eats them."

"You're being attacked by some freaky My Little Pony?" Alois asked. "Whatever, I'll be right there. Use the power of friendship or some shit to hold it off in the meantime."

"I don't get the reference, but alright." the bluenette said, hanging up. Slowly, he then shifted, moving one foot at a time, in order to step between the monster and Kristopherson, all while staring into those ominous green eyes.

"You're awfully polite, aren't you, letting me finish my call?" Ciel said. The Kelpie only snorted in response. "Are you in that much of a hurry to be eliminated?"

With a roar, the creature reared up on it's hind legs, kicking it's front hooves in the air a few times before the crashed down back into the earth. It charged, heading straight toward the bluenette, who didn't waver a single bit. Instead, he took a strong stance, digging his feet into the ground, and right before he was hit, he wrapped his arms around the horse's muzzle, clamping it's jaw shut. Using the monster's own momentum against it, he shifted his weight, bringing the rest of the large creature up off the ground with his own supernatural strength before swinging it in the direction of the water and letting go. The Kelpie neighed as it crashed into the previously calm moonlit waters. Ciel reached down and grabbed Krisotpherson's wrist, forcing him to stand up, before dragging the boy away from the scene. He needed to hurry before the beast recovered. Kristopherson snapped out of his gaze, and finally processed what had just happened.

"Super-strength?!" he asked, his panicked voice cracking somewhat, due to the disbelief of the entire situation. "You have bloody super-strength!? Is there anything you can't do!? What are you, some kind of Satanic Superman!?"

"Of course not." the bluenette said, looking over his shoulder to see a dark figure rising from the water. He smiled reassuringly and continued with:

"I'm simply one hell of a detective."

* * *

 


	289. Piggybacks and Horse Attacks

Twigs snapped underfoot, as the blonde ran to the docks, coming once again to rescue his bluenette beau. Oh, how the blonde menace was going to enjoy teasing the lad about saving him twice over the course of a few hours. This would have to wait, however, as there were more important matters at hand, and time was of the essence. The only thing holding him back now, was the wheezing Westley lad, who was desperately trying to keep up with him.

"Can we... slow down... for just a second!?" Daniel pleaded between gasps, his pace substantially slower than the demon's.

"Nope! We've got things to do, Dan!" Alois said, stopping for a moment to let the other lad catch up. "You didn't have to come, you know. You could've stayed at the cabin with Travis and Oliver."

"And... miss out on... all of the cool stuff... again?!" Daniel asked. "No way!"

"Then hurry up!"

"I'm running... as fast as... I can..."

Running was not the Westley boy's strong suit to begin with, and trying to keep up with a demon was making it even worse. He struggled to keep up, and was almost left behind on more than occasion, much to the annoyance of both boys. Alois was annoyed, because he wanted to hurry to the side of his blue Romeo, and do his job, while Daniel was annoyed, because he was in physical pain from over-exerting his muscles. It felt like his legs and his chest were on fire, and sweat poured down his face, yet he continued on. Not only did he want to be involved in a "supernatural adventure" he also wanted to make sure that his best friend was alright. He had known the Miles lad since primary school, after all, and had to confirm that he was alright.

Sooner or later, however, enough was enough. When Daniel's pace slowed down to a slow jog, Alois turned around. The blonde went back to the son of a politician, looked him straight in the eye, and turned his back to him once more, before crouching on the ground in front of Daniel.

"Hop on my back, I'll carry you." the menace said, displeased with the entire situation.

"No way..." the Westley lad said, huffing to catch his breath. "I'm not going to do some gay-ass shit like that..."

"It's not up for debate. You're too slow on foot." Alois replied, looking back at the other boy. "If you don't hop on willingly, I'll carry you there like a princess, and then Kristopherson will get to laugh at you."

"Can you not?" Daniel sighed, sweeping his sweaty bangs out of his face. In response, the blonde simply said:

"Time's a-wastin', Danny-boy."

After a few moments of silence, Daniel, hesitantly, opened his mouth to speak. He said "Fine." in a huff, while hopping on the blonde's back. "Just don't tell anyone about this."

"Trust me, my lips are sealed." spoke the blonde, standing up. Daniel wraped his arms around the boy's neck.

"Stop touching my ass!" the politician's son said, jumping at the contact.

"That's not your ass, that's your leg." The blonde said, trying to get the other lad to calm down.

After a few moments of bickering, the pair took off again, this time, without much difficulty. They arrived in no time, however, things were not as expected. No one was there, after all.

Nothing. No one. No Ciel, no Kristopherson, and no kelpie. There were, however, places where the rocks along the shore had been shifted, dramatically; certainly by no natural means. Alois and Daniel walked along the stones, examining their environment. Eyes open, ears perked, but alas, there was nothing. Where on earth could the bluenette and the faux-blonde have gone?

"Hey..." Daniel said suddenly, breaking the uncomfortable silence. "You don't think that... The kelpie beat them, did it?" Alois looked to the other boy, eyebrows furrowed.

"There's no way." the menace said, his tone almost angry. "Ciel has faced off against angels, so there's no way that he would lose to a horse."

"Well, I don't see them." said the Westley lad. His face was worried. Every once of his previous fatigue gone. It was past three in the morning, and he was a human, and needed sleep; he had nearly worn himself out trying to make it to the docks quickly, but he certainly didn't look like it.

Alois looked away from the human boy, and instead turned his attention to his surroundings once more. He was worried, but he was certain that the bluenette would be alright. Then again, he did call for help. Perhaps Ciel wasn't "alright" after all?

No, he had to shake away the thought. If there's one thing that Alois had learned from the Phantomhive over these few years spent in the modern world, it was that pausing to think about things rationally would always bring about the best solution. Thus, he decided to clear his thoughts of everything, and think solely on the task at hand. As he did so, his eyes began to glow, and his senses felt much sharper than before. It had been a long while, since had had used his sixth sense, but it was very clear to him that it had been activated.

Suddenly, everything seemed to slow down, the ripples of the water stilling, and the wandering politician's son's movements slowing to almost a complete halt. The sounds of the nighttime forest faded into nothingness; the sounds of the many nocturnal creatures inhabiting it being rendered silent, along with the lake's waves, and the sounds of gravel crunching underfoot. Anything unimportant was drowned out.

The smell. The smell was what struck Alois as odd. The smell of iron hung subtly in the air. No, it wasn't just iron. Alois' keen eyes scanned the ground, trying to pinpoint the origin of the scent. Quickly, they paused over this one patch of gravel that had been especially disturbed.

Alois crouched down on the ground next to it, those red eyes of his locked on the gravel, which upon further investigation, was decorated with reddish brown. It didn't appear grainy enough to be dirt, so Alois pick up a stone, and held it closer to get a better look. Yes, that definately wasn't dirt, and that definately wasn't iron. Obviously, it was dried blood, but now the question was: from where?

His senses were in full control now, and had the Westley boy not noticed the blonde walking away, he would have definately been left behind. Alois walked along the shore, with Daniel trying to keep up, but then, the blonde turned suddenly, and started venturing toward a nearby wooded area that surrounded the lake. After shuffling through a few bushes, the blonde menace found what he was looking for.

Ciel and Kristopherson stood by a seemingly unconscious kelpie. Both it's head, and Ciel's fist were bleeding. Kristopherson appeared calm, but there were traces of fear still evident on his face. He was most likely experiencing a bit of shock at the moment. When the other boys noticed them, Alois immediately rushed over to the bluenette and wrapped his arms around the ever-so-slightly shorter boy.

"You're okay!" Alois said, loudly. "You had me worried. You sounded like you were in serious trouble over the phone."

"Ssssh!" the bluenette hissed, placing a finger to his lips. "We don't want to wake it up."

"Wow, Ciel, I just tell you I'm relieved that you're alive, and that's what you say? Smooth." the blonde teased, lowering his tone.

"Sorry." replied the Phantomhive said. "I didn't mean to make you worry. Kristopherson has a horse-phobia, so the situation was a bit unpredictable."

"I know. I'm just messing with you." spoke the blonde. "So, why didn't you kill it?"

"I couldn't take this thing out with just my fists. It's skull is too hard."

"Oh, I see." Alois said, letting go of the bluenette to dig in his jacket pocket. "Do you think this will work?" he asked, holding the Zamiel pistol. Ciel took the gun from the blonde, checked it to discover that it was fully loaded and smiled.

"You know me so well." he said, taking the safety off.

"Well, someone has to." Alois said, smiling back. "Now, finish this thing off so that the humans can go to sleep."

"Yes, your highness."

Daniel and Kristopherson simply looked on, as the bluenette aimed the weapon at the kelpie's head. Anticipation for the sound of gunfire hung in the air, as the two anxiously awaited the execution. Never before, had they actually witness something die up close. It was like watching a car wreck. It was so horrible, yet they simply could not look away. Ciel cocked the weapon, and put light pressure on the trigger, but before he could actually fire it, the kelpie's eyes shot open.

It roared, jolting upright, and kicking. Ciel took a step back in surprise, as it bucked it's hind legs one last time, striking the Miles boy in the chest. The sind was knocked out of Kristopherson's lungs as he was sent flying backward, the back of his head creating impact with a large rock. His body went limp.

"Kristopherson!" Daniel shouted, trying to wake the lad. He, too, was nearly struck upside the head by the beast, had the Phantomhive boy not stepped in.

Ciel drew the kelpie's attention, waving his arms over his head briefly, and aiming his weapon when the creature's head was still to look at him. He pulled the trigger, but missed, as the kelpie clamped down on his shoulder, it's sharp teeth digging into his flesh. He hissed in pain before the creature drew it's head upward, lifting him off of the ground, causing him to drop his weapon.

"Ciel!" Alois called, watching as the creature began to run with Ciel in it's mouth. Without thinking, he followed the bluenette, picking up his weapon and leaving Daniel alone with an unconscious Kristopherson as the creature ran toward the lake.

It's hooves made contact with the water, as it began to venture out. Water reached it's knees, then it's chest and Ciel's knees, and then it's neck and Ciel's waist. Soon, the bluenette's lungs were starting to fill with water as he thrashed and flailed in order to try and free himself. All Alois could do was watch as this happened, as there was no way to reach the bluenette in time. By the time he would get there, Ciel would already be underwater with the kelpie, which would begin to rip him to shreds.

It was then, that the blonde remembered. He had picked up the bluenette's gun. He could kill that thing. Alas, with Ciel in the beast's jaws, it would be hard to make a clean shot. The bullets would kill the beast, but they could also kill Ciel, as well, and while the blonde was an excellent shot, the Zamiel pistol differed from his own, the Kaspar, and he wasn't used to firing it.

Either way, he had a choice to make, and seconds to make it. Adrenaline coursed through his veins, as his impulsive nature wanted to kick in, and make him run in an attempt to rescue the boy, knowing full-well that logic said that this was a poor decision. With that, Alois made his decision.

He took a deep breath, and calmed down, forgetting everything. He forgot about the faux-blonde in trouble to his back, and he forgot about the bluenette he loved for a moment in an attempt to save him. All he focused on was making this shot. His eyes glowed as he aimed Ciel's weapon, putting pressure on the trigger. He didn't hesitate before pulling it.

The beast fell, Ciel along with it.

"Ciel!" Alois called out, snapping from his trance. Quickly, he rushed to the water, diving in.

The bluenette was thrashing around in the water, blood seeping from his shoulder, as he tried to stay afloat. His head almost went back under the water before the blonde reached him, grabbing his waist and keeping him up. Ciel coughed up water the entire way Alois swam them to shore. He didn't really need his lungs, so they could completely fill with water, and he wouldn't die. He kept coughing, even as they reached their destination.

"Ciel! Ciel? Are you okay?!" the blonde asked, brushing Ciel's soaked bangs out of his face. He touched the boy's shoulder, causing him to wince somewhat.

"I'll be fine." the bluenette replied. "This will only take a few minutes to heal. Exellent shooting, by the way." The blonde sighed with relief.

"I picked up a few things at H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G." he said, smiling, an expression that immediately faded when he remembered something else. "Kristopherson!" Ciel's eye widened as well.

"Let's hurry. He probably has a concussion, and those need to be treated quickly." the bluenette said, reaching into his pocket with his good arm. He was glad that he had gotten a waterproof phone. He simply knew that this would somehow come in handy. He handed the device to Alois.

"Call Audrey, and tell him to wake Dafydd. His magic might come in handy. We're going to need them, since the infirmiry isn't open this time of night." he said. "In the meantime, I'm going to treat Kristopherson until they get here."

"Yes, my master." the blonde said, dialing the Baines lad. As much as they both wanted to embrace the other at this moment for being alright, they had a job to do, and an obligation to their friend.

The demonic duo returned to the scene where it happened. Daniel was sitting on his knees next to the faux-blonde, trying to wake him. His face beyond worried, and his eyes fighting back tears. He had no idea if his best friend was alright. Kristopherson was the person closest to him. Naturally, he didn't want to lose him. When the Phantomhive arrived, his wound was about halfway healed, so he had better use of his arm, and he shooed the brown-haired boy out of the way.

Quickly, he assessed the damage. He held the faux-blonde's head still, and applied the appropriate first-response treatments. Kristopherson's head wasn't busted open, or anything, and there was no wound, which was a good sign. What mattered now, was that his brain was alright.

"I think he's going to be fine." the drenched and wounded bluenette said finally. "I'd like a second opinion, just to be safe, though."

Both of the other boys sighed with relief, but Daniel, however, wasn't entirely satisfied. He looked to the blonde menace, brow furrowed, with a frown prominent on his face. Now that, was a face that was uncommon for the boy.

"What the hell?" the Westley boy asked. "Why'd you just leave me with Kris like that? He could've gotten treatment sooner, if you didn't." Alois simply blinked in surprise.

"What did you want me to do?" replied the blonde. "Let Ciel get torn to bits so I could come up with a half-witted diagnosis?"

"Ciel's a demon. That wouldn't happen." Daniel said. "You could've called Audrey. He could've gotten here quicker, and helped, but you just ditched us."

"Whoa, Danny-boy. Calm down." Alois said, putting his hands up defensively. "Just because we're demons, doesn't mean we can reassemble ourselves after being torn apart and eaten." The Westley boy clicked his tongue in annoyance.

"He's right, Daniel." intervened the Phantomhive boy. "That's a hard thing to survive, and I'm not sure if I actually could. There's no use worrying about it now. What's done is done. All that matters now, is that we get Kristopherson the attention he needs."

In a huff, Daniel crossed his arms and sat on the ground as he waited. Soon, his body began to feel numb, as he drifted off into the sleep that he desperately needed. The demonic duo huddled together, as they were freezing in their soaked clothes. They stayed like that until they were found by the others, Mister Irons with them. They would be in trouble, but it wouldn't be much.

* * *

 


	290. The Dark Descent

Kristopherson awoke with a jolt, and immediately clutched his chest, before moving his hands to the back of his head in an attempt to quell the pain. His eyes were out of focus, and it was hard to breathe. He heard voices, though, and as he gave himself time to adjust, he could understand them, and the figures that they came from became distinguishable. It was then that he realised that Audrey was talking to him.

"Kris?" he called, "Are you alright?" Bones held up two fingers. "How many fingers am I holding up?"

"Two." the faux-blonde said, realising that he was in the bottom bunk of a bunk-bed. He reached up to rub some of the sleep from his eyes, but a jolt of pain shot through his chest again, as he did. It was then that he looked down to realise that he was shirtless, with an ice-pack on his chest.

"What happened?" he asked, trying to sit up. The boy in the skull beanie gently pushed back on his shoulders in order to make him lay back down.

"You were kicked in the chest by a hellspawn-horse." Audrey said. "You hit your head on a rock pretty hard when you fell. Just lay down and rest. You don't need to be doing much."

"All horses are hellspawn." Kristopherson said. He was about to say something else, when the door of the room opened, letting in sunlight. From behind it came the bluenette cyclops, the blonde menace, and a certain politician's son. Their faces immediately lit up upon seeing that the Mile boy was awake.

"Up on your own and it's only noon?" asked Daniel, making his way over to the faux-blonde. "That's impressive." His smile, however, faded when Krisotpherson tried to sit up again, causing the ice-pack to move, and reveal what it was trying heal.

Kristopherson was surprisingly toned. He wasn't exactly muscular, but he had some definition. His skin was smooth, and was nearly flawless, save for a mole on his right pectoral. The only true blemish that was visible to the eye was the big, dark, brown and purple bruise on his chest where the kelpie had kicked him. It was ugly in comparison to the rest of the boy. It didn't suit him at all, and looked extremely painful.

"Everyone else hasn't been awake that long, either." said Audrey, snapping the lad from his thoughts. "Daniel was still asleep when I came back over to check on you."

"I was up until four in the morning." the Westley lad said. "What do you expect?"

"I expect you to stay in bed and don't follow me when I'm trying to do my job." Alois interrupted.

"How are you feeling, Kris?" asked the bluenette, setting everything back on track. The faux-blonde paused for a moment, before speaking.

"My chest is killing me, and so it my head. My mind feels foggy, too." Kristopehrson said. "I don't remember taking my shirt off, either, which is kind of freaky."

"I had to check your wound to see what I needed to do." said Audrey. "You were kicked pretty hard. It's lucky that you didn't break a rib."

"That's another weird thing." the Miles boy continued. "I don't remember getting kicked. I don't remember a horse, either."

He felt a a jolt of fear when he saw the other boy's faces shift to extreme worry. He jumped when the reaper-boy moved his bangs out of his face, revealing his eyes the first time in a while. Audrey's expression was very serious. Bones grabbed the faux-blonde's head, and turned it, performing yet another inspection. He asked questions the entire time.

"Do you know what day it is?" Audrey asked.

"No?" Kristopherson replied.

"What month is it?"

"I don't know..."

"Do demons exist?"

"Yeah, they're right over there." the faux-blonde said, gesturing to Ciel and Alois.

"Do you know where you are right now?"

"I was about to ask you that, next. Where are we?" the Miles boy said as Audrey let go of him. Kristopherson looked to the others, as they all stared at him with fearful expression. "Why is everyone looking at me like that?"

"Short-term Amnesia." said Audrey, looking to the rest of the boys. "It's somewhat short-term, since he knows about demons."

"At least we don't have to explain it to him again." said Alois, trying to lighten the mood. You're at camp, Pinky. It's a reward trip for doing well on exams last year."

"Were we in tenth grade last year?" Kristopherson asked.

"Right, you are~!" the menace replied, causing the memory-deprived Miles boy to sigh with relief. He looked to Audrey.

"How long will it be until I get my memory back?" he asked. Bones simply folded his arms.

"It's hard to say." the reaper-boy replied. "It could be anywhere from a few days, to a few months. It all depends on you."

"It doesn't seem that bad, though." spoke up a certain policitian's son. "He remembers what year it is, after all."

"Yes, but he won't remember crucial events over the year." said Ciel. "Depending on how far back he's gone, he won't remember Dafydd, getting trapped on the Ferris Wheel, and if he doesn't remember coming to camp, he certainly doesn't remember Oliver."

"You're right, I have absolutely no idea what you're talking about." said the faux-blonde.

"Wait, are you being serious, or sarcastic?" asked Alois, arching an eyebrow at the Miles lad.

"Serious. Why?"

"It's hard to tell, sometimes..."

"So, what's the plan?" asked Daniel, looking to the bluenette. "Are we just going to leave him like this, or use some kind of supernatural, 'hocus-pocus'?" The Phantomhive lad stood for a moment, scratching his chin while deep in thought, concocting a response.

"Leaving him could be bad, since he doesn't even know where he is, and if we miss something crucial, he could end up in god knows what kind of situation." he said finally. "However, using just any kind of magic could be damaging to his psyche. I think it's best to just let him regain it naturally, and just keep a close eye on him."

"Why does it feel like I'm being treated like a child?" Kristopherson asked. "I feel fine, mostly. My chest hurts, and I have a massive headache, and that's about it. You guys can just fill me in on all the stuff I'm forgetting."

"I don't know if that's alright." chimed in Audrey, placing his bangs back over his eyes. "I'm not entirely sure on what the proper treatment of amnesia is, so it might just be best to let you remember as you go. You should also probably stay in bed for a while longer; at least until you're head's not as shaken up, and that bruise gets a bit better."

"Thanks, _mum_." Kristopherson said, laying back down, this time on his side. "I'll just stay here and dread about all of the stuff I'm forgetting."

"We've got you permission to skip out on activities for the next few days." said the bluenette. "Mister Irons already knows what happened, and was more than willing to help."

"...On the other hand, we aren't allowed to skip, and have to also do dishes in the mess hall for staying out past curfew." Alois added.

"You do, I don't." said Audrey, with a smile. He looked back to Kristopherson. "You just relax, and try to get your head sorted out. Just give us a call if you need anything, alright?"

"Will do." the faux-blonde replied, watching as the others began to shuffle to the door. "Sorry, if I made you guys worry, by the way..." It was Daniel, who stopped, looking back to him with a smile.

"Don't worry, yourself!" he said. "It's just what friends do."

He waved a temporary "farewell", and left with the others, shutting the cabin door behind him. Odd, how the Westley boy's words stung, somehow. Kristopherson couldn't seem to pinpoint why.

The faux-blonde's thoughts lingered on this for a moment, replaying the words in his mind, and recalling the other boy's face as he said them; those smiling, green eyes and that idiotic grin that caused dimples to appear on Daniel's face every time he made it. For some reason that he couldn't quite pinpoint, all of this seemed to make the painful throbbing of his chest worsen. Soon, however, his tired body drifted off to sleep. Perhaps some of his memories were locked away in his dreams.

Hours, he stayed asleep, like this, alone in the cabin. There was no one to bother his resting, at last. No loud Alois, or Daniel, no severed feet, and no mystery-guests getting their injuries treated. Wait, how did he remember that?

Yes, all was peaceful, until the cabin door opened. From behind it, stepped a somewhat cautious boy, who didn't belong there. He was tall, and somewhat burly, with short, blonde hair and a strong chin. His ears were pierced, and he wore lots of green. His name may sound familiar.

"Kristopherson? You in here?" called Cameron Gully.

 


	291. A Wimpy Ninja

"Kristopherson? You in here?" called Cameron Gully.

Now, Cameron wasn't up to anything incredibly devious. He had simply overheard the Sensational Seven talking; talking about Krisotpherson. He heard them discuss his his amnesia, and what to do about it. They talked about his injuries, and the Tamworthian simply wanted to make sure the faux-blonde was alright. He sneaked away because he was worried about the boy.

Yes, the Tamworthian cared about the Miles boy. Kristopherson simply made his heart flutter. His, his attitude, his brown eyes, and boyish and flamboyant looks; all of them caught Cameron's eye when he had first seen the boy out of his maid uniform for the first time at that Rugby game. Yes, the faux-blonde was quite the catch. It was his own stubbornness and gullibility that had ruined their relationship. Nevertheless, he wanted to see the other boy, partially to see that he was alright, and partially to see if he could convince Kristopherson to hate him any less.

There, lying on the bottom bunk on the bed on the right side of the room, was the faux-blonde in question. Cameron couldn't help but smile at the sight. He walked into the room, closing the door behind him, and took a seat in the chair next to Kristopherson's bed that Audrey had been seated in just hours before. It was a relief to see that the boy appeared to be unharmed. He jumped, however, when the other boy's eyelids fluttered open, and he sat up, jumping himself, seeing that the Gully boy was seated there.

"Cameron!?" he exclaimed. "Wha-what are you doing here?!"

"Heard you got beat up. I wanted to see if you were alright." Cameron replied, noticing that the Miles lad seemed more surprised, than angry, like he expected him to be.

"So, is Tamworth on this little 'trip', too?" Kristopherson asked, arching an eyebrow. "You scared me, man..."

"Sorry." the Tamworthian said, grinning. It was then that something occured to him: what if Kristopherson didn't remember their breakup? He entertained this thought briefly in his head, weighing the pros and cons of taking advantage of the situation. Finally, however, in a moment of impulse, he saw the faux-blonde's hand laying next to the boy's side, and took it. Nervously, he looked from the hand in his, and up to Kristopherson's face. The boy didn't seem angry, or disgusted. In fact, he smiled.

Even though he did this, his face held a hint of uneasiness, conveying what he was feeling at that moment, even though he was doing his best to hide it. Kristopherson did not feel right about this situation. It was a negative kind of uneasiness that seemed wrong, although he couldn't place why.

As far as Kristopherson remembered: Cameron was his boyfriend, wasn't he? Then why did he feel threatened by his presence? Why did he feel like something terrible was going to happen immediately upon registering his face?

"I was so worried." Cameron said, inching closer. Almost instinctively, Kristopherson backed away. "Kris? What's wrong?" The faux-blonde shook his head in response.

"Something's... not right..." he said as he rubbed his temples, trying to fight off his returning headache. "I'm sure of it..."

"Kris..." the Tamworthian said, leaning in closer as Kristopherson backed up on the bed, trying to get away. "You're alright, now. Nothing can hurt you..." It was then, that the door swung open yet again.

It was an unexpected turn of events. Who was it to come to the Miles boy's rescue, but Travis Sullivan? The burly lad was perhaps the last person either of the other two had anticipated.

"Cameron," Travis began. "Get out. This is a Warwick cabin." The Tamworthian let go of Kristopherson's hand, and stood up, glaring at the new challenger.

"I was just talking to him." he said. "What are you doing here, anyway? You're supposed to be playing dogeball with everyone else."

"I forgot bug-spray." Travis said, his voice calm, yet oddly firm. "The mosquitoes are out. Also, it doesn't look like Kristopherson wants to 'talk'. He should be resting, anyway. It would be best for you to just leave."

"You're name's 'Travis', right?" Cameron asked, receiving a nod from the somewhat taller, Warwick boy. "Well, Travis, is it wrong for me to want to spend time with the person I care about?"

"It is if you're trying to take advantage of the fact that Kristopherson's memory isn't entirely there." the Sullivan boy answered. "If he broke up with you, it's over, and you shouldn't try and force your wishes onto him. It's rude, and something you wouldn't do if you really valued him and his own wishes."

Cameron looked away, looking to the Miles lad, who looked completely stunned. He broke up with Cameron? Why? What happened? Cameron wouldn't do anything drastic enough to bring that on, would he? He returned the Tamworth boy's gaze with a concerned look, as if asking the other boy for an explanation. Cameron made another grab for Kristopherson's hand, when Travis placed a hand on his shoulder, turning the intruder around to face him.

"Please leave." he said. "You're only making it harder for him." Travis' hand was slapped away by the Rugby player. Cameron furrowed his brow, glaring at the Warwick boy, silently telling him to leave, a comand that Travis completely ignored.

"I'll be out in a minute." Cameron said. "Just get your bugspray, and I'll be out a little bit after you."

"I can't do that."

"Why not?"

"Because you're a threat to my friend's well-being, and I'm not going to abandon him."

With that, Cameron shoved the boy. "Just back off!" He said. "I'm not going to hurt him. I wouldn't ever do that!"

He turned to face a shocked Kristopherson, but when he did, his shoulder was grabbed again by Travis in an attempt to stop him. In frustration, Cameron turned, swinging his arm to shake the other boy's grip off of himself, ending the move with another shove. Before he could open his mouth to shout any more harsh words, Travis, who was usually so silent, and so docile, swung his fist, hitting the Tamworth boy clean upside the head, and knocking him to the floor. Cameron was tall, and brawny, but then again, so was Travis, the son of a professional wrestler. While some might argue that professional wrestling is "fake", the fight that ensued was not.

The Tamworth boy got up, and immediately started swinging again, landing a few punches in on the usually silent lad, most of which were blocked with the lad's arms. Travis grabbed the boy's arms in an attempt to make him stop, but then Cameron started kicking his shins while trying to wriggle out of his grasp. By that time, things had been knocked off of nightstands, dressers, and the chair that Cameron had been sitting in was knocked over. Items were strewn on the floor, and bruises appeared on each boy's skin. Now, Kristopherson was wide awake, and out of bed. He walked over to the quarreling teens, holding his arms out, trying to intervene, and get in between them to stop the fight.

"Stop! Stop! You're making a mess of things!" he shouted, cries that seemed to fall on deaf ears. "I said stop! Someone's going to get hu-"

With that, the faux-blonde's cheek was accidentally struck by the rugby player, who immediately froze, realizing what he had done.

"Kris! Kris, are you okay? I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to-"

"..out" Kristopherson said, rubbing his cheek.

"What?"

"Get out." he repeated. "You're not supposed to be here, and... I don't really want to see you right now..."

"Kris..." began Cameron. "Kris, I'm so sorry..."

"Just... leave." the faux-blonde said again. "Please?"

Cameron opened his mouth to speak, yet he knew there was nothing he could say. He paused, closing it and morphing it into a gloomy frown. He said.

"Alright... I'm sorry." All that was heard for the next few moments was the sound of Cameron's shoes against the floor as he made his way out. When he reached the door, he paused, looking back that the two Warwick boys.

"I'll... see you around, I guess." he added, and silently left, closing the door behind him. Kristpherson watched him the entire time, and once that door was shut, he slowly made his way back to his bed.

"Are you alright?" asked Travis.

"Yeah, I'm fine." the faux-blonde said softly. "What about you? You took more of a beating than I did."

"A little shaken, but I'm alright." the Sullivan boy replied. "I'm pretty sturdy."

"Your timing was perfect." Kristopherson said. "Did you really come in here for bug-spray?"

"No." answered Travis. "I thought Cameron was acting suspicious, so I snuck away and followed him. I was worried he'd try to pull something."

"Thanks, I owe you one." said the faux-blonde. "You've got me wondering now, though: Just how often do you 'sneak away', Travis?"

"That is for me to know, and for you to maybe find out someday."

 


	292. A Sleazy Plan

Days passed since Kristopherson first lost his memory, and he was, in fact, improving. He remembered who Dafydd and Oliver were, and little bits and pieces, here and there about some of the misadventures he had forgotten. He remembered the Ferris Wheel, and he remembered the "love potion" fiasco. He still, however, couldn't figure out Cameron, however.

The boy was relentless. He would come up to, and talk to the Miles boy, acting flirtatious, and as though they were still dating, only to be shooed away by the rest of the seven. According to them, they had broken up. One side said one thing, and the other said another. Which should he choose? He trusts his friends, but he also trusts Cameron. Neither would try to steer him wrong, correct? It was because of this, that he was having a hard time recalling this bit of information.

Cameron would come to visit at cabin twelve, in the mess hall during lunch, during activities, and the others would run him off. Day, after day, after day. By this time, the first week of the trip was over, and one remained. Kristopherson was close to a full recovery, however, there was just one last blurb that he needed to recall in order to do so.

It was frustrating, not being able to remember. Kristopherson's head felt foggy, and he felt guilty for causing both parties so much trouble. He felt bad for causing Cameron so much heartache, and for causing the seven to worry; the teachers, as well, and his sister, who was also on the trip, worrying her head off. He couldn't help but feel as though it was all his fault. Moreover, no one would tell him the truth, believing that it could damage him, somehow. Not his sister, not Cameron, nor would the Sensational Seven simply tell him, and it was infuriating. The constant bickering between them, and the Tamworthian was also quite bothersome. When, oh when, would his memory come back?

"We have got to do something about this." said the bluenette. "No progress is being made, and the persistence of Gully is becoming tiresome."

"What'll we do?" asked Daniel. "You're not going to kill him, are you?"

"Why don't you just tell the poor kid the truth?" asked Dafydd. "Just get it over with! What do you think, my little Spitfire?"

"Stop calling me that." Alois coldly replied; almost as coldly as the bluenette himself, would have, that sparked some interest. "I agree with Ciel. Just up and telling Kris could be bad, but we can't let this continue, either. Luckily, I think I might have a plan."

"Let's hear it, then." said Kristopherson. "Anything to speed up this process..." Alois smiled in response.

"Right, so, this may sound a bit 'iffy', but what I was thinking, is that we only have one person to distract Cameron." he began.

"How will that do anything?" asked Preston, cynically, as usual. "We can barely keep him away with all of us!"

"Yes, but this person, is special." the blonde menace continued. "This person, is going to flirt with Cameron in order to keep him away from Kris..."

"Not it!" shouted Daniel.

"You're not who I had in mind..."

"Then who did you have in mind, then?" asked Daniel, arching an eyebrow. Alois put a hand on the sorcerer's shoulder.

"Dafydd." he said. "Dafydd will be our 'Cassanova'."

"What!?" asked Dafydd, surprised. "Why me?!"

"Because the rest of these gentlemen are straight, and our only other non-heterosexuals aren't single, and everyone knows this." the blonde said, smiling reassuringly.

"I still don't want to..." said the sorcerer, prompting Alois to make a deal.

"If you do it, I'll kiss you." the blonde said, stirring shock from the others. "...On the cheek, of course." Dafydd stood for a moment, and weighed these options.

"Make it on the lips, and we have a deal." he said finally, holding out his hand, which was shaken by the demon.

"Deal." Alois replied with a smile.

One would think that this would spark jealousy from the Phantomhive boy, but no, it didn't. Quite the opposite, in fact. Ciel simply stood, smirking at the scene, unable to fully contain his amusement. He knew, just by the look on the boy's face, and the glint in his eye, that Alois was lying from the very beginning. He knew from the beginning that this entire proposition was simply to kill two birds with one stone, ridding them of two unwanted suitors at once, and Ciel was actually tickled by it. At the same time, however, he found himself confused as to how he actually found Alois all the more attractive than usual for this shady deal.

"Yes!" Dafydd happily cheered, pumping his fist in the air. Then, he leaned in closer to the blonde menace, who promptly stopped him by pushin against the boy's forehead with his hand.

"Ah, ah, ah~!" he said, wagging his finger. "Job first, then payment. I don't want to be ripped off, now." Dafydd furrowed his brow.

"And how do I know that I won't be ripped off?" the sorcerer asked nefore the other boy cupped his cheek in his hand, gently stroking it with his thumb. His smile faded.

"Dafydd, this is a perfectly serious matter, and when times get dire, I simply don't have the capacity to lie, as it would impede progress." Alois said, that within itself being a lie. Regardless, Dafydd believed him, and smiled.

"Don't you worry, Spitfire, I'll get started right away!" he declared, holding the blonde's hands in his, briefly. He then exited with great gutso, proudly laughing the entire way. As soon as he was gone, Alois' mask immediately dropped.

"UGH." he groaned, dashing over to the bluenette, wrapping his arms around the boy's waist, and nuzzling into his chest as if he were a cat. He whined: "Ciel~! That was so awful~! I feel like I need to scrub myself!"

"You're the one who offered." the Phantomhive replied, blushing slightly from being held while in public. "Just what are you going to do, exactly, when he finds out that you were lying?"

"I don't know, and I don't care." the blonde said with a pout. "He should know by now that I'm property of the Phantomhive household."

"Uh, guys?" called Kristopherson. "We're still here. Cool it with the P.D.A." Alois let go of the bluenette for a moment to turn around and face the faux-blonde.

"What?" he said. "We're keeping it PG-13."

"It's still awkward, mate." chimed in a certain son of a politician. "Now, obviously, I'm not a homophobe, but I don't wanna see it." With that, Alois simply rolled his eyes.

"Yes! Ciel, let us make sweet, sweet love in front of everyone!" he said, his words positively dripping with sarcasm. He grabbed the waistband of his trousers. "Quickly, Dan! Hold my shorts for me!"

"What the hell?!" the brown-haired boy said in response. "Don't even go there! I don't need the mental image."

"Why are you picturing Ciel and me doing it?" asked the blonde menace. "You nasty pervert."

"Alois, please stop..."

 


	293. The New Deal

It was merely half an hour after Alois had made his proposition, and Dafydd was already hot on the trail of Cameron Gully. At first, the sorcerer was confident in his pursuit, emboldened by the deal that the blonde menace had made, yet as he ventured onward, a bit of doubt started to surface. What if the Trancy boy had been lying? Moreover, what on earth was he going to say to Cameron when he found him?

It wasn't entirely wise to waltz up to a scorned rugby-player of a rival school, who hates your guts simply by the colours you wore. There had been two fights already between the Gully boy and the Sensational Seven, including their allies and associates, so how was Dafydd to know if this would happen to him while he was on his own? The sorcerer was supposed to flirt with this lad, whom he wasn't even interested in, and had been ruthlessly rejected by Warwick Academy's own resident faux-blonde, and ejected by his friends. What if Cameron held a grudge?

Uneasiness surfaced as these thoughts swirled around in Dafydd's head. He even slowed his pace, as he searched for the other boy, hoping to postpone the inevitable encounter. Ordinarily, he would have backed out, but since it was his "Spitfire" who asked this of him, he simply couldn't, especially when the blonde menace hadn't entirely forgiven Dafydd for past mischief. This was somewhat of an "apology". Regardless, his efforts were in vain as he rounded opened the door to the mess hall.

A somewhat brawny boy, with short blonde hair and a strong chin, sporting Tamworth colours was just about to walk out when Dafydd opened the door. The sorcerer was not a short boy, as he towered over most of the Seven, save for Travis, however, this boy was much taller than him. Dafydd had to admit, it was somewhat intimidating; especially when the lad furrowed his brow at him, recognizing him from the brawl that occurred on the first day of camp. This was Cameron Gully, the boy that he was supposed to be flirting with.

"H-hey, there." the sorcerer said nervously, offering a smile. The Tamworth boy simply snorted and walked right past him without a single word. Naturally, this wouldn't do. Dafydd had been given a task, and he was going to complete it.

"Hey, wait up!" the sorcerer said, jogging to catch up to the other boy. "You're Cameron, right? I'm Dafydd; Dafydd Blake." Cameron simply looked at him for a moment before continuing to walk on.

"Okay, so..." Dafydd continued, trying to find something to say. "Is that a new shirt?" he asked, not believing what was coming out of his mouth. Regardless, he went with it. "That's a cool shirt. Where'd you get it? Aberchrombie & Fitch?"

"I'm sorry, but what do you want?" Cameron said, stopping in order to face the boy. A frown was quite prominent on his face. He was less than amused.

"Oh, well..." the sorcerer began, trying to think of a reason that wasn't quite so direct. "I've just seen you around, and thought you looked kind of cool, and wanted to talk to you, I guess?" he fabricated.

"Piss off." Cameron replied, turning to walk again.

"Do you really hate Warwick that much?" Dafydd blurted out, placing his hand over his mouth the moment it registered. The Tamworth boy stopped again.

"No, I don't hate Warwick." the large blonde said. "My problem is with my ex-boyfriend's stupid friends, like you."

"I'm not his friend though..." the sorcerer said, absent-mindedly. "In fact, they don't really like me, either." No this, caught Cameron's attention.

"Really?" he asked, curiously arching an eyebrow. "Why?"

Dafydd thought for a moment about how he could answer this. He could either make up some silly excuse, or he could tell the truth. Whatever lie he could come up with, Cameron was unlikely to believe, but whatever truth certain. It was the truth that had caught the other lad's curiosity, and so it was the truth that was more likely to make them closer, just as planned.

"I have kind of a thing for one of them." Dafydd replied, finally. "The blonde one. Not Kris, but Alois. He's got a boyfriend, though, and his friends don't like me around, talking to him..."

"I know the feeling, mate." Cameron said, somewhat sympathetically. He took the bait.

Once again, Dafydd had a few options. At this point, he could try to build their relationship into a romantic one, or he could simply create a friendship, and persuade the Tamworth boy to give up. Either one would fulfill his mission. There was, however, a third option, and Dafydd was feeling devious.

"You know what? We could work together." he said, causing the other boy to gain a confused look. "You hate the Seven, and want your crush, and I hate the Seven and want mine. Why don't we try to help each other out?"

"But how?" asked the Tamworthian. "They hate us, too." At this, Dafydd smiled.

"I have an idea." he said. "Together, they've got their own little support system. But apart, they're not strong at all. If we can somehow get them to hate each other, we can swoop in, and take what we want!"

For a moment, Cameron was surprised. While he could sympathize with Dafydd, he wasn't entirely sure if he wanted to go through with this. If Kristopherson didn't want to be with him, then he doesn't want to be with him. Trying to force it would only make the one he cared about unhappy. Moreover, he wasn't even sure about this odd boy who stood before him.

The Warwiccan stood, his dark brown hair pulled back in a ponytail, and his clothes loose, yet comfortable-looking, obviously taking advantage of the fact that while at camp, they weren't required to wear uniforms. The boy had his ears peirced in multiple places, and wore many, many rings; at least one or two per finger, including his thumbs. This boy, known only to him as "Dafydd" was also yearning for a demon. Yes, Cameron knew of the demons, and couldn't help but wonder if Dafydd did as well, or was just ignorant to just how hopeless his romance really was.

Morality and reason said "no"; that Cameron should not follow the lead of this strange boy. Selfishness, and more so, curiosity, however, said otherwise. Yes, Cameron was tempted, and so, he agreed.

"Alright." he said. "Tell me more about this plan of yours."

 


	294. The Vow of the Eyepatch

Warwick Academy; one of the most prestigious schools in the entirety of the United Kingdom, and apparent hub for the supernatural. Yes, many strange things occurred at Warwick without either students or teachers being any the wiser. The only few who knew were the group of third-year students collectively known as "The Sensational Seven", as well as a handful of others.

They, however, weren't the only ones. Other students from other schools were also aware of this sinister presence in the world. Two boys from Weston college, house of Green Lion, knew; Nigel Irons and Oliver Midford. There was another boy from Tamworth, who went by the name Cameron Gully, who knew. This boy, however, was not necessarily an "ally".

Quite the contrary. Tamworth and Warwick had been rivals since the founding of the two schools, so there was some bitter rivalry, there. Moreover, the Gully boy longed for the affections of one student from Warwick, in particular; a member of the Seven, Kristopherson Miles.

While the two had dated, before, they had went their ways under unfortunate circumstance, mostly at Kristopherson's wish, but Cameron's feelings remained the same. Thus, he was desperate to win the faux-blonde back, and like most teenagers, wasn't very good at reasoning a proper method of doing this. After his many attempts failed, he came across a peculiar acquaintance of the Miles lad, Dafydd Blake, who gave him an offer so tempting, that his hormonal teenage mind couldn't refuse it.

So, the sabotage began. It was only the morning after their meeting, and already, they had set their plan into action. Their objective was simple. They were to take out the group's main support, their anchor, Ciel Phantomhive.

The blue tyrant truly was the brains of the group. With his life experience and expertise, any plan they were to attempt would definitely fail, seeing as the lad had a knack for analyzing a situation, and deciding the best course of action. If Dafydd and Cameron were to bitterly separate the seven in the morning, the Phantomhive boy would have them back together by noon.

Indeed, this was quite the obstacle to overcome, but the two had concocted a plan, you see. There was a small shed in the corner of one of the playing field, filled with spots equipment and such, that people only ever visited to take or put back said supplies. It was very out of the way, so no one would be passing it. No one would help him, if he shouted or knocked on the door.

Both conspirators were somewhat uneasy about this plan. For one, Ciel is a demon, and a small shed isn't going to hold him, however, Dafydd had a solution for this. The real problem was what they would do with him afterward. After they had succeeded, what would they do? They simply couldn't leave him there, could they? Letting him out would cause major problems, and possibly set them ten steps back from their goal. Ciel would simply "fix" everything, and they would be hated even more than they were now.

Neither boy knew the other had any knowledge of the supernatural, as well. Cameron knew that Ciel is a demon. He knew that the shed wouldn't hold him, and had decided that this plan was doomed to fail from the start. He just wasn't sure how to reject it, while Dafydd, on the other hand, had other issues. He needed to keep his identity as a sorcerer a secret, after all. He would be able to trap the Phantomhive with magic, but how to keep the Gully lad from knowing?

"There's a list that tells the teachers who has clean up duties on certain days." said Dafydd. "If you can get Phantomhive listed for today, and get him in the shed, I'll handle keeping him there."

Cameron arched an eyebrow and, with great reluctance, agreed. As long as he didn't get caught, he wouldn't get in trouble. It would be Dafydd to take the fall. Part of the Tamworthian simply wanted revenge against the Sensational Seven for all of the heartache and humiliation he had gone through. The boy had been kicked off the Rugby team after being involved with Kristopherson. The other players simply felt comfortable with him around no longer, giving the coach no choice, however unfair. Why, his cabinmates aren't entirely keen on having a homosexual in the room with them where they slept. Many other Tamworth students ridiculed and bullied him after that. They threatened him, called him awful names, stole things from him, and beat him in groups. Another part of him secretly hoped that they were somehow successful, however small it was, giving him at least a little piece of happiness. When he left, Dafydd immediately got to work.

He took out his cigar case filled with chalk, and started drawing around the shed. He drew symbols on the walls and on the ground around it, creating a barrier. It was the very same kind of barrier that had trapped Sebastian in the headquarters of Messiah. It trapped demons, specifically. One could get in, but it couldn't get out again.

He did, however, add his own spin on it. It would wear off in twenty-four hours, which was plenty of time to wreck some havoc. He had already plotted out precisely what he was going to do, and with Cameron's help, was able to execute them with time to spare. The Seven would be at each other's throats by curfew, if all went well. Perhaps the Phantomhive boy wouldn't be able to fix it, after all. He was quite proud of his work, and couldn't help but smile, as he saw the teacher call out Ciel's name for clean-up duty.

Naturally, Ciel was surprised. He hadn't signed up for clean-up duty. Naturally, he assumed it was simply some sort of prank, and went to talk to the instructor about it.

"Excuse me, sir?" he called, gaining the attention of a grouchy-looking man.

He was somewhat portly, with judgmental look on his face. He wasn't a Warwick teacher. No, he was from Tamworth. The man simply looked at the bluenette, his irritating expression subconsciously hitting a nerve with the boy.

"What?" the man nearly barked. The bluenette could tell that this would be difficult.

"There must be some kind of mistake." Ciel began. "I didn't sign up for clean-up. Someone must have wrote my name down as some kind of joke." The Tamworthian teacher simply huffed.

"Your name's on the list, so you're on clean-up." he said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"Don't try to get out of it." he continued, pausing to point a chubby finger in the direction of the field. "See those cones?"

"Yes?" responded to the bluenette, spotting some orange traffic cones placed there for a game that the children had played.

"Put all of those in the shed over there." the teacher instructed. "Hop to it, short-stuff." Ciel's eyelid couldn't help but twitch in annoyance.

Still, what could he do? There was no arguing with people as ignorant as this. Reluctantly, he walked back over to his blonde beau, whom had been instructed to wait on him while he attempted to sort out this little "mistake".

"What did he say?" the blonde asked, tilting his head. He could tell from the peeved twinge to the bluenette's features that it wasn't good.

"He said that I must clean, anyway." Ciel answered with an exasperated sigh.

"What a pillock..." Alois replied. He wrinkled his nose. "Mind if I help? I've got nothing better to do."

"It's alright. Once the students are clear, it will hardly take any time at all." the bluenette said. "Just go back to your cabin with the others."

"Aw, but I was hoping for some quality time with you~!" the blonde teased. "Besides, it doesn't look like anyone's in any hurry."

Alois was right. He gestured to the field, where students from any of the three schools continued to loiter. They stood both on the field, and on the sidelines, conversing with each other, some on their mobile phones instead, texting, playing games, or trying to gain a wi-fi connection. Perhaps this would take longer than he thought.

"You're going to help even if I say 'no', aren't you?" the bluenette asked.

"You know me so well!" Alois spoke with a smile. "You're so stubborn. It's a good thing that I ignore your orders, sometimes."

"More like 'all of the time'." Ciel said. "If I'm so stubborn, then why do you cling to me so much?"

"It's cute sometimes, when it's not annoying." replied the other. "So, what's the objective, 'Captain'?"

"That's 'Senior Detective Constable Sir Doctor Ciel Phantomhive'."

"But I'm special, so I'm an exception."

"True." the bluenette chuckled. "All we have to do, is put the cones back in the shed."

"Sounds easy enough."

With that quick exchange, the two set off to work. The blonde proposed that they stack the cones first, before dragging them to the shed, to save time. Both boys had the strength to do so without really dragging them, but of course, they had to maintain the illusion of "humanity".

After the duo decided that they had collected enough cones as humanly possible, they walked toward the shed, conversing with each other about the going-ons in each of their respective cabins. Alois talked about how Kristopherson was always so grouchy in the mornings, and looked odd when "shabby", and how Daniel would tease him about it, while Ciel discussed how he wasn't sure how to dispose of the severed, human foot that was put in his cabin's freezer and how it remained there at that very moment, and how the others refused to store food in there because of it. They would go over to cabin twelve to keep their snacks, instead. He also discussed how Dafydd was being a constant irritant.

"Pay no mind to him, love." the blonde said, grabbing the shed's doorknob. "He's just upset that I want you over him."

"I realise that." the bluenette said as the other boy walked inside and tossed the cones in. Alois gestured for Ciel to hand his over to him so he could do the same while he was there.

"It's just bothersome, sometimes. Still, I'd rather me put up with it than you." the bluenette continued as he handed over the equipment. "You would have to sleep with one eye open, or not at all."

"It's hard to sleep here, anyway." Alois said, tossing the bluenette's cones before turning back to the other boy. "It's weird, sleeping alone. It's not the same with just Steven, anymore."

"Is it really that awful?" the blueneete asked with a chuckle.

"Horrible." Alois said. "You're a necessity. A stuffed platypus will simply no longer suffice." He leaned in to give the Phantomhive a small peck on the lips, when his nose hit something hard.

"Ow!" he shouted, rubbing it as he backed away. When he looked up again to see what it was, he saw that there was nothing there. Arching an eyebrow, he walked forward, running into the same problem. His eyes widened, his uneasiness increasing as Ciel did the same.

"What the hell?!" Alois said, placing his hand against the invisible barrier. Symbols would appear around it, when he did. "I can't get out!" he shouted, banging his fist against the wall as hard as he could. That more force he inflicted, the more symbols would appear.

Instinctively, Ciel reached out to touch them, but withdrew his hand, realising what it was. When he did, his brow furrowed, and he barred his teeth in a snarl. With clenched fists, he uttered a single word.

"Dafydd." he growled, knowing exactly who was responsible.

"It's one of those barrier-thingies!?" Alois asked, his eyes wide with panic. "How do I get out?!"

"Simple, I find Dafydd, and force him to let you out." Ciel said, obviously angry. He turned to do just that. "Just stay calm. I'll be right back."

"W-wait!" the blonde called, pressing up to the blockade. "Don't go! I don't want to be alone!" His voice cracked on the last word.

Immediately, Ciel stopped. He had to. He knew Alois didn't like to be alone. This was a fear that was instilled in the blonde ages before they had met, or even heard of one another. Over time, it had been starting to get better; it had started to subside, yet there was an amount of desperation in the blonde's voice just then that didn't correspond to this. That is why Ciel turned around and walked back toward the blonde, stopping just in front of him and looking him in the eye. Those icy blue eyes of his were starting to tear up a bit.

"Alois..." the bluenette said, his voice soft. "The only way I can get you out is to go get Dafydd..." The blonde looked down at his feet.

"I know, but..." Alois trailed off, his voice weaker than it should have been.

"What's the matter?" Ciel asked. "Tell me." Alois looked up again.

"I just... don't want to be by myself..." he said. His fear was irrational. The blonde had been on his own many times while working, and had even insisted upon it at times. Why now? What brought this on? As Ciel thought, the answer became clearer, especially since Alois had said it himself.

They hadn't had much time to themselves, lately, just the two of them. While it wasn't necessarily sexual in nature, Alois was very touchy. He needed a certain amount of affection as well as emotional reinforcement in order to function on his own. That's just the way he was; how his childhood made him.

The duo simply hadn't had any time for that for the past week-and-a-half. There was always someone there. They were in public all the time, and that was something that they mostly did when they were alone. Cuddling, kissing, and sweet words were things that they simply did not do in front of others, partially because it was embarrassing for the bluenette, and because it was simply socially unacceptable. Yet, those were things that Alois needed in order to feel relevant. He couldn't help it. That was the way he was; the one who the bluenette had fallen in love with.

"Alois..." Ciel said softly. "I'll be back, I promise. I love you, and I want you out of there as quickly as possible. I can't even hold your hand to comfort you as is..."

"I know... but still..." the blonde said simply, not having anything else to really add. He knew it was silly, but he was still afraid. He was afraid the bluenette was going to leave, and never come back.

Ciel sighed heavily. He wasn't sure how to convince the other boy that he would return. There was nothing. He couldn't touch the other boy without getting trapped, himself. He would return, but how would he prove it? With that, he had an idea.

Slowly, he reached around the back of his head, tugging the string of his eyepatch and untying the knot. The string fell between bluenette strands of hair and the patch fell with it, revealing the lad's contracted eye. The purplish orb looked down at it's owner's hand which held the patch, along with it's blue twin, briefly, before looking up to the blonde. He pressed his lips to the stiff, black fabric for a moment before holding it out between his index finger and thumb to the blonde, a small blush on his face, embarrassed from the silly gesture. It slipped through the barrier with ease.

"I'll be back." Ciel said once more, as slender fingers took one of his most personal possessions from him. "I know it's not much, but I'll be back. I swear it."

"But your eye..." Alois began. "What if someone sees it?"

"I'll think of something. You're more important." At this, the blonde smiled.

"Go kick his ass." he said finally, causing the bluenette to gain a smile of his own.

"Yes, your highness."

With that, the bluenette left, running to find that no-good wizard. Alois was alone now, and while he was uneasy, he was confident upon the Phantomhive's return. Eyepatch in hand, he pressed the fabric up to his lips, kissing the spot that the Ciel had. He smiled.

"I hate being the damsel in distress..."

 


	295. This is Reality

It was around noontime at this absurdly over-luxurious camp where three of the richest schools in Britain were spending two weeks together; Weston, Tamworth, and Warwick, all expected to coexist peacfully. Unfortunately, this was proving to be more difficult than speculated. Schools were even having getting along with themselves, as Warwiccans, Tamworthians, and Westons quarreled with each other. Weston fought among their own houses, and Tamworthians had trouble getting along normally, being of somewhat the rough sort. Warwiccans got along better, aside from one group, and one boy in particular.

Dafydd was crouched within the walls of cabin thirteen, scheming. He was alone, as most students had scurried off to lunch, the seven being no exception. With the bluenette in dispose, and the other vacated, now was the optimum chance to set his next set of traps. For this, he crouched in front of the small refrigerator in the room, rummaging about until he found it. He snickered at the quarreling that a misplaced human foot would cause among the group, as he gripped the edge of the plastic bag between his fingers.

He was quite proud of himself; quite proud, indeed. That is, until the door swung open, completely catching him off guard. The sorcerer jumped, stuffing the foot back in the fridge before standing up and facing the unexpected visitor. The look on his face was of complete shock, as the feeling of shear and utter fear ran through his entire body as soon as visage of the intruder registered. It was the last person he expected to see; Ciel Phantomhive, and from the look on his face, he was enraged.

Before he could utter a single word, the bluenette had closed the gap between them, walking across the room in the blink of an eye. The collar of his shirt was clenched between fists, and Dafydd was hoisted in the air, his back slammed into the wall by the other boy. The sorcerer's body was frozen in fear as his eyes met the enraged multi-coloured ones of the bluenette. He had never seen the boy without his eyepatch before, and had never seen the intricate, glowing design etched onto his lens. It only made a deadly look appear more ominous.

"Blake." the Phantomhive boy growled between clenched teeth. "How far are you going to go?" he asked. He was only met with silence.

"I found your trap." Ciel continued. "I'm also going to assume that the reason my name ended up on the clean-up list in the first place was you as well? What you didn't anticipate, was Alois volunteering to help me, and springing your trap instead." Now, the sorcerer spoke.

"Alois is in the shed-ugh!?" he said as he was cut off by the other boy slamming him into the wall again.

"Of course he is, you blithering idiot." the bluenette hissed. "You're going to tell me how to get him out."

"I can't!" Dafydd said. "It's supposed to fade in twenty-four hours! Upsetting that balance prematurely could disrupt the energy flow and cause it to generate energy particles at an accelerated rate before releasing them all spontaneously!"

"So basically you're saying you've created a magical bomb?!" Ciel translated, while inquiring if his hunch was correct.

"Well, if you put it that way, yeah, I guess..." With that, he was mercilessly dropped to the floor, nearly landing flat on his face. "Oof!"

"You're unbelievable!" the Phantomhive said, thoroughly exasperated. "What could you possibly gain from trapping me?! Realistically, nothing, but somehow you've deluded yourself into believing that you can actually obtain Alois' favour by doing so!"

"You're only saying that because you don't know what it's like!" the sorcerer said. "You don't know what it's like to like someone, and them not liking you back!" Ciel glared at the boy on the floor.

"I love Alois." he said. "I love him like I've never loved anyone before, and because of that, I want him to be happy. All you've done is cause suffering!"

"That's not true!" Dafydd protested, only to be shut down by the bluenette.

"You bloody fool..." Ciel said. "You're insane. If you can't see what you've done, you're insane. Your collaboration with Messiah almost caused a second Catastrophe of London, your potion made Alois do things against his will, things that he feels ashamed of, and now, you've got him trapped in a small shed, alone. Did you know he is afraid of being alone, Dafydd? I had a hard time leaving to get help, because he was on the verge of tears from the thought of being left alone. Every second I waste trying to get you to cooperate is another second he's in fear, Dafydd. It's long past time to stop being selfish, and think about how your decisions affect others. You're hurting everyone because you won't face reality. Alois is not interested in you. Move. On."

Partway through the bluenette's speech, Dafydd looked down at the floor, his eyes empty. He was so preoccupied in himself, that he failed to realise that what he was doing was completely, and utterly wrong. Naturally, it was a hard reality to accept. What he had striven for had been hurting others, including the person he supposedly cared about.

Did he really care about Alois? He hadn't known he was afraid of being alone. He hadn't known he was hurting him. If he cared about Alois, then he would have wanted him to be happy, even if it meant not being with him romantically. Instead, he was imposing his will upon him.

Dafydd getting his way meant Alois living a miserable life. The seven would be broken up, he wouldn't have Ciel, who provided a roof over his head and paid for his education. Ciel made him happy, and sacrificed possession and pride to ensure it. What had Dafydd sacrificed? Nothing. Relationships are a balance of give and take, and Dafydd was taking everything, and not giving anything.

"Give up." Ciel said finally, staring down at Dafydd as he sat in the floor. "If you do anything else to hurt Alois, or the others, I will kill you. I don't care if you have taught me magic. I will kill you." He turned, walking back toward the door. The sorcerer gave a small laugh, causing him to pause.

"This is unfair..." Dafydd said, smiling weakly to hopefully rid himself of this feeling.

"'Unfair'?" Ciel echoed before continuing to walk. "This is reality."

 


	296. Alone in the Shed

Orange, was the sky, as the sun began to set, fading into various reds and yellows and casting shadows along the quieting earth. Ciel had been gone for a while; several hours, the blonde was sure of it. What had been taking him so long?

That is what Alois thought as he sat alone in the darkening shed. The only light that was seeping inside was from the opened door, and as the world was beginning to darken, his dread began to grow. His thoughts traversed to how long it would take Ciel to find Dafydd and interrogate him. What if he couldn't find him, or couldn't get him to talk, and that's why he was late? Worse, what if he gave up and was going to wait until the next day to try again? No, surely the bluenette would tell Alois, if he were to do that. The one thought that filled Alois with the most anxiety, however, was whether or not the bluenette had lied about returning.

No, he could trust Ciel. The bluenette wouldn't do something so awful to him, but then again, the blonde had thought the same thing about his former butler, Claude. The blonde was enemies with the bluenette, giving him at least some reason to leave him. That was cruel; far too cruel for Ciel. Pretending to love someone only to banish them to a trapped eternity simply wondering "why"? That was cruel, to sum it up in one word.

Alois gripped the eyepatch in his hand, as he sat in the shed with his back to the wall, hugging his legs to his chest and looking toward the door. The fabric was smooth, yet somewhat worn. Obviously, Ciel hadn't changed it out in a while. The boy's practical nature probably kept him from seeing any real need to do so. Musing on this momentarily seemed to keep the claustrophobic feeling of the trap from dominating the blonde's thoughts. Still, not knowing the fate of the bluenette weighed heavy on his mind and heart. A sigh escaped his lips, trying to exhale some of the stress.

He was in his own little world. The blonde was so worried about the other boy returning, that he didn't see the boy walking toward the shed with both his, and Alois' bags. His return actually surprised the blonde, causing him to jump when his own black and purple backpack was tossed at him. An uncontrollable smile graced the blonde's face, causing his cheeks to hurt. Immediately, his heart felt lighter, however, it sank again when the bluenette walked through the door, essentially trapping himself, as well.

"What are you doing?!" the blonde asked, panicking. Ciel simply set down his own bag in response.

"Well, 'hello' to you, too." he said. "Calm down. I talked to Dafydd. The barrier wears off in twenty-four hours. We'll be out by morning."

"But why're you inside it?" Alois asked, getting up and taking a few steps toward the bluenette. His expression was concerned, and almost looked angry. "Now you're stuck, too."

"I know, but I couldn't just leave you by yourself, could I?" Ciel answered. With that, he watched as the odd, "concerned anger" immediately melted from the blonde's face. He then welcomed the other boy into his arms.

"You came back..." Alois said after a while of silent embracing.

"Of course I did." the bluenette replied. "I'm sorry it took such a while, but I needed to inform Mister Irons and the others of the situation, and get things we would need for the night."

"What'd you bring?" asked the fair-haired lad, pausing for a moment. "Wait, you told Mister Irons?"

"So we won't get in trouble for going 'missing'." Ciel explained. "I brought the essentials. Tooth brushes, a change of clothes for each of us, sleeping bags, pillows..." He paused, his lips curling into a smile. "...and Steven." His smile widened as the blonde started digging in his bag, pulling out the plush before petting it.

"Steven's not as cuddly as you are, though." the Trancy boy said. "Do we have to stay in our own sleeping bags?"

"No, as long as you promise to behave."

"I will make no such promises." spoke the blonde. "I finally get you all to myself, and you expect me keep my hands off of you?"

"Alois, we're in a shed on a school trip. This is hardly the place for 'that'."

"I know. I was only talking about cuddling and kissing under the cozy, cozy covers." Alois replied with a wink, his grin growing. "You're such a pervert, Ciel." he then added, causing the other demon's cheeks to turn pink.

"Don't even pretend that it wasn't your intention to make that sound dirty."

"What are you going to do? Arrest me?" the blonde asked, his voice soft with a hint of flirtation. He took a seat in the spot he had been before the other boy arrived, and patted the spot on the floor next to him in hopes that the bluenette would join him. With a roll of his eye, the Phantomhive heeded the blonde's request, sitting next to the boy up against the wall, facing the door.

"Don't give me ideas." he replied as the weight of the Trancy's head fell on his shoulder; resting. Flaxen locks covered the boy's face, but Ciel knew he was still smiling. He could hear it in his voice when he spoke again.

"Ooh, kinky." he said teasingly, wrapping his arms around the bluenette's waist, causing the boy to shift and wrap the arm on that side around the blonde in turn.

Alois often did this. His odd habit of requiring physical contact was in action. If he was sitting next to Ciel, he would need to be touching the bluenette somehow, sometimes grabbing his hand or playing with his hair. It took a while for the Phantomhive to get accustomed to, but somehow, he did. Part of this unusual acceptance was simply understanding that this was how Alois was raised to behave. Sadly, his perception of what was "an invasion of personal space", "perverse" or even "intimate" was warped due to his previous enslavement.

While most of the time, it was Alois who initiated intimacy, there were also times when he, of all people, actually shyed away from it. At the start of their relationship, Alois would occasionally tense up or back away if the bluenette tried to do something as simple as put an arm around him. It was nothing intentional, but instead, reflexive. Anytime he wasn't entirely in control of what was happening, it would make him nervous.

That was part of why he liked to play this little "game" with Ciel. He always wanted to test the boy's limits by dropping a lewd implication here and there in order to stir some sort of reaction; a reaction that he would be responsible for. The power to make Ciel Phantomhive, of all people, drop his mask of pride and virtue was an entertaining ability to the blonde, but then Ciel would take the initiative, and the game was over. His heart would flutter, which was not a familiar aspect of the act. Alois somehow found it unsettling.

For him, everything was entirely physical. That was what he was "taught"; that is what he knew. However, when it came to the bluenette, unfamiliar feelings, sensations, and "rules" were somehow imposed. Things that aren't familiar are often unsettling, even if they can be good. Ciel insissted that everything must be mutually beneficial. Neither lad can benefit at the expense or displeasure of the other, and that was something that Alois wasn't used to.

Regardless, he still liked it. He liked the affection and unexpected softness from the bluenette that he received, and he liked making the boy happy in return. This was the same bluenette who had stabbed him all those years ago, claiming hatred, and who desired his eventual death, yet it wasn't. This boy treated him kindly, speaking caring words and providing him a home, and restoring to him his precious brother. It was almost like none of it ever happened. It was like a second chance at a brand-new life. Alois was happy.

"For someone who was sulking a few moments ago, you're smiling quite a lot." the bluenette mused. "You recover quickly."

"That's because I have you here to cuddle." Alois replied. "It feels like ages since I was last able to."

"It's only been a week and a half." Ciel said.

"A week and a half too long."

With a chuckle, the bluenette brought a hand up to brush stray hair out of the other boy's face, revealing a pair of laughing, icy blue eyes looking up at him; pink lips curled into a smile. Alois always was very pretty, for a boy. His face was one that was hard to forget, making it easy to reconstruct his image. It was very hard to believe that the original was rotting under six feet of dirt somewhere. Now that was a hard pill to swallow.

Ciel's thoughts were interrupted when the blonde shifted, bringing his face up to the bluenette's. He didn't hesitate in the slightest to bring their lips together. The Phantomhive now had his hand tangled in the flaxen locks of his lover, encouraging the other boy to deepen the kiss. He ran his tongue along the other boy's bottom lip, asking for the entry that was happily granted.

It was hot. Both boys seemed to almost melt into each other, as they fought in a war of tongue for dominance, as they often did. They didn't really care who the victor was; they were simply enjoying the closeness. It had to come to an end, however. Sooner or later, they had to pull away.

They sat in silence, simply staring at each other, taking in the sight of the flushed face of their partner. Alois then pressed their foreheads together, noses nuzzling, breath mixing. He had missed this. Both of them did.

"I love you, Ciel." he said.

"I love you, too, Alois."

 


	297. And Then You Remembered

"Bet you a fiver they're going at it right now." spoke a certain brunette son of a politician out into the darkness.

The rest of the seven were now aware of the predicament of the demonic duo, and were now asleep in their own designated cabins; or trying to, if you were Kristopherson Miles. The Westley lad, for whatever reason, still felt the need to converse before eventually being tuned out and falling asleep. This was routine for cabin twelve. Daniel would talk, usually to Alois, while Kristopherson told them both to be quiet. Travis, knowing his friends well, took it upon himself to plan ahead, and bring along earplugs for his use, luckily for him.

As such, he was the only one who was asleep in the cabin, with Audrey and Preston housed in cabin Thirteen. Those two were now the only ones in their cabin, as the Phantomhive was currently with Alois, trapped in a shed, surrounded by a supernatural barrier. Their other cabin-mate, Dafydd, was currently being scolded by Mister Irons, and will not be allowed back into his cabin until morning, and will instead sleep in the infirmary, where there are free beds. Likewise, was the fate of his partner in crime, Cameron. Justice was served, wasn't it? One last problem remained, however, and that was the dilemma of Kristopherson's remaining unrecalled memories.

He was close. He could feel it. The faux-blonde was close to remembering everything, yet bits and pieces remained absent. Upon hearing of Cameron's involvement with trapping the demonic duo, he remembered their breakup. Sad, he was, yet relieved, as he didn't feel quite safe with the Tamworthian during their last face-to-face meeting. Try as he might, however, he couldn't recall the last few pieces, and Daniel's rude speculations were not helping.

"Their 'going at it' has nothing to do with me, and I'd like to keep it that way, thank you very much." the faux-blonde said, turning over so that he was laying on his back. He stared up at the bunk above his, where his friend was supposed to be sleeping.

"Liar." Daniel teasingly accused. "You think it's hot, don't you?"

"Why? Do you?" Kristopherson asked, a playful smirk forming on his face.

He tried his best not to laugh when the bed shook, indicating that the Westley lad was moving. He held his breath to keep himself from doing so, as Daniel hung his head over the side of the bed, peeking down at the Miles boy from his position of the top bunk. The fact that Daniel's hair was a mess, and that he was upside-down didn't help.

"Fuck no!" the boy with brown hair said, his brow furrowed; the slight pink hue of his face concealed by darkness. "I'm not interested in blokes! Now, if they were girls, that might be a different story." Kristopherson simply rolled his eyes.

"If they were girls, though, they wouldn't be 'interested' in you, though, so I don't really see the appeal." he said, sitting up to meet the gaze of the other boy. He winced, grasping at the bruise on his chest where he had be kicked by the Kelpie. With a grunt, he tried to complete his task, but it came out instead as a cough. Suddenly, Daniel's embarrassment didn't quite seem to matter as much to him anymore.

"Hey, you alright?" he asked, looking at the faux-blonde with a worried look.

The bruise, which was initially an ugly, dark brown had been healing, becoming brown, and starting to change into the lad's normal hue. It wasn't nearly as painful as it was initially, but it still ached when he tried to move too suddenly. Kristopherson had tried to participate in camp activities recently, causing it to act up a bit.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Kristopherson replied, looking at the other boy at eye-level, now. "My bruise just hurts a bit, is all. Now you see why I don't like horses?"

Daniel laughed half-heartedly in response. While he knew the other boy was attempting to joke about it, he knew it hurt. Since he wasn't sure how else to respond, he joked in return.

"Yeah, too bad a bruise won't get you a cool battle-scar like me." he said, referring to his shoulder. The lad had been shot at school, only to be saved by the demonic duo. That was a scary moment for all of the seven as well.

"'Battle-scar'?" Kristopherson echoed, arching an eyebrow. "That's not a 'battle-scar'. That's a 'I-didn't-run-away-when-I-had-the-chance-scar'."

"Are you kidding me?" the bruenette replied. "There was a bullet in my body! That's gotta count for something!" He shifted, trying to show the other boy his shoulder, where the pale scar was from his hanging-place. Unfortunately, in doing so he had too much weight over the edge, and began to slide.

Reflexively, Kristopherson moved in order to try to catch him, throwing his blanket to the side, and stretching out his arms. Daniel was far too heavy, however, and fell to the floor with a thud, bringing the faux-blonde with him, somewhat. He ungracefully sat in his boxers on the floor, his back against the side of Kristopherson's bunk, with the other boy's arms under his, wrapped around his waist, as Kristopherson's head fell over his shoulder, his throat resting on it, while his chin was against Daniel's bare chest, causing him to look down. The rest of Kristopherson was still on the bed.

The already aching chest of the Miles lad had hit the edge of the bed with the force of his friend's waist, knocking the wind out of him once more. Kristopherson turned his head to the side so that his windpipe wasn't hindered, unintentionally breathing on the other boy's collarbone so that he could hopefully regain some air, and tensed his arms from the pain. Now, after lamenting his aching tailbone, Daniel had another problem: He was being held by his gay best-friend.

"What are you doing?!" he demanded, tensing up, himself, and placing his hands on the other boy's in preparation of prying them off.

"Shut... up..." Kristopherson wheezed, alerting the Westley lad that he was in pain.

After the gears in his head started turning, a pain of guilt ran through Daniel as he realised that his friend was trying to help him, and hurt himself even more in the process. The bruenette couldn't believe that he suspected for even a moment that the boy was trying to molest him. He was a bit ashamed of himself for that.

So, he sat for a while, waiting for Kristopherson to recover a bit. It was quite difficult, with the boy breathing heavily so close to his neck. The thought made him shudder, and the sensation was worse. His face was hot as he fretted over the boy being so close. He didn't want a boy this close to him. The very thought made him feel extremely uncomfortable.

Kristopherson wasn't that well off, either. He couldn't move, and Daniel wasn't moving, either. In addition to his breath being uneven, his heartbeat was now quickening, as the realised where he was. He could feel the skin of Daniel's shoulder against his cheek, and how close his neck was to his face. The faux-blonde hoped that his friend wouldn't notice, or notice the heat that was rushing to his face, as Kristopherson realised where his hands were, and that they were covered by Daniel's own. His hands; those strong hands that Kristopherson had secretly always wanted to touch.

Guilt, was what the Miles boy felt. He knew that his friend wasn't interested in other men, yet he enjoyed his closeness. It made Kristopherson feel disgusted with himself. It made him feel dirty, and like he was dirtying his friend. He felt guilty. He remembered. He remembered what he had forgotten.

Moments passed, and his breathing began to calm down, and his muscles began to relax. Silently, the faux-blonde moved his hands, bringing them up to the edge of the bed, and beginning to push himself up. The other boy turned to look up at him, his face almost confused.

"Sorry..." Kristopherson uttered softly after he was seated upward. He was internally pleaded with whatever deity ruled the cosmos that the other boy wouldn't see his blush in the muted darkness. Daniel shook his head.

"It's alright." he said, smiling. "Thanks for the catch. You kept be from busting my head open. Think I might've bruised my tailbone, though." With a grunt, he lifted himself off the floor, rubbing his sore-spot. Kristopherson tried to laugh, but it came out as forced.

"You okay?" Daniel asked, bending over slightly to look at the boy's face.

"Fine." Kristopherson said. "I'm just fine." He lied back down, pulling his blanket back over himself. "Maybe you should go to sleep instead of hanging around like a chimpanzee."

After that: silence. Daniel shrugged, and climbed up the ladder on the side of the bunk-bed, before settling down and eventually falling asleep. For Kristopherson, however, sleep did not come quickly. He was instead too caught up on what had just happened, and what he had just remembered.

The missing piece of the puzzle; a realisation he came to several months ago. It was one that changed the way he viewed his friends, perhaps permanently. That memory of that day had returned. It was the day that Kristopherson had realized that he had been in love with his heterosexual best friend for quite some time, and it was the day where these guilty feelings of longing began.

* * *

 


	298. Luka Likes Trips!

Hiya! It's me again! It's been awhile, hasn't it? A lot of excitin' stuff has happened, and I've learned a lot since last time. Unfortunately, though, I can't start going to school next year, since my horns are showin' now, so that's not too good. I dunno when I'll be able to hide them, but I hope it's soon.

Oh! Ciel's been opening up a bit, too! He's got a lot of cool stories and stuff, 'cause he catches a lot of bad-guys. Sometimes, he'll tell 'em to my brother and me, like the time he fought Nazis, or the time he met Queen Victoria, or the time he stopped terrorists in Bulgaria, _whereever that is_. He's also real nice. He got me a bunch of toys for Christmas, and even helped me put some of them together, and look for batteries. No wonder Jim likes him so much.

We go on trips, too! Like, today, we went to the beach with the others. We left really early, so we could make it. We stopped to pick up Travis, Audrey, Kristopherson, Daniel, and Preston, and Nigel and some other guy is comin' along, too, but they're commin' later. I think he's related to Ciel, or something. For some reason, he makes my big brother nervous, so I wonder if he's a mean person. He's friends with Nigel, but I wonder why Nigel would be friends with someone who's mean. I'm real excited about seein' Nigel again, though. He's like a third big brother!

This time, we went to Daniel's parent's beach house, since it has the most rooms. Apparently it was tricky for him to get their permission. Kristopherson says it's because his parents " _don't like gays_ ", whatever that means. I'm just glad he's not in trouble or nothin'.

Anyways, We're stayin' at his house. It's real nice; not as fancy as Kristpoherson's, though. It's really big, but it also seems kinda plain, for some reason. Sebastian gets his own room, and Travis and Preston will be sharin' a room. Nigel and what's-his-face will be sharin' a room, too, and so will Audrey and Daniel, 'cause there's not enough room for everyone to have their own. Kristopherson gets his own, though, for some reason, but they said it's okay if I stay in his room, or I can stay in my big brother's room with him and Ciel. For some reason, I don't think Ciel really likes that idea, but big brother says it's alright, and Ciel will usually agree with him.

It's gonna be real fun! Last time, we played in the water and built sand castles and Travis and Jim threw me into the water and it was so excitin'! It was like I was flyin'! Daniel also got sunburned real bad 'cause he didn't want nobody helpin' him rub sunscreen on his back. Everyone took turns pokin' 'em and makin' his skin turn from red to white and back, and it was funny. I put my whole hand on his back, but he got mad. Everyone else laughed, though.

Apparently, they've all gone on trips like this since they started being friends. Whenever school's over for the year, they come to the beach before it's time to go back. I hope it's just as fun this time as it was last time. _Sebastian seems really bored_...

 


	299. Favourite Colours

...And thus, another year at Warwick was concluded. It ended on an odd note; Ciel and Alois getting stuck in a small shed. During the few weeks they had left of the trip, they had spent their time as they normally would, having some rare downtime, in which they weren't catching criminals, saving their friends, dealing with irritating adversaries, or killing man-eating, supernatural beasts. Yes, it has seemed as though they were just like any ordinary, loving couple, however fleeting the moment was.

It was soft, warm, and bright, as opposed to the slimy, cold, darkness that they were used to. It was as though they were finally away from the underworld that they had resided in for the majority of their lives, and momentarily basked in the sun. It was odd. They weren't quite used to it, but enjoyed it, nonetheless. A cloud of gloom, however, hung over their friend's head.

Kristopherson had thankfully regained his memory, but at what price? He wasn't really enjoying himself during the remainder of the trip; Why, even Cameron was now having fun, having made fast friends with a certain sorcerer, and was, ironically, distracted, just as Warwick's notorious Blonde Menace had planned. Warwick's pink-loving faux-blonde, however seemed distracted, anxious, and a little bit depressed. Most of the seven had picked up on this, but it didn't seem as though he wanted to discuss whatever matter it was that was bothering him so. That's why Daniel, of all people, proposed that they hold their annual beach holiday as soon as possible.

After much nagging of his parents, he acquired them a place to stay, however, it wasn't a private beach belonging to a member of the seven, like the previous trips. No, the house was on a beach that had several other houses owned by wealthy families. It was a little unsettling, that they wouldn't be alone, seeing as though they had four demons in the group who seemed to attract trouble wherever they went.

While the Seven would be joined later by the Weston duo, Nigel and Oliver, they had collectively decided upon hitting the beach on the first day, something that was seldom. Usually, they arrived far too late in the day to even bother, but this time, they were sure to change their strategy for the maximum amount of time playing on the shore. The boys ventured out, donning their swim-trunks and gear, followed by Sebastian, who simply took this time to relax, and reflect on this and that.

The warm sand shifted beneath their feet, making running nearly impossible as the sun's bright beams felt as though they were weighted, pressing against the lads' skin. Thank heavens they had remembered sunblock, or there might have been a repeat performance of a rather unfortunate routine with the Westley lad, who's friends found his nearly lobster-like hue to be humourous, rather than piteous. The hushed roars of waves tossing and turning over could be heard, and their lungs were filled with salty sea air long before they even touched sand.

"This is my beach!" declared a certain, familiar son of a politican, arms outstretched as if he were about to hug the horizon. "I am the king of this beach! Welcome to my court, sirs! GAH!" Alas, he was tripped by the Miles lad, and fell, sand mixing with his light-brown hair.

"So sorry, 'your majesty'." Kristopherson remarked in a manner that almost made it seem like he was performing a rehearsed sketch. "Please do forgive my carelessness."

"What shall we do first, 'sir'?" asked Audrey.

"We could bury his head in the sand..." Daniel furrowed his brow at the faux-blonde's scathing remark.

"Well," he began, brushing ample amounts of sand out of his hair with his hands. "We could build sand castles, chat up chicks, go swimming, chat up chicks, look for seashells, or, we could chat up chicks."

"I wanna go look for seashells!" declared Luka, raising his hands up and smiling. His outburst immediately cause him to steal Daniel's thunder.

"Seashell hunting sounds cool." said Audrey, while Travis offered a nod.

"Maybe we'll find another crab." joked Alois, nudging his bluenette beau with his elbow.

"If we do, I'm tossing it." the Phantomhive snapped.

"I might be able to use them as materials for this new dress I've been working on. Seashell hunting it is, then." said Kristopherson, pausing to glance over at the Westley lad. "Looks like there's a new 'King of the beach', Dan." He chuckled.

"You lot are no fun at all!" the politician's son protested. "Don't you want some kind of experience before we graduate?!"

"Dan, three of us like men, two of which are in a committed relationship with each other, one of us is an eight-year-old, one of us is a grown man who appears to be in his late twenties, and the rest are just socially awkward." the faux-blonde replied. "Whatever kind of 'experience' you're talking about isn't going to happen."

"Oh, come on!" Daniel said. "I'm sure there's little gay-boys for you to flirt with! Hey! Where are you going?!"

"Hey, Ciel, are you really going to throw a crab?" asked the younger of the Macken brothers as the group walked along the shoreline and ignored the protests of the Westley lad.

"I might, and I might not." the bluenette replied flatly, causing the blonde menace to snicker.

"Young master, it's not good to loose your temper like that." said the oldest of the group, Sebastian. "Especially to a creature much smaller than you, who's done you no harm."

"Yeah, Ciel, have you no kindness to your brethren in shortness?" asked Audrey, causing an uproar from the others. All but the bluenette, himself, who was far less than amused.

"I'm not 'short'." he said in a forceful tone, trying to maintain his air of integrity about him. "Moreover, you are in no position to speak, Bones. We're almost the same height."

"I've still got a few inches on you, though." Now, the Sensational Seven, being teenagers, found hilarity in that. Luka, however, did not.

"Ciel's not short! He's about as tall as you guys!" he said, completely missing the joke.

"Yeah!" chimed in a certain menace, wrapping an arm around the Phantomhive's shoulders. "He's not 'short', he's 'fun-sized'! Besides, he's got a bigger ego than all of you combined!"

"Is this the part where you try to defend my honour?" asked the bluenette.

"Oh, you know I love you."

"Gaaaaay~!" shouted the Westley boy, feeling as though he had been silent long enough. "Gay, gay, gay, gay, GAY! Seriously, there's enough gayness around here to stun all six Village People."

"What's 'gay' mean?" asked Luka, stopping Daniel dead in his tracks, as he stared up at the boy with his big, brown eyes. "Does it mean something different in this time? Doesn't it usually mean 'really happy'?"

The older boys looked at the child before them, wondering how on earth he didn't know what the modern usage of the word was, seeing as he lived with two boys who were currently quite "gay" for each other. He knew that homosexual relationships existed, and were, at the very least, "okay", but he wasn't entirely sure of the specifics or terminology of this "new" type of relationship. The concept was simply foreign. He wasn't even sure if he was completely on board with the fact that his older brother was in love with another man, but he knew he was happy this way.

"Well, y'see... 'Gay' is..." Daniel began, trying to piece together in his mind a blueprint as to how he was going to explain this. "Gay is...-"

"I'm gay." interrupted Kristopherson, speaking those two words with outright confidence, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "It just means that I like boys the way most boys like girls."

"Like how Jim likes Ciel?" Luka asked. The use of the blonde menace's real name threw off the pink-loving Miles boy for a moment, as he had to recall that piece of information briefly, just as anyone would.

"Yeah, only I think it's a little different." he replied, finally. "Alois says he would like Ciel if he were either a boy, or a girl, but I only like boys. To be 'gay', you have to only like people as the same gender."

"But why are you gay?"

Now, Kristopherson was thoroughly stumped. He didn't know how to explain it. He just was. The faux-blonde knew he was predispositioned to like other males, but he didn't know why, or how to explain that to a demonic eight-year-old.

"Well, why do most boys like girls?" Daniel said, answering for his friend with a question. Now, it was Luka's turn to be confused. He hadn't thought about that.

"I think it's kind of like your favourite colour." Kristopherson began. "You can't really explain why you like it. You just do, don't you?" Now, Luka's expression changed, indicating that something had clicked.

"Oh, I get it!" he said, a smile forming on his face. "So, it's just what you like, and you can't help it."

"Right!" the faux-blonde said. "Now, go find a crab for Ciel to play with!"

"Yes, sir! C'mon, Sebastian!" the youngest of the group said, tugging at the hand of the oldest.

"I apologise in advance, my lord." the butler said as he was whisked away. After such an oddly serious conversation, all was quiet, as the lads weren't quite sure where to go from there.

"Kris, quit corrupting the youth with your gayness." Daniel teased, nudging the lad's arm.

"Then don't corrupt them with your big mouth, Danny." said the Miles lad, nudging the other boy back.

"You two would make a cute couple." Alois said suddenly, startling both boys. A wicked smile was plastered across his face.

"Like hell, I would go out with an idiot like him!"

"I'M NOT GAY!"

* * *

 


	300. Thanks, Man

Silence hung in the air as the Sensational Seven tiredly trudged along the desolate beach. The hot sun blazed over head, heating the sand beneath their feet to a temperature that was nearly burning, just as the star that heated it now caused the boy's skin to tingle. Their sunscreen had started to wash off from the waves.

"How long has it been?" asked the Westley lad, now tired from walking.

"I don't know." Alois replied, marching along with him. "It feels like a few days."

"Where are the others?" Daniel further inquired. "They should've been back with food by now."

"I don't know. I hope nothing bad happened to them." answered the blonde. Just then, the politician's son fell to his knees. "Daniel!"

"I can't go on much longer..." his friend said weakly. "I can't survive, like you can. Go on ahead without me..."

"No! Just hang on! You'll get through this!"

"What the fuck are you doing?" asked Kristopherson, laying eyes on the bizarre skit the groups "Dumbass Duo" were putting on for some unknown reason. The pair turned to look at him, both equally disappointed that the faux-blonde hadn't decided to play along.

"You're no fun, Kris." Daniel accused, standing back up as he brushed the sand off of his knees and trunks.

"That's not what I asked." the faux-blonde replied, placing a hand on his hip with a small pout. "What kind of wacked-out routine are you doing? Wait, more importantly, where's Audrey? Wasn't he with you?"

It was then that the duo realised that they were, indeed, one man short. Kristopherson, Preston, Travis, Ciel, and Luka had left to fetch the group some food while Daniel, Alois, Audrey, and Sebastian watched their belongings. Bones, however, was nowhere to be found. All the dumbass-duo could do was look at each other, hoping the other had an answer.

"Does he have his mobile on him?" Kristopherson sighed. He didn't know why he found this entire situation at all surprising. It was just what was to be expected.

"Oh, maybe." answered the blonde menace. "I'll try calling 'em and see where he's at." he added, walking over to the lad's bags, which sat on a few towels spread out on the sand. It was there, that Sebastian sat, reading. The man looked up, curious as to what the boy was doing, rummaging around in the bags.

"What are you looking for?" asked the man clad in black, looking away from his book and closing it.

"My phone." Alois replied. "Have you seen it?" Sebastian thought for a moment before answering.

"It wouldn't be the thing that's been making all of that racket, now would it?" he said. "It's been coming from your jacket, I believe." With that, Alois began digging around the bags to find his purple hoodie, and sure enough, the device was inside.

Twenty messages. When he first turned on the screen, he saw that he had twenty unread text messages, all from Audrey. Curious, and curiouser, they also all said the same thing: "Where are you? I need help."

The blonde's heart immediately sank at that. Something had happened. He was the strongest in their temporary trio, when it came to shear power, so it was his responsibility to keep the others safe. Alas, he had failed his mission, having not only lost one of his group, but also having allowed them to get in some sort of danger. Without another word, the blonde started dialing the number of the reaper boy, hoping for a response.

Listening to the dial-tone was extremely unsettling, as it seemed to ring for an unnaturally long time. Something was wrong; very wrong. Why was it taking so long for the Baines lad to pick up? After what seemed like hours, Alois heard a voice.

"H-hello?" it asked, nervously. It was Audrey, and something wasn't right about him.

"Audrey? Where are you? Are you okay? Talk to me!" spoke the blonde. Audrey didn't answer right away. There was giggling in the background. "Audrey?"

"I'm over by the cliffs." Bones replied. "At the base." There was more giggling, then the reaper boy whispered pleadingly. "Please hurry."

"What happened?" Alois asked, answered only with silence. "Audrey? Audrey? Are you there?" The blonde removed the phone from his ear and looked at it. The other boy had hung up.

Alois looked at Sebastian, and Sebastian looked at him, eyebrows raised at the parts of the conversation he had heard. Alois then looked at the other boys, who in turn, looked at him. What had just happened?

"Let me guess..." Daniel began. "We gotta go get him, don't we?"

"Do you know what happened?" asked Kristopherson.

"No, but I know where he is." replied the blonde menace, throwing on his hoodie and shoving his phone in his pocket.

"I'm gonna go get him. Stay here and watch our stuff." he declared, turning and running off in the direction he believed the reaper-boy to be in. Kristopherson watched him for a moment, before turning to the Westley lad and tapping his shoulder.

"I'm going after him." he said. He didn't even give the other boy a chance to reply before he started to follow Alois. "Stay here and watch our stuff!"

Daniel arched an eyebrow, his mouth open, as if he wanted to say something, and his hand out stretched in order to stop his friend, but it was too late. Only he, and Sebastian remained. Daniel looked and Sebastian, and Sebastian looked up at him.

"Uhm...?" Daniel began, only to be cut off, when the man waved his hand, shooing the boy away.

"Go after them. I'll stay and watch your stuff." the butler said, going back to relaxing.

"Thanks, Bass-man!" the Westley boy said, turning to join the others. "You wankers! Wait for me!"

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I actually have a question for you all, this time. Is it hard to figure out what chapter you're on from all these updates? I worry about that each time I post. The actual reason why I add titles to the chapters instead of numbers is so that I can keep track of them. I hope it's not too much of an inconvenience... I can slow down, if you guys would rather. Tell me in the comments or something if that's what you want, okay? I'd like to help make it easier if I can.
> 
> Until the next chapter, my duckies~!


	301. Shut Up

Alois and Kristopherson, followed by Daniel, rushed along the beach as quickly as possible, even though the sand shifting beneath their feet made it difficult. They saw the cliffs, overlooking the beach, that Audrey had been talking about, but they didn't see Audrey. All that could be seen was sand, rocks, and the usual beach goer, but no Audrey. The trio slowed their pace down, however, when they saw a small crowd of people over by the rocks.

Audrey was a brave lad. He always did what needed to be done in the most vital of moments, when others simply didn't have the nerve. He fired a gun at both a demon, and an angel, both in order to save his friends or allies, the latter of which probably landing him in a place in hell as a result. He wasn't afraid, however, seeing as though he had connections with a rather famous set of demons. He wasn't afraid of any of that, but what had him so afraid now? What horrendous force could be so vexing, as to send the reaper-boy begging for help? As the trio walked closer, they found out, and became immensely puzzled, and more than the slightest bit amused.

A group of teenage girls had apparently taken a liking to Audrey, and the poor boy simply had no idea how to handle this. The boy's green and golden eyes were completely covered by his bangs, as if he were trying to hide, yet his friends knew that they were widened with fear. Audrey's face was contorted into an uncomfortable, awkward smile, as not to be rude, and his face was red all the way up to his ears.

The poor lad hadn't had much experience with girls, and now, he was totally surrounded by a completely foreign enemy. It was bad enough that they were surrounding him, but they were half-naked in their bikinis, and had him completely backed against the wall. Moreover, they were trying to flirt with him, and he hadn't the slightest idea as to how to respond.

They were relentless; playing with his hair, touching his arms and shoulders, occasionally brushing their breast against him "on accident". It was simply too much for Audrey. It would be, for most people. When one's space is violated, it's only natural to be discomforted, after all. The sexual nature of these attacks, and the lad's own social anxieties only made it worse.

The expression on Audrey's face when he saw the trio approach was one of extreme happiness, and relief. His saviors had arrived. Nervously, he looked to the group of girls, and spoke.

"Well, uh, my friends are here, now, so I've gotta go." he said, forcing his way through the crowd. "It was... nice meeting you all!"

Meekly, he scurried over to the other lads, seeking refuge by standing behind them, creating a barrier of sorts between him, and the dreaded sirens. The other boys watched him for a moment, before looking to each other. As obvious as it was, Alois still felt the uncontrollable desire to ask:

"You were freaked out by a bunch of girls?" he said, in a whisper so the girls wouldn't hear him. Audrey furrowed his brow, his face still red.

"So? I don't know how to talk to girls!" the reaper-boy indignantly replied, his volume similar to the blonde's. "You saw how they were rubbing up against me! How am I supposed to respond to that?!"

"Easy, you take the one you like best and take them back to your place, if you know what I mean." Daniel chimed in.

"Daniel, stop being such a pig for a few minutes so we can just go back?" said Kristopherson, brushing a stray lock of hair out of his face. "Everyone else is probably back with food, by now." Before they could, however, the girls had made their move.

"Are you Audrey's friends?" one of them asked, walking right up to the group.

"Yeah?" answered Alois. "What about it? Before you get any ideas, some of us aren't straight."

"So, you're gay?" one of the girls replied, tilting her head to the side, the rest of them getting an excited look on their faces. That immediately filled the boys with dread.

"I am, he's bi." Kristopherson said, gesturing to himself, before to the other blonde. "He has a boyfriend, though."

"We should totally hang out!" spoke another female, this one wearing an overly expensive pink bikini. "We could all go shopping and..."

"Wait, what makes you think we want to go shopping?" asked Alois. "Because we like men? Not all gays like shopping. Take Daniel, here, for example. He hates it."

"I'm not gay!" the Westley boy immediately protested, furrowing his brow with a frown. Alois blatantly ignored the boy's outburst and kept on talking.

"See? Stereotyping people is rude." the blonde said. "And another thing, it's not too nice to give a guy a hard time just because he's good lookin'. Poor, socially-awkward Audrey has a tough time with girls, and was obviously discomforted by your attention, yet you persisted, anyway. You kept touching him when he didn't want you to, and that's sick. That's molestation! Assault! The hell's wrong with you?" The girls were quiet for a few moments, some of them looked down, feeling guilty, while others were indignant.

"He never said he didn't want it." one of the girls argued. Alois wrinkled his nose in disgust.

"He made it obvious." the blonde replied. "When someone stands defensively, has trouble making eye-contact, or shy's away from contact while looking for a way to escape, they're not interested in playing along. Audrey did all of those things just in the time we were here. Why couldn't you tell? Are you stupid?"

"That just means he's shy! It's not like we were going to rape him or anything." said one of the girls.

"Yeah, and guys can't get raped anyway." said the one in pink. That girl had just said one of the worst things one could say to the blonde menace, as she would soon find out.

Alois' brow furrowed, his teeth ground together and his fists clenched and unclenched. Anger bubbled up inside him, as the sentence replayed in his mind, over and over again. The words themselves made him angry enough, but the offhandedness of the remark only added insult to injury.

How was she to know? How was this wealthy, pampered, sheltered teenage girl to know what it feels like to not be treated as a human being, but rather, property? How was she to know what it was like to be stripped of all dignity and self-worth by another, more powerful, "human being", or rather, a monster parading around in human's clothes? How was she to know what it was like to have that done to her repeatedly, day in, day out, unless you were "lucky" that some other "doll" was chosen to suffer in your place instead?

There was no way. This girl was completely ignorant to the hardships and sorrows of others. She knew nothing about other people's fears, regrets, feelings, or well-being; and not only that, she didn't care, as well. Damn her. This stupid girl. This girl would grow up to be a monster who steps on and uses other people for her own benefit as well. Damn her. Damn her to hell.

At that point, the blonde snapped, trudging forward toward that blissfully ignorant girl, his icy blue eyes wide. Those eyes were almost the eyes of insanity. His friends made an attempt to stop him, once he raised his fist in the air, grabbing hold of him. With their full, combined strength, they were able to stop the blonde just short of reaching his target. He forced himself forward, however, dragging them with him. Their feet couldn't gain much traction on the sand, and had the girl not move on her own accord, she would be showing off her bikini with a black eye. The only reason he stopped moving forward was so that he wouldn't accidentally hurt the lad's holding him back.

"Let me go!" the menace shouted, as some of the girls shrieked. "She doesn't know shit! Just one punch! **Just one!"**

"Alois, calm down!" shouted Audrey. Even as the most physically fit of the group, he was having difficulty restraining the demon, who was hardly moving. "You could seriously hurt her!"

"Oh, I'll hurt her, all right!" the blonde retorted, almost in a growl. "I'll hurt her, and it won't be a fraction of how bad that old man hurt me! 'Guys can't get raped'?! Stupid bitch! I was locked in a bloody basement for two years! Two bloody years! You know what that's like, huh?! You know what that does to somebody!?"

"I'm sorry!" the girl shrieked, retreating into the group of girls, now huddled together in fear. "I didn't know!"

"No you're not! You're just sorry because I want to hit you!" Alois shouted in reply.

"Oi! You girls should get out of here!" said Daniel, losing his grip on the blonde. "My arms are getting tired!"

With that, the girls fled together in their odd, sort of "pack" that they were in. They left tracks in the sand as they scurried away, leaving only one trace of their existence, other than the freshly disturbed blonde lad. The boy watched them run away, seething the entire time.

Slowly, Aois' muscles began to relax, and he wasn't so tense or on edge. Hesitantly, the other's released him, long after the girls were out of sight. The blonde had frightened his friends, as none of them could recall a time when they had seen the blonde act this way before. Yes, they knew he could be serious at times, but there was nothing like this. Alois was always so happy-go-lucky, and cheerful; quick to crack jokes and smart off; full of confidence. Now, he was acting like a frightened animal.

The blonde's breathing to calm down, and the water in his eyes retreated, no longer threatening to fall down his face. After a few moments, he glanced over at his flabbergasted friends before his eyes quickly darted to the ground. He had caused quite the scene, hadn't he? Sheepishly, Alois clasped his hands together, idly twiddling his thumbs.

"I'm... I'm sorry you had to see that..." he said, finally, not meeting the gaze of the others.

By this time, all of the Sensational Seven were aware of the demonic duo's pasts, spare the irrelevant details, along with descriptions and insights that were perhaps a bit too gritty for five otherwise "normal" lads. They knew the blonde had been violated when he was younger, in order to ensure his own survival, but they were unaware of the deeper scar that the abuse had left on their friend's mind, just the way Alois had ensured it. He didn't want his first group of actual "friends" to be off-put by his apparent disturbance. No matter what he did, it would seem that he would just never be able to be "normal", too, now would he?

"It's alright..." said Kristopherson, breaking the silence. "But, more importantly, are you 'alright'?"

"Of course he's not, Kris. Didn't you see what just happened?"

"Shut the fuck up, Dan."

The blonde was a bit hesitant to answer, as he wasn't quite sure, himself. Finally, he spoke, and said: "I think so... It's been a while since that's happened, I swear..."

"It's cool, mate. We totally get it." Audrey said, reassuringly. "Everyone has their own things that set them off. Me about my real dad, Kristopherson and horses, Daniel and being called 'gay'..."

"I'm not gay!" interrupted the politician's son.

"...Point is, we've all got issues." the reaper-boy continued. "Some of 'em are just a bit bigger than others. Don't worry about it."

"We don't think it's your fault, and we don't think you're crazy, Alois." added Kristopherson, offering the boy a smile.

"Yeah, we're you're friends." said Daniel. "We like you for the weirdo that you are!"

"Shut up, Dan." spoke both the faux-blonde and the reaper-boy at the same time. Kristopherson then looked back to the blonde menace.

"Alright?" he asked again, surprising the lad.

Of course Alois was surprised. He had never had so many people care about him, before, and he hadn't realised that he did, now. It wasn't only Ciel and Luka who cared, his friends did, too. While they'll never quite understand exactly what Alois had gone through, they would try their best, simply because he was their friend. To him, that was an amazing thing.

"Alright." he said finally.

"Good. I'm starving!" said Daniel. "Everyone else is probably eating by now! Audrey, why do you have to get kidnapped by hot chicks, and not even share?"

"Shut up, Dan..."

 


	302. Jim

The sun was setting, masterfully painting the sky a brilliant array of reds, yellows, and oranges, just as it has done every day when dusk began to fall. Beach-goers began to go home, packing up their things, and heading toward their overly-expensive beach-houses, the Westley's, being the closest to the beach, as they had the most money of anyone in the area. Since it was closer, the Sensational Seven was able to stay out a bit longer, leaving them the only occupants on the beach, for a while. They watched the girls who had harassed their friends earlier in the day, leaving, and the lads made faces at them as they did so, all but Ciel, obviously, Sebastian, and oddly, Alois.

Yes, the blonde was unusually quiet, throughout the day, often participating in conversation in similar manners as Travis usually would. He was somewhat quiet, and withdrawn. He looked bothered, even though he was smiling. By this time, the others were well aware of what had happened with the wretched, harassing harpies that the dumbass duo, along with Kristopherson had encountered, and did their best to avoid bringing up the subject, as none of them believed that it would do much good, but rather, make things worse. Even Ciel, was slightly hesitant, knowing the blonde's condition. He, however, knew that simply leaving things as is would never solve the problem.

When was the last time Alois had even thought about his past trauma? Half a year? A full year? Maybe two? The blonde simply couldn't remember. Everything had been going so smoothly, that why would he? It was remarkable, how he avoided it for so long. As he sat on the sidelines, he thought about this, coming to the conclusion that the last time it had substantially bothered him had been during the "Red Palace" prostitution case. He cringed at the memory of those men before he and Ciel had so brutally slain them all.

Before that, was when his already romantic relationship with the bluenette turned sexual; how nervous, he was, then, whether he admitted to it or not. His last sexual encounter before that hadn't at all been pleasant, so could you blame him? However, if it would please Ciel, then he was willing to subject himself to it again, after all, that's how it's supposed to be, correct?

Wrong. He was so very wrong, in this aspect. What Ciel had done, whether knowingly or not, is redefine Alois' views of physical intimacy altogether. The bluenette was very sensitive to the blonde's trauma, against his otherwise seemingly emotionally distant nature, and tried everything he could in order not to feed it. No sudden movements, no unnecessary roughhousing, and absolutely nothing from the back, amoung other things. Yes, despite his slight, sadistic streak, Ciel did everything in his power to ensure that the act was beneficial to both parties, and oh, did the blonde thank him for that.

Still, even with such kindness, such a sudden change takes getting used to. It took months before the blonde was able to not tense up at the slightest, friendly touch from the bluenette, and even longer for him to become completely comfortable with the situation. The brush with the Red Palace only set them back a few steps, forcing them to start back from square one, almost, much to the blonde's apology, and embarrassment. Ciel, however, had his own problems.

It wasn't easy having a partner who suffered from sexual abuse. Partially because of the blonde's unconscious behavioral quirks, and partially because he wanted to make the one who did it suffer far more than he actually did. One simply cannot change what was in the past, however unfortunate. Ciel had some internal conflicts of his own, too. He wanted to make the blonde feel at ease, yet he didn't want to feel emotionally vulnerable, himself. Yes, the bluenette was always afraid of being weak, and defenseless, but the best way to help Alois was to shove all of that to the side, and be his equal; to show him that he isn't alone in this endeavor.

As such, although it bruised his pride, Ciel had done so many times, and didn't regret it one single bit. If Alois was going to make himself uncomfortable for his benefit, then it was only fair for Ciel to do the same for Alois'. The progress made on both sides was incredibly substantial, in such a short amount of time, indeed. Here, Ciel was, one hundred years later, after becoming a demon, as distant, and unyielding as ever, yet it took his former enemy, a blonde lad who was so obnoxious, tasteless, weak, immature, uneducated, vile, and otherwise detestable, falling into his life once more with as much grace as a drunken cow, to change that. The very thought was ridiculous, however, neither lad was in any way complaining.

Yes, everything had been going splendidly. The past was behind them, and a bright future was ahead of them, they just knew it. Sadly, it seemed like everything had come to a complete halt, however, once memories of a ruined childhood unwelcomely reared their ugly head. Alois was now somewhat distant, trying to force the memory to the back of his mind once more, and didn't even sit near his beloved bluenette, as not to worry him.

This didn't do much good, either. It has already been established, that the blonde often needed reassurance of the Phantomhive's feelings. That was simply out of fear. He was afraid the past would repeat itself, and that this love he had was all a farce, just as the fatherly support from his former butler, had been. Yes, Alois was often afraid of betrayal, whether he showed it or not, yet Ciel was fully aware of it. Sebastian was, too, but remained silent. It wasn't his place to meddle in the affairs of his master, and decided that it was the Phantomhive's job to handle on his own, and that, Ciel did.

Some of the reassurance was a conscious effort, on Ciel's part. How could he not? Ciel had every reason to lie to the blonde, didn't he? This boy, was the lad who had been his adversary; the one he had sworn to kill. Ciel hated him, and his despicable, classless ways; his sick innuendos, and willingness to resort to such disgusting means of deception, such as dressing as a woman, and trying to seduce him.

At the time, yes, Ciel did hate him. He hated everything about him, but now, things have changed. He was not the same, stubborn, rich brat that he was in 1889, blinded by hate, and determined to die. No, Ciel wasn't even human. He was a demon. He was a demon, who was bored, and alone in a world run by humans, yet, he had never been happier. Without all of the lies, the deceit, the hate, the loathing, the thirst for vengeance, and the desire to destroy everything in the path of acheiving it, the world was so much brighter. He could now see things as the way they actually are, rather than the way that his blindness perceived.

This blonde boy was not really "Alois Trancy". He was Jim Macken, and was in no way related to the deaths of Ciel's parents, and the bismirching of his family. This boy was rather, a pitiable being, whose life had been wrought with hardship and suffering, just as the bluenette's own. This boy had simply dealt with the poor hand that life had thrown at him, just as Ciel had done. It was exactly as the blonde had said all of those years ago, crying and writhing around in his own blood on the floor in front of the bluenette trying to kill him.

"We are the same."

And Ciel did love this boy, even if the blonde needed to be reminded, on occasion. He empathized with the blonde, as did the blonde with he, yet to Alois, he was never quite secure with that. He just wasn't secure at all. He needed reaffirmation, in order to feel secure, and, right now, remembering all of these bad things from one-hundred years ago, he was anything but. The memory of his abuse and imprisonment led to memories of the Trancy house in general, including the time after his captor's death, parading around as the man's son. He recalled the betrayal of Claude, and the hatred of Ciel Phantomhive.

Even now, after the Sensational Seven had arrived back at the Westley house, and were all safe and sound, Alois was still uneasy. He would quietly glance over to the bluenette, on occasion, quickly averting his gaze when the boy looked back at him. Ciel had to admit, he was a bit puzzled by the blonde's actions; the silence, the nervous gestures, and the physical distance that the blonde had put between them, as opposed to his usual clinginess. He simply couldn't wrap his head around what he had done wrong.

Time passed, and eventually, the two lads who were scheduled to arrive late, did so. Now, as if Alois weren't feeling rotten enough, he now had to undergo the slightly intimidating task of looking good for Ciel's relatives, as Oliver Midford had arrived, along with their mutual friend, Nigel Irons.

"Nigel!" called a certain, young, bruenette demon as he cheerfully ran up to the ginger lad, giving him a hug. These two boys had a strong affinity for each other, given the fact that they once shared the same body. Although they had never officially met before they were separated, they were still fond of one another.

"Hiya, Luka!" the Irons boy replied, returning the boy's gesture. "I see your horns've come in. I think you've gotten taller, too!"

"Maybe you'll be taller than Ciel, one day, Luka!" said Daniel, earning a laugh from the other boys, including Oliver. The Phantomhive lad, however, wasn't as amused.

"I'm **not** short." he insisted, crossing his arms with a frown. He glanced over at Alois, relieved that he was smiling at the joke, but that immediately faded with that grin, as soon as he noticed that the bluenette was looking his way. What on earth was making him act this way? The fact that the bluenette couldn't fabricate an answer, only caused him frustration.

The younger Macken boy grabbed Nigel's hand, and led him to the center of the room, where most of the lads were in a circle playing Monopoly. Sebastian had been banned from joining, because somehow, the butler had managed to find a way to actually win at Monopoly. Oliver, however, sat on the couch, taking the empty seat next to Alois. Of all of the places he could have chosen to sit, of course the Midford lad had to chose that particular location. Alois shifted uncomfortably to accommodate.

"Hello again." Oliver greeted, offering a kind smile. There was some odd atmosphere about the lad that always seemed to be glowing, in a figurative sense. His curly golden blonde hair seemed to resemble wool of a sheep, almost, aside from the single, long lock, that covered his left ear, held straight only by it's own weight. He was very quiet, as opposed to the first Midford Alois had met, Elizabeth, and was far more tolerable. It was almost unnerving, how nice this boy appeared to be.

"Hi." Alois replied, unsure of what to say. The two then sat, awkwardly, as they half-heartedly watched the others play their board-game. After a while, the human blonde looked like he wanted to say something, but hesitated. Eventually, he spat it out, breaking the silence.

"I brought the clothes you lent me from camp with me." he said. He wanted to wait until the conversation brought it up, however, there was no conversation to do so. "They're in my suitcase. I washed them, too. Sorry I didn't return them sooner. I just never see you!"

"Oh! You didn't have to." Alois said, somewhat nervously. "I completely forgot!"

"Still, I think it's best to give back the things you borrow." Oliver replied. "I just don't feel right, otherwise."

"I see..."

Neither lad was entirely sure how to proceed. Thus, silence loomed in the air once more, only lessened by the angry shouts of the other boys as they played their silly game. Both blondes sat uncomfortably, waiting for either the conversation to continue again, or for a chance to escape without being perceived as rude. Neither option seemed to present itself, that is, however, until a thought entered Oliver's head, that made him laugh, somewhat.

"What's so funny?" Alois asked, arching an eyebrow in confusion. The other lad stopped, and looked to the older Macken brother with a smile.

"You're not at all how Ciel described you." Oliver replied. "He said you're over-confident, loud, and goofy."

"Did he, now?" asked the blonde menace as a follow-up question. "Wait, he talks about me?"

"Only all the time." the Midford boy replied, grinning. "Every time he comes to visit, it's always 'Alois did this'. 'Alois did that', 'if Alois were here, he would do this'; it's kind of funny. I've never heard him talk like that before. He's always been so serious, even when I was little, y'know?"

"Oh, I know." the blonde said. After all, he had met the bluenette first. What he didn't understand, however, was why the lad would be talking about him to others, so frequently. "He's kind of a stick in the mud, sometimes, isn't he?"

"Yeah, but he seems a lot better, now." answered Oliver. "If you point out how often he talks about you, though, he gets really embarrassed. He's positively crazy about you, and no one's ever seen that, before. My dad likes to tease him about it a lot." Alois couldn't help but giggle at the thought.

"Yeah, he's pretty cute when he's embarrassed." he replied, forgetting about his troubles for a moment to imagine the bluenette's flustered face, as he tried to look tough and dignified. Oh, how Alois loved being one of the only people who can ruffle the bluenette's feathers just by simply being mentioned. Ciel was a proud little robin, but nevertheless, he had a severe soft-soft for the blonde menace. Alois was his Achillies' heel, and everyone knew it..

"Well, I don't know about that, but it is pretty funny." the Midford boy said, as he didn't exactly share the same "interests" as the demonic duo. "The only other person I know of to be able to embarrass him like that is Sir Integra, but with her, he always argues and gets mad about it. When it comes to you, though, he can't argue, which is a definite first." He paused, recalling one of many incidents that the Phantomhive and the Hellsing woman had squabbled over seemingly nothing, just as his fellow-blonde seated next to him did, both smiling.

"Ciel cares about you more than he does anyone else," he added. "So he'll talk to you about whatever's troubling you. He looks pretty worried."

Alois simply sat there, a look of outmost surprise on his face. This boy had casually both cheered up the blonde, and given him a course of action, all without seeming utterly invasive. How did he do that? Alois couldn't help but be a tad suspicious of the lad, by now. He was far too kind, too friendly, and always seemed to know what to say, although, that's precisely how Ciel had described the lad before he introduced them. That was for one reason or another, the way that the boy was. While Alois pondered all of this, Oliver's face shifted from compassion, to panicked embarrassment.

"I-I'm sorry! Was I wrong?" he asked, snapping the menace out of his daze. "You just looked like something was bothering you, and Ciel kept looking over at you with a kind of worried look, so I was wondering if something had happened! I'm sorry if I was being nosey..."

"Oh, it's alright! You actually helped me out." Alois replied. "Thanks."

"AUGH!" groaned a familiar politician's son, stealing the attention of the two blondes. The lad had his head in his hands, and had a look similar to most of the other lads.

"That's no fair!" he continued, pointing at the younger of the Macken brothers, Luka. "You had cyclops' help! That's cheating!"

"Nothing in the rules say that you can't take advice." said the bluenette, sitting next to a rather proud Luka, who was outmost pleased with himself for sapping the "money" of all the "older kids" participating in their game. "It's just business. If you can't deal with that, I suggest you rethink your carreer path, Daniel."

"What does business have to do with being a politician?!" the Westley lad snapped.

"Positively everything." Ciel replied. While it took him slightly longer than Sebastian, due to both skill, and the fact that he was "playing" through an eight-year-old, Ciel had won. He had taxed and stolen from the other lads, until they couldn't afford to pay for any space they landed on, or pay any more taxes. That was just how it was, playing Monopoly with a real businessman.

The bluenette's visible eye then wandered back to his blonde beau, momentarily, but oddly, for the first time over the course of that entire eventing, the other boy didn't immediately look away. Instead, he turned his head to look at the Midford boy seated next to him, receiving a nod and a smile, while the human boy gestured toward his relative. Alois then looked back to Ciel, and stood from his seat, stretching his legs before walking over to the boy and taking a seat by his side. With his usual smile, the blonde menace wrapped his arms around the next of his boyfriend, nuzzling into the crook of the other boy's neck.

"So I see you've finally decided to join us." Ciel stated, a small smile playing at his lips.

"Indeed I have, good sir!" Alois returned. "What mischief have you been up to in my absence, pray tell?"

"Your boyfriend is the worst person to play any game with ever." said Daniel, taking a break from his sulking to answer for the bluenette. "The wanker robbed us blind!"

"No, I didn't rob you blind. Luka did." the Phantomhive boy corrected, almost instintively wrapping an arm around Alois. "I was just giving friendly advice."

"Friendliness doesn't exist in Monopoly." said Kristopherson, putting down his cards.

"Well, I don't know about you lot, but I think it's time for food." said Audrey, adjusting his hat on his head. He had been separated from it for the entire day, and was happy to be reunited with it.

"Wanna order pizza?" asked Daniel.

"Only if we can have breadsticks, too." replied the reaper-boy.

"Are we going to get pizza?!" asked Luka, excitedly. He had eaten the dish at restaurants, once or twice with the rest of the Phantomhive house once or twice, and was excited to be eating the odd, tasty bread again.

"Hell no we ain't!" Daniel replied. "The pizza's commin' to us!"

"Wicked! Wait, how's that happen?"

"Just watch!" said the Westley lad. "Oi! We're ordering pizza! What do you want on it?!"

And thus, the chaos began. The lads argued over what types of pizza to order in a ridiculous manner, throwing around ideas and insults alike, mostly for fun. While that was happening, the demonic duo simply watched, as neither lad was actually hungry. There were merits to being demons, as neither lad needed to eat; human food, at least.

Instead, they interacted with each other, silently enjoying the company of the other that they had been so deprived of throughout the evening. It wasn't exactly that, but rather, the worry of some underlying problem between one another that caused their anxiety. The lack of conformation on this matter, however, only allowed it to persist somewhat, therefore action had to be taken. Both of them knew it, but only one of them had a vague idea as to how, only due to the advice of another boy with hair of similar fairness.

"Hey, Ciel?" Alois said, beckoning the bluenette's full attention.

"Yes?"

"I kinda have stuff I wanna talk to you about..."

Now this, was a first. Ciel was surprised at Alois coming forward first, because while the lad was brash and confident, when it came to personal matters, he would much rather remain silent. He hid it all behind a smiling mask, just as he always had. It was a difficult habit to break, and the menace wasn't entirely sure if he would be able to follow through with it, but he knew that the bluenette would understand if he failed. If there was anyone else who knew anything about masks, it was Ciel Phantomhive, after all.

Overcoming his brief surprise, the bluenette said: "Of course. We can go into the other room, if you want to."

Alois, in turn, nodded and released his companion from his hold. The two then got up, and walked into the kitchen under the veil of the ensuing disorder amongst their friends, hand-in-hand. Led by the blonde demon, they did not let go either, even when the two had stopped. Slowly, and somewhat bashfully, Alois turned around to face the Phantomhive boy, now holding the lad's hand with both of his, absent-mindedly playing with his fingers. After a few moments of silence, Ciel had had all he could take.

"What did you want to talk about?" he asked, reminding the blonde why they were both there. His beau opened his mouth, but hesitated before speaking.

"Remember when Kris, Dan, and Bones told you about what happened today?" Alois said, dancing around the actual answer with a question of his own.

"Yes." the bluenette replied, listening to what the blonde had to say.

"Well, it kind of... triggered some memories..." Alois replied.

"Is that why you were avoiding me?" Ciel asked, reaching up with his free hand to cup the other boy's cheek. "Alois, I would never, ever do anything like that to you..."

"But even still..." The menace looked down. "That's not all of it... only part of it..."

"Then what is it? Please tell me." Alois looked up.

"Back then... we were enemies... you hated me..." the blonde began, his eyes becoming watery. "You hated me and how disgusting I was... For us to go from that to... loving each other... it's just too unreal. I-I'm just... just..."

"...You're afraid it's all a lie?" Ciel asked, finishing the blonde's sentence with a solemn expression. The boy in front of him simply nodded, his face contorted in a pained expression, as he tried his best not to cry. He was guided into the arms of the bluenette, wrapping his own around the slightly shorter lad's waist as the boy stroked his back soothingly, all while pretending not to notice the warm dampness that was starting to appear on his shoulder from the blonde's eyes.

"That was so long ago, Alois..." Ciel began. "It may not seem that way to you, but it was to me. I've had plenty of time to think about how utterly wrong the situation was." He separated them just enough so that he could see his companion's face.

"My quarrel was never with you." he continued. "You never even the slightest bit related to my revenge. You just happened to fit the description of the lie that I was told. If I hadn't been so trigger-happy, I might've realised that the maths didn't add up. I was fighting the wrong generation of the Trancy's for my parent's murder, and had I looked closer, I would have realised that the Trancy's weren't related to it at all! They were otherwise occupied..." Ciel trailed off, furrowing his brow. Alois simply stared at him, hanging onto every word with an almost dumbfounded look on his face.

"None of that matters anyway." the bluenette said finally, cupping the blonde's cheek, massaging it with his thumb. "You were never a 'Trancy', anyway. You were just some boy, trying to navigate this cruel world, just as I was, and you always were, and are, a million times stronger, more proud, and more beautiful than any Trancy ever could be..." He kissed Alois' cheek, and leaned in to whisper in the blonde's ear:

"...my beloved Jim Macken."

That did it. The hue of the blonde's face changed to a much darker shade, and his grip around the bluenette's waist tightened. Hearing his real name always had an odd effect on him, especially when Ciel said it. The true name of anyone, regardless to their species, always does, no matter how few times it's spoken. A person's name was tied to their soul, it would seem. When someone calls one's true name, one immediately stands to attention. It was reflexive, but for "Alois" it effected him on a much deeper level.

"You... you and your **words**..." he replied, not meeting the bluenette's gaze.

"What's wrong?" Ciel asked innocently. "Didn't I answer your questions?"

"You make me feel like an idiot..." the fair-haired demon said with a pout.

"That makes two of us." the bluenette quipped back. "You know, you're perhaps the most confident, and insecure person person I've ever met, both at the same time."

"Can you really blame me?"

"No, and I still love you, anyway, Jim." The Macken boy opened his mouth to speak, but closed it again, instead opting to press his lips to the Phantomhive's.

"I love you, too." he said, touching their foreheads together, causing the bluenette to hum in response.

"Oh? What happened to 'don't call me "Jim"'?" he teasingly asked, smiling at the uncharacteristic bashfulness coming over his lover. He didn't, however, expect what the lad was about to say next.

"I... I-I don't mind..." the blonde answered. "You can call me by my real name... But only you and Luka can, got it?"

Ciel didn't even think before kissing him. The bluenette was simply too overwhelmed by Alois', or rather, by "Jim's" sudden sweetness. Uncommon characteristics brought on even more uncommon characteristics, as the Phantomhive lad threw caution to the wind, and kissed the blonde menace, knowing full well that one of the other boys could walk in at any moment. After a while, the lad pulled back to look at his lover, a smile on his face.

"Alright, then." he said. "But from now on, you're not allowed to question how much I love you."

"I think I can handle that." Alois replied, wearing a smile of his own.

"Good, because you should know it by now." quipped the bluenette. "I'll be sure to remind you every now and again, just to be safe, though, Jimmy."

"Alright, now you're pushing it, Phantomhive."

"'Phantomhive'?" Ciel echoed, a smirk on his face. "We're back to a last-name basis? What happened to being one of the only ones to you by your real name?"

"Just shut up and kiss me again, you posh pillock." the other demon replied, his cheeks painted pink. With a chuckle, the other demon honoured his request, pressing their lips together again.

Soft lips moved in synch with one another, in a chaste manner. It was a nice change of pace; very honest and pure. It had been quite some time since they had a genuine heart-to-heart, and their actions reflected that. It was a rare moment where they were just like any ordinary, happy couple, and it was spoiled by the arrival of a certain son of a politician.

"Gah!" Daniel shouted in surprise upon noticing the two, prompting them to separate. Now, the faces of three lads were red, as the demons awkwardly cleared their throats.

"Warn me next time you decide to spontaneously gay up the place!" the Westley boy said, now walking to the refrigerator. He grabbed a piece of paper with the phone number he needed, held to it's metal surface with a small magnet, and turned to look at the pair again. "I should be able to not see unwanted make-out sessions in my own house!"

"It wasn't 'unwanted'." Alois replied, grabbing the hand of the bluenette. "Quite the opposite, actually."

"Who cares? I don't want to see it!" Daniel protested. "It's weird enough to watch other people snog, but watching two blokes snogging is extremely uncomfortable."

"So you're mad because you think it's hot?"

"No!" the shouted the Westley lad, indignantly. "Now quit trying to make gay demon-babies in my kitchen, and help me order pizza!"

"How in blazes does that even work?" asked Ciel, rubbing his forehead. "Whatever, we'll be there in a minute."

"Fine, just don't be getting nasty up in here. We keep food in here, you know." the bruenette warned before fleeing the scene and rejoining the others. The demonic duo were alone again, at last, however, the mood had been completely ruined. Ciel let out a sigh, before turning to the Older Macken boy again, squeezing his fingers, slightly.

"So, are we alright?" he asked, not sure as to what type of response he would get. While this settled the blonde's worries about their relationship, the memories of his abuse may still linger.

"I think we're good." replied the fair-haired demon-boy. "If I start to feel bad again, you'll be here to give me kisses and make it all better, right?" Ciel chuckled.

"Yes, your highness." As sweet as this was, the moment was once again ruined by shouting from the other room.

"Hey, guys! Alois is pregnant!" Daniel yelled, the sounds of various shouts, whistles, and "oohs" from the other boys soon following. Immediately, the blonde's face heated up.

"SHUT THE FUCK UP, DAN!"

* * *

 


	303. Silly

"Don't touch me!" shouted a certain bluenette as he was chased up and down the shoreline by the other lads.

Yes, the Sensational Seven and friends were having their traditional, summer trip to the beach that the seven had begun upon entering secondary school. Ah, those were the days, when demons weren't real and murder and monsters weren't a normal part of the lad's lives; well, at least for most of them. Even though the trip had a bit of a rocky start, nostalgia was in the air, as the lads underwent yet another tradition, a certain activity that must be performed before leaving: Throwing Ciel Phantomhive into the ocean.

"Slow down, Phantomhive!" shouted Daniel, panting as his running began to slow down. It was quite difficult for a human to out-run a demon, and some of the other boys had already given up, mostly Preston and Luka. "Don't be such a pansy!"

"I'm not being a pansy! I'm being perfectly reasonable!" Ciel declared, returning the Westley lad's shouts. "I don't want to be thrown!"

"We'll toss you in gently, then!" called Kristopherson, keeping a steady pace. Following him was Travis, with Alois at the front, taking the lead. Sebastian, Preston, and Luka, however, sat in the shade underneath the parasol that hung over their belongings, seeing as though the children had gotten tired from running, and the butler hadn't much interest in playing along.

Still, Sebastian was quite content to watch his master being chased by his friends in a silly fashion as he kept an eye on Luka. It was so odd, seeing the bluenette act so out of character, but it was still entertaining, all the same. The eldest demon was fascinated by the change, somewhat, if he were entirely honest. Ever since that blonde Macken boy reentered their lives, the Phantomhive household had changed, oh so very much, and it was doubtful that things would ever return to the way they were.

The young master of the house was now more kind, more gentle, more open to express emotion. Sebastian was not at all knowledgeable of the kind of emotion his master was feeling, and didn't quite understand how it worked. All he knew was that it somehow changed the bluenette, as well as the blonde menace, into more mature, compassionate, and more human individuals

"Human". There's that word again. That word, that was associated with a species in which he found both amusement and sustenance from. Humans were fascinating in the way they ran about like mad, trying to live the "best" life they can, usually by improving their own quality of life, before reaching an end, all too quickly. Humans were ugly, selfish, and cruel, and yet they could be kind, compassionate, and noble. Humans could be beautiful, and it was so rare that one such human could come along that simply stopped the demon in awe.

That is the kind of human that the demon butler desired for food. One who is noble, proud, one who is capable of dwelling in a world of darkness, and yet come out unshaken, if not more determined than ever. Yes, humans could do this. Only a human can. There were only two humans, that Sebastian could remember, who were like this, one being his own master, and the other being perhaps Sir Integra, but he knew better. That woman would definitely kill him should he even suggest forming a contract, and he was a bit uneasy from his last attempt to cultivate such a soul. Now, he was doomed to be the servant of another, younger demon for eternity. Yet, why was he not angry?

Surely, he had been cheated by humans, the blonde menace, in particular, yet he wasn't angry or resentful. He was a tad bit upon first reuniting with the boy, but now, seeing his master happy with the blonde, he didn't know how he felt. Seeing them interact, however, made him smile. Overhearing the duo's conversation the night before, made him feel warm inside. He wasn't at all familiar with this feeling. What was it?

He looked to Luka, who was building a sandcastle with Preston, letting out a chuckle at the sight of the brunette's bright, smiling face. There it was again. Stop that. That's not normal. What is this? Affection? Demons don't feel such things! At least, Sebastian hadn't, in all his countless years of being immortal. It was concerning. The demon butler was growing concerned about these odd feelings and attachments. He wasn't accustomed to them at all.

"Gaaah!"

SPLASH!

He looked up toward the sound of his master's voice, and saw the boy being tossed into the water, once again. Now, as to why this was so amusing, he did understand. Demons feed off of their master's emotions, to an extent, and find a slightly schadenfreaude feeling when their masters slip up.

A demon's thoughts and feelings correspond to what their masters want, or need, even if it's something they wish they had themselves, even if unconsciously so. Claude Faustus, for example, acted as somewhat as an anchor for an unruly, impulsive Alois; his stoicness setting up a limiter as to what the blonde could, and could not do. That's what he needed. What he wanted, though, was to be devoid of feeling, himself; to be able to crush shatter the feelings his past left him with, and be fully healed from his own mental scar rather than simply trying to pretend it didn't exist. That was almost more painful than admitting he was in pain. His demonic "butler" was only freed from this upon the blonde's apparent death, but since the contract was still in place, the man started to take on sillier antics and actions than before, not at all dissimilar to the blonde menace.

That said, on Ciel's side, Sebastian was witty, charming, easy to warm up to, had a sense of humour, and always knew what to do. These were all things that Ciel, himself, was not at the time of his contract's conception; things that the bluenette probably wished he was. Sebastian reflexively changed into what that young boy wanted, and needed, becoming the "perfect" butler; a custom-fit for Ciel.

Sometimes, Sebastian wondered, is he still just an extension of Ciel's will? He wondered this, even now, as he watched the bluenette being tackled by his blonde beau in the surf, shortly followed by the other boys. Ciel was no longer dependent on him, yet he still had the "personality" of "Sebastian". Shouldn't he have changed to suit this "new and improved" Ciel Phantomhive?

A sigh escaped the man's lips as he pondered this further. Perhaps he would have to ask Doctor Ackerman during his next check-up, if she knew anything. His deep thoughts were interrupted, however, when a certain, young demon came up to him and sat down. Luka looked up at him, smiling, before turning to watch the other boys.

"Aren't you going to play with the others?" the man asked, arching an eyebrow. "It looks like Preston went to join them, too."

"It's hard to swim while wearing a hood." the bruenette said, rubbing his horns through the fabric on his head.

"'Sides, they're kinda rough." he added, watching the older boys slap each other with a wet piece of seaweed, for some unknown reason. The younger boy simply didn't understand their method of play, but then again, neither did Sebastian, really.

"Teenage boys will be teenage boys." the butler replied, pausing to snicker when his master yelped from being slapped on the behind by a certain menace with a washed-up aquatic plant.

"Will I act like that?" Luka asked, looking up at the man in black, with an almost disappointed look.

"Probably..." Sebastian said. The boy crossed his arms.

"I don't want to. That's silly."

"That's hormones, though."

"What're 'hormones'?" Luka asked, looking up at the man yet again. Oh, how the boy was good at picking the most uncomfortable questions, but, Sebastian, being the "perfect" butler that he was, easily answered it.

"Hormones are what controls your brain." he began. "When you become a teenager, you start to get new ones, and more of them, so you become an adult. Hormones make teenagers do silly things like that, because they aren't fully developed yet."

"Oh..." the boy replied, looking out at the other boys. He blushed a bit, observing his older brother pecking his boyfriend on the lips.

"Why do people kiss?" he asked. Sebastian was almost impressed by the seemingly randomness of the lad's questions.

"Because their hormones tell them to." he answered. There was a long pause where only the sounds of waves and the yelling of boys could be hear.

"That's silly..." Luka finally replied.

"It is, isn't it?"

* * *

 


	304. La storia della demone famiglia

When Ciel awoke, his discomfort returned. It was nearly noon the the following day, so the boys were just now waking up, Ciel being one of the first to do so. He recalled the previous evening; the lads sitting around drinking soda, watching television while providing their own silly commentary to whatever was happening on the screen, and throwing humourous anecdotes back and forth about various things that had happened to them, some cleaned up, for Luka, of course. Speaking of the younger Macken boy, there was a reason Ciel was a bit uncomfortable.

It was decided that Luka would sleep in the demonic duo's room with them, as the boy wanted to be close to his older brother. Naturally, this annoyed the Phantomhive, somewhat, as the blonde menace's bed was also his territory. The third person prevented the bluenette from feeling completely relaxed, especially since he slept in between him and his lover.

Of course he knew that the younger boy wasn't up to anything nefarious. Luka was Alois' brother, so of course he'd want to be by his side. It was just that the bluenette also wanted to be by the blonde's side.

Ciel looked at the siblings, snuggled up against each other, the younger's back facing him. That could've been him! It should've been! Immediately, however, the lad shook the thought away.

"How childish..." he thought, before debating on whether or not he should wake them, or remain silent. Perhaps he should just get up out of bed? Or would that wake them? It didn't matter, as he saw the blonde smile, cracking a icy-blue eye open.

"Good morning, sunshine." he whispered, holding in a chuckle. He was careful to be quiet as to not wake the bruenette, seeing as though Luka, while a demon, actually does need to sleep.

"'Morning..." Ciel replied, taking in his lover's freshly awoken appearance.

His hair was a mess, both astray, and had more of an abundance of volume than usual. It looked extremely soft to the touch, and Ciel would have, had there not been a much smaller demon between them His sleep-shirt was insanely wrinkled, and he was hardly presentable. Still, Ciel felt that the boy's smile was more than enough.

"I would give you your 'good morning kiss', but as you can see, that might be a bit awkward." Alois joked, eying the bluenette's unpolished presentation as well, and giggling when the other boy rolled his eyes.

"I'm pretty sure I'll be able to survive until later." replied the bluenette.

"Yes, but I'm not sure if I can." the blonde retorted, but just as his companion was about to respond, the back-and-forth conversation between the two was interrupted by a strange sound, that came from between the two.

Frrrrrrrrrrrttt...

Alois clamped his hand over his mouth and nose, not allowing any air from escaping his lungs in order not to laugh. His smile, however, was still obvious even from behind it's barrier, as the bluenette's face turned from confused, to downright stunned. The next words the Phantomhive said nearly made the blonde lose it.

"Did your brother just **fart** on me?!" he asked, causing the blonde to nearly choke on his own spit, while his chest contorted in odd spasm-like movements as he silently laughed, the only sounds he made were small whimpers, as tiny amounts of air escaped. Tears were nearly streaming down his face, he was so horrifically amused by the wrinkling of his bluenette beau's nose.

 **"Lovely.** I think that's a good sign that it's time to get up." Ciel said, vacating the contaminated bed. He walked over to the dresser that his belongings now occupied, and picked out some clothes for the day. "I'm going to take a shower..."

"Pfft-! Ha! Hahaha-hehe-haha~!" The blonde menace burst out laughing uncontrolably, inadvertantly awaking his brother in the process.

"Big brother? What is it? What's going on?" the small boy asked, rubbing some of the sleep from his eyes. "Jim! Why are you crying?!" he demanded, his voice somewhat concerned.

His questioning, however, only made the blonde laugh even harder, to the point where the boy fell off the bed and onto the floor, writhing in painful laughter as he continuously replayed the blunette's reaction in his mind on loop. Alois clutched his stomach and sides, and was smiling so wide that his cheeks hurt. The thought of Ciel Phantomhive of all people being farted upon was too much for the menace, and because it was Luka who had done so, it was even funnier. All Ciel could do was watch the display, and for some reason, it made him smile.

"Like I said; shower." he repeated. "I'll see you later, Jimmy."

And with that, he walked out of the room, and down the hallway, glancing at some of the framed images on the wall of the Westley family, some of them taken on this beach, and some taken elsewhere. There was a much smaller Daniel, with his sister, Samantha, and his brother, Nathan. On further inspection, the bluenette assumed that the eldest Westley's poor eyesight developed later, as he wasn't wearing them in the photographs. There were who the Phantomhive could only assume were the trio's parents; a man with expensive-looking clothes, with his hair parted to the right, and a woman with a similar taste in modest clothing of a less-than-modest price. They looked happy, even though Daniel often said that his parents were never really present, except on rare occasions. Maybe he misses them?

In another photo, Ciel observed the young Daniel playing with another boy, who held a striking resemblance to Kristopherson. The boy's hair was dark-brown, so it must have been taken before he dyed it. Kristophersons' sister, Anastasia was in a few of the pictures as well, along with shots of what could only be assumed as his parents; a confident-looking woman dressed in pinks and purples, with an odd, short haircut, paired with a man who had a similar haircut to Kristopherson, with pronounced cheekbones and a cocky smile. Ciel actually recognised the man. If his memory was accurate, Kristopherson's father was an actor, and played the butler in "Devil Butler" and it's sequel. What a small world this was.

It was odd, seeing pictures of their families. They seemed close, although the boys said otherwise. Daniel's mother was apparently not fond of Kristopherson, or his mother, and Kristopherson's mother was equally appreciative of Daniel's. According to Kristopherson, he claims that it's his fault, due to his homosexuality. What a silly thing to divide people.

Still, Ciel couldn't help but feel a bit... jealous? Was this jealousy? Perhaps. He never did get to grow up with his parents. He never really got to grow up at all, really. The bluenette was in an odd position, where he never really had a childhood, nor an adulthood. He never got to see his parents grow old, or make them proud of him. They'll never congratulate him on a case solved, or console him whenever one eludes him. They'll never know of his adventures and triumphs, or of his failures. They'll never see the person he's become. They'll never see his sorrow, his anger, or new-found joy. He will never get to show them, or share it with them. No, he will never have to problem of coming out to his parents; the privilege was forvever gone.

It wasn't too much of a stretch at all, to say that he was even a tad bit envious of the other lads, and their families. It wasn't too long after this thought came to mind, that he had arrived at his destination. The door was closed, but not for long, as it swung open to reveal Oliver from behind it, carrying a bundle of dirty laundry. His golden hair was damp, and he was fully dressed for the day. The poor lad, he dropped his laundry as he jumped in surprise at the unexpected sight of the bluenette. Seconds later, his mind processed his relative's form, and uttered a sigh of relief.

"Why do you always have to do that?" the Midford lad asked, bending over to collect his belongings that now littered the floor.

"Do what?" Ciel asked, finding a little bit of amusement in the boy's jumpy nerves.

"That... that thing." Olvier said, attempting to clarify. "That thing, where you just suddenly appear out of nowhere! Is that a demon thing, or are you just messing with me?"

"No, I think that's just timing, Oliver." the bluenette replied.

"Then your timing is perfect all the time!" the blonde declared. "Remember that time at Christmas when you scared me while I was trying to carry the pudding to the table?"

"...And you dropped it and stained the carpet?"

"Yes! Or that time you were visiting father and I turned the corner and you were suddenly in my face?"

"...And you jumped backward and broke a table?"

"Yes! Stop that!" the Midford boy said. "Every time, it happens. Every time!"

"You know I don't do it on purpose." Ciel said, chuckling. The other boy smiled.

"Part of me thinks that's actually more frightening than you doing it intentionally." he said. "By the way, and I hope I'm not prying, but did you and Alois ever get sorted out?"

"Yes." Ciel answered, knowing that the boy was the one who encouraged Alois to talk to him in the first place. "And I thank you for your help. He doesn't really like to talk about things, and I don't like to pry, myself."

"That's a relief. I was worried." To this, the bluenette raised a brow.

"Really? Why?"

"Because you really care about him, of course." Oliver replied, smiling. "You've been mush more lively since he's been around; easier to warm up to. I don't think I would've been able to talk to you like this, before..."

Ciel had to admit, he was surprised. Here Oliver was, seventeen years old, having known Ciel almost his entire life, and yet it was only in recent years on visits to the Midford house that they had ever really talked. Why was that? Ciel supposed it was because he really had no reason to do so. He could work with the boy's father without even saying a word to the son. Work was work, and work was all he had to do. The Phantomhive was constantly working, trying to occupy his time.

He chose not to pursue close relationships with others, seeing as though he never really had the ability, but also because anyone he could talk to was mortal. Yes, even that small, three-year-old with golden, curly hair who answered to "Oliver", Ciel saw trotting about the Midford house all those years ago would grow old, and die. Here, Ciel was, standing in front of the same boy, now the same height as he was, and it felt like only a day had passed, at the very least. Ciel realised that he had been wrong, oh, so wrong. He did have family. He just never really gotten too close to what was left of it out of fear of losing them all over again.

"...n-not that that's a bad thing!" Ciel was pulled out of his thoughts by Oliver, who noticed the somewhat somber change of the bluenette's expression. "It's my fault for being so quiet!"

With a soft smile, Ciel pat the lad on the shoulder before walking past him, a gesture that surprised his relative, somewhat. The Midford was kind, far too kind for his own good, sometimes. It wasn't a quality that was all too bad, however.

"It's fine." Ciel stated. "Thank you for your concern. It means a lot."

"Oh... Okay?" the other lad replied, watching as his relative stepped into the bathroom and closed the door behind him.

A sigh escaped the bluenette's lips once he was alone again, feeling the cold tiles beneath his feet, and the warm, humid air that filled the room from the recently used shower against his skin. He placed his things on the counter, and removed his eyepatch before running a hand through his hair and placing the object with the rest of his things. The bluenette paused to look at himself in the mirror, staring into his now exposed, contracted eye which bore the diabolic signature of his butler etched into it, radiating in an ominous, purplish glow.

"Just how long has it been since you were blue?" he thought. He couldn't even remember what that looked like, having matching eyes.

The lad turned, as he unbuttoned his night-shirt and walked toward the shower, just before catching a glimpse of another attribute that was unpleasant to his remaining eye; the mark of Asclepius. The brand was circular, with what looked like a pair of serpents coiling themselves around a staff, otherwise known as the rod of Asclepius.

Oh, how the brand made the bluenette seethe in anger. Even with his vengeance met, this brand persisted, almost mockingly. Even now that he was a demon, the scar never did heal, and instead, when the area gets injured, it heals in the exact same pattern, as though it belonged there. It was ugly. It was a blemish. The only way to hide it was by covering it, or changing shape, which the bluenette so did oppose. The idea of drastically changing his appearance somewhat scared him, as he never wanted to lose the person he was. In his mind, that meant losing what was left of the little humanity he clung to. Losing it was the exact same as dying, perhaps worse so.

He was a demon, not a human. That truth repeatedly mocked him. His own reflection mocked him, taunting him with the appearance of a human, but in reality, it wasn't so. He would never be human again. It was forever wretched from him, just like his family.

No, he still had family. There were the Midfords, Sebastian, Alois, and Luka; perhaps the rest of the seven, too. Ah, but most of them were human, and would die all too soon. He would lose them, no matter how precious they were. That's why he never wanted to get close in the first place. He would lose them. But then... then the bluenette discovered how wonderful it was to be close to others... He had forgotten that he was even capable of such a thing; of accepting the warmth of another, living person into his icy heart.

Yes, he would still have Sebastian, and Luka, and his beloved Alois, but what of the others? Just how painful is it going to be to attend their funerals? Just how much is it going to hurt, seeing them suffer on their deathbeds? Ciel placed a hand to his brand, feeling the soft, colourless, scarred flesh.

Oh, how ugly he was, in comparison to these humans. What an ugly, pitiful existance, demons were, yet these people had shown him such kindness; these weak little humans whose lives rapidly danced about in whichever way the wind guided them, like a flame on a candle, before eventually burning itself out. Why couldn't they live, too? Once, just once, why? Just one time, in his existence, why, oh, why? Why couldn't everyone **live?**

Quickly, his eyes darted from his brand before back to their mirror image, gritting his teeth. There was a flash of red where blue should have been before everything went black, and a loud pop was heard, followed by the sound of shattered glass. The following moments were silent, as the bluenette stood there, one hand on the cold counter, while the other griped his own flesh in utter darkness. Much to his alleviation, he heard shouting coming from elsewhere in the house, downstairs.

"What the fuck?! The power's out!" spouted the Westley lad, causing Ciel to utter a sigh of relief, only to jump seconds later when he heard a rapping at the bathroom door.

"Ciel?" Alois called from the other side. "Are you demon-ing in here? And you didn't even invite me?!"

Obviously, the lad had sensed whatever energy was released at that moment. While the menace was joking, there was a hint of concern in his voice that couldn't be ignored. No matter what crafty little lie he concocted, Alois would know that the bluenette was fibbing, so the bluenette simply walked over to the door, reluctantly opening it.

"Maybe..." he said upon seeing the his flaxen-headed partner. "It was an accident..."

"I know that feel, bro." Alois replied. Seeing the bluenette didn't do much to ease his worry, as the lad was blatantly troubled by something. "I won't tell Dan. Right now, Preston's looking at the circuit-breaker, and says it's an easy fix. No worries."

"Thanks. I don't really care if he finds out, though." the Phantomhive replied, noticing the blonde staring at his hand covering his slave mark and quickly moved it.

"Now you're going to have to shower in the dark, though." replied the other demon.

"I can still see."

"Alright, but feel free to give me a shout if you need any..." the blonde began, trailing a hand up the bluenette's side, sending shivers down his spine. The fact that he wasn't wearing a shirt did nothing to help his composure.

"...'Assistance'." the blonde concluded, smirking at the pinkness of his beau's cheeks.

"Oh, no. There's no way." Ciel said, insistently. "We are not alone, here."

"Fine." the Macken boy replied in a playful whine. "Can I at least have my good morning kiss?"

With a chuckle, the Phantomhive cupped the lad's cheek with his palm, and pecked him on the lips, causing the blonde to giggle in turn. It was an odd, morning ritual that seemed like neither lad could do without. It was so mundane, that the lack of the action seemed to throw everything off.

Alois smiled, just taking in how soft the usually stoic bluenette could be to him; only to him. He almost relished in the fact that he was the only one could provoke such a response. He started to turn in order to leave the boy to his own devices, before stopping.

Ciel was just about to walk back into the bathroom to finish his morning routine, before the blonde suddenly grabbed his hip, turning the bluenette back around to face him. A small gasp in surprise escaped the Phantomhive's lips as he felt another warm pair press against his skin. Down, he looked, to discover the blonde menace planting a quick kiss to his brand.

He watched as the other boy straightened his back, standing back upright before brushing his lips against the bluenette's cheek. Alois then released the boy. He walked away, backwards, and spoke.

"See you downstairs, poochie." he said, making reference to the bluenette's title. Ciel was not only the Queen's Guard-dog, but his guard-dog, too.

Needless to say, the bluenette was a bit taken aback by his lover's actions. How did he know? It then occurred to him that the blonde was staring at his hand. A small smile graced his face as he walked back into the dark bathroom, and closed the door, able to avoid the broken shards of shattered lightbulbs due to the fact that he was a demon, who could see in darkness.

Yes, he was a demon, but he could still feel attachment, kinship, and love. If there was one person, just one, who were to live, and stay by the bluenette's side, he had a feeling that he would want it to be Alois- No, Jim Macken. He had a family, who would stay with him forever, and he would do anything in his power to protect it. Even if ones he cares about were to fall, he would have someone to console him, to comfort him, and tell him it's alright.

Yes, there was no doubt in his mind that his days of loneliness were, at long last, over.

 


	305. He Knows What He Likes

* * *

"Gentlemen, this is the moment our entire lives have been leading up to!" declared a certain politician's son to his compatriots seated on the couch in front of him in the dim, quiet living room.

Light seeped in through the windows, illuminating most of the room. While Preston was able to get the power back on, several of the light-bulbs had mysteriously burnt out. Some had even popped, and several of the appliances in the house needed resetting, and the lads had no idea as to how to fix them. Sebastian wasn't even sure, so in order to avoid accidentally eating charcoal, the boys went without breakfast. Understandably, they weren't in the mood for Daniel's nonsense.

"What the hell is that, Dan?" asked Kristopherson, glancing at the piece of paper in the Westley lad's hand.

"This, my good homo, is a challenge!" Daniel spouted, holding the item up closer to the faux-blonde's face. It was a note, written in neat, effeminate handwriting.

"It's from those girls who were hassling Bones a few days ago." the Westley boy continued, explaining what the paper said, as he only held it in front of the pink-loving lad's face for a few mere moments. "It says they want to play a game with us..."

"I've been in a SAW-ish scenario before, Dan." said Preston, rubbing his neck. "I never want to be in another mess like that again..."

"Not that kind of game!" Daniel corrected. "Volleyball!"

"'Volleyball?'" echoed a certain bluenette. He, like the others, had finished up in the bathroom, all but Alois, who was still in the midst of showering. "You must be joking."

"Yes, Dan. I'm sure Ciel has been preparing since the Victoria's reign for this game." Kristopherson added. "I know I have since I was born. In fact, my first words were 'volleyball'!"

"Oh, hahaha, Kris. Sarcasm." spoke the Westley lad. "You better take this seriously, or I'll bash ye head in, I swear on me mum."

"Your mum doesn't like my sarcasm, either." replied the faux-blonde.

"My understanding was that she just didn't like you in general." added Audrey.

"That too, because I'm totally going to tap that ass while he's not paying attention..."

"Leave my ass and my mum alone!" Daniel protested, gripping the paper in hand. "Seriously! My ass is off-limits!"

"Is that what your mum says?" asked Audrey.

"Shut up! Listen, that's not all the note says..." the son-of-a-politician continued, trying to finish what he was trying to convey. "They said, that if they win, each of us will have to go on a date with one of them, but if we win, we get to pick our prize."

"We should make them buy us lunch." said Audrey, earning utterances of agreeance from his friends. None of the lads had eaten yet, and it was far past noon.

"Why do they want dates with us, anyway? That's so stupid..." said Kristopherson. "Surely they could have come up with something more creative."

"Most of them were probably hoping they could win Audrey." Preston suggested. The boy in the skull beanie faltered.

"No! I can't!" he declared, his face turning pink as he pulled his hat over it to hide himself. "I don't know anything about them! I don't know anything about talking to girls!"

"Girls are almost just like boys, Bones." the faux-blonde answered, knowing from living with a sister who was only a year older than him. "They just look different and have a different downstairs."

"Then why aren't you straight, Kris?" asked Daniel, causing pink to dust the cheeks of his best friend.

"Like I said, they look different, and it's a look that I'm just not sexually attracted to." replied the Miles lad. "Also, vaginas are weird..."

"That's why we need to win Kris." said the Westley lad. "We can't let those scary vaginas get near you or Audrey, can we?"

"I'm not afraid of vaginas." interrupted the reaper-boy. "I'm afraid of talking to girls."

"Right, so three people are with it; Preston, Sully, Phantomhive? What about you lot?" Daniel asked, completely ignoring the fact that neither Kristopherson or Audrey had actually given their consent.

"I don't really want to play..." said Preston.

"Me neither..." said Travis.

"I don't need to eat, so I really don't care." said Ciel, stretching his arms lazily. There was no reason for him to play. Nothing to motivate him. If they didn't compete, then they couldn't lose, so there was no penalty. Moreover, all of the lads could afford to pay for lunch, so what was the point? Still, the Westley lad was not pleased with the results he was getting.

"Oh, come on! We can't win without you, Ciel!" he whined. He turned to the bluenette's distant relative, who sat contently, just listening into the conversation. "Come on, Ollie! Give me a hand, here!" The Midford boy chuckled.

"I'm not sure what to tell you. Ciel has alway been stubborn, so if he doesn't see any benefit, then there's really nothing you can do." he replied, arching an eyebrow at the bruenette's dissatisfied groan.

"You've still got us, though!" said Nigel. "We're trained for combat, so a little game like this should be no big deal!"

True, Nigel, Oliver, and Audrey had trained with H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G., and were in good physical condition. Kristopherson was nothing to sneeze at, either, with his workout routine, and Travis was brawny as well. Still, nothing guaranteed victory like a boost from the devil, himself.

"What's volleyball?" asked Luka, crawling up on the already overly-crowded couch to join the other lads, seating himself on Travis' lap, as there was no other space availible. The boy looked to Daniel expectantly for an explanation, as this was a game that the boy had never heard of, before. Alas, the Westley boy predictably hadn't the slightest clue as to how to answer his question.

"It's a game, Luka." spoke Ciel, suddenly. His utterance genuinely surprised the others. "There are six people on the court and the ball cannot touch the ground. The ball can only be on your side for three hits before it must pass over the net. People rotate positions every time they regain the ball. The server, who is constantly changing as they rotate, is the back right and has two chances to serve. The first one to twenty-five wins each set in a game. There are three sets in a game. If both teams win a set, then they play a third round to fifteen."

"Huh?" the younger of the two Macken brothers replied, tilting his head. He hadn't understood a word of that. The rest of the lads, however, simply stood in shock.

"Since when do you know about volleyball?" Kristopherson asked, breaking the silence while arching an eyebrow.

"I... I've been around a long time..." the bluenette replied. From his tone, he did not wish to pursue the topic any further.

Silence further hung in the air, after that. It was suffocating, and none of the lads were sure as to how they could possibly escape it. All that the boys could do was shift uncomfortably in their seats, unknowing of the blonde menace charging down the stairs until it was too late.

"Daniel!" Alois shouted, the sound of feet thumping rapidly down the steps as he made his way into the living room. He was fresh out of the shower, so his hair was still wet, and dripping onto his purple T-shirt. The look on his face gave the impression that he had made an extremely important discovery.

"What?" asked the Westley boy, relieved that the awkward tension had been lifted from his shoulders. It would return, however, once the menace opened his mouth to speak.

"Are you aware that the shampoo in your bathroom looks like cum?" he asked, prompting his friend's face to turn a dark shade of pink, while the rest of them snickered.

"It does not!" Daniel barked, embarrassed, watching the blonde as he trotted over to the couch and plopped himself right into the lap of his boyfriend, much to the dismay of the bluenette himself.

"It does!" Alois insisted, ready to argue his case. "It's white, and slightly transparent. Your shampoo, Dan, it looks like cum."

"That's so gross, mate." said Audrey, even though he was smiling, and snickering through his teeth.

"Who's 'not gay', again?" Kristopherson teasingly asked.

"Shut up!" Daniel shouted. "It does not look like cum!"

With that, the snicking began to die down. All was quiet. That is until, once again, Alois Trancy spoke.

"So... Are you saying it is-?"

"NO!" Daniel barked. "Sod off! All of you! Can we please just decide on what to do about these girls?!"

"Daniel has girls, now?! Damn! I miss everything!" Alois declared, resting his head on the bluenette's shoulder, causing his clothes to become damp as well.

"Alois, can you not?" Ciel asked in response. This however, only prompted a pout from the blonde, before the boy decided to rub his wet hair on the bluenette's cheek just to spite him.

"Oh my god, you two..." Kristopherson intervened. "...You're practically married."

Alois immediately stopped his actions, but didn't move from his temporary "chair". The demonic duo's cheeks heated up at the thought. The blonde was the first to speak.

"No we're not." he said, indignantly.

"I'll make your dress..." Kristopherson replied.

"Sod off!"

"We received a challenge from those girls who bothered Audrey the other day." said Travis in an attempt to get things back on track. "They want to play volleyball. If they win, we have to go on a date with one of them, each, but if we win, we'll make them pay for our lunch."

"Hell yeah!" said Alois, cracking his knuckles. "Let's crush 'em!"

"Right after you and Ciel have you're 'alone time'?" the faux-blonde jested.

"Fuck you..." Alois replied.

"Gross. No thanks. Humans only, please."

 


	306. Skill Set Zero

The day continued, and the sensational seven and company headed out to embark on a quest. A daring quest full of risk and danger, wrought with horrible creatures sought to possess their souls... in other words, they were going to play volleyball with the girls from the other day who so cruelly tormented Audrey, and who sent Alois into a fit. The hot sand shifted underneath the boys' feet as they made their way to the predetermined meeting place where they would crush these vixens once and for all as the sun harshly beat down over their heads.

On the court, which consisted of a net with very blurry boundaries, it was no better. It was still hot, and the looks from the bikini-clad dames were firey. The boys met their opponents with varying degrees of determination, however, some being rearing to go, some reluctant, and some were completely indifferent. After all, only six of the nine adolescents were required to play. The rest were content to watch, looking after Luka on the sidelines, as the boy was extremely excited to watch this new game, and didn't quite want to stay seated. These lads were Travis, Preston, and Ciel, joined by Sebastian and the bruenette Macken boy. The ones playing were the groups more athletic boys, and Daniel. Audrey, Kristopherson, Nigel, Oliver, and Alois were on the boy's team, and on the girls' were of course, some of the girls who had faced Audrey before, while others sat on the sidelines.

Daniel wasn't entirely happy with the fact that Ciel opted out of playing. With two demons on their side, especially one who knew the game, they couldn't lose. One, however, was sure to be sufficient, along with three boys trained to eliminate immortal creatures of the night, one who simply went to the gym regularly, and Daniel. The Westley lad was still confident with his odds of winning and thusly, greeted his opponents accordingly.

"Ladies~!" he greeted, a smile on his face as he offered a wave. For some reason, it made Kristopherson rub his temples, as if he were fighting off a headache.

"Finally. We were starting to think you weren't going to show up!" replied what was assumed to be the "head-girl" of the other group. "These your friends?"

"Yep. This is Krisotpherson, Audrey, and Alois from the other day, and this is Nigel and Oliver. I'm Daniel, and over there is Ciel, Preston, Travis, Sebastian and Luka." the son of a politician said, gesturing to each boy as he named them. "They're kinda hoping you ladies might treat us to lunch when we win."

"If you can." corrected the girl. "I'm Cassidy, and this is Sarah, Jane, Violet, Marissa, and Susan. You already know what we want."

"That's fine." said Daniel. "Just a fair warning, though, three out of all of us are gay, and two of us are dating."

"You and the blondie, there?" said the girl, known as Cassidy, while pointing at Kristopherson. Both lads' cheeks lit up bright red.

"I'm not gay!" said Daniel, glancing toward his friend, growing redder as the othe girls began to giggle at him. "Just start the bloody game!"

"Whatever makes you feel secure about yourself." said Cassidy. "You want to serve first, or...?"

"No, no, ladies first."

"Riiiight..." said the girl. "Alright, ladies, get into position."

"Wait, what?" asked Daniel, immediately confused.

"It's volleyball. You have people playing positions, stupid." Cassidy scoffed. "A quick Google search would've told you!"

"How was I supposed to know that?! I just thought you threw the ball over the net thingy and you score points if you missed!"

"Will you both shut up so we can play?!" interrupted a rather unusually annoyed Kristopherson. Brow furrowed and frown on his face, he turned to the sidelines. "Ciel! Tell us the rules!"

"In most games of beach volleyball, those are the rules, Dan." the bluenette said. "My guess is that they're playing by official rules. Don't you think it's odd that they chose volleyball of all things to challenge us to? Have you noticed that the girls on the sidelines outnumber us by quite a bit?" Just then, the lads' collective confidence wavered as they firgured it out, causing the girls to scoff.

"Looks like you caught us!" said Cassidy. "We're the Tamworth Girls' Volleyball Team! We just happen to be on vacation."

"Tamworth... volleyball team?" As Kristopherson echoed those words, it seemed like his frown worsened. The Westley boy actually flinched somewhat when the faux-blonde looked up toward him.

"You bloody pillock! How in blazes do you expect us to win against an actual team!" he demanded while his friend put his hands up defensively.

"How the hell was I supposed to know they were a team?! Why didn't you figure it out?!" Daniel replied at an equal volume.

"Because I never even wanted to play, idiot!"

"Don't call me an idiot, moron!?"

"Are you **sure** you're not dating?" asked the Tamworth girl, slightly amused by the routine.

 **"NO!"** the two shouted in unison.

"Okay, okay! Sheesh..." the girl replied. "Listen, we'll give you lot a few minutes to Google the rules, then we'll play. It'll be no fun if you don't put up a fight, anyway."

"Fine! Just stop calling me a homo!" Daniel answered.

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever. C'mon, ladies, let's give these blokes time to work out their relationship problems." said Cassidy as she turned to walk off the makeshift court. Immediately, the lads stormed off to consult with Ciel, who was apparently an expert on the subject.

"So, uh, what's the plan?" asked Nigel, taking a seat with the other boys.

"Well, the wisest thing would be to withdraw." replied the bluenette, seated comfortably with his blonde beau wrapped around him once again, as usual.

Ciel wasn't an "expert". He didn't play volleyball. Even if their team had superior power, that's meaningless in a game in which one does not know the rules. The girls would win, and they would either have to go out with the girls, or run away before they could be forced into their promise. Either way, it was a shameful defeat.

"Bunk that! Just tell us the rules!" said Daniel, in a tone that Ciel didn't quite like. "She called me a homo! I can't let her win!"

"She's going to, if you play." the Phantomhive boy replied. "I've already told you all I know about the game. The rest you'll have to find out on your own."

"Tch..." The Westley boy clicked his tongue in irritation. "Alright, who here's got a phone with internet access?"

It took quite some time for the lads to learn the rules of the game, as none of them could recall even sitting in on an actual volleyball game. They learned the correct positions, why who was placed where, what was "legal" and what was "illegal", all while the girls they were to be facing giggled at them for struggling. They even left momentarily to go get some frozen yogurt, and came back in order to eat it in front of the lads who hadn't eaten at all that day, mockingly.

The boys weren't disheartened, however. No, in fact, they were more determined to show these girls up than they were before. Even those who were reluctant were now feeling some sort of inspiration. Audrey, who's stomach growled loudly, and Kristopherson, for whatever reason, as well. The faux-blonde had been agitated since their first interactions with the leader of the girls' team, and their own "self-proclaimed" team captain. He couldn't quite place why, but something really peeved him about that girl.

Meanwhile, the blonde menace was abnormally determined, too. Alois liked games, but he didn't really care about winning or losing. His focus had always been the process of things; the means, rather than the end. There were times, of course, when this wasn't the case, and he genuinely wanted to win. Ciel noted this, and likened it to revenge on those girls who had sent him into a tizzy the other day, and caused him to doubt. The bluenette understood this, and wasn't going to interfere.

"Right! We've got this!" spontaneously declared the Westley lad, standing up from the small circle formed around Kristopherson's cellphone. "Let's go get our free lunch!"

The atmosphere at that moment seemed unnecessarily fiery as the more athletic of the lads got hyped up. The others, however, still didn't see what there was to get excited about. In fact, they were a little bit annoyed. They had money. Why couldn't they just go and eat? Why was all of this even necessary? It wasn't, yet here they were, getting dragged along with it all.

Still, with the players' growing determination, they called out their opponents and got into position. The taunting remarks from the girls stung, but the growling in their stomachs hurt even worse. With that, the game began.

It was nothing remarkable. It was everything you'd expect from a game of volleyball, really. The ball passed over the net, switching owners without touching sand. Their plan was simple: Coherce their opponents to serve the ball to Alois, who would overwhelm them with one hit by shear brute force.A silly, yet logical plan.

Soon, his chance came. The ball was headed straight toward him. With a smirk, he jumped up, striking it with little mercy over the net, and into the ground. He was quite proud of himself, to say the least, that was, until he heard three words:

"That's a foul!" one of the girls on the sidelines called. The ball had plowed into the sand out-of-bounds, rendering his attempt meaningless.

The game resumed, nonetheless, and their plan was still in place. There was no need to change it, correct? Alois would get the ball launched his way, however, the results were always the same.

"That's a foul!"

Again...

"A foul!"

And again...

"Foul."

Once more...

"Foul..."

"What in blazes are you doing?!" demanded a certain pink-loving individual on the boys' team. "How many fouls are you trying to get?! We haven't even scored any points!"

"I can't help it!" the Trancy lad protested. "I keep hitting it, but the ball keeps going the other way!"

"You're hitting it too hard, Alois." said Audrey. "It's giving it too much spin. Hold back some."

Alois huffed at the criticism as the game resumed. The ball went to some of the other players, who were able to score some points, but as soon as it went to Alois, it was a "foul". Needless to say, the demon was getting frustrated, only escalating the problem. What's worse, the girls had caught on, and begun to serve to the poor lad on purpose in hopes of winning that way.

With a sigh, the already skeptical lads looked on at their team in disappointment. It would seem that there was no benefit to waiting this out, after all. They wouldn't get a free meal, so it was better to just abandon the silly venture and move on. Yes, these were the thoughts that swirled in the minds of the lads on the sidelines, spectating the event. At this point, they began to debate on simply getting up and leaving to eat without the others.

"I think we should wait." said Travis, eloquently. "They'd be mad if we got food without them.

"Yeah, but I'm not sure how much longer I can watch this. It's kind of hopeless." Preston replied. "It's obvious that we're not going to win, and what happens when we lose? We'll have to go out with those girls."

"No we won't." corrected Ciel. "There's no penalty for simply refusing."

"But we lost. We should take responsibility and accept the penalty, shouldn't we?" asked the tall, Sullivan boy.

"In a black and white world, yes, but none of us are really keen on the idea, and there's nothing those girls can do to stop us from doing so, so why go through with it?" the Phantomhive answered, applying his own spin on logic to the situation.

"Ciel's a cheater, isn't he?" Luka said, speaking up. He was simply pointing out an observation about the boy. He didn't exactly mean anything harmful by it.

"Only when the rules can be bent." the bluenette replied.

"Oh, does that apply to Alois, too, then?" joked Preston.

"Never." Ciel stated in a matter-of-fact tone.

"Is that why you want us to withdraw?" asked Travis. "So you and Alois don't have to temporarily see other people?"

The bluenette folded his arms and grumbled in response, making his answer blatantly obvious to the others. He honestly didn't know how he would survive acting sociable to some strange girl, and combined with the fact that the social butterfly, Alois would be in the same predicament bothered him to no end. They were going to lose this match, and there was absolutely no way that he was going to, respectfully take the penalty, or allow his beau to do so, either. He was a liar, a cheater, and no stranger to foul-play. Moreover, Alois Trancy, or Jim Macken, belonged to him.

These annoying thoughts were thankfully interrupted, however not in a favourable manner, by the sound of growling and groaning to his side, surprising him. He turned to see poor Luka, clutching at his stomach as if he was trying to quell it's roars. The bruenette was slightly embarrassed at the sounds, and pretended that he didn't notice, keeping his eyes on the game. The action caused a small smile to appear on the Phantomhive boy's face before his spoke to the younger boy.

"Are you hungry, Luka?" he asked, already knowing the answer. The Macken boy returned the bluenette's gaze with a determined look, one that the older demon couldn't understand until the boy spoke.

"Yeah, but if we win, we get free food!" Luka answered, a glimer in his eye at the idea. With the lad's background, a free meal was worth a little waiting. The bluenette, however, disagreed.

"If you're hungry now, then why don't we just go get something to eat?" Ciel asked. "Preston and Travis are hungry too. We should go get some food, and come back."

"But that'll cost money!" the younger lad argued, concernedly.

"I have money, Luka. It's no trouble at all. Really."

"But it would be free!"

"And it could be hours away." interrupted Preston. "I want to get food..."

"But big brother really wants to win!" Luka said, followed by a especially loud growl from his stomach.

"As much as I understand where you're coming from, a growing boy shouldn't hold off on eating." Travis replied, as calm and serenely as ever. "I don't want to eat without the others, but we've got to prioritize your health."

"I've gone without eating, before." said Luka. "I can handle it."

"You shouldn't, if you don't have to." said Ciel. "Jim will understand."

"'Jim'?" echoed Preston, confusedly.

"I get to call Alois by his real name." said Ciel, pink dusting his cheeks slightly as he stood up, dusting sand off of himself before presenting a hand to Luka.

"Let's go get you fed." the bluenette said, helping the brother of his beau stand up. "Sebastian, tell the others where we went, if they ask. We'll be back soon."

"Yes, my lord." answered a certain butler, who had been watching the game that was taking place in front of him with great interest. He chuckled as a silly thought entered his head, piquing the interest of his master.

"What is it?" Ciel asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Oh, nothing." the butler replied, his usual sly smile on his face. "I just noticed how Alois keeps glancing over here, is all. It seems that he wants your attention, my lord."

Just then, the bluenette followed the man's eyes to the menace, who, lo and behold, was looking their way. Quickly, however, the blonde turned his head, seemingly turning his focus to the game before repeating the action. Curious, and curiouser, this time, when the ball came his way, he hit it much harder then he had the last few times, sending it far out of bounds on the opposite side of the court much to the annoyance of his teammates before looking back toward the bluenette again, as if seeking his approval. As the gears started turning in his head, Ciel began to chuckle, just as the man clad in black had.

The blonde menace was really hyped up about the game. He was determined, but in a slightly different way from the others. Why was that? Because looking back, Alois had never actually directed his focus toward the girls from the beginning. They were irrelevant to him, which shot the bluenette's earlier theory about revenge for the other day completely out of the water. This being so, then what was his actual goal?

It was simple: He wanted to show off in front of his boyfriend, much to the amusement of the two older demons. Ciel dwelled on this for a few moments, before something else grabbed his attention: The other Macken boy, who was staring up at him with a curious expression.

"What is it?" Ciel asked finally, feeling slightly uncomfortable from the gaze of the younger-demons big eyes.

"I dunno..." Luka replied. "It just looked like you saw somethin' real cute, is all." Sebastian covered his mouth, suppressing a laugh, while the bluenette's cheeks turned pink.

"Let's just go get you some food..." the bluenette said, changing the subject while leading Luka and his friends toward sustenance.

Meanwhile, the blonde menace was watching, a bit disappointed by the bluenette's leaving, but judging by the fact they were taking Luka with them, he assumed that it involved getting his brother food, so he didn't mind as much. Yet, it still saddened him, somewhat. He really dind't have time to think about it too long before he heard shouting directed at him.

"Alois! Look ou-!"

**PAFF!**

The volleyball whacked him upside the noggin while he wasn't paying attention. Even with all the power, grace, and agility of an indestructible, supernatural being, he still failed to sense, and dodge the oncoming projectile, and stop his fall. He landed in the sand, some grains getting into his mouth, while girls giggles and boys simply stared at him in disbelief.

He couldn't really believe it either. The blonde menace staggered to his feet, spitting out sands and wiping his face. All this did was smear a little bit of blood across his visage. Apparently, the ball had hit him hard enough to give him a nosebleed. Funny, seeing as though he was a demon. His true dismay sunk in, however, when he looked up and saw the bluenette laughing with a hand over his mouth. In his attempt to look "cool" he blundered, and only ended up making a fool of himself. Alois' cheeks turned red as the sounds of laughter rang in his ears from both the girls, and his own teammates.

It only stopped when he shot the girls a menacing glare. They flinched, remembering how angry he got during their last encounter, and how he made promises of violence that he could probably keep. The irritation of failing so many times that day appeared to be starting to get to him.

With that, he picked up the offending ball, and began to serve it, even though it wasn't at all his turn. He threw it up into the air, and then struck it with inhuman force, once again adding far too much spin, and causing it to shoot toward the ocean at preposterous speeds, skidding across the water's surface briefly before sinking into the murky depths of the abyss. The girls were shocked, and the boys were frightened. What if he had just revealed their secret? With an outburst from one of the girls, however, they soon discovered that this was not the case.

"Our ball!" one of the girls shouted, expressing the group's true concern. The team captain then turned to the lads, a frown planted firmly on her face.

"Oi! You owe us a new ball!" she declared, taking a few steps forward, glaring at her opponents through the net.

"What?! C'mon! It was an accident!" Daniel protested.

"Like hell it was! That stupid blonde gorilla did that on purpose!" the Tamworth girl said.

"You got proof, bitch?!"

"Daniel! Shut up and get over here!" called Kristopherson, as the boys began to curcle around on the sidelines. "We're going to regroup and figure out what to do."

With great reluctance, the son of a politician heeded the faux-blonde's order, and joined their friends as the conversed. Now, in addition to losing and facing their predetermined penalty, they would also have to buy the girls a new ball. Their loses were greater then their potential winnings, that much was apparent. Still, it took them a few minutes to finally reach a consensus, and it wasn't one that they were all completely happy with. Finally, all of the boys stood up, and faced the girls.

"Well?" asked Cassidy, placing her hands on her hips.

"You're right. You win." said Daniel, hands neatly behind his back. "There's no point in denying it anymore, so... **See ya!"**

Suddenly, all of the boys, including Sebastian and the others on the sidelines turned and ran in the opposite direction, kicking up sand and whatever else in the process while the girls were left to gawk at what had just happened. You can't lose if you don't play, and you can't face consequences, either. After speaking with the older, and wiser in their assortment, the males decided that it was easier and more profitable to simply vacate the premises.

Some of the girls laughed at them, while others shouted angrily. Some even chased after the boys, but it was too late. They were already too far ahead to be caught.

They ran until they were too tired to do so. Luka had to be carried by Sebastian part of the way, due to his size and current hunger status. After catching their breath the lads, one by one and then all together laughed at what they had just done. The entire situation was ridiculous enough, but then they had to end it on a silly note. As much as it stung their egos to have to run away from their problems, it tickled them greatly to have heard the reactions from those annoying harpies.

 


	307. Luka Says Hi

I can't really remember going to bed last night. I guess big brother carried me. All I remember is that we threw a party with lots of snacks and everybody stayed up real late. Even though we didn't win the game yesterday, we celebrated by buying lots of food and candy and stuff later last night. We had lunch right after we lost and ate that, 'cause all of us were starving, 'cept for brother, Ciel, and Sebastian. The party was later.

When I woke up, though, I was in the same bed that I've seen sleeping in the whole trip, with big brother and Ciel. Normally I'm in the middle, but this time Jim was, 'cause I think Ciel wanted to be close to him, too. Probably, 'cause of the way he was huggin' up on him like he was a stuffed animal. I guess even Ciel can get clingy, sometimes. It's weird, how he tries to be serious, and then does stuff like that, but it's also kind of funny.

Both of us were hugging Jim, actually. I forgot to bring my stuffed Oshawot, so brother lets me use him instead while we're here. He said he didn't mind at all. It kind of reminds me of the way we used to live together. In winter, we'd have to hug to stay warm. I really like things now, though, 'cause we get to live in a nice house and eat a bunch of real tasty food and stuff. Plus, I really like TV. I wanted to go downstairs and see if Pokemon was on, but I didn't want to wake up big brother or Ciel, so I tried to be really still and quiet.

It didn't really matter, though, because Jim woke up anyway. I think he can tell if I'm awake or not, 'cause he doesn't really need to sleep at all, and has demon-powers, or maybe he just wasn't really asleep. I wonder when I'll get demon powers... Anyways, he still woke up even though I tried not to wake him.

"Mornin'." he said, smilin' at me. I had to wait until after I yawned in order to say "G'mornin'" back.

"You stayed up too late." Jim said, and he poked my nose.

"Everyone else did, too." I told him, but he said that big kids are able to stay up longer 'cause they're older. I guess that makes sense. They must've had more time to practice.

I told Jim that I wanted to go see if Pokemon was on, and he said "okay". He tried to get up to go with me, but Ciel was still asleep and hugging him too tight so he couldn't. Ciel made a weird growly-whiney noise and Jim just laughed at him.

"Sorry, Luka. Looks like I'm being held hostage." brother said. He looked over his shoulder at Ciel real quick, laughin' at him a little. "Just go on downstairs and find Sebastian. He'll make you breakfast, now that we've got the appliances working. I'll be down later, okay?"

"Okay." I said, even though it's more fun to watch Pokemon with somebody. Maybe Sebastian will watch with me, or one of the others? Audrey and Preston like Pokemon, so maybe they'll watch, too.

Jim is weird with Ciel, 'cause they're both boys and sleep in the same bed all like the married people on TV even though they're not. Wonder why. I guess it's just 'cause they love each other, though, if they love each other, then why don't they get married? Can two boys get married? I'll have to remember to ask them, sometime. I wonder what that would be like. Would they have the same last name? Are they gonna have a kid? There's a lot of things I don't know about this sort of thing. I'll just leave it all up to them, I guess.

Anyways, I left the room, and locked the door, 'cause they always like the door locked, and I went downstairs. I laughed, because when I got there, everyone fell asleep in the living room. Travis was on the couch, Preston was in a chair, and everyone else was on the floor; all of 'em out cold. I had to step over a few of 'em. I almost tripped over Audrey, and I had to walk around Daniel and Kris.

Daniel was hugging Kris from behind like how Ciel was hugging Jim. I dunno if they ended up like that in their sleep, or what. I know Kristopherson is gay and likes boys, but Dan says he's not, so they're probably not like that. Maybe it's just 'cause they're really good friends, but, I don't think friends do that. Yeah, it's probably an accident. I guess I'll find out when one of 'em wakes up.

When I walked into the kitchen, Sebastian was making pancakes, and Oliver was at the table playing soodookoo. I said "good mornin'" to 'em, and sat down at the table, too. I have to sit on my knees, sometimes, or else I can't quite reach, 'specially when I want to reach across the table.

That's what I had to do, too, since I left my crayons and sketchbook in a different spot, but Oliver put his book puzzlebook down and got it for me. I like Oliver. He smiles a lot and talks real respectful-like all the time, which is kind of weird, but he's real nice. He's best friends with Nigel, and is related to Ciel, so he must be a pretty good person. Nigel said he can be kind of an airhead, sometimes, even though he gets good grades and stuff. Apparently, he nearly walks into poles and stuff all the time 'cause hes reads while walking. How does he do that? It must be another big-kid thing to be able to read and walk at the same time, 'cause I just can't do it.

We heard screaming comimg from the living room. It sounded like Dan. I guess it must've been an accident that he was hugging Kris, or else he wouldn't have done that. That's what I told Oliver and Sebastian, and they laughed. They laughed even harder when Dan and Kris came into the kitchen, arguing like they always do, only this time, they didn't seem to be doing it for fun. Their faces were real red, and they sounded mad at each other. Sebastian told them not to fight in the kitchen, so they both got real quiet, but they didn't sit next to each other at the table like they usually do. I hope they're okay.

I guess they must've woken everyone else up, 'cause that's about when the others started to come in, too. 'Cept Travis, though. He was still asleep. They all started colouring with me until the food was done, and when is was, Audrey went and poked Travis so he'd wake up.

Sebastian makes real tasty pancakes with fruit and nuts and stuff in 'em. One time, he let me help, but the ones I made weren't round, and were all folded and junk. I guess it takes practice.

After a while of eating, and talking about stuff, the doorbell rang, which was super-weird because we didn't expect anybody, and neither did Daniel. He said he didn't really know anybody out here, either. Sebastian moved to get the door, but Daniel and Oliver were already halfway there. He gets kind of confused when people do stuff themselves, sometimes, especially so quickly. Daniel was worried about who it could be, and went to see if it was anybody he knew, and Oliver kind of went for support, I guess. I watched from the kitchen doorway to see what was going on. I saw their faces when they opened the door. They were surprised, and Daniel looked a little scared. Oliver smiled; a little nervous-like, though. I leaned my head over a bit to get a better look. I knew the woman in the doorway, too, just like Oliver did. She's Mrs. Irons, Nigel's mum.

She was wearin' a green tracksuit with a crest with a centaur on it like the one from Nigel's old school, and the letter "T". Her hair's real pretty. It's like fire. She was with that girl who was talkin' to the others the other day with two other girls, too. I forget her name, but she looked real mad. Mrs. Irons looked mad too until she saw Oliver.

"Oliver? That you?" she says, lookin' confused. Oliver just said "hello" to her, and asked how she was and what she needed.

She said: "Well, my girls said you owed them something, but just ran away." She then asked if Nigel was there, and if she could talk to him.

Nigel was nervous. He said that he knew that his mum worked with the athletics department at Tamworth, but didn't know she was the volleyball coach. He got up and patted me on the back as he walked by. I think he wanted me to follow him, so I did. I hadn't seen Mrs. Irons in a long time, and she was always real nice to me, so I kind of wanted to say "hi" to her.

"Hi, mum, I didn't know you'd be here." Nigel says to her, but she started to look mad again.

They started talking about what happened yesterday, and sometimes the girls would start talking too. Daniel called one of 'em a liar about somethin', but I wasn't really listening, so I can't remember what, and one of the girls called him a "fucktrumpet". That girl was kind of a bitch.

After a while, Mrs. Irons stopped being mad at Nigel, Daniel, and Oliver, and started bein' mad at the girls. She told all of them but the main one to shove off, and told the main one to apologise for the rest of 'em. She did sound real sorry when she said it, so I guess she wasn't just doing it 'cause she was told to.

"Yeah, you better be!" says Daniel, and I think it made her mad.

"Oh, stop trying to act tough in front of your boyfriend. It's not working." she said back. Daniel's face got real red and he started yellin'.

"He's not my boyfriend!" He says. "I'm not gay! I like girls!"

"Really?" the girl asked. "That makes two of us."

Daniel looked like he wanted to say somethin' else, but he just couldn't figure out what. I looked behind me and saw the others laughing at him. Kristopherson looked really happy, for some reason.

Apparently, she didn't want to go on a date in the first place, and she was just going along with her teammates. She apparently likes girls like girls like boys. I didn't know girls could like other girls, too. Stuff like this is pretty common, is it? It looks like it.

After that, everybody just started talking, and Nigel and Oliver introduced us all. He picked me up when he got to me. Mrs. Irons looked real happy when she heard that I'm me, which made me happy, too. She said I was cute and pinched my cheeks and stuff, and gave me a hug. Guess she was so excited 'cause she didn't know what I really looked like.

Everyone talked for a bit longer, and then Mrs. Irons left with the gay girl. Is it still called "gay" if it's a girl? I dunno. I'll have to ask, later, I guess. Maybe I'll ask Kristopherson. He's good at explaining this stuff.

I forgot to right then, though, 'cause it was time for Pokemon, and I had to watch that. Some of the older kids made fun of it, so I told them to shut up. They just laughed at me, though, and thought it was cute. I don't get it. I was trying to be like Ciel, 'cause people always listen to him. I guess that's just another thing that takes practice, too. Sebastian thought it was funniest though, I think, even though he tried to hide it.

Today's the last day of the trip, and tomorrow we all go home. I think we should all go play outside again, but I didn't want to get up and turn off the TV. The couch was comfy, and everyone was having fun watching it. They thought it was funny, too. Older kids are weird, sometimes. I hope I'm not that weird when I get older...

 


	308. Meeting Juniour

Days came and went one after the next, and soon, summer was almost over. It was almost time to go back to school, but not quite. Still, the lads returned home safe and sound, without injury, illness, or emotional trauma, for once.

The demonic duo were slipping back into their daily routine,which was a relief for both of them. Ciel was never quite sure what to do on holiday, and since it was his job to teach both Macken brothers how to behave in a socially acceptable manner in a modern world, it subsequently made things harder for them as well. They were all quite glad to get back to their usual lives, Luka being able to watch Pokemon to his heart's content, and the demonic duo able to have some much needed "alone time" that somehow became necessary for them to function. Sebastian was able to get back to work, much to his relief. He wasn't entirely sure what to do with all of that free time he gained over the course of the trip either, and was now able to soothe his oddly growing anxiety over not feeling useful.

He had a bit of that in common with his master, really. The Phantomhive boy was a bit of a "workaholic", feeling the need to file paperwork as soon as it is delivered, regardless of whether they were for Funtom Toys, H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G., or the Scotland Yard. He didn't care. He just needed to do it. When he actually ran out of paperwork, he was in trouble, because he wasn't entirely sure what to do, afterward. Ordinarily, he would socialize or play with Alois, having "Nerf-battles to the death" and the like, but now with Luka in the picture, Alois was always playing with him, and Ciel just wasn't at all sure as to how he was supposed to interact with a nine-year-old child. He had only gotten used to dealing with teenagers, too.

Unfortunately, the bluenette had developed a skill for filling out several weeks worth of papers in only a few hours, at most, so this problem occurred often. He wasn't jealous of Luka, per se; oh no, he was in fact, extremely happy for Alois upon being reunited with his brother, and Alois, in turn, was forever grateful. Ciel had given him everything he could ever want in life, and he still wasn't entirely sure how to repay the favour. The blonde did feel bad for having to take away some of his attention from his beau, but knew the bluenette understood, just as he always understood that Ciel had to sacrifice time to work on this and that.

They were always sure to leave time for each other in their own routine, as they simply couldn't be hovering over one another at all hours, and neither of them really wanted that, either, as much as they fancy the other. There was one activity that they did together, however, that they could, and would push everything else to the side to perform. It was one of their favourite things to do; it was almost like a game to them, really. Who could solve the puzzle first? How fast could they solve it? How accurately?

Yes, one of the demonic duo's favourite past-times is solving murder, as twisted as that sounds. The dangerous game was thrilling, and when one lives forever, finding sparks of excitement is necessary to go on. It was a seldom occurrence, seeing as most homicide can be solved by the Yard, but when the ordinary folks were stumped, the phone would ring, and the hunt would begin.

Thus the pair of demons found themselves at Scotland Yard, the London Metropolitan Police headquarters. They called a taxi to get there, seeing as though Sebastian couldn't leave Luka on his own, and they certainly couldn't bring the younger Macken boy along to look at whatever evidence the Yard had to present to them this time. Thus, the demonic duo were on their own, walking through the corridors of the station to the evidence room hand-in-hand, seeing as though Ciel still knew the building much better than Alois did.

Odd stares, and confused expressions followed them wherever they went in that building, just like usual. Alois remembered the first day he came into the building, and the confusion was still exactly the same. It was still apparently quite odd for officers to see two young boys waltzing into places inaccessible by the public like they owned the place. Naturally, not every officer was informed about the duo and their deeds and exploits, as it was unnecessary and dangerous to do so. That is information that must never be leaked. Only higher-ranked officials and key members of specific departments were aware of their existence. Other than that, the "boy-detective" was always and shall remain somewhat of an urban myth around the station, along with the Phantomhive's shadowy assistants, of course.

Occasionally, the boys would get stopped by unwitting coworkers, especially if they were unaccompanied by Sebastian, but not this time. The demons simply walked right past everyone and to the evidence room. Ciel often questioned this place's security, actually. Regardless, they were quite surprised when they opened the door.

There, as expected, was Detective Bailey, looking gruff and tired as usual, and a younger man that neither boy quite recongnise. He looked familiar, but they couldn't quite place his face. He looked as though he were in his twenties, carrying a clipboard and wearing a clean suit and tie, contrasting with Detective Bailey's disheveled appearance, with his loosened tie, and dress-shirt with mustard stains on it. He had black hair, combed and neatened all except one stray lock that seemed to do as it pleased, and dark, bright eyes that complimented his excited expression. Ciel and Alois payed him no mind at first, and simply went their own way, grabbing latex gloves and putting them on before walking over to the table in the middle of the room.

"Good morning, Gabriel." Ciel said to the older-looking detective.

"Mornin', Kiddo." Detective Bailey replied. "Life treatin' you good?"

"Oh, about the same as usual, really." the bluenette replied. "Is this what you were telling me about on the phone?"

"Yep, that's it, right there." Bailey replied, nodding over toward the item on the table.

It was a plain black suitcase, covered in dirt, mud, and garbage alone on the table in front of the duo. According to Bailey, the suitcase was found in a dumpster, and originally contained something of utmost interest to the police. It contained the naked body of a desceased woman, also aged in her early twenties. Ciel unzipped the container and wrinkled his nose in disgust. Even though the case was now empty, the body now being held elsewhere, the smell of blood and decay lingered, horribly mixing with the stench of trash, dirt, and grime. Ciel spoke while the two demons examined every nook and cranny of the bag.

"Has an autopsy been performed yet?" he asked, not even looking up.

"Yeah. This guy, here, has them." replied Detective Bailey, gesturing over to the oddly familiar man in the room. "He's my son. I'm training him to replace me so I can finally retire. Please don't get this one arrested or killed, alright, Kiddo?"

"I will try." the Phantomhive boy replied, looking up at the younger Bailey. "Do you have a name, or something?"

"Oh! Yes!" said the man in the clean suit, snapping to attention. "My name is Micheal Bailey. I look forward to working with you!" He extended a hand to the demon, in order to shake as greeting, but the bluenette simply held up a gloved hand and started working again.

"Dead body and trash-hands." he remindingly declared, prompting Micheal to retract his gesture.

"Oh, right..." he replied, embarrassingly.

"Are you going to tell me the results of the autopsy sometime **today** , or...?"

"Oh, right!" said the man, snapping to attention, again. "The autopsy revealed that the time of death was around midnight on August fifth and lots of bruising to the neck and shoulder area, along signs of being choked by the murderer, and a head-wound... I'll just leave these images with you and see what you can make of it..." he added, handing a few pieces of paper to the blonde menace, being careful not to touch the boy's hands, and in turn, Alois showed the Phantomhive, who only glanced over them quickly before looking back to the case.

"There was also a tattoo on the woman's right ankle; the word 'Winter'." Micheal continued, handing over a picture of the tattoo, as well. "There were also signs of... ahem... sexual assault..."

"Highly unsurprising." Ciel interrupted, looking over the image of the tattoo. He narrowed his eye.

"Why are you giving this to me?" he asked, looking to the trainee detective.

"Why? Well, because we aren't sure what to make of it..."

"It's a name." the demon said. "Obviously so. I suggest you go find out who in London has the name 'Winter', and has their name on a missing persons report."

"Oh... alright..." the trainee replied, taking a note on his clipboard. "Wait, how do you know?"

"Why else would anyone get a cheesy tattoo like this one?" the bluenette replied, causing the blonde lad with him to giggle. Micheal felt sort of unnerved by both the Phantomhive's words, and the Macken's actions. How could anyone show such disrespect for the deceased?

"But what about the other marks on the body?" he asked.

"There aren't any signs of much of a struggle, and from the bruising, it looks like the victim was attacked from behind. This murder wasn't a 'in the heat of the moment' sort of thing, because had there been an argument, she would have been attacked from the front. The murderer intended to kill the victim all along." Ciel began, taking his gloves off and digging in his jacket for his memo-pad and pen.

"My guess is that the murderer went to choke 'Winter' from behind, but it didn't work, and that's where the head-wound came in. The wound is in the front of the skull, implying that he released her momentarily to grab a blunt object." he continued, writing something down on his notepad. "However, I can't prove this until we find the crime scene."

"Alright, and how do we do that?"

"We find a suspect with this." the bluenette replied, tearing the page out of his memo-pad and holding it into view. It was a series of numbers.

"This case is brand new." he continued. "The killer left plastic bits that were once attached to tags. No one does that, so he must have been in a hurry. He also left the tag that is sewn into the case with the cleaning instruction and serial number on it, which is this."

"Good job, kiddo." said the Bailey Senior. "How do we use it?"

"Simple. It's similar to how we solved the 'Boogeyman' case." Ciel answered. "We find out what stores sold this bag around the time of the murder. Most likely, he bought this with a card, so we can find out his name and address, along with any recent purchases."

"So, you want us to look at the cards of everyone who bought that type of suitcase?" asked the older-looking detective.

"Of course not. First, we find 'Winter'. We find out where she was seen last and with who. If we can get a description of who she was seen with, we can compare it to the surveillance footage from the store. Did you get all of that, or should I just do it myself?"

"No, I think I understand what you're saying." replied Detective Bailey, rubbing his forehead. "We'll get on it right away. I can't believe how fast you got all of that..."

"Well, I've been doing this a lot longer than you have, now haven't I?" the bluenette jested as he threw his latex gloves away and made his way toward the door, blonde in tow with notes and evidence. "Give me another call if anything interesting turns up, or you get stuck again."

"Will do." the man replied with a chuckle. "Oh, and another thing, before you go..." He paused, and pulled out a folded piece of paper before handing it to Ciel. "...I found that 'thing' you were looking for..." Ciel took the paper and unfolded it, his face turning serious once more.

"I'm in your debt." the Phantomhive replied, folding the paper back up and putting it in his pocket.

"Nah, don't worry about it." Detective Bailey replied. "I feel like I've kind of wasted your time today, anyway. Think of it as my apology."

"You're too kind." Ciel said back with a chuckle. "I'll be expecting that phone-call from you."

"Hah! I'll try to avoid it!" the man said back, watching as the two demons walked out the door.

"Bye, Bailey! Bye 'Junior'!" the blonde menace called as he followed his bluenette beau outside.

"'Junior'?!" echoed the trainee detective in the room, causing his father to laugh. They stayed like that until the door was closed and the two demons were long gone.

"What weird people..." he added as the events from the past few minutes replayed in his head. Never before had he met such strange people before. What's worse, is that he would be having to deal with them from here on out.

"You get used to it." Bailey Senior replied, taking a seat in a chair placed in the corner of the room. "They're actually alright most of the time. There's times where they can be really sick, though, but you have to just go with it or nothing will get done."

"I don't know how you do it..." the son said, wondering how on earth his father put up with those sort of people for over twenty years. Suddenly, however, a thought occurred to him.

"Hey dad?"

"Yeah?"

"What was on that piece of paper you gave Sir Phantomhive?" he asked, watching as his father's face went sullen.

"The location... of the final resting place of his arch-rival's original body."

 


	309. Don't Do It Again

Ciel debated for a long time on whether or not he should say something yet, as he stared at the piece of paper given to him by Detective Bailey. Even while seated next to his blonde beau, he still felt cold as he contemplated going to the location hastily jotted down on the page or continuing en route toward their home. Alois had the right to know, but was it the right time? How would he react? What would happen? Would he be upset? Would he be sad? Scared? Angry? No matter how well he knows Alois, it was hard for him to speculate his response. Anyone might act a bit irrationally upon discovering the location of their own dead body. Anyone. Perhaps even Ciel would, too, who's to say?

It ate at him, gnawing at his conscience like the jaws of a horrible beast by the name of "Guilt". He knew he should tell Alois. He knew that the sooner he did, the better. Alas, and the bluenette would never want to admit it, he was afraid of seeing the blonde's reaction. What if he got angry at him? He didn't want that. What if he became afraid? Ciel didn't want that either. Moreover, he would have to explain why he had Detective Bailey find the grave-site in the first place.

To be honest, he wasn't entirely sure, himself. Ciel was a bit curious, to say the least, of the fate of the "original" Jim Macken. How could he not be? He loved the blonde menace with all of his blackened heart; it was almost natural for him to wonder what happened to the body that he laid eyes on the first time he made acquaintance with the boy. That body, which the blonde menace regarded as ugly and tainted, was to Ciel's memory, just as beautiful as Alois was now; stunning.

The bluenette was absolutely bewitched by the blonde on that night they first met face-to-face at the costume ball. When they first "accidentally" ran into each other while the blonde was in disguise, Ciel, contrary to his later statements, didn't know the blonde's true gender while they were alone in that room together while Alois cleaned Ciel's wine-stained coat in vain. While he was on-guard out of suspicion, believing that this "maid" was instructed by the Earl Trancy himself as a means to end him, part of his juvenile, teenaged mind was a bit nervous to be alone in a dimly-lit room with a member of the opposite sex. Thinking back, he was neither shocked, nor was he embarrassed when he discovered Alois' true gender, which should have been a red flag to Ciel at the time. It went ignored, regardless, and caused his mind to not catch up with his mouth.

"...right after you bend over and kiss my ass!" the blonde had said. Do you know what the bluenette replied with?

"I don't think it's **your** ass that will be kissed!"

Why did he say that? He would have never said something like that to anyone, at the time. Perhaps he was a bit more flustered than he recalled. Regardless, there was something there, the bluenette now believed. Part of him wished he had noticed it sooner, yet he knew quite well that the way things have played out are better than they could have been, had he chosen to pursue the blonde in a more romantic manner one-hundred years ago. No matter what the blonde himself believed, Ciel believed that the Alois was beautiful then, and he's beautiful now, and there was nothing anyone could say or do to persuade him otherwise, including the Trancy lad, himself. The same could be said about Alois, but on the opposite end of the spectrum for reasons that are quite easy to fathom.

"What's wrong?" the blonde in question asked suddenly, causing the bluenette to jump in surprise, somewhat. Ciel looked over to see his boyfriend looking at him with a concerned expression. The grave look unconsciously formed on the bluenette's face made him worry.

"Hmmm..." Ciel hummed in response, looking away, trying to think of a way to say what he wanted; no, needed to. He looked to the blonde again.

"We can't talk about it here." he continued, pointing to the cabdriver in the front seat with his eyes.

Alois simply nodded in response, knowing that civilians weren't meant to hear quite a few of the things they were likely to discuss, whether it demons, or the case they were just given. It was a common occurrence, and as always, Ciel simply instructed the driver to drop them off somewhere, before paying him. Once they were out of the vehicle, they were blended in with the crowd littering the busy London streets. They were one of many; their individual conversation no longer mattered, and they couldn't be heard by those not consciously and selectively listening in.

With this, the blonde patiently waited while the bluenette pondered something. It really was worrisome to the lad, the way Ciel was acting. Had it simply been about the case, Ciel wouldn't have had to have thought about it for so long, nor would he look so troubled. Did it have something to do with that paper Detective Bailey gave him? Was it really important? Surely, Ciel would have told him, if it was. Or was that what he was trying to talk about now? All he could do is wait...

"The piece of paper Gabriel gave me..." Ciel began again, trying to find his next set of words. "I asked him to look into something for me..."

"Yeah? And what's that?" Alois asked, extremely curious.

"First, promise me you won't be upset..." the bluenette, almost childishly.

"Alright?"

"Promise me."

"Alright. I promise!" the Macken lad replied. "Now, what is it?" After taking a deep breath, the Phantomhive spoke.

"A while ago..." he began, reaching down to play with the blonde's fingers, keeping his eyes on his hand, rather than the boy's face. "...Out of curiosity, I asked Gabriel to look into finding this."

With his free hand, he presented the paper to the blonde, and Alois did take it. He glanced if over quickly at first, until what he had just read hit him upside the head, it seemed. He then had to read it again, and again, and once more for good measure, just to see he read the note correctly. He looked up at the bluenette, his eyes wide, and his face pale. The expression on his visage was very hard to read. There was lots of shock, some disbelief, some fear, with just a twinge of anger. Basically, what the bluenette hoped wouldn't be there, even though he knew it would be.

"What is this?" Alois asked finally, as if he needed the confirmation.

"That," Ciel began, "is the location of your original, human body." he said. He waited while the blonde looked back down at the paper and read it again, before looking back up and speaking again.

"Why?" he asked.

"Because I wanted to know what happened to it."

There was a long, grueling silence after that. The words seemed to need to soak in for a bit. After all, they were discussing a rotting corpse, here; Alois' rotting corpse, filled with nasty memories, and such. Perhaps it wasn't even a corpse at all, anymore. It was most likely just bones lying in a rotten, barely-existent box, after all of these years, which was most likely the case. How exactly does one take that; knowing the location of your wretched, violated, murdered body; knowing were the bones of your disgusting, miserable self were after all of these years, while you're still standing, have moved on, and are happy? How exactly does one take the fact that the love of one's life was the one who found them? How?

"I wanted to know..." Ciel said, looking at the ground. "That's all it is. I wanted to know where it was... We don't have to go search for it. We don't have to see it. You can just tear up that piece of paper right now, and we'll go home. I won't complain; not in the slightest. I know it was wrong of me, but I just..." He trailed off, ceasing his fidgeting and gripping the other boy's hand.

"...I needed to know what happened to you." he said finally, looking up at the blonde who simply stared at him, eyebrows raised in surprise.

The Phantomhive lad's visible eye looked sad, and afraid of what the blonde might say. It was unsure, but sincere. It showed just how badly Ciel wanted the blonde's approval, even if Ciel himself couldn't express it verbally. The bluenette's face showed just how weak he really was, when it came to Alois, as if the blonde needed reminding of that. With a twinge of guilt for doubting the bluenette, it was Alois' turn to think carefully about what to say next.

"It's alright." he said, finally. "I'm not mad." The relief that washed over his bluenette beau was plainly visible, naked for all to see at those simple words. Ciel uttered a sigh and straightened himself, yet he didn't let go of the blonde's hand are regain his usual boldness.

"What do you want to do?" he asked, gently. "The choice is completely up to you."

The silence returned as Alois looked to the paper once more, searching for an answer. What were the pros and cons of this? It didn't seem like there were either. Their usual, happy life would resume either way. They would go home, discuss the murder, talk, play with Luka, maybe watch some television, have dinner with the rest of the "family", get everyone ready for bed, maybe have sex, go to sleep, and wake up the next morning to work and play some more. Life would go on, either way.

But now, Alois had to admit, he was a bit curious. As loudly as the scared little boy inside of him protested, the "new" Jim Macken was emboldened enough to pursue this curiosity. What happened when he died? No matter what they found, no matter what they didn't find, Alois knew that he still had people who love him even if Claude didn't, and that's all that matters, now. The past doesn't define him and his worth. He refused to shed even a single tear over the matter, and even if he did, he'd wipe it away himself, and be more determined than ever to stand back up and make things better.

"Let's do it." he said, finally.

"Are you sure?" asked the bluenette, wearing concern on his face. "We really don't have to, if you don't want to."

"Positive." Alois replied, a smile on his face. "Hail another taxi."

"I love you." Ciel said, a smile prominent on his face.

"I love you, too." the blonde replied, pecking the other boy on the lips before adding:

"...But don't ever pull that shit again."

 


	310. The Memory That Won't Die

The world was quiet. The sounds of the busy street outside of the cemetery slowly faded as they ventured further inside, back toward the older graves. The only colours the boys seemed to be able to see were green, grey, and black as far as the eye can see, aside from a few flowers that decorated the more recent graves.

It was saddening. Every grave they passed were of people born long after they, themselves were. Some were incredibly recent; children. Even worse, as they ventured further back, the flowers stopped, as it was at that point in time when the people who would have left the small token of remembrance had all died, and now receive their own flowers from loved ones. One day, flowers will stop coming to them, too, as the people who remembered them would be then receiving flowers as well in an unbreakable cycle.

Further back into the cemetery, the ventured, weeds and tall grass beginning to take over as the graves of those who remembered these graves were no longer around to tend to their upkeep. This old section of the cemetery was full of old aristocrats, however, so their gravestones were initially quite well-made, so they were still standing. It was as if they were waiting for someone-, anyone, to come back and remember them, wear, tear, cracks and all. Moss covered some of the names while others were so weathered, that a few words appeared to be missing.

Ciel couldn't bear to look at these graves. He was afraid of seeing a familiar name of someone he left behind. The very thought caused him to ache. Ever since that day, the day he left, he had felt as though he had failed them all. Ah, it was August, wasn't it? The anniversary of that day was getting close, wasn't it? He felt so silly, but somehow, remembering that made him... _sad_. He felt sad, and he felt _guilty_. Never once had he properly mourned those people. His friends... his family... not even _once_.

He never apologised, even _symbolically_. How could he be so awful? How could he have done that? Truly, his heart was completely cold to anyone, even those who did nothing to him but care about him. Ciel Phantomhive, " _The Evil Earl_ " was as cold as ice, and always had been since his tenth birthday. How could he had been so foolish? That's what he was, he now realised; a _fool._ That arrogant boy that he used to be was one of the most idiotic, and irrational person he knew of. He was stupid enough to block out all warmth, only hurting the people around him who cared, people who were important to him. By the time he figured it out, though, it was far too late. Everyone was gone. The only ones left were he, and his butler, clad in black. He truly was alone, and it was all _self-inflicted_. He used to say that life was like a game of chess, and that he was the king, while everyone else was just a foolish pawn of his. What does that make him? Easy; he is the _King_ of all _Fools_.

That is, until a certain blonde peasant made his way inside his castle walls. This child was a fool, just as Ciel was, but his jests and banter somehow sunk into the smallest cracks within the ice, and melt it away, leaving the Phantomhive boy's heart naked before him, yet he was not at all displeased with this fact as he thought he would have been. No, instead, as he watched the blonde prance around and crack jokes, he thought about their shared pasts, and wonder how on earth the boy was able to do all of that. It was only then did he truly begin to see that the blonde was wearing a mask, like Ciel himself did.

Cracks formed on it's surface, revealing the true face of his former foe, but instead of feeling the need to fight, or sensing opportunity to completely crush the other boy, what did the bluenette feel? _Endearment_ ; something he hadn't felt in ages. Endearment turned into attachment, and it was then, that the bluenette wanted to do something about the worn gears, unwound springs, and broken cogs that made up the blonde' s psyche. Ciel began to feel the need to help mend that broken boy, as that boy became his favourite person in the world. It wasn't a " _want",_ it was a " _need"._

The icy eyes of the blonde menace that did nothing but feel warm to the bluenette quickly scanned each and every tombstone, growing more anxious every time he didn't see his name. It was apparent on his face as he clutched at the other lad's hand, childishly afraid to let go. _1920; 1910; 1900..._ the years clocked backwards with every tombstone they passed, and both lads became somewhat nervous. At last, the made it to the 1890s, and if the lad's memory, math, and crumbled piece of paper were all correct, they would be coming up on it very, very soon.

 _1889_. This was it. _This was the year they both died._

It didn't take them much longer at all, to find it. When they did, it felt like their hearts stopped, and everything went cold. Whether it was fear, or melancholy, neither boy could distringuish at the moment. The blonde menace gripped the bluenette's hand tighter as they read the words on the grave.

_"Alois Trancy_

_November 5th, 1875-August 20th, 1889"_

That was it. There was nothing more, nor nothing less written on the stone. There were no kind words or appropriate sayings. Lord knows what the funeral must have been like; he wasn't buried with the rest of the "Trancy's", so that said something. Ordinarily, a family such as the Trancy's would have buried their dead in a private cemetery, but no. While the body of "Alois Trancy" was buried in a more upscale setting, he was not buried with his "family". The blonde felt both relieved by this, and strangely insulted at the same time. Could it have been Hannah Annafeloz who arranged this in a respectful manner, or Claude Faustus mocking him? Who's to say? It actuality, it was most likely Hannah who did this, seeing as Claude simply left the body in the forest to be eaten by scavengers.

The stone itself was sturdy, so it was in decent shape, but it remained unneglected by the wears and tears of time's passage. Moss and mold crawled up and down it, while some of the etchings were dulled by rain, snow, and everything else in between. That was it. That was what was left. A dirty boulder with some bones underneath it. That was all that was left of his old self. For the first time that whole visit, Alois let go of Ciel's hand.

Silently, he walked over to the tombstone before slowly crouching down in front of it, taking a good, close look at it. He brushed his fingertips against it's surface, feeling it's rough face. He was right on top of his bones, now, just six feet above them. Now that, was a hard pill to swallow. This was all that's left.

He wasn't sure how he felt, he just... did. There was depression, some sorrow, and yet, relief inside of him. This was all that was left of that past of his that made him hurt, so; that made him so self-conscious, and so frail. It was gone. Everything; Annihilated. It was no more.

Still, he pressed his forehead against his name and fought back tears. This is it. This is what he was worth then, was it? That's fine. He didn't need it. He didn't need Claude. Forget the Trancy's. They can buggar off! He was happy now with his makeshift family, and his good friends. He had a job he enjoyed, and was living splendidly. He didn't quite know why tears threatened to fall, or why a smile was on his face. He was just thankful for the warmth of the bluenette's embrace as the boy crouched down next to him, and wrapped an arm around his shoulders.

"Are you alright?" Ciel asked, his voice genuinely worried and sympathetic. He waited patiently as his boyfriend collected himself, allowing the other boy to take as much time as he needed.

"Yeah..." the blonde answered, a small crack in his voice. "I'm alright. It's just... a lot, y'know?"

"I can see that."Ciel replied, rubbing the Macken boy's back in a soothing fashion.

"Hey, Ciel, if I died, would you keep bringing me flowers?" Alois suddenly asked, startling the bluenette. The Phantomhive lad wrapped both arms around the lad and causing him to fall from his crouching position into a seated one, surprising him in turn while holding him tight. Ciel spoke while nuzzled into the blonde's cheek.

"Don't you dare even say stuff like that." he said as sternly as possible. There was a barely audible break in his voice. "You can't die. Even if you could, I won't let you. You're too precious to me..."

"Ciel..." the blonde demon uttered, the word escaping his mouth all on it's own. Slowly, he wrapped his arms around the other boy.

"Why are you so good to me?" he asked, finally, nuzzling back.

"Because you're worth it." replied Ciel. "I don't know what I'd do without you..." He glanced toward the stone again, and narrowed his eye at the bottom corner. He loosened his grip on the blonde and brushed some of the dirt and grass out of the way, to see more writing.

"Jim..." he called, summoning the other boy's attention.

"Yeah?"

 _"Look at this_." Ciel said, allowing the blonde to move in order to see what he was pointing at. At that, the blonde finally allowed a tear to fall.

_"In loving memory of Jim Macken."_

Miss Annafeloz had really outdone herself. Inconspicuously in the corner of the stone written in small letters the words sat, and no one, not even _Jim Macken_ himself, noticed. The blonde smiled so wide that his cheeks hurt, and the bluenette did the same. There, clear as day, was proof that Jim Macken had always been valued that simply refused to die. The duo then shared a moment of happiness that didn't come around that often-, that is, until they heard _it._

_"Koff! **KOFF!** "_

* * *

 


	311. A Rotten Turn and A Beast of A Woman

_"Koff! **KOFF!"**_

There was a cough uttered by the blonde lad that day. It hurt his throat, seeing as though he hadn't coughed in nearly four years since becoming a demon. Demons don't cough. Once was bad, but when the coughing persisted even after leaving the cemetery, both lads became frightened.

Demons don't cough. They don't even sneeze, let alone become ill. Yet, in the few days following the cemetery visit, Alois found himself doing many of the things that demons "don't" do. He coughed, occasionally, and he sneezed a few times. If he ran, he needed a moment to catch his breath before continuing. He yawned, and worst of all, required sleep again. These may seems like very mundane and trivial things to you, but to Alois, they were absolutely terrifying, as he had forgotten what it felt like to experience them at all.

He was starting to become unwound, becoming deathly afraid of falling asleep, as when he needed it, he began to feel run-down and weakened, giving him the idea that he was dying. Some might say it was "irrational", but when you go from being an immortal creature who doesn't need it, to a "sort of" immortal creature who does, it could very well be a logical conclusion.

Every night, he would stay up until the wee ours of the morning in Ciel's office, refusing to go to bed, only to succumb to slumber when his eyelids simply wouldn't stay open anymore. He was afraid that if he went to sleep, he wouldn't wake up again, so he stayed with the bluenette while he worked in order to keep himself awake. He would talk to Ciel, try to read something, do some of the paperwork that the other boy was uncharacteristically neglecting at the time, only to completely pass out where he sat.

Ciel, himself, was growing more and more afraid with each passing day, as well. He couldn't think about the case at all, as he noticed the dark circles that began to form beneath the other boy's eyes, and the changes in behaviour. The blonde's fear of the dark returned, as he began to lose the ability to see in the dark, and his senses weren't as sharp as they once were. With each passing day, it seemed as though the blonde menace was becoming more and more like a human being.

"Young master?" called a certain butler as he knocked on the door of the Phantomhive's study. He, too, began to worry.

His master was quite the mess as of late, as the bluenette desperately tried to figure out what was wrong with Alois. He wouldn't eat, nor would he sleep, as much of his time was spent researching and watching over the blonde menace in his frail state. Sebastian could only imagine what the boy was going through. He knew how Ciel felt about the deceased in his life even without being told, but now, the paranoia that his beloved blonde menace could been wretched from him too, was driving him mad. Sebastian heard a very reluctant "come in" from the other side of the door, only to see the office in utter disarray.

Books and papers sat on every table and chair, all but the couch that Alois was laying on, fast asleep with a coat thrown over him. The Phantomhive boy stood facing the bookshelf in the room, flipping through some kind of book about goodness knows what diabolical things. With a sigh, he closed it and put it back.

"Still nothing?" Sebastian asked.

"Of course not." the bluenette replied. "I've searched every single book in the mansion, and still nothing..."

"Did Doctor Ackerman have anything to say about it?" the butler further inquired.

"No, not even the staff at H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. know where to even start."

The first thing they did upon discovering what was happening was take Alois to H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. headquarters to be examined, however, the blonde simply had them stumped. X-rays showed no abnormalities, nor did a CAT-scan. Going through the usual procedures for a demon's check-up, however, proved that something was very wrong.

The blonde's transformation-time was much slower, and his horns were dull, much like Luka's. His strength and his healing ability waned as well. A cut that would ordinarily take seconds to heal now took minutes, while the blonde could now only lift only a few more weights than your average school rugby player. He was exhibiting similar traits that his younger brother now possessed, actually, and it scared him. He was losing his power, somehow. No one was sure how or why. All anyone seemed to know was that it was happening, and happening quickly.

What must that feel like? All of a sudden, Alois couldn't do the things he used to. Going on missions could now possibly be life-threatening, because of this. Life-threatening... So does this mean... Alois could actually die?

Was he dying at this very moment? That was the question that gnawed at the back of the bluenette's mind, causing him to become a frightened as well. Anything but that. There was no way. Alois would not die, and Ciel Phantomhive was going to do everything in his power to make sure of it. But, Alois wasn't the only one who suddenly felt powerless. Oh, no. Ciel was weakened as well.

Alois was the only one the bluenette showed weakness to. The bluenette loved him, and he, in turn was loved by the blonde. Ciel had made the mistake of taking that for granted and simply throwing it away, but not this time. Not this time, or ever again. Alois was his world. He had tasted the fruit of happiness, and he's not going to give it up.

He had a family again, something he hadn't known the feeling of in ages. He had forgotten the feeling of warmth and security; of love and intimacy. Somewhere in that mind of his lived that same, frightened, ten-year-old boy who needed his family, but he was weak.

In his haste, Ciel had lost the ability to function quite as rationally as he ordinarily would. All he could do was scramble and search for something, anything, that gave him an idea of what to do next. He ignored phone-calls, neglected paperwork, and responsibility in order to get to the bottom of this strange phenomena. The most frusterating thing, however, was the fact that he had come up with nothing.

That was Ciel's weakness. Alois could either be his greatest strength, or his Acheles' heel, and right now, he was crippled by the thought of losing this boy. For the first time in ages, Ciel Phantomhive had no idea what to do, and he did not like it. He felt completely stripped of everything that made him feel secure. No longer, did he have the upper-hand, nor did he have his pride. He felt an utter mess, and for once, had no idea what to do. It was like he was falling aimlessly with nothing to grab onto or slow himself down, the only thing that he was able to do being to simply wait for the ground to hit him. He slowly walked behind his desk and sat down, resting his elbows on it's surface and his head in his hands as he tried not to look so disheveled and helpless in front of his butler, all while trying to digest the information he did have.

Sebastian felt it, too. He had never seen his master act in such a manner before, and saying it was "a shock" would be an understatement. He was also burdened with keeping it a secret from Luka. Yes, Luka... Alois himself requested this, as he did not want his beloved little brother to worry about him. He felt horrible enough that he was causing Ciel to fall into a depression.

"He finally fell asleep, hm?" the butler noted, breaking the unbearable silence. He walked over to the blonde, moving a stray hair out of his face. Alois was so out of it, that he failed to notice.

"Yes. Only a half-hour ago, I'm afraid." the Phantomhive boy replied, not even batting an eyelash when the man clad in black looked up at him with a confused face.

"It's almost seven in the morning?"

"I know..."

Sebastian looked back to the blonde, looking him over. Surely, getting such little amount of sleep for someone in his condition would be damaging. The butler lifted one of the boy's hands by his wrist, and dropped it back onto his stomach where it then rested. It was completely limp just like the rest of him; had it not have been for the blonde's breathing, surely, someone would have mistaken him for deceased. The next thing the butler did was lightly push on the blonde's jaw, so his mouth would stop hanging open as the lad was so hopelessly lost in much-needed slumber. Honestly, how Sebastian's master could find this boy sexually actractive was certainly beyond him.

"Sebastian, what are you doing?" the bluenette asked in an irritated tone, arching an eyebrow at his butler's antics. He was in no mood for even the slightest hint of silliness.

"He looked a bit uncomfortable, my lord." answered the man clad in black. "It's important for those who need sleep to do so in a comfortable position, or one might wake up still feeling exhausted!"

"It's probably best to move him to our room, then." replied the Phantomhive lad with a sigh. "He's always complaining about how uncomfortable that couch is."

"Shall I, then?" the butler asked.

"No, I will." Ciel said, standing up from his desk. He walked over to the notoriously uncomfortable couch in the large office, shooing the butler out of the way momentarily as he placed his arms underneath the blonde menace and picked him up.

"My lord?" Sebastian called, a concerned look on his face.

"I've got it, Sebastian." the bluenette replied, leaving the room and making his way down the hallway. Yet the butler persisted still.

"But, my lord..."

"I can handle it, Sebastian." Ciel said more firmly, almost angrily. His agitation only grew when the man followed him, and opened the door to his and the blonde's bedroom for him.

"No, it's not that, my lord..." Sebastian replied as the bluenette set his beau down on the bed and pulled the blankets over him. "It's Alois. There's something not right about him-"

"Really? **I hadn't noticed."** the former-Earl snapped sarcastically, having lost his patience. He furrowed his brow and looked back toward the man, whose look of concern shifted into a more stern one as he opened his mouth to reply. His brow furrowed, his tone uncompromising, and a frown on his face.

"Master, I understand that you are upset, and very frustrated at the moment, but I believe I may have just made an observation that could be beneficial to your cause." the butler began. "I also believe that it is in both your, and Alois' best interest if you would be so kind as to listen to what I have to tell you."

Saying that Ciel was quite stunned at what had just happened would be a most accurate statement. In all of their years together, Sebastian had never spoken to the Phantomhive boy in such a manner, even once. Never had Sebastian been so harsh, an never before had he spoken down to his master in a serious manner before. While Ciel would never admit it, it was actually startling. He couldn't even find the means to be angry at the man because of it.

"If I may?" Sebastian said, his tone unsually sincere. He smiled. "After all, you're not the only one who wishes to keep our little 'family' together, you know."

Ciel had to allow himself to dwell on that thought for a moment. Sure, there was Luka, who was in the dark about the entire operation, but Sebastian? Why Sebastian? The man was a bona-fide demon, so could he actually feel any sort of attachment toward this little group they have? Moreover, why on earth would he express concern over the boy who banished him to this life of eternal servitude? It made absolutely no sense whatsoever, but maybe, just maybe, if Ciel could grow attached to his enemy, then maybe the butler could too, as a result? It wasn't entirely impossible, but it was odd. Still, the man was indeed quite fond of the blonde's little brother, but even still, that shouldn't be possible.

"Master?" the butler called, snapping the boy back to attention.

"Oh, yes? Yes. I'm sorry. Please go on, Sebastian." the boy said, his mind struggling to keep up.

"Thank you, my lord." Sebastian replied, bowing slightly.

"If memory serves, a demon is capable of sensing things that no human technology can, correct?" he began. He waited for the bluenette to nod in response before continuing. "Such as how we discovered the situation of Nigel and Luka at the beach a few years ago, yes? With this knowledge, have you paid attention to Alois' soul-temperature, lately?"

Suddenly, the bluenette's already pale face lost it's colour. He looked back toward the blonde menace as he slept soundly, and placed his hand against the boy's cheek, cupping it. His eyes widened, and his heart sank. The bluenette unwittingly fell to his knees , his chest and arms resting on the edge of the bed with the blonde.

How could this be? Alois' soul was **fading** **.**

It made sense, given the fact that this body of Alois' was artificial; not the body that his soul was bound to from birth. Most likely, it wasn't designed to hold a demonic soul for very long. It apparently had an expiration date. Even still, the Phantomhive boy was beyond thinking rationally at this point. His throat hurt, and his chest felt empty. Alois, in a sense, was dying, and he had been spending too much time looking for something in books rather than paying attention to the person he was doing it for. Once more, Ciel had failed, it seemed.

"Young master..." the butler said, his tone soft. "It's not the end... Even if his soul leaves that body, you've still got the means to get it back... You've done it before, and you can do it again."

It took the bluenette a while, but he somehow managed to collect himself, and got up off of the floor. Instead, he took a seat on the bed, stroking his lover's hair in a soothing fashion, as it seemed to calm himself down. He didn't care about pride anymore. Alois was far more important to him, so he wasn't bothered about letting Sebastian see him acting this way. He just needed to keep Alois.

"How much longer do you think we have?" he asked, his voice a little weak, but more calm than it was before.

"I don't know, my lord..." Sebastian answered. "It's most likely beneficial to get started right away."

"My thoughts exactly." Ciel replied. "Can you make the preperations?" With that, Sebastian smiled, and offered a small bow.

"Yes, my lord."

Sebastian left, leaving the boys all alone in that quiet room, closing the door as he did. After a few moments, Ciel kicked off his shoes and into bed with the blonde. Naturally, he felt the strong need to be close to the boy at that moment. The bluenette held onto the boy tightly, as if he was afraid he would somehow get up and leave. As much as he would usually dismiss it as "silly", or "childish", he desperately needed the small, unspoken gesture. The bluenette nuzzled close to his blonde beau, but he didn't sleep. No, he couldn't even think of it. All he could do was bask in Alois' warmth and think about how to fix this.

Hours went by, and he stayed like this, just thinking, and trying his best to keep his cynical mind positive, a task nearly betond his ability. He couldn't help but think about what would happen if their plan failed, about what he would do, then. He would have to try something else to get the blonde back, but what if he couldn't? What if the blonde was snatched from him permanently? What would he do? He didn't think he could bear another loss of someone so close to him. He'd probably go mad; just look at what happened the last time his world crumbled from underneath his feet.

What would he do? He didn't think he could go on without his blonde menace? Would he once again become estranged from anyone even relatively close to him? His friends? His associates? What of Luka? Yes, Luka... What of him? The bluenette had an unspoken promise with the blonde to look after the brunette Macken boy, so how would he act toward him? He didn't know. He didn't want his heart to grow cold again. Yet, he didn't know if he could maintain his warmth should the blonde leave him. As the hours ticked by that he stayed like that with Alois, pondering these unpleasant outcomes, he didn't notice the wetness that formed in the corner of his eye.

_BANG!_

He was ripped from his wallowing in despair by the sound of the door to the room violently swinging open. He reflexively jolted up at the sound, amazed that neither it nor the movement caused the blonde to wake up. The worst had yet to come, however, as he set eyes upon the perpetrator or the abrupt awakening: Sir Integra Fairbrook Wingates Hellsing.

The woman was absolutely furious. As she laid eyes upon the bluenette, her anger seemed to grow. She grit her teeth in a mean frown, and furrowed her brow; flaring her nostrils and clenching her fists. Ciel had seen Integra angry before, but never had he truly known the fear instilled by her fury until it was directed at him.

Ciel's emotions were already a jumble before she walked in, and he really didn't need this new-found terror. He was already such a mess, that he was completely unknowing of her presence in the manor, and the woman wasn't exactly the kind to be inconspicuous in these types of situations. The bluenette's eyes were wide, unknowingly showing signs of weakness in front of perhaps his most fearsome of all foes.

"Just what on earth do you think you're doing?!" she bellowed, causing him to inadvertently flinch. It took that lad a few seconds to process what was happening, and think of a response.

"What do you mean what am **I** doing!? What are **you** doing in my house?!" he barked back.

" **Don't give me that!"** the woman snapped, her voice easily dwarfing the bluenette's own. "I have tried to get in contact with you for the past three days, and here I find you canoodling! Just how do you explain this, Phantomhive?!"

That's right... Ciel had been so preoccupied in search of a solution to his blonde problems, that he hadn't been answering his cellphone, or working. Sebastian had come up a few times, saying something about a phone call, but the bluenette had immediately dismissed him. Never had he imagined that this would come back to bite him. Had he been in his usual state of mind, he would have answered it, anticipating the consequences.

"I was taking care of Jim." he said firmly, standing up and taking a strong stance against the Hellsing woman. "He's starting to-"

"I'm already aware." Sir Integra interrupted, gesturing to her associate, Seras, who was desperately trying not to get involved. The poor Draculina handed her boss a folder, and immediately stepped back into the hallway in order to avoid any crossfire; the Hellsing woman then in turn, tossed the folder toward the bluenette.

"You stopped by our facilities earlier this week. Nothing like that gets past me." she continued.

"The tests from your people came up with nothing." Ciel stated, however, Integra wasn't phased.

"Yes, but I didn't." the woman replied.

"In that file, you'll find that H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. has gotten wind of sightings in the London area of what is known as a 'Revenant'." she began, digging in her pocket for her cigar case. "Like a ghoul, it is a reanimated corpse, however, unlike a ghoul, it regenerates, maintaining a more human appearance, and is also not cannibalistic." she said, flicking the switch on her lighter, and lighting up her cigar. A puff of smoke escaped her lips before she continued.

"Sightings of these are rare, as they are in fact, a rare occurrence. Revenants are motivated by vengeance of a once living person, causing them to move. As such, they are also moderately intelligent." she concluded.

"Why does this concern me?" the Phantomhive asked.

"Open the file, and find out."

Reluctantly, the bluenette did just that, opening up the H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. mission folder, and looking over it's contents. Most of it was boring paperwork, and reports taken by eyewitnesses about the sightings, but one thing did catch his eye. One dastardly thing that made him enraged. It was a photograph taken of the supposed grave that the creature had crawled out of. And just what was so horrible about it? Why, because it was a familiar site.

"Alois Trancy

November 5th, 1875-Augus 20th, 1899"

It even had the engraving in the corner that made the duo so happy just four days ago. In front of the old grave, however, was something that wasn't there during their visit; a hole in the ground, just big enough for a human being to crawl out of. There were patches directly in front of it where grass had been pulled up while the creature tried to get some grip and hoist itself out of the hole. There were upturned patches of dirt where it was gripped by the creature during it's escape.

Droplets of blood speckled the grass where it desperately tried to free itself. Another photo showed how it escaped the coffin, as H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. dug up the grave in order to properly investigate, being careful not to damage the tombstone. The coffin was full of dirt as the revenant made it's escape, but it wasn't opened at it's hinges. Oh, no, the weight of the dirt was far too much for that. The creature had mad a hole just a few feet wide in the wooden coffin. The door was covered in scrapes, scratches, blood, fingernails, and scraps of flesh where it clawed and hit with it's fists for freedom, holding no regard for pain in doing so.

It was sickening. It was Alois' body it did this with. That was his blood, fingernails and flesh in that box, and now, it was parading around the city wearing his face. Unforgivable. Ciel clenched the documents in his hands, griting his teeth as he tried to contain himself.

"There's more." Integra said, taking another puff at her cigar. "It might be of interest to you. Our knowledge finds that revenants supposedly channel the souls of the body's owner to use them, and with your findings, we know it's possible if something once containing that soul is used as a medium, in other words, the body itself."

"So if we find it, we can save Jim?" Ciel continued, still staring at the file.

"In theory, yes." the Hellsing woman answered. "It won't be easy. Once it's regenerated, it will blend in with countless other humans. That's why I need you. You're the only one who knows enough about the 'past' Jim Macken in order to narrow our search. Are we clear?" Ciel paused before answering.

"How did you know what was happening to Alois?" he asked, warily. Integra scoffed.

"I made an educated guess, of course." she replied. "That body of Jim's was designed to emulate that of a human being, correct? You created it with no intention of making him a demon, yet, with a demonic soul, it became one. I simply assumed that he was becoming more 'human-like' because he was losing the source of his power."

Ciel had to admit, Sir Hellsing was a knowledgeable woman worthy of respect. She was able to decipher that all on her own, without any assistance, while it took Sebastian's input for Ciel to realise it himself. She could do that from her office, while Ciel was right next to the blonde himself, and was too dense to understand anything.

He hated that about her, and about himself. That was part of the reason why she vexed him, so. Still, even if he couldn't stand her, even if she belittled him and crushed his pride, she had presented to him a way to save his beloved on a silver platter, and for that, he could be nothing but grateful. Finally, he looked up from the documents, and gave the woman the most dignified look that he could muster.

"I'll do whatever you say." he said without an ounce of shame or regret. It in all honesty, surprised his rival.

"Sorry?" she asked, arching an eyebrow.

"I said, I'll do whatever you want." he replied. "I don't give the slightest care; as long as I can save Jim, I'll do it."

Stunned, the woman blinked a few times, allowing what the lad had just said to soak in. When it did, she smiled, letting out a small chuckle. It wasn't out of amusement at the Phantomhive's compliance, but rather, something else. The fact that the boy was willing to go so far as to obey her commands without reluctance or complaint for the sake of another person was almost humbling, in a way.

"We'd best be going, then." she said finally. "We leave immediately."

"Where to?" Ciel asked.

"Wherever you say." the Hellsing woman responded. "You're the expert on 'Jim Macken', not me."

With that, she turned and walked out of the room and into the hallway, where her vampiric associate then proceeded to follow her. Ciel watched her leave the room for a moment before turning to look back at the blonde menace, who still managed to sleep through all of that. The bluenette relaxed his grip on the files, and walked over to the boy, bending down and quickly pecking him on the lips.

"I'll be back." he whispered. "You won't be getting flowers anytime soon."

 


	312. What Remained Behind

_It was a rather quiet evening, not unlike any other. The August air was reasonably mild, neither too hot nor too cool. The sky was reasonably cloudless, allowing the light of the moon to tickle the grass and and reflect off of every available surface that was capable. Stars were invisible, however, due to the lights of a city that was lively, even at night, whose lights outshone the small diamond-like objects usually embedded in a cloak of blueish-black, at least from the perspective of anyone from earth._

_Calmness shrouded over the cemetery, even more so than during the day. Yet, there was an unknown tension in the air, as if something were direly wrong. What was it? Where was it coming from? It was invisible to the naked eye, simply because it wasn't in the air, or on the ground. No, it was under it._

_Birds looked on with curiosity as the ground started to shift in a particular spot; directly in front of a particular grave. Tension rose as it shifted, moving up and down, as if anxiety was seeping through the dirt, pouring out into the air when a crack finally formed. The birds fled in fear._

_The crack got bigger, and bigger before earth finally split open. Bloodied fingers peeked out as whatever was attached to them tried to climb upward. They clawed at the dirt around the hole, unable to get a grip as they had no fingernails. Whatever it was had lost them on it's ascent._

_Slowly, but surely, over an agonizing amount of time, a hand appeared; then a forearm, followed by the rest of it. A nose stuck it's way out, nudging dirt out of the way so a mouth could, too as the poor soul desperately tried to suck in some air. Then, as the head exited the cold earth, the other arm followed, swinging in front of the being in order to help it's twin hoist the owner out of the dirt and grime, clawing at dirt and ripping up handfuls of grass in the process._

_The sounds of coughing, wheezing, and whimpering filled the cemetery as whatever this thing was tried to recover from escaping a small wooden box and several kilos of dirt. After taking in it's surroundings, the figure looked back at the whole from which it came, and became frightened at the sight. That was a grave it was just in, wasn't it? Immediately, the figure wanted nothing more than to flee the area, so it followed the darkened path to anywhere, really._

_It was hard to walk, and hard to see, even when lights began to appear along the parts of the path that seemed newer. It was so odd. They'd never seen lights like those before. They were so bright, like small moons. They didn't seem like the usual lanterns._

_Regardless, making the trip out of the cemetary was not an easy one. As it ventured on, the figure realised that it's balance was off, and that things didn't look right. Everything was slightly off. Something was incredibly wrong, but they couldn't quite decipher what it was._

_A road! Finally! A road... That was good news. Maybe they could now find help, somehow. Maybe they could find out what was happening to them. This wasn't the case, however, for as soon as they set foot on the strangely-made road, they were nearly blinded by twin lights that grew brighter and brighter with every passing second._

_In a flash, the lights went out as something hit the figure. Something big, but they couldn't quite figure out what. When the figure opened it's eyes, however, the lights weren't gone. They were just behind them. It tried to get up to see what it was that hit them, but they couldn't move. They knew their limbs felt funny, but they weren't in any pain. A voice was heard, speaking in a really strange accent, asking if they were alright. The figure tried to answer, but no matter how hard it tried, all that escaped was air._

_In the middle of the road, it laid there, crumpled in a heap. The driver of the car could see that it was a boy, and judging by his stature, he was young. In addition, he was hurt badly. His arm was twisted around, as were his legs. It looked like he was making an attempt to move them, the way they sort of jerked around a bit. The driver of the car quickly got out to help the boy, loudly calling out to him._

_"Are you alright?!" he called, slamming the door shut and rushing over to the poor lad. "Can you hear me?! Oh, god, I'll call you an ambulance right awa-"_

_The driver of the car immediately stopped talking as one of the boy's hands grasped his arm as he crouched down to help him. The hand was wrinkled, with bits of muscle showing. It was bloody, with the tips completely torn apart; bone showed and there were no fingernails at all. The hand gripped tightly at the driver's jacket, as the man was too stunned by the appearance of the hand to pull away. The figure then tried to pull itself up, turning to look up at the man in the process. Light finally shone on the figures face, and the driver of the car that hit it was taken aback by it's ghastly appearance. His eyes widened as he took in the sight of that face, and he was frozen in fright._

_Flesh and skin barely fit the bones underneath, and didn't cover other places, especially around the figure's mouth. All that could be seen were a few facial mucles that moved the jaw, and teeth exposed by lack of skin. The figure- no, the creature's single eye was black where white was supposed to be, with a pale-blue iris indicating that there was anything there at all. Eyelids drooped where the other eye was supposed to be. Flaxen hair sat atop the creature's head, while patches of it where indeed missing, along with more bits of skin. The creature was dressed in a filthy, rotten, black suit; torn, covered in dirt and death, and wrinkled beyond belief._

_The creature looked confused; frightened, even, but the driver of the car didn't notice it, however. What he saw was a horrifying monster gnashing it's teeth at him, so quickly, he shook off the creature's grip, and ran back to his car screaming. His assailant tried to reach after him, but was blinded once again by harsh headlights, and deafened by the sound of the roaring engine and screeching tires as the car took off, barely missing the creature as it jerked to steer around it._

Ciel put the file down, and rubbed his forehead. He had read enough. He was currently en route to the location of that first sighting. He rode with Sir Hellsing in her vehicle, while the other demons stayed at home. The prideful English knights sat awkwardly in the backseat while the draculina, Seras Victoria drove the grey Rolls Royce down the street. The pair had discussed their plan briefly, both being able to anticipate the rest.

They had looked at a map of London, marking the sightings on it as they were recorded. They had all been sort of random, but _the revenant_ was, as guessed, wandering. After all, even if it did have Jim Macken's knowledge of the area, it had only the " _original_ " Jim Macken's knowledge of the area which was completely outdated.

Phantomhive and Hellsing anticipated that the revenant would try to make it's way to Trancy manor. Ciel assumed that if he were the previous Jim Macken, he would start by going home. After all, it was the first logic choice, wasn't it? Hellsing, however, thought that it may try to make it's way to Phantomhive manor, and oddly, Ciel _agreed_. If it did, however, there was no doubt in his mind that Sebastian would be able to handle it. Regardless, H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. operatives patroled the area, just to make sure. They were ordered not to kill the target, but to capture it, since it contained parts of Alois' soul. For this mission, they were to use ordinary bullets, rather than anti-freak technology as a result. They were to start from the road and fan out in search of the revenant. While ordinary operatives did this, Phantomhive and Hellsing went straight to Trancy Manor.

As always, the building was a run-down mess, riddled with debris and decay; graffiti and ruin. Parts of the building were demolished to make way for surrounding construction, but the main parts of the building and the fence around the front were reasonably intact. The gate, however, was broken beyond belief, the hinges broken by vandals trying to get inside. It's entire structure was depressing. Ciel could only imagine what an Alois without the slightest idea of what year it was or what was happening would react to it. It hurt his heart to think about it.

 _No_. Integra said revenant's were " _intelligent_ ", but surely they're not _that_ intelligent. They're still _just_ reanimated corpses, correct? Ah, but also according to Sir Integra, they maintain a remarkably _human_ appearance. That meant that this... _thing_ would _look_ like _Alois._ What would he do when and if he faced such a thing? He would certainly have to shove his feelings to the side once more and complete the mission for the sake of the one he cared about. Could he really do that, though? Fight for someone while at the same time ignoring his feelings for them for a moment? _Surely he could._

But yet, when he thought about Alois, he simply didn't know anymore. The blonde's face, his eyes, his hair... he loved every bit of it. This was the blonde's original body, he was up against. That was his original body, with his original hair, and original skin. While it should be simple, somehow, it didn't feel that way. If he harmed the revenant, he harmed the original Alois, the source of all of the blonde's insecurities and essence. That was where it all began. It was the same house, and the same head under it's roof. It was silly, trivial, and didn't make much sense, yet it still somehow mattered to Ciel. The bluenette almost couldn't believe just how _irrational_ the blonde made him, sometimes.

Seras lulled the car to a halt on the inside of the manor gates, and the crew exited. Another care with a few soldiers on stand-by in case they needed to actually apprehend the revenant followed suit, following the trio inside the rundown building. Integra wrinkled her nose at the dusty, rotting interior, a gesture that prompted the bluenette to roll his eye. The woman was tough as nails, and was no stranger to the gore that combat inflicted, but there were apparently still odd little things that could trip her sensibilities.

 _"Can either of you sense anything further inside?"_ she asked herimmortal associates, placing her hands in her pockets. Ciel and Seras nodded at each other briefly before making their attempt, using their minds eye to sense blood, a pulse, heat, or in Ciel's case, a _soul._

No heat, no pulse, but there was something indeed _moving_ inside along with a soul. Ciel knew that signature anywhere. That's was Alois' soul in there. The bluenette grit his teeth and clenched his fists, his brow furrowed.

" _He's inside."_ he said finally.

" _Somewhere on the first floor."_ added Seras, prompting Integra to nod.

 _"Let's step lightly."_ the Hellsing woman ordered. "No unnecessary roughness. We don't want to spook it or risk the floor falling out from under us." She walked onward, leading her vampiric associate and her men further inside. Ciel, however, remained behind.

" _There's something I want to check out upstairs, first_." he said. "I don't know when the next time I'll have the chance will be."

 _"Please yourself."_ Integra replied. " _We can handle this ourselves."_

Ciel watched after the H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. crew for a moment longer, waiting until they were out of sight. Once so, he hurriedly dashed upstairs, his superior grace and balance hardly disrupting the rotting floorboards in the process. He had only told Integra the half-truth, and part of him wondered if she knew. If she did, though, why keep up an act?

Regardless, the Phantomhive boy did indeed sense something in front of them, but it was also above them. The senses of Seras Victoria are especially keen on picking up heat or a pulse, both of which were absent. While she did sense movement, in front of them, she missed the "above" part. Ciel, however, could sense the soul itself, and was thus on his own, just the way he liked it.

His pace slowed as he got closer. Like Integra had said, he didn't want to spook the revenant and risk it getting away. The bluenette's feet didn't make a single sound, and his breath stopped completely. His heart-rate, however, quickened exponentially as he approached, partially due to the sounds he was hearing. They caused his heart to drop.

 _Sobbing._ The only sound that he heard was the sound of sobbing. Or, to be more accurate, _Alois'_ sobbing. Instinctively, the bluenette walked briskly toward it's source. While he knew in the back of his mind that this was indeed not his blonde beau, he couldn't help himself. He hated that sound. He wanted it to stop. It needed to stop. He _needed_ it to.

At last, he stopped in front of the master bedroom where the crying was loudest, interrupted by sniffles and coughs. The door was open just a crack and he could see sunlight pouring into the room. Alois' soul signature was strongest behind this very door, and he wanted to make that heartbreaking crying to stop, but _what would Ciel do once he opened it?_

What if he lost his reasoning and did something stupid? What if he needed to fight the creature? What if the revenant did in fact have an exceptional amount of intelligence, and he needed to reason with it in order to return the blonde' s soul? Worse, _what if he broke down at the sight of the blonde menace's doppelganger?_

 _"Who's there?"_ a cracked voice asked, causing the bluenette's eye to widen, and his blood run cold. It was _Alois'_ voice. " _Sh-show yourself!"_

Quietly, hesitantly, Ciel gently nudged the door open, and stepped inside. It took everything he had not to completely lose his composure. There, he saw the unmistakeable visage of Jim Macken, hugging his knees close to his chest with his back pressed against the wall. That distinguishable face of his had tears streaming down it's cheeks, the area around the boy's eyes red and puffy. Ah, but this wasn't Alois, and the eyes gave it away. The revenant now had both eyes, black where white should have been with icy blue iris' in their center. Alois didn't have eyes like that. Ciel knew it. Even still, it was a difficult sight to take in.

Both boys stared at each other in utter shock and disbelief for what seemed like ages, taken in their unusual forms. Ciel was dressed in more modern attire, and took on the appearance of an older teen, while the revenant was dressed in repaired Victorian-era funeral clothes, with the face and body of a fourteen-year-old boy. Yes, it was quite shocking to both of them, seeing their old enemy in a different light. To Ciel, he was seeing Jim much younger again, while the revenant was accustomed to the blonde's previous memories, and was completely baffled by the bluenette's older appearance and old get-up. It was deathly quiet for ages, neither boy quite knowing what to say. Still, something needed to be done, so it was Ciel who spoke with duty.

" _Jim Macken..."_ he said, the words causing the revenant to jump in surprise. " _It's been awhile, hasn't it?"_

 _"Ciel... Phantomhive?"_ the blonde said in astonishment, the words escaping his lips in a whisper. "What... _what?_ What _happened? You're so... Everything's so..."_

"... _Different?"_ the bluenette said, finishing for his old adversary. " _Time changes things."_ He walked over to the other boy, crouching in front of him.

" _Welcome to the future."_ he added. "You _won."_

 


	313. Just One Thing After Another

_"Welcome to the future."_ Ciel said. " _You won."_

Silence ensued as the revenant stared at the older-looking boy in confusion, and shear astonishment at the concept that had just been introduced to him. "The future"? _Just how much time had passed?_ Surely it was quite a bit, judging by the utter ruin and disarray of the manor along the strange atmosphere everywhere else. But, there was something else that bothered him about that statement.

"What do you mean... I ' _won'?"_ the revenant asked, not dropping his gaurd around his old enemy for even a second.

"I mean, _you got your wish."_ the blunette explained. " _Sebastian never got my soul,_ and is now forced to serve me for _eternity."_ His eye flashed red momentarily, causing that blonde to jump, and scoot back toward the wall in fright, pressing his back against it as hard as he could. What was that? What did it mean? Was Ciel Phantomhive really now a... a...

 _"Calm down."_ the demon said. "I have no quarrels with you. In fact, I'm _grateful_. I've never been _happier_ , and it's all because of _you."_

He smiled softly, masking his inner turmoil over the situation. This "Alois" was now as much "Alois" as the real thing. What was he going to do with it? He still needed _his_ Alois back. The revenant furrowed it's brow as it analyzed the bluenette's face, sensing deception.

"You're _not Ciel Phantomhive_..." it said.

"What makes you say that?"

"Ciel Phantomhive _never_ smiles. He's _cruel._ He'd _never_ speak in such a manner..." it replied.

Those words cut the bluenette deeper than any knife could. Had he really been so awful? He already knew the answer. He shook his head, trying to keep in mind that this was in fact _not_ Alois, but a reanimated corpse acting on Alois' memory.

"Like I said, time changes things." the demon repeated. "It's been over one-hundred years since then..."

" _One-hundred years?!"_ the revenant interrupted. "What year _is_ it?!"

 _"2014?"_ the bluenette answered, arching an eyebrow as the corpse quickly got up and looked outside, looking out at the busy street with it's cars, and people on Boris-bikes that were absent during the night.

It started shaking, trying to take it all in. Ciel remembered the culture shock Alois went through four years ago. Even though he and Sebastian added things only gradually, it took a long time before the lad could get over it.

"I know it's all quite a shock..." the Phantomhive lad began. "Just try to stay calm. We'll help you through this-"

He was interrupted when the blonde dashed away from the window, scurrying right past him, out the door, and into the hallway. His feet pounded against the creaking and groaning hard floors of the manor, as he tried to escape. The revenant wasn't sure how, but he knew he just needed to get away, somehow. This was the exact reason why Ciel originally was gradual in his introduction of the blonde menace to the modern world, initially, but it didn't matter now. He had to go after the creature and catch him before Integra did. Goodness knows what would happen to it if she did.

Effortlessly, the Phantomhive followed, seeing as though the revenant could only run at above-average human speeds. He didn't want to be too rough in his aprehension, seeing as though it was the blonde menace, in a way. Thus, for now, he followed, allowing the blonde space. That is, until, the predictable happened.

 _"Augh!"_ the creature yelped as the floor gave way underneath him.

In that moment, Ciel ceased his doddling and moved to help the poor thing, grabbing the blonde's arm before it could fall from the raised ceiling unto the first floor. The revenant looked up at the bluenette, shocked not only at what had just happened, but also at the the fact that the other lad had caught him. Snapping him from his daze, the bluenette reached down with his free arm and gripped the blonde's jacket as he attempted to hoist the other boy up. Why would he do that? There was no mistake in the revenant's mind. This was definitely _not_ Ciel Phantomhive.

 _"I heard something over here!"_ called a man's voice below them. The blonde looked down as lights filtered into the dark room, attached to strange, rifle-like weapons. A group of people filed into the room just as the blonde was pulled back up to the second floor. Both lads looked down into the hole below, watching them briefly, and steping back when the soldiers shined their lights on the hole from below, examining that.

" _Who're they?!"_ the blonde demanded in a panicked whisper.

" _Coworkers_." the bluenette answered. "You needn't worry about them _. They're with me."_

"That's _precisely_ why I should worry..." the younger-looking lad retorted.

"Well, if that's how you feel, _I could've let you fall_." Ciel said. He then looked back down at the hole in the floor.

" _Hellsing!"_ he loudly called, gaining the attention of the crew below. "I found the target. I'll meet you back in the foyer."

" _Roger that, Sir_." the crew answered, the sounds of boots hitting the floorboards following suit. They faded away, indicating that they understood. With that, the bluenette began to move as well, walking onward.

" _Come on."_ he said to the revenant. "We've got things to do." The blonde looked after him for a moment, completely dumbfounded. That passed however, as the blonde shook his head.

"Wait, wait, _wait,_ what do you mean you found the _'target'?!"_ he asked. "Why am I a _'target'?!"_

"H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. specializes on the apprehension or extermination of supernatural phenomena." the bluentte replied. "This is an _'apprehension'_ mission. _They notice when things crawl out of graves_."

"Then what?" demanded the blonde. _"What happens to me after that?"_

"We find a _use_ for you." Ciel said. "They did the same thing with _me_." He stopped, turning to look back at the other boy.

 _"Trust me."_ he said. "I have no reason or _desire_ to hurt you."

"I can't believe that." the revenant replied _. "Not yet."_

 _"Understandable."_ Ciel answered, even though it hurt him far greater to hear words like those from that face in that voice than he anticipated. "Still, coming with me now is far better than the alternatives. I could either take you by _force,_ or, _those troops_ we saw down there might come after you. _Your choice_." The blonde grumbled, and moved his legs forward toward an uncertain future, much to the relief of the bluenette.

It was hard to keep this act up. Ciel wanted nothing more than to hold the other boy and tell him that everything would be alright and that he loved him, however, with the revenant's memories, and the fact that it wasn't _really_ "his" Alois, that probably wouldn't go over too well. Thus he continued his facade, ignoring the reason why he came there for a moment in order to reassess and plan around this setback. He was afraid of the consequences of simply taking the blonde's soul back in case it might be damaged, and he didn't want to frighten "Alois"; he didn't think he had it in him. Gods, he was so weak when it came to the blonde...

Simply allowing the revenant to stay wasn't an option either. If it did, "his" Alois would be gone, and in it's place, a _copycat_ using the body and soul of his beloved as a _puppet_. That was unacceptable. He would _never_ accept that turn of events.

The revenant followed behind the bluenette several paces, pondering the boy ever so curiously as he tried to mentally sort out his predicament. Honestly and truly, the revenant believed it was "Jim Macken" right after the boy died, therefore it was only capable of comprehending things that Jim Macken could when he was fourteen years old. The Ciel he was aware of was not like this, and H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G didn't exist, so it was a lot to accept. Not only that, he was experiencing some severe culture-shock from jumping time-periods so quickly.

His guard was constantly up, and the hair on the back of his neck stood on end as they walked down the stairs into the main entryway. He was shaking as he and his old rival neared a group of armed soldiers with two odd women standing out among them. The revenant correctly assumed that the serious-looking one was the leader of the posse, while the blonde, sort of ditzy-looking woman was the assistant of the first.

" _So my hunch was correct."_ the scary-looking woman said suddenly. "You _were_ going after the revenant. I assume you have a reason for withholding information that could have aided in our search?"

"Forgive me _, I was afraid of what might happen if you scared him_." the bluenette replied flatly, the implication of incompetence in her staff, and in herself made the woman noticeably displeased.

"Judging by the fact that you got it to _willingly followed_ you, it's safe to assume that it has a greater amount of intelligence than originally anticipated?" she asked.

_"Correct."_

"Wait, wait, _wait!_ What's going on?!" the creature behind the bluenette angrily asked. "What do you mean _'greater intellegence than anticipated'?!"_

The blonde's sudden outburst startled the soldiers, causing them to raise their guns, aiming them directly at him. The revenant jumped, placing it's arms in front of itself, making an instinctive barrier between it and the guns' barrels, clenching it's teeth, squeezing it's eyes tightly shut and bracing for impact. It never came. After a few seconds, the blonde forced an eye open, only to see Ciel standing between him and the soldiers. The men and women in the Hellsing crew lowered their weapons.

 _"Calm down_. He's harmless, mostly." the bluenette said.

"Can you guarantee that?" asked Sir Integra.

"No, that's why I said _'mostly'."_ Ciel answered. "Would you be so kind as to not damage him? I still need him for my own _'nefarious purposes'_ , if you recall..." The revenant looked at him with a confused, yet scarred expresion while Integra huffed.

" _Very well."_ the woman said. "As long as he's on his best behaviour, there will be no _need_ to do so. Still, as a precaution, we're going to need to _restrain_ him." she added, gesturing over to a soldier. Ciel moved out of the way so the man could put handcuffs on the revenant, looking on with concerned eyes the entire time.

As soon as the blonde's wrist was grabbed, however, his nerves got the better of him, and he unintentionally tried to jerk his hand away. This of course only made the soldier grip harder as he tried to get the boy to be still, only frightening the creature even further as a result. It grasped at the soldier's hand with it's own free one, trying to pry it off.

" _Watch out for it's teeth, Bryant!"_ called another soldier in the group, readying his weapon with the others.

"I'm _trying!"_ shouted the first, trying to wrestle with the creature. For being dead, it put up quite the fight. "Come on, kid, just relax, will ya?!"

"I _would,_ if you'd _get off me!"_ the blonde retorted, still trying to wiggling away. He kicked the man's shins before bringing his head down and nipping at the man, who reflexively dodged it, fearing some sort of infection. He was a professional, after all.

Even still, the soldiers were rearing to fight, becoming more on edge about the fact that they were under orders not to shoot. They were aimed, with their fingers on the trigger. Ciel looked on becoming more anxious by the second. Quickly he looked to the Hellsing woman, a pleading look in his eye.

 _"Integra! Do something!"_ he called, trying to convince the woman to do something, anything, to control her men.

Integra glanced over at the others, before walking over to the tussling pair herself, looking on as the boy viciously did everything in his power to get away. She put a hand in her coat. The moment the boy bared his teeth again, she pulled out her pistol, _raising the butt into the air before quickly bringing it down smack dab over the revenant's blonde head._

His legs fell out from underneath him. The world went black.

Suddenly, he awoke with a jolt, finding himself in a different location, now. He immediately clenched his eyes shut again, as he was surrounded by blinding light. After registering that he was still in a sense, "alive", the revenant processed that he was lying on his back. Something, however, was off. He tried to raise a hand to his face to rub his eyes, but discovered that he couldn't.

Black eyes snapped open, and looked down to discover that their owner was restrained. Quickly, the revenant moved Alois' head, and waited for his eyes to focus, discovering that he wasn't surrounded by light, but in a plain white room, with various medical charts decorating the walls. The light came from above him. He continued to examined the room, all while tugging at the leather straps that bound him to the table, only to discover that he wasn't alone in the room.

An old woman was there, seated in the corner, at a desk, looking over some notes and files and things. She was a kindly-looking lady, but her white doctor's coat made the blonde nervous. Soon, the woman nudged her glasses back onto the crook of her nose, and looked over at the boy. She smiled warmly before opening her mouth to speak.

"Ah, I see you're awake!" she stated, turning in her seat to she could properly face the creature. "I'm really sorry to have to leave you tied up, but security protocol must be met, you know? How are you feeling?"

"Horrible." the blonde stated. "What happened."

"Oh! Right. How silly of me. You've been taken into the custody of _Her Royal England Legions of Legitimate Supernatural and Immortal Night Guard_ , or, _'H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G.',_ for short." the woman politely replied.

"We're an organization run by the Hellsing family, specializing in supernatural apprehension, extermination, and research. We also keep the general public unaware of the supernatural, as well, of course." she added. "You needn't worry, though. _You aren't here for any of those things_ , really. Oh! _My name is Doctor Ackerman_ , by the way. Sorry, I almost forgot! My memory isn't what it used to be..."

"If that is the case, then why _am_ I here, and why am I _tied up?"_ the blonde asked, jerking his arm in an effort to free himself.

"Ah, well, you're here primarily because of one of our _special operatives_." Doctor Ackerman answered.

"Let me guess, Ciel Phantomhive?"

 _"No_. Well, yes _and_ no." the doctor explained. "While it's true that the operative associates closely with Sir Phantomhive, Phantomhive only assisted, and holds interest in, your capture. Our primary focus is the retrieval of his assistant, agent _Jim Macken_."

The revenant's eyes widened. His stomach dropped. Anger boiled up inside of him at the casual utterance of _that_ name. That name was never to be used. He furrowed his brow and wrinkled his nose.

" _I don't go by that name anymore_. Don't ever call me that!" he snapped. "I'm _Alois Trancy!_ And I _don't_ recall _ever_ being his _'assistant'_."

"That's because _you_ never _were_." the woman said, her face shifting to pleasant to kind of concerned. "I'm not sure how to break this to you gently, _'Mister Trancy',_ but... _you're not really who you think you are..."_ The creature's face was confused.

"What do you mean?" it asked.

"You're not really either 'Jim Macken' _or_ 'Alois Trancy'." Doctor Ackerman said. "You are what's known as a 'revenant', a spirit that possess the bodies of the dead, and channel's that person's spirit in an effort to get revenge. I'm not sure how to tell you any other way, really-"

" _Don't joke with me!"_ the revenant interrupted, baring his teeth and flaring his nostrils. "You expect me to believe some _half-baked story_ like _that!?_ Just what kind of idiot do you take me for?"

"I know it's a lot to take in, and does sound completely illogical." the woman said calmly. "But that's how it is. You can believe as you please. If I can't convince you, I can't convince you."

"Good, 'cause you can't!" the boy shouted, watching the woman as she calmly stood up and walked toward the door. "Hey! _Where're you off to!?"_ He immediately shut his mouth when she let in two other women, both dressed in uniforms.

One was a tall young woman in a red uniform similar to that of the assistant of the frightening woman he had met earlier. She had black hair pulled back in a ponytail that rested on her shoulder, crimson eyes, and freckles spotting her cheeks. She was accompanied by a smaller girl of a strange sort, with long, silver hair, blue eyes, wearing a uniform like the men from earlier that obviously didn't fit her. The second girl looked excited to see him, for some reason.

"'Mister Trancy', these two are friends of Agent Macken. This is Charlotte Bellamy, and this is Amelie Garou." the doctor said, gesturing to the tall one and then the smaller one in that order. They'll show you to your room. _You'll find copies of the information that will explain the current situation to you there."_

" _Blondie!"_ the shorter girl shouted, running over to the blonde. The revenant struggled to free himself once more, but failed.

" _Amelie!_ That's not him!" called the taller one, grabbing the other girl's shoulders. "He doesn't know who we are yet... _We haven't met..."_

The shorter girl, apparently known as "Amelie" looked back to her coworker, then to the blonde, then back to her coworker, and back to the blonde again. She furrowed her brow, causing the boy to flinch. Then, she opened her mouth and spoke.

" _CHARLOTTE IS MY WIFE!"_ she declared, causing the taller girl to blush.

" _Amelie!"_ the girl warned. Before the situation could get any more ridiculous, Doctor Ackerman intervened.

"Yes, _yes_ , now that you're all introduced, would you two _be so kind?"_ the woman asked, referring to the boy's living arrangements. With a salute from the two of them, they bend down and unbolted the table from the floor, and carried it outside the room before putting it on a cart and wheeling him away.

The two odd women didn't say another word, as the boy turned his head, examining his surroundings with both curiosity and a little bit of paranoia. After a turn this way and then that, and out this door and through another, they were out of the laboratory, or doctor's office-type space and into what appeared to be a mansion. It _looked_ like a mansion, but was absolutely _massive_ , far greater than either the Trancy's, or Phantomhive families' houses. This was most likely because it seemed to double as the organization's facilities, but still, it was extremely intimidating. There were times while he lived in the Trancy house, that it felt way too large to even be a real building, so this... this was new.

The Trancy manor... it was destroyed wasn't it? Never mind that; according to that doctor-woman, he wasn't even who he thought he was. That was _impossible!_ Wasn't it? Then again, nothing that had happened over the course of the past few days seemed to seem "real", either. Seeing the Phantomhive lad again, and seeing him act so peculiarly was "impossible" too, wasn't it? It really made the blonde question things.

What if that doctor was telling the truth, and there really was an "agent Macken" who was the "real him"? If that was the case, then who was he really? He still felt like "Alois Trancy". He still looked like "Alois Trancy". But, what if the possibility exists that he was wrong, or were these crazy people just trying to brainwash him into thinking he was? That woman said that there were copies of the files that would answer all of this, but then what? If they were telling the truth, he'd like to see this "agent Macken". Yet, part of him also didn't want to. If he wasn't "Alois Trancy" _or_ "Jim Macken", the who exactly _was_ he?

Soon the large mansion-like area was gone, and the women carted him down into a lower section of the base, one that resembled a dungeon. Now he was really scared. He had to forget about his identity for a moment to wonder what was going to happen to him. Was he going to _survive?_

The revenant was wheeled into a large room, that appeared to have a closet and a bathroom attached to it. It was nice, but there were no windows, and there was hardly anything in it. There was a table, a chair, a dresser with a mirror, and a bed, but that was all. The blonde looked over at the table and saw the files that the doctor was talking about. It was quite the bundle, but surely he had time to look it over. After all, there wasn't anything _else_ for him to do, here. Charlotte and Amelie unfastened his restraints, and helped him up, smiling at him in a friendly sort of manner.

 _"Sorry they were so tight_. We didn't fasten them. Some of the soldiers can be awful, but most of them are alright." the tall girl, known as "Charlotte" said. She was very polite, not at all like he expected a soldier to be. "We're going to be the ones guarding the room, so you shouldn't have to deal with any, any time soon. We can't let you out just yet until we're ordered to, but if you need anything, just give us a shout, yeah?"

 _"Alright..?"_ the blonde answered, rubbing his chaffed wrists.

"One of us will be right outside that door." the female continued. As she spoke, the blonde noticed that she had some oddly long canines, but he disregarded it. "I'll be guarding you during the night, and Amelie, here, will guard you during the day. Any questions?"

"Yeah... this 'Agent Macken' guy..." the revenant began. "Is he _actually_ a person?"

 _"Oui!"_ the shorter girl answered. " _Blondie is Satan's wife!"_

"Okay, _that's enough out of you!"_ the taller girl said, putting a hand over her coworker's mouth. She looked back up at the blonde. "Sorry, she's a bit _'odd'..._ Again, if you need anything, just say so"

 _"Onward, my trusty steed!"_ the other girl shouted, breaking free and climbing on top of the cart.

"No, you need to take the cart back on your own. It's night time, so it's my watch..." Charlotte said.

" _Feh!"_ The silver-haired girl hopped back down and walked behind the cart, placing her hands on the side and beginning to push it out the door. " _Vous êtes pas drôle..."_

 _"Whatever, Amelie..."_ the other replied with a sigh, following behind. She turned and wished the blonde a "goodnight" before closing the door and locking it from the outside. Something told the boy, however, that it would be anything but, especially those files.

He was wide awake, and unable to think about anything else. Too many questions with no answers to be found on his own, therefore as soon as the two strange girls left him alone, he pulled out the chair and sat down at the table. Upon first glance, it didn't seem like much, but when he read the documents inside, he was given a riveting tale.

It told of how Jim Macken came back from the dead and became Ciel's assistant in the field, of how they solved mysteries and murders together, and of Warwick Academy and all the friends they had made there. He read about how Ciel supposedly did it all, how he brought him back, and how he helped him grow accustomed to the modern world. It told of the various things that Jim Macken could do, about his health and abilities, and about how he wasn't faring so well as of late. It told of the theory as to _why_ as well.

That was where the blonde _lost_ it. That's when he found out what he was. It was just as the woman said. He was a reanimated corpse of a boy who had moved on and lived happily, and he was stuck in that lad's past. How could he take that? How could he react? It was all just so much. It was so much to think about, that he couldn't stand it.

The revenant stood up, knocking the chair backwards and onto the floor in the process, slamming his hands down on the table. He grit and bared his teeth, and flared his nostrils as his nails dug into the table's wooden surface. Sweat collected at his brow, even though his skin was cold. How did he react? What did he do? The answer is obvious.

_He went mad._

He picked up the folder and threw it across the room in a fit, causing papers to scatter and float in the air briefly before landing in the floor. His fists made contact with the table a few times before he but his hands underneath it and flipped it over. Enraged, the revenant kicked it a few times before turning around and picking up the toppled over chair, only to raise it over his head and bring it crashing down on top of the table, completely shattering the seat in his hands, leaving him with only legs in his grip. He then threw those, too, shouting the entire while.

The poor revenant. It was so confused, upset, and angry, and it simply didn't know what to do with it all. It tugged at the blonde locks atop it's head, becoming angry with them, as well. This blonde hair wasn't his. It was someone elses'. The hands he yanked at it weren't his, either, nor were the eyes that could see it. He hated it. _All of it._ It's hatred was so great, that it felt the need to _get rid of it._

Picking up one of the legs of the chair, the revenant swung it's arm, hitting the wooden object against the stone wall, shattering it, and creating a point. Satisfied with this, it firmly grasped the object, and aimed it directly at the blonde's heart. Summoning all of it's strength into his arm, the revenant prepared to strike, yet when the time came _, the arm wouldn't move._

" _What the hell...?"_ it said aloud, it's face contorted in pain. " _It's not mine..._ This body _isn't mine_... _What do I care if something happens to it?"_ The revenent ground it's teeth and prepared to strike again. This time... This time, for sure...

 _No_. Instead of striking the blonde's heart, the revenant threw the object across the room. For some reason, it was out of breath, and out of strength, and it's knees buckled beneath him, sending him to the floor. The blonde sat on his legs and stared down at the littered floor, staring at those hands that he somehow controlled. Tears streamed down his cheeks as he simply didn't know what to do. The revenant closed it's black eyes, and sat there, sobbing uncontrollably.

It didn't know how long it stayed like that. It didn't know how it still had tears left from earlier that week. It completely was lost in a world where it didn't belong. _It should've just died._

The revenant opened it's eyes again, trying to see through tears, and spotted a piece of paper that looked more colourful than the rest. Wiping his nose with his sleeve, the blonde picked it up and examined it, immediately fascinated by what it saw. _Photography sure had improved over the past hundred years, hadn't it?_ The scene looked as though you could reach into the page and touch it.

It was a picture of him, Ciel, Sebastian, and a few other boys at a beach. They looked as though they were having a great time. Somehow, seeing it made him feel better, and looking around, he saw more pages like this one on the floor, too.

One by one, he picked them up and looked at them. There was one of what looked like Ciel, Sebastian, and he in front of a Christmas tree, and another of them next to what looked like a statue of a giant green woman. There were more, still, and picking one up, he saw one of Ciel, _smiling,_ of all things, and of Luka, Jim's brother, happy and well. The image melted his heart, and caused tears of joy to spring forth. These were images of Jim Macken and his friends. He was _happy._

"How did you do that?" the revenant asked out loud in a hushed tone. "How, after everything that happened, are you _happy?"_ The revenant coughed, as his throat became tight again, and he began to cry with sadness.

 _"I don't want to die..."_ it whimpered, hugging itself and falling over to lay on it's side in a fetal position.

It cried, and cried, and cried some more. After a while, the revenant felt as though it had no tears left, and he began to calm down. While it knew it wasn't "Alois Trancy", it still _felt_ like it, somewhat. _The line between the spirit's own soul and Alois' was very foggy_. It thought for a while, and thought some more, until it saw another coloured paper in the corner of it's eye. Hesitantly, it reached over and picked it up, before holding it in front of it's face and looking at it. Then, the blonde immediately bolted up.

 _"What the..?"_ it muttered, staring at the image, and becoming more and more confused by the second.

Suddenly, the creature began to scramble, digging through papers with the image still in hand. It looked at page after page, hoping to find something to explain it, but it took a while. Somehow, by some miracle, it found what it was looking for, and read the paper over thoroughly. It then read it again, and again, and again.

 _"Wait a minute..."_ it said, looking at the photo again. It stared for the longest time, trying to comprehend all of this. The blonde had learned many shocking things that day, but he really wasn't sure at all how to take this.

_"Ciel... and I... are..._ _**homosexuals?!"** _

 


	314. Accomodations of Living

"You didn't have to hit him like that." spoke a certain bluenette, crossing his arms as he sat across from his arch-rival, Sir Integra Hellsing.

The two family heads were seated in the woman's office, discussing the current situation with the reanimated corpse currently dwelling in the manor's basement. As much as the Phantomhive lad loathed being in contact with Integra, the well-being of the blonde menace demanded it, therefore he was more than willing to comply, no matter what blows to his ego he may receive. Surely it was all worth it in the end. A few hours with Integra to prevent spending an eternity without his blonde menace was a more than fair price to pay. As such, he was on his best behaviour, a fact that amused the woman greatly.

"It was the fastest and easiest way to end the conflict." Sir Hellsing answered, lighting a cigar. "I wouldn't have done it, if it could damage what you're looking for." Ciel shifted in his seat, slightly, replaying the scene in his mind and deepening his frown.

"Don't forget that that thing is an imposter, Ciel." she added before taking a puff of her cigar and shooting the lad a haughty smile. "You shouldn't let your emotions get in the way of business." She chuckled at the annoyed expression that washed over the boy's face.

"My business here is specifically because of my emotions." Ciel said. "At least I have them, unlike some people."

"You seem to be under the impression that I don't." the woman replied. "I could have just eliminated the target instead of going through all of this trouble-..."

"Only because you profit from it." the bluenette interrupted. "The more supernatural guinea pigs, the better, yes? The more you have under control, the easier it is to clean up the rest?" Integra's smile faded.

"True, but there's actually more to it." she said, putting out her cigar. She didn't need nicotine in order to say what she needed to.

"While it is more profitable to have more supernatural agents, it is also more profitable to have compliant agents who also have a strong sense of morality." she continued. The woman leaned forward in her chair, placing her elbows on the desk in front of her and folding her hands. "Individually, neither of you have either of those aspects. Together, however..." She paused, taking a moment to read the expression on the bluenette's face.

"...You become nearly ideal agents." she concluded, leaning back in her chair again. "When you're together, you express a sense of humanity that was previously absent. We don't need mindless monsters running about killing things indiscriminately."

"What about Alucard?" the bluenette asked, bringing up the organization's trump card.

"Alucard is a last resort." the woman argued. "Besides, he's gone now. The point remains." Ciel scoffed.

"You're a mess of contradictions, you know that?" the bluenette said, furrowing his brow and standing from his own seat. "You and your organization, both. I don't want a lesson on morality, I want Jim back."

"I know, which is why I'm allowing you to continue being a part of this." the woman said, reaching into a box of Hendi Winzermans and placing the cigar in between her fingers. "You love him, don't you?"

"Yes..." the bluenette answered, clenching his fist. With a flick of a lighter, the woman in front of him took a puff of her cigar before speaking.

"Then that's good enough reason for me to allow it." she said simply. "I don't always have to have an ulterior motive, Ciel." The bluenette looked up at the woman, a defiant look in his eye.

"Is that really why you're doing this? Out of whimsy?" he asked, frown prominent on his face, which only worsened when the woman chuckled.

"I'm a human being, Ciel. That's why." she said. "That's what humans do. Only a monster wouldn't aid someone in saving the one they love if it's within their power." Integra narrowed her own eye at the boy, blue against blue.

"I'm no monster, Ciel. I'm a human being; don't you ever forget it." she warned, her tone grave. It made the Phantomhive boy shudder, and his mind start reeling, yet, as with many other times with the woman he simply couldn't find any words to reply with.

Fortunately, he was saved when the draculina Seras Victoria peeked through the door. The lad tried not to show any signs of relief in that moment. Hopefully Seras had something to change the subject with, as much as he hated losing an argument with the Hellsing woman. Seras smiled and stepped into the room, a little bounce in her step as she did, before opening her mouth to addressing the two aristocrats.

"Master, Jim Macken is here. Do you want me to bring him in?" she asked, causing the bluenette's eye to widen, before he turned to face Sir Integra.

"No need. Just take Ciel to him. I think it's best if they have a moment alone together." answered Hellsing head. Ciel furrowed his brow.

"What is the meaning of this?" he demanded. His rival smoked her cigar with disinterest, and spoke accordingly.

"I thought it best if our staff monitored Mister Macken until he's fully recovered." she answered flatly.

"And you didn't ask me first because...?"

"I knew you would say 'no'." Integra said. "Mister Macken is his own person, and can make his own decisions. He could have declined." she added.

As much as the bluenette hated to admit, she was right. He was a bit controlling of the blonde at times, a fact that the other boy would get upset about on occasion. Alois didn't like it when Ciel hovered over him on missions, or said that he couldn't participate at all, even if he did so with good intentions. Even if he was worried about the lad, he understood that people required freedom to move about, so he was trying his best to mentally allow it.

Even if he wanted to do everything in his power to comfort the boy, he had to accept that simply babying him wasn't going to be enough, at times. Alois is his boyfriend, not his child, so as much as it pained him to relinquish him over to the hands of H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. temporarily, he had to accept that being there at every moment was impossible, no matter how much it made him anxious. Yes, the thought of Alois staying at the Hellsing Manor alone for even a single night made Ciel nervous.

It was understandable, as he, himself, was most comfortable with the blonde at his side. The blonde was always there for him when he felt weak, and was there to tell him that it was actually okay to feel weak sometimes. Alois was just as much "security" for him, as he was for Alois. He felt vulnerable just knowing that the blonde wouldn't be by his side, and he didn't like it.

"If you wish, it would be no trouble to prepare a room for you to stay with him, Phantomhive." Sir Integra said, snapping the boy back to attention and going back to a last-name basis.

"Show me to him, Seras." Ciel said, ignoring the woman's offer and walking toward the draculina next to the door. He did his best not to acknowledge the Hellsing's chuckling at him on his way out.

Miss Victoria escorted him downstairs, and through the many labyrinth-like hallways of the manor and out of the Hellsing family's private residential area, and into the actual base. As per usual, soldiers in uniform and other sorts of workers walked about doing as they were supposed to, aside for a few personnel on break. Some wore uniforms, and others wore ties with I.D. cards pined to their dress-shirts; these of course weren't the members who worked in the field, but did desk-work instead. Still important members, nonetheless.

Seras waved at a few of the personnel on their way to the medical wing. Supernatural members of the staff were apparently treated more kindly than they used to be. After the manor was attacked in 1999, the establishment nearly had to be completely restaffed, other than the remaining members of the former mercenary group "The Wild Geese". Seras was close to the group when they were first employed by H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G., and became even more respected after the attack on the base. Whenever a new member of staff was unhappy about working with a vampire, they had to answer to the remaining Geese. Eventually, that built up an overall tolerance within the complex.

It amazed Ciel. 2014 was an odd time, indeed, as people grew more tolerant, overall. He felt odd in the H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. base, since all of them knew of his mystical persuasion, and treated him exactly like anyone else who was above them in rank. He felt odd about it. He was used to ignorant fear, and almost didn't know what to do. He didn't like the Hellsing estate. It was like some strange, alternate reality where he was a completely "normal" person, and he didn't know what to do with that.

The pair arrived in front of a private room in the medical wing, where Alois was supposedly held. Ciel thanked the draculina for her services, dismissing her before he knocked on the door. A small "it's open" was heard on the other side, giving the boy permission to step inside.

When he did, he saw the blonde menace unpacking a suitcase and putting it's contents inside a nearby dresser. The image made the bluenette sad, as much as he would deny it. It took a moment or so for the blonde to realise who had entered, as his senses weren't as sharp, but eventually it registered. Once it dawned on him, the blonde turned around to face the bluenette with a big grin.

The true blonde menace was looking better than when Ciel last saw him, much to his relief. There were still dark circles around the other boy's eyes, and he was still a bit more pale than usual, but he seemed to have recovered a bit. Altogether the blonde threw down the pair of pants in his hands and scurried over to his bluenette beau, wrapping his arms around the boy's waist as greeting.

"Ciel!" he said, squeezing the Phantomhive tightly while the bluenette did the same to him with a small grunt. It was good to see the blonde acting a bit more like himself again. "I haven't seen you all day! Hear you've been chasing zombies."

"A 'revenant', actually." Ciel replied, unable to withhold a smile. "So I take it you've missed me?"

"Of course! I was worried, too!" the blonde answered. "You up and disappeared, and I was worried you'd do something weird. Even worse, I didn't get my 'good-morning kiss' from you today!" With a roll of his eyes, the bluenette pressed his lips against the blonde's, feeling the blonde smiling.

"There, better?" he asked, arching an eyebrow.

"Much." Alois replied with a giggle.

"You really thought I was going to get it that much trouble, huh?"

"Hey, you were with Sir Integra. I know how mad you get around her." spoke the blonde, playing with the other boy's dark locks of hair. "I also heard that this thing hijacked my old meat-suit, so I didn't know how you'd take that."

So Alois had been informed. He was taking the news remarkably well, considering how he acted at the grave almost a week ago. His deceased, "unclean" body was walking around and chatting, believing itself to be him, and here Alois was, cracking jokes about it. Needless to say, Ciel was concerned.

"Yeah... Are... Are you alright? I mean... there's another 'you' walking around, after all..." the bluenette said, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. The blonde responded by playfully running both hands through the bluenette's hair, tangling his fingers in blueish-black.

"I gotta admit, it's incredibly shocking, so I'm not really sure how I feel about that." Alois replied, rubbing the other boy's scalp, trying to get the lad to laugh at his actions. "I figure that since I'm not really using it, it doesn't really matter. What bothers me though, is that I'm told that it thinks it's me." He moved his hands from the bluenette's head, running them across the boy's chest briefly before possessively wrapping them back around Ciel's waist, giving him another tight squeeze.

"I don't want him invading my territory, y'know." he said before pecking the bluenette on the nose.

"He won't." Ciel reassured. "He's not the same as you. You've got years of being warmed up to under your belt. Just because he's cute, doesn't mean he'd compare."

"Oh? So there's no 'spare' me?" the blonde mused. "Even though you think he's 'cute'?"

"He's 'cute' like a puppy, or something. You're 'cute' in a sense that drives me insane." the Phantomhive boy said, wrapping his arms around the blonde's neck. He had only noticed recently, but their heights were now almost exactly the same, a fact that pleased him quite greatly, but caused his lover to pout.

"Ah, so, no chance of a ménage à trois?" Alois jokingly asked with a grin, causing the bluenette to shake his head.

"Where did you even learn that?" the boy asked.

"Amelie."

"Figures."

After a few moments, both boys burst out laughing. It had been the first time in a few days where they weren't completely riddled with anxiety or depression. They weren't completely out of the woods yet, but it was a nice break. Things were looking up again, at last, so for the moment, the two of them simply stood, enjoying the warmth and embrace that the other brought them. Alois pressed their foreheads together, to which the bluenette happily complied with.

"You're not upset about me staying here, are you?" the fair haired teen asked, looking at the other boy cutely with his icy blue eyes. Now these eyes, Ciel knew. He shook his head, flaxen strands of hair mixing with his own.

"Not at all. In fact, I think you made the right decision. H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. can do things for you here that Sebastian and I can't at home." he replied before adding "Don't ever tell Integra I said that, though." his small smile never fading.

"Roger that." Alois said with a laugh. "I kind of want to meet him... The 'other me', I mean." Ciel's smile briefly faded.

"Are you sure?" he asked. "It can probably be arranged, but are you sure?"

"Yeah, I'm sure, I think." the blonde said boldly. "I'm going to get over this silly stuff so you can stop worrying." He paused to kiss the other lad's cheek. "I should be able to do that much for you."

"Take as much time as you need." Ciel replied. "I'll always be here if you need me, and even if you don't." Alois smiled.

"Ooh~! You're so smooth, Phantomhive~!" he teased. "You sure know how to make a girl feel special!"

"Boys, too. You should probably go to sleep at a decent time tonight. You need to be alert when you're introduced to 'yourself'."

"Stay with me?" Alois childishly asked.

"Of course." his beau answered, loosening his grip on the flaxen demon.

Alois pecked the bluenette on the lips again before releasing him and crawling into bed and pulling the blankets over himself. He was well aware of the time. He was followed by the bluenette, who had pulled up a chair by the edge of the bed, since both of them wouldn't fit. He held onto the Macken boy's hand, intertwining their fingers while the lad closed his eyes willingly for the first time in days. Alois chuckled for a moment.

"Tell me if you change your mind about that ménage à trois." he said, causing the bluenette to roll his eye.

"Well, goodnight to you too, Jim..."

 


	315. Hello My Name Is Jim

Morning came, but it was hard to tell, in the basement, seeing as there were no windows. The revenant didn't get hardly any sleep, with all of the thoughts swirling around in his head. It thought about many things over the course of a few hours, all of them being quite heavy.

He thought about his place in the world, who he was, or who he was going to be, if he wasn't "Alois Trancy". He thought about his situation at H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G., and about the modern world outside. He thought about the happy photographs, and couldn't help but feel a bit jealous of the Macken lad's new life in the twenty-first century, however, he couldn't help but also feel massive amounts of confusion over the true Macken's relationship with his former nemesis, Ciel Phantomhive.

If these memories of Alois' were correct, they tried to kill each other, so how on earth could they ever form such a relationship? The Phantomhive boy had also had a female fiancee at one point, so why a man, of all things? He didn't understand. After all, Alois' knowledge and understanding of homosexuality during the point of his life that the revenant was reminiscent of was quite small. A man and a man? He didn't understand it. That was only something depraved, and sick individuals were interested in, if memory serves, and because of this, why on earth would his counterpart want to participate in such a horrifying activity again? It made no sense. However it did explain the bluenette's attitude toward him earlier, a thought that made him shudder uncomfortably.

Tired of these thoughts and feeling disgusting, the revenant decided a bath was far past due. He hopped up out of bed and trudged over to the connected bathroom in the room, examining it with curiosity. It was different than the bathrooms of the past, in ways that he couldn't even name, but it was. On the counter were some clothes of an odd sort, the likes of which he knew not the name of; grey sweatpants and a T-shirt with the Hellsing family crest on them, which he recognised from outside. They were extremely odd and unappealing, but they were still better than the dingey, filthy, dirt and blood-covered rags he was wearing. There were also some towels on a nearby shelf, and after drawing himself a bath, recalling how Jim Macken's former butler did for him in order to do so, he climbed in.

He was absolutely covered in dirt, and wondered why he wasn't in the state of mind to rid himself of it sooner. It was caked onto his skin and and matted in his hair, or rather, Jim's skin and Jim's hair. It was extremely discomforting to think that this wasn't really his body he was in and cleaning, but while he was occupying it, he would like to not be filthy.

With a washcloth and some soap supplied in the room as well, he began scrubbing, turning the once clear water a gross, clouded, soapy, dirty brown. He wondered if he would have to refill the tub again, for he might not get clean in such filthy water! It was no surprise, as he found dirt in almost every single nook and cranny of the body; under his fingernails, in the folds of his eyelids, behind his ears, in his ears, and even up his nose. It was so odd. With Alois' memories, everything was exactly as "he" had left it. Every minute detail.

That is, until he got to his abdomen, where he found something that truly frightened him. There was thread stitched into his flesh for goodness knows what reason. Ah, it was because of that injury, wasn't it? The one caused by the Phantomhive lad in that duel? It was completely healed up, for whatever reason, but the thread remained. To think that the lad who did this to him supposedly "loved" him, now. It was a laughable concept, had it not been so disturbing.

It took a while, but at last the boy felt as though he were reasonably sanitary, and flet that it was time to figure out how to dawn those ridiculous garments that were laid out for him. The revenant exited the bath, letting out the water before he let the thought escaped him, and walked over to pick up the shirt that he was supposed to wear. The blonde turned it over, looking at it from any and every possible angle, trying to figure it out. There were no buttons, so it was assumed that he simply slipped it over his head. What about the neck hole, though? It looks to small for his head to fit through. Ah, it stretches. How does it do that? Wait, no, never mind that, which was the front? Was the side with the design to be facing frontward, or on the back? What a stupid design.

Still, they were quite comfortable, he found, and easy to move around in. Perhaps they had their merits. The blonde felt much better having rid himself of dirt, death, and grime, and changed from those equally disgusting clothes. The revenant wasn't entirely sure what to do now, seeing as though there was nothing left to do but wait for someone to come and tell him something new. His hopes were answered, in a slightly unsavory way, however, as he rounded the corner to his room, coming face-to-face with a certain bluenette once more.

The bluenette was dressed in a suit and tie, however, simplified in accordance with this time's fashions, and still had that odd, look of an older teen about him. Ciel had been examining the scattered debris of the table and chair, along with the countless pieces of paper mixed with bits of wood on the floor. As expected, he didn't seem at all surprised by the state of the room, a fact that kind of annoyed the blonde along with the fact that he was here.

Immediately, the image of that one photograph flashed in his mind, causing the blonde to cringe internally. He couldn't believe that his "real" self would kiss Ciel Phantomhive, of all people. It didn't sit well with him, and seeing the lad's face in person wasn't helping. He'd always thought that he and the Phantomhive boy could be friends, but certainly not lovers. The revenant flinched as the demon in front of him spoke.

"Good, you're dressed." he said. "I'd ask you what happened to your room, but I'm sure I can take a good guess. Has the shock subsided a bit?"

"Somewhat, no thanks to you." the blonde retorted, disappointed with the lack of reaction from the other boy.

"Excellent. In that case, I'll need you to come with me." Ciel declared, motioning toward the door. The revenant wrinkled his nose.

"What for?" it asked cautiously. He had no idea what this homosexual weirdo was up to, after all.

"So I can scar your little mind ever further." the bluenette remarked, arching an eyebrow when the creature's black eyes widened. He wasn't entirely sure what to make of that.

"Jim wants to see you." Ciel clarified, startling the blonde while simultaneously causing him to feel a rush of relief. These constantly jumbled and conflicting emotions of his were incredibly exhausting. Still, he had no choice, now did he? Moreover, he was quite curious to see just what the "real" Jim Macken was like.

Reluctantly, the revenant followed the bluenette down the hallway, walking on the cold tiles in his bar feet, as he shoes were ruined, like they fell apart right after he took them off. It was silent, and awkward, walking with Ciel, as neither lad knew just what to say. The revenant had many questions on his mind, but no idea how to bring them up, while the Phantomhive hadn't the slightest clue of what to talk about. Thus, they mutually decided that silence was best for now. Still, the questions lingered, and not even the horribly cold feeling of the hard floor on the soles of his feet could distract the blonde from them. So, after what felt like ages, as much as it hurt him to ask, he did.

"So, what's he like?" he asked, starting things simple. "I read the files, but it didn't say much about his personality."

"A lot like you, naturally." the bluenette replied. "Prone to confusion, a little brash, incredibly mischievous and that sort of thing. He's grown up quite a bit, though, so he's calmed down a lot." The blonde narrowed his brow. He couldn't tell if he was being insulted or not.

"He's brilliant, though." Ciel added, catching the other boy's attention. "I wouldn't have been able to solve quite a few cases so quickly, without him. He's clever, in ways that even I'm not."

Now, that was a surprise. The blonde supposed that this was as good of an opportunity as any to ask "that" question. Summoning his courage, he spoke.

"Is that so? The file did also suggest that your relationship with him is not strictly 'professional', is it?" he said, trying to sound as defiant and patronizing as possible.

Once again, however, he was disappointed by the bluenette's lack of reaction. The bluenette simply accredited it to the Alois' attitude and mannerisms from one hundered years ago. It was nostalgic to hear, somehow.

"That would be correct." the Phantomhive answered as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. He didn't look behind him. He didn't have to. He knew that the revenant had a taken aback look on his face, and couldn't help but feel amused by it. To think, Alois Trancy, being offended by homosexuality. It was a completely laughable idea. The revenant collected itself and scoffed.

"Oh? The noble Earl of Phantomhive entering a romantic relationship with another man? How scandalous~!" the blonde laughed, before being completely thrown off by the bluenette's own.

"I'm not an 'Earl' anymore. That title went out of fashion ages ago. It's **'Sir** Phantomhive', now." the bluenette replied. "It's 2014. Times have changed. It's not as 'scandalous' as one would think."

"I still can't imagine..." the blonde trailed off, running a hand through his hair. "You of all people? And a man? A man who you tried to kill? It's ridiculous!"

"I thought the same thing at first, but now I just don't care." Ciel said. "I love him, and that's all that matters; and I see you cringing." he stated, causing the other boy to jump. The thought that the Phantomhive lad said such a thing about his counterpart made him squirm.

"I'm not talking about you, so you have nothing to be concerned about." the bluenette added before stopping in front of a door. He waited for the revenant to stop following him before he finally made eye-contact. "Alright?"

The revenant stared at the door, knowing full well who was inside. Agent Jim Macken, supposedly the one who's soul he was channeling, and who's memories he was copying. This was the actual version of him, who's life he had so rudely intruded on. Why did he do that? He didn't mean to. He just sensed a troubled soul and-...

His train of thought was interrupted when the bluenette opened the door and walked inside, prompting him to follow. When he did, he saw another boy who looked almost just like him, playing with an odd device while seated on the bed. The boy was humming to the music that the device emitted while stroking it; it would later be explained to the revenant that he was playing a game. "Tetris" was it's name.

So this was Jim Macken? He looked a few older than the revenant, who was wearing the look of the blonde menace's fourteen-year-old self, and was dressed in a similar manner to the bluenette, only without the jacket and tie, with the first few buttons on his shirt undone. Alois looked up from his game after cursing under his breath, and saw that the revenant was there with his beau, staring at him with an astonished expression, one that wasn't at all dissimilar to his own. Alois had to admit, it was quite something to see his fourteen-year-old self, but it was somehow not unpleasant. He smiled brightly, and got up setting his cellphone aside.

"Well, hello there, 'handsome'!" he jokingly greeted, causing the other blonde to be taken a bit aback. This "Alois's" voice was slightly deeper than his own. He instinctively stood as still as possible while the other lad circled him, sneaking a glance at this older "him" every now and again out of curiosity. With a hum, the blonde menace stopped his actions and looked his counterpart in the eye.

"Wow, I am a bit effeminate..." he stated.

"What?!" the revenant demanded. He wasn't expecting that at all. Alois smiled.

"Oh, relax. I'm joking." he replied, shooting the bluenette a look for the amused expression the other lad wore at the statement. "Still, I don't think sweatpants are my thing..." he added.

"Is that what these ugly things are called?" asked the revenant, looking at his garments while lifting his foot. "I happen to agree." Alois laughed and shook the creature's hand.

"Great minds think alike, I suppose! I'm Alois Trancy, or, if you go by my I.D. card or passport, 'Jim Macken'. Only certain people can call me that, though." he said, introducing himself.

"And I'm... uh..." the younger-looking of the two began, trailing off. It didn't occur to him how horrible not having a name of his own could be. He couldn't just introduce himself as "Alois", now could he?

"You're a revenant." the menace interrupted. "Mind if I call you 'Revy'?"

"'Revy'?!" the creature echoed, arching a brow in confusion. Just what kind of name was that?

"Yeah, 'Revy'; short for 'revenant'." the Macken boy replied, letting go of the other's hand. "Or maybe like **'revving** an engine'? Anyways, I gotta call you something, don't I?" All the revenant could do is stare at the boy.

Is this really what he was like? He didn't think so, but maybe he was wrong. His mannerisms and speech were different, for starters. One-hundred years ago, Alois had to have special training from his butler to remove his accent and make him sound like a legitimate heir to a noble family, but it seemed as though he had forgotten it. He was also so open to the whole idea of his existence. He thought the boy would be more upset, but it seemed as though he were excited, instead. More importantly, as soon as the menace let go of his hand, he felt lightheaded, while Alois only seemed to become more energetic.

What was this? What was happening? He didn't get time to ponder this, as his head began to spin.

He was not Alois Trancy. He was a revenant. He was "Revy", apparently. "Revy" who, though? He didn't know yet. It seemed like he didn't know anything at that moment. He knew nothing of the past, nor of the future; only in the present did his knowledge lie as everything else slipped away from him. An endless fog swept over his mind, as nothing became clear. Where did those memories go? He wasn't sure if he liked them more with him or away, but he knew it felt wrong knowing nothing else. His head hurt.

"You okay, mate?" The revenant snapped it's eyes open, and found that it's head was against Alois' chest, with the boy supporting the rest of his weight as well. Slowly, the revenant stood back up on it's own, and silently stared at the blonde, causing the boy to arch an eyebrow.

"Uh... hello? You alright?" Alois asked again, but the revenant only tilted it's head in response. Alois then looked to the bluenette who only shrugged. Ciel didn't know what to make of it, either. When the blonde waved his hand in front of the creature's face in hopes of provoking a response, it only tilted it's head the other way. When the boy snapped his fingers, it flinched. What was this? It was talking a minute ago. Now it was like it didn't understand a single thing.

"Maybe all of this is just a bit too much for him to process right now." Ciel suggested, folding his arms. "I think it's best if we save this reunion for a later date. Come with me, I'll take you back to your room." he said to the revenant, gesturing toward the door. It only stared at him curiously as reply.

It did nothing. It said nothing. The expression on it's face was blank as it looked like it was trying to figure out what the bluenette wanted from him. This was most peculiar. Neither of the demonic duo were quite sure what to do in this situation.

Ciel began to walk out of the room, but it didn't move. Alois followed, and it apparently decided that it needed to as well, since that was what everyone else was doing. Thus, all three of them were walking down the hallway, two of them trying to figure out what to make of this.

"You think he's tired?" Alois asked in a hushed tone, leaning closer to the bluenette so the revenant wouldn't hear. Ciel shrugged.

"I don't know." he said. "I think he might just be a bit overwhelmed by the whole situation. He did just crawl out of a hole, get captured by armed soldiers, told that his life is a lie, and meet the person he'd been actually just emulating all this time."

"Well, when you put it that way..." the blonde jested. The blonde looked behind them, his face suddenly turning grave.

"Uhm, Ciel?" he asked.

"Yeah"? the bluenette replied.

"Where did he go?"

Ciel whipped his head around to find nothing but an empty hallway. He and Alois were the only ones there, and there were supposed to be three of them. How on earth did he get away without them sensing it?

"Bugger." the Phantomhive cursed under his breath upon this discovery. There was a dead person from the 1800s wandering around an advanced, top-secret base with the same face of an agent how worked there! Goodness knows what could happen.

"I'll call Seras." Alois said, reaching for his phone, only to recall that he had left it in his room. His beau rubbed his temples, fighting off a headache, and with a begrudging sigh, spoke.

"I'll call Integra..." he said, only to jump at the feeling of the blonde menace reaching into his coat. "Wh-what are you doing?!"

"Trying to find your phone!" answered the blonde menace, digging in the inner and outer pockets of the bluenette's coat, despite the other lad's wiggling and protests.

"Why?!"

"So I can call Integra, and she won't think it's your fault!" Alois said, reaching into the bluenette's back pant's pockets and causing the bluenette's face to turn red.

"It's in my front pocket!" the Phantomhive boy said, grabbing the blonde's hand before he could search it. "I'll get it, you twit!"

"Oh, yeah... No need for you to get a stiffy at your nemesis' place. That would be super-awkward." returned the Macken boy, earning a mean look from the bluenette, but only smiling at it. With that, Ciel plopped the device into the blonde's palm, knowing full-well that trying to argue with the boy's decision would be futile, and that there would be less humiliation for all parties involved if he were the one to call the beastly Hellsing woman instead.

Meanwhile, the revenant was on the loose, curiously exploring the base in his bare feet, somehow managing to hide in plain sight. He didn't get the chance to look at it thoroughly the first time he passed through, so he was taking his sweet time. Neither desk-jockey or soldier paid him any mind, as he looked exactly like the blonde menace, so he wasn't too worried about them. He was too focused on the sights.

He heard a strange fuzzy sound coming from a small box connected one of the soldiers' breast pockets, big enough to fit in the palm of one's hand, and watched with great interest as the man spoke into it. An odd, crackling voice came out of it when he did, and he started talking to it with a serious look on his face. He watched and listened for a moment, wondering what was going on. The voice in the box said something about an "intruder", and went on to describe him as blonde, wearing a grey H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. T-shirt and matching sweatpants with no shoes on, looking approximately fourteen years of age, and resembled agent Jim Macken. Funny, that sounded familiar, somehow.

The revenant flinched when the soldier looked in his direction, along with a few others who were listening in, all with serious faces. They looked like they were angry with him. Then, he because frightened when the men started briskly walking toward him, encouraging him to walk away.

"Hey! Get back here!" one of them shouted, so the revenant did the logical thing, and ran away.

He ran this way, and then that, but every which way he turned there were more soldiers. Some of them reached for the holsters on their belts, looking as though they were about to draw their guns, so the revenant fled as quickly as possible before they were able to fire. It didn't do him any good, though. Soldiers were everywhere, and he didn't even know where to find the exit.

"Don't move!" one of them bellowed, gun aimed at him, so instinctively, he did. The revenant increased his pace, the sound of bare feet hitting linoleum being drowned out by the massive pounding of combat boots hitting the floor.

He ran, and ran, and ran. He ran down an empty corridor, unoccupied by a single soul. Thinking he was home free, he turned the corner only to be found horribly wrong, as more soldiers where there, and they opened fire. Quickly, the revenant ducked back behind the corner, somehow miraculously avoiding a single bullet wound, but with both sides being occupied by soldiers, where was he to go? Examining his surroundings, he found a button on the wall, so in an act of desperation, he pressed it. Lo, and behold, the wall opened up, and he was able to hide.

Once the door was closed, however, he realised that this was a horrible idea, as there was no exit. The room was incredibly small, with walls that were like mirrors, except for the one, where the door was barely visible now, which had more buttons on it, each with a number on them: one, two, three, and then there was the letter "B", which was lit up, somehow. Mind reeling, he haphazardly jabbed the button with the number "one", and the room started to feel like it was moving.

Finally, when it stopped, the doors opened again, and he was somewhere new, with windows and sunlight. This was it. He could escape now. The revenant quickly ran out of the elevator and into the light, where he heard a collection of "clicking noises". He looked around him, and he saw both Jim Macken and Ciel Phantomhive staring at him with shock and concern, however, he also saw more soldiers.

As fast as he could, he ran again, dodging a hail of bullets aimed right at him, all while he kept hearing the Phantomhive lad ordering the H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. employees to cease fire. The blonde ran behind the receptionist's desk, using it as a barrier between him and the bullets, but it wasn't enough. The metal projectiles went right through it, rendering the structure full of more holes than Swiss cheese.

"I said hold your bloody fire!" the bluenette barked, finally being heard over the sound of gunshots, but it was too late. All was now quiet, and there were no signs of life behind that desk. One of the soldiers walked over to it and looked behind it before reaching for his radio.

"The target has been silenced." he said. "I repeat: The target has been silenced."

Alois looked mortified, while Ciel was enraged. That was Alois' original body, and they had just blown it full of holes. It was a death almost as disturbed as the original, seeing as though it was brought about by the hands of the duo's supposed "allies".

The blonde menace, understandably, was in shock. He had just witnessed his own death. He had just died. He didn't think he would ever die again, and yet, he just did. He was shaking. He was scared. Tears welled up in his eyes as he tried to deal with the fact that he was standing with his own murderers and they could kill him again at any moment, if they so pleased. This was H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. They followed orders, no matter what they were. They crush any and all perceived threats no matter what they are, and no matter who they may be.

The only comfort he was offered in that moment was from the bluenette, as the boy held him, desperately trying to make him feel safe again, but that was a scary thought as well. If these men wanted, they could realistically kill Ciel, too. He didn't want that to happen. That could never happen. As the soldiers called for a clean-up crew, alois held onto his beau tightly, as if trying to protect him, too. He had just died; he didn't want that to happen to Ciel, too.

"Whoah, what the hell?!" exclaimed one of the soldiers, grasping at his gun.

"What is it?" asked another.

"What's with this thing?! It's regenerating!" said the first.

"Well, shoot it again!"

"Hold your fucking fire!" the bluenette ordered, startling both guards. He walked over to them, and peeked under the table himself. After a few moments, he stood up and looked the first soldier in the eye, staring him down with one of the most grave looks the blonde menace had ever seen.

"Give me your radio. Now." he commanded, and just like that, the man obliged, placing the device in the bluenette's hand. Ciel pressed the button, and issued his next set of orders:

"Scratch that clean-up crew. Get us a medic."

* * *

 


	316. Dorkius Maximus

Lights buzzed over head as the corpse of Alois Trancy was rushed off to the emergency medical center of H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. There was a thick barrier of shatterproof glass between the body and the demonic duo, as they watched doctors busily remove metal and wooden shrapnel from it's flesh. It was held down, bound to the table with leather straps with various symbols and incantations etched onto them, as no one seemed to know what was happening. Not the duo, the doctors, or even the head of H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. herself!

None of them had seen anything like it. The revenant was regenerating, even though it had been shot countless times with anti-freak weaponry. It should have died from that. There was no way it could have survived, and yet, here it was, tendons reconnecting, wounds closing, and skin healing. It was actually getting in the way of doctor's efforts to remove shrapnel, so they had to keep cutting them back open so they could do their job. It was unheard of. The creature was alive, somehow, and no one knew why. Not even the research department of the institution hadn't the faintest idea how to explain it, and they were supposedly the world's leader in supernatural knowledge.

The was one person who might know, but oh, how the Phantomhive lad didn't want to give him a call. The lad was a thorn in his side, and he didn't want him anywhere near that body, but the lad was also brilliant when it came to black magic. Quite the conundrum, it was. Still, what was the alternative? Not know and possibly put people's lives in danger? As much as it positively pained him, Ciel decided it was best to call in a certain acquaintance who just happened to be quite skilled in the ways of magic.

"Anti-freak bullets didn't work?" asked Dafydd Blake, staring through the glass. "By the way, Alois, how ya feelin'? You say you felt better after meeting this thing?"

"Yeah..." replied the genuine blonde menace, with his back to the glass. He simply couldn't bear to watch the doctors work on his corpse. "I felt much better; like 'good-as-new' better..."

"Hmmmmnnnnn..." hummed the sorcerer. "Did you touch it? Like, shake hands? Poke it? Anything like that?"

"Yeah? We shook hands, why?" Alois couldn't help but feel a but creeped out by the other lad's odd, nasal laugh and arrogant smile at that moment. Dafydd folded his arms and finally spoke.

"Isn't it obvious? You took your soul back!" the lad declared, puzzled by the confused faces of the others in the room. "Seriously? I have to explain this? Ain't you and the cyclops demons? You're like, supposed to be soul experts or somethin'. Well, whatever..." The boy cleared his throat before continuing.

"Everyone's soul has a unique signature, or wavelength. It's what makes them who they are." the sorcerer began, starting a full-blown lecture. "The wavelength is how they can be singled out. This can happen by using something that the soul has resided in, like a body, because a soul somewhat imprints on it. That's how the revenant was able to summon Alois' soul."

"Yes, we know that bit." spoke a certain bluenette boy in a somewhat annoyed tone. He crossed his arms. "How did he 'take it back'-?"

"I'm getting there!" Dafydd interrupted. "The soul was stuck in between two vessels, one being the Alois' own body, and the other being the revenant's. That's why Alois was still able to Alois around, but his powers were weak, and why the revenant was able to access Alois' old memories. However, from what you've told me about this kid, his end was even weaker than Alois', seein' as though he could only see up to a certain point in time, and how he had some odd behavioural... things? Is that the word? Whatever. He didn't act too much like 'Alois', but still thought himself to be 'Alois', is the point I'm tryin' to make."

"The rest is really simple." he continued, rubbing his chin. "One wavelength was stronger, the other was weaker, so as soon as the vessels made contact..." He paused to make a "slurping" sound. "The rest of the weaker wavelength was sucked into the stronger one. The reason why the zombie-guy couldn't take the whole thing was because Alois is a demon, and demons just have strong souls, for the most part."

"That still doesn't explain how it was still able to walk around and how it's still alive after being shot with anti-freak weaponry." Ciel said.

"You have no patience, at all, do you?" the sorcerer asked in response. "Seriously, wait 'til I'm done. Besides, it's obvious. A revenant is a spirit that possess a body and channels the soul of the owner of it's body in order to take revenge for something bad that happened to them in life."

"So you're saying it has two souls?"

"Exactly!" Dafydd answered, snapping his fingers. "The revenant is a separate being, that's why it was still able to move. The weird behaviour after touching Alois was probably caused by the fact that he had just had a soul ripped from him, and the fact that reanimated corpses just happen to not be that bright. No offense, Trancy."

"None taken."

"So, how did he do it?" asked the bluenette. "How did he... or it, survive?" Dafydd turned around, pressing his back to the glass and crossed his arms. he rubbed his chin, briefly, as if he were thinking.

"That's a tough one." the boy replied. "My guess is because the soul of the revenant isn't necessarily 'damned', but it's not 'holy', either. It's like some odd, 'In-between' thing. Anti-freak bullets only work on the 'damned', as well as humans, for the simple fact that humans are weak against bullets. Go figure."

"H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. has eliminated a few revenants in the past, though." said Doctor Ackerman, watching the operation. The woman was more of a researcher, so surgery was definitely not her field of expertise.

"Maybe you didn't? Maybe you simply exterminated the damned portion of it?" Dafydd theorized. "From Alois' example, we know that souls that return from Limbo tend to be demonic. If a full demonic soul is inhabiting the same body, 'killing' it would destroy the body, but not necessarily the revenant. There was no demonic apparition in that body, so that could explain it..."

"Dafydd..." the woman began, nudging her glasses back up to the arch of her nose.

"Yeah?"

"...Would you like a job on the research staff?"

"What?!" the bluenette demanded, furrowing his brow in disapproval. "You can't be serious!"

"Mister Blake can provide knowledge previously inaccessible to us!" the doctor argued. "Think of the kind of advancements we could make!"

"Would I get a cool labcoat?" the sorcerer asked, smirking at the glare given to him by the Phantomhive boy.

"Yes." Doctor Ackerman replied.

"When do I start?"

Much to the bluenette's exasperation, the negotiations for the annoying sorcerer to join the H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. research staff were underway, and there was not one single argument he could possibly make against it. That didn't matter, however. He had more pressing matters to attend. Alois still stood with his back press against the thick glass barrier in between them and the operating table, with a sad look in his eyes. The blonde stared at the floor, as nothing else seemed to interest him at that moment aside from what was going on behind him. Yet, he was too sickened by it to look.

The body was an utter mess, with blood all over it, and flesh torn. Splinters from the desk were embedded into it, and there were still several bullets within it somewhere. The face was especially distressing, with it's teeth showing from where a bullet blew it open. A bullet was found in the blonde's mouth, and several teeth were chipped as a result. Alois couldn't look. It was too much.

He didn't notice when the bluenette stood next to him, and was surprised when he felt a warm arm around his shoulders. When he looked over, he saw the other boy, acting as if he he wasn't trying to comfort the blonde at all, but the Macken lad did see him glance his way several times, and could decipher his intentions based on that. With a small smile, he placed an arm into the small of the other boy's back, and leaned his head on the bluenette's shoulder.

"You're a dork." he said with a giggle, prompting the Phantomhive boy to arch an eyebrow.

"How am I a 'dork'?" the bluenette asked.

"You just are." answered Alois. "You're the king of all dorks!"

"Then I guess that makes everyone in my household 'dorks' as well." Ciel mused, smiling when the blonde laughed, lightly.

"Yes, we are all dorks, and you are our ruler, because you're the dorkiest." the Macken boy jested.

"You do know that 'dork' is just another word for 'whale penis', correct?" inquired Ciel.

"Then you're the cutest whale penis on the face of the planet, Ciel."

"Lovely." the Phantomhive said, trying not to smile at the utter ridiculousness of that statement. "I feel so honoured."

"YYYYAAAAAAAAAAaaaaaaarrrrrrgggghhh!" screamed the blonde, or so Ciel thought, until he looked over at the boy to see what was the matter, only to find Alois looking to their flank, staring through the glass with wide eyes.

The revenant was awake.

The creature lashed out and struggled against it's bindings while shouting and screaming. It gnashed it's teeth at the doctors whenever they got close enough, and squirmed so they couldn't get any work done. The demonic duo watched in horror as this went about, trying to decide and appropriate course of action. Soon, however, the blonde menace decided that this wasn't enough, and left the bluenette's side momentarily.

"Open the door!" he commanded, prompting Doctor Ackerman to swipe her card and allow the boy access to the locked surgery room.

"What are you going to do?" she asked, only to receive no audible answer as the demon stormed into the surgery room, and startling the already shaken surgeons even further.

Alois simply stood, staring down at the poor revenant as it tried in vain to defend itself. He pushed a doctor to the side so he could get a better view, and saw the shear terror in the creature's eyes as it hadn't the slightest idea as to what was going on, or why these people where hurting it. The fact that the creature was almost completely naked, aside from a small blanket covering it's nether-regions, almost reminding the blonde of the first time he, himself, woke up after death in the basement of Phantomhive Manor, but now was hardly the time for nostalgia.

It was the fear that really struck the core of the blonde menace, not the injury. The revenant was afraid of what was happening to it, as the poor thing hadn't the faintest clue. It was afraid of dying, Alois knew how that was. He knew what it was like to be tortured, and fear for his own life, and the fact that the creature wore the same face as him didn't help his own troubled mind. The blonde looked down at the revenant's hand, taking it in his own in order to offer even a small amount of comfort to it. The revenant's had was freezing, with an iron grip, but Alois didn't mind at all. He simply smiled at the creature when it looked up at him, confused.

"It's alright." he said. "They're trying to get the bullets and wood and stuff out of you so you can heal. Thanks for trying to get revenge for me, but I don't need it. Revenge isn't all that. You can keep the body, though, if you want. I'm not using it." To his surprise, the revenant stopped screaming and groaning, to stare at him.

"Jiiiimmm... Maaa...ck...eeen...?" it managed to choke out with it's torn facical features. The blonde menace simply nodded.

"Yep. I'm Jim Macken." he replied. "And you're 'Revy'. 'Revy... Macken'? Eh, sure, let's go with that. Welcome to the family, Revy~!"

The revenant was silent, but slowly, it nodded in order to express understanding, causing the blonde to smile. It laid back, wheezing as if it were in pain. With that, the blonde asked if the doctors would use anesthesia before continuing, a request the surgeons were more than happy to adhere to.

As the operation continued, Alois didn't leave the revenant's side so it wouldn't be scared, just as Ciel had done for him the past week for the blonde, himself, while he slept. Ciel had to admit, he was a bit surprised at the uncharacteristic actions of the blonde, and couldn't help but wonder what exactly was going to happen to the revenant from here, onward. He didn't exactly want it living in his house, but should things come to that, so be it. For now, he watched the blonde from the other side of the glass endearingly, taking in an unusual act of kindness from the blonde, and as the boy continued to grow and overcome his past head-on with a genuine smile.

Perhaps, one day, he too would get a chance to overcome his own regrets. It was unlikely, however. For now, though, Ciel was content on helping the blonde menace with his troubles, for if he couldn't do that much, then what kind of lover would he be?

* * *

 


	317. Hello My Name Is Revy

It took hours to remove all of the debris and shrapnel from the revenant's body, but somehow, the H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. surgeons did it. Ciel and Sir Hellsing had an argument afterward about the bill, but eventually, the Phantomhive boy was defeated due to substantial evidence that it was the fault of both he, and the blonde menace for not keeping an eye on the corpse, and for making it conscious in the first place. At least, that's what the revenant himself had said.

Revenants are simply wandering spirits that lack a body for many reasons. Either their soul wasn't collected, or they had a run-in with a soul-snatcher that went awry. There are many others, but those two are the most plausible. As such, seeing as they don't have a host, they're easy prey for demons who can't be bothered to form a contract when a free meal is right in front of them. It's only logical to possess an unoccupied body, correct? It's also logical to perform a sort of task for the person who they're possessing, such as performing an act of vengeance as "payment". Thus, they are attracted to the most troubled of of the dead, and, sensing Alois' distress at his own grave-site, a mistake occurred. The demonic duo were simply too tied up in their own affairs to be bothered with sensing of stray souls, and the revenant had no clue that they were demons, as demons don't mourn the dead.

That's all that "Revy" could remember. He couldn't really remember who he was before all of this. When one comes into contact with other people's souls, and assumes their identity for too long, they start to loose themselves, a bit. With time, the lad's memory could very well return, but for now, he was referred to as "Revy Macken", much to his confusion. The original owner of this body was an odd person, but, he said that he could "borrow" his old body for as long as he liked, so he was grateful.

Still, the issue as to where he was to be residing remained. Sir Integra refused to house him if he wasn't useful, and he wouldn't be, seeing as though he would have to wait until the Next summer to train with the other's in the H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. youth camp, just as his counterpart had, as it was already past time for this year. Ciel wasn't too keen on having the lad around his manor, for the very reason that he looked like his boyfriend, and it felt awkward to him. Predictably, however, the Phantomhive boy had to forfeit yet again, as his reasoning was somewhat selfish, and because once again, the fault was his, and responsibility must be taken. It was the honourable thing to do.

Thus, after the continuous stream of apology from the blonde menace for landing the bluenette in this situation, and the awkward silence from Revy, it was decided. Until he received proper training, Revy would reside in the Phantomhive household and receive tutoring from the butler there, alongside Alois' and apparently somehow also Revy's brother, Luka. First, however, the proper accommodations needed to be made. The lad had virtually no clothes to speak of, other than that T-shirt and pair of sweatpants he wore earlier, which now resembled bloody Swiss cheese.

H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. was generous enough to provide the creature with another shirt and another pair of pants, along with some boots and a jacket that was far too big for him. He could tell that the bluenette was amused by the attire, while the blonde was embarrassed. The revenant simply attributed this to the fact that he looked just like Alois, which made it less embarrassing and somehow more amusing for him.

All the same, he was nervous sitting in between them on the cab ride to the mall. He was seated between two wealthy, powerful demons whom he barely knew. They were his natural predators, and he was intruding on their lives. "Awkward" doesn't even begin to scratch the surface of what he felt in that moment. With all of this, and the modern world outside, which he had seen, but never been all that actively involved in were completely overwhelming.

Then, they arrived at the mall, with lots of people and odd bits and bobs like none the deceased boy had never seen. He had to admit, he felt a little self-conscious with his ugly attire, seeing as though the two older boys with him were dressed in suits and he looked homeless. Well, he supposed he was homeless, for the moment, but that was about to change, hopefully. People whispered about them, but the demonic duo didn't seem to give the slightest care.

After the grueling process of walking into several stores like that, and being shoved into a small room with a large mirror and being handed clothes to try on, the group finally decided that the lad had a sufficient wardrobe picked out. Alois was careful to adhere to Revy's tastes, asking him if he found anything interesting or that he particularly liked, and apparently, the deceased boy liked very plain clothing, much to the dismay of the blonde menace. Revy turned to more practical clothes, made out of non-flimsy fabric, and that looked like it wouldn't stain to easily. In most of the bags that they walked away with were T-shirts, blue jeans, and a few jackets. They had also picked out a few more formal pieces of clothing, seeing as though the lad might need it, should he need to meet before Sir Integra or the Council of Twelve.

"Hey, hey, Revy!" Alois called, as they were about the head to the cashier's station at their last clothing stop for the day.

"Yeah?" the revenant asked, turning to the blonde menace, who stood next to a shelf with odd-looking spectacles on it.

"Try these on." the blonde menace said, handing his counterpart a pair of sunglasses.

Reluctantly, the younger version of himself complied, positioning the spectacles on his face. He looked in the small mirror next to the shelf, and noticed how he now looked semi "ordinary", which somehow pleased him. His black eyes were now concealed, and he looked just like the other humans who prowled the mall. With these, he wouldn't have to lie everywhere he went, just as the others had, telling whoever asked that he has a "rare eye-disorder" or whatever nonsense that they could fabricate at that given moment.

"What d'ya think?" asked the orignal Macken lad, already knowing the answer from the look on the revenant's face.

"They're alright..." Revy replied. Obviously, he wasn't like the blonde, not only in his fashion-sense, but also in the aspect that Alois usually voiced his true opinion at everything. "They look useful..." he continued. His counterpart nodded.

"Then pick out the ones that you like the best." Alois said. "You should probably also get a spare, just in case something happens to those."

"Huh? But aren't these a 'luxury-item', or something?" the other boy asked.

"Not if they're useful to you." the older of the two answered. "Don't worry about it, I got this." he continued, holding up a debit card with the name "Jim Macken" on it. The lad apparently had quite a bit of earnings from working as Ciel's assistant saved up, as the bluenette would often cover charges for things, and only allow Alois to pay for things when the blonde absolutely insisted.

"You're going to buy a piece of plastic with a piece of plastic?" asked the revenant.

"It makes as much sense as buying a piece of plastic with a piece of paper." Alois replied, not giving much effort in his explanation of how the object worked. Still, the revenant couldn't really deny that logic, nor did he especially want to argue with the other boy as there seemed to be no point in doing so. This "Jim Macken" was a troublesome sort of fellow, wasn't he? Just what on earth had he walked into?

Soon, the lad was done shopping for clothes, and as such, changed into some of them, given the first opportunity, so he would feel more comfortable while they continued shopping for basic necessities; god forbid someone looks at him funny while buying a toothbrush. The blonde thought it odd, seeing as though he used to wear short-shorts in that same body, but that wasn't him anymore. Thus, the blonde menace picked out an outfit, and sent his counterpart on his merry way to change, patiently waiting with the bluenette, who, while he wasn't too pleased about spending lots of money, was amused, all the same.

"What's so funny?" Alois asked, noticing the bluenette's smile, which he immediately tried to hide.

"Nothing." replied the Phantomhive lad, straightening himself. "This just reminded me of when we had to do the exact same thing for you a few years back."

"I think I can understand why you were so mortified, then." the blonde jested, making fun of both the bluenette's initial reaction to his wardrobe choices, as well as his own reaction to the revenant's. The blonde menace preferred flashy, stylish clothing, while "Revy" insisted on a more muted and practical wardrobe. They had the same face, but that was just about all they had in common. As such, when the revenant stepped out of the changing room, he wasn't entirely sure about how he felt about it. Ciel, however, was very amused.

The revenant had on an odd, sort of grunge-rock look about him, much like a certain reaper-boy they knew had picked out his attire. Revy wasn't entirely pleased with it. It was the flashiest thing in the bundle of bags, seeing as though the blonde menace had chosen it for him. He didn't entirely know how fashion in this time period was supposed to coordinate, so he had to simply trust the other lad's intuition, for now. If left up to him, he would have simply grabbed a random T-shirt and a pair of jeans. He also quite liked the H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. jacket he was given, as it was much warmer than the flimsy over-shirt he had on now. It made him realise just how much he liked heat. He was constantly freezing.

"Nice." the bluenette said, commenting on the lad's attire. What amused him so greatly was the fact that he looked just like Alois, and was dressed so out-of-character for the lad. Knowing this, Revy glanced over at a nearby mirror, and then over to his counterpart, comparing the two. The fact that their faces wer exactly the same was incredibly unsettling for the both of them.

"Hmmm..." the blonde hummed, looking the other lad over. "That's super-weird... Maybe if we did something to your hair?"

"Yes, please." Revy answered. "No offense, but I'd rather not look exactly the same as you, if that's alright..."

"None taken. I was kind of thinking the same thing..." Alois said. "Having a 'mini-me' is kinda weird."

With that, the group traversed onward to the mall hair salon, taking in the odd sight. None of them had ever been to one, before, not even Ciel. Demons can manipulate their appearance, so there was simply no need. Somehow, the workers seemed to catch onto this, and walked them through the process. Apparently, they get a lot of men who were confused by the concept.

They were sat down, and they looked at magazines with different hairstyles in them, so Revy would have an idea of what he wanted. In the meantime, the two demons were asked where they bought their "nail polish", and various other nerve-wracking questions that were otherwise mundane and trivial. Eventually Revy found something that he sort of liked, and much to Alois' dismay and Ciel's further amusement, it was a short haircut. The bluenette actually laughed at that, primarily Alois' reaction. He loved seeing the boy flustered, and he liked seeing the tables turned, a bit.

He didn't stop teasing the blonde about it until they returned home, reminding the lad that his wallpaper was still set to a picture of the blonde from his military training with a smile and laughing when the other boy demanded that he delete it. Oh, how the bluenette loved it, so. He found it adorable, he really did. Maybe if the revenant made the blonde easier to fluster and tease, it was worth the expense. As much as he wanted to kiss that cute face of the Trancy's, it would have to wait until his double was settled in. So, when the trio stepped out of the cab and onto the front steps of Phantomhive Manor, that's what they set out to do.

They could hardly get through the door, however, with Luka running up to them, ecstatic to see his older brother. Understandably, the boy was extremely worried when his brother had to leave because he was "sick". It was also understandable how confused he was, when another boy who looked like his brother walked in. The bruenette immediately hid behind Alois, as soon as he made eye-contact with the revenant through the creature's shades. With a chuckle, the blonde set down the bags he was carrying and hugged the smallest of the gentlemen in the foyer.

"Luka~! I missed you~!" he said in a sing-song voice, putting the boy at ease. "Were you good for Sebastian?"

"Yup!" Luka answered, hugging his brother back with a grin. "I missed you too, Jim! I'm real glad Ciel stayed with you, or else I would've been real worried!"

"Oh? So I need Ciel to protect me?" the blonde mused, picking the other boy up.

"Yeah, but no, I was 'fraid you'd get lonely or somethin'." the youngest of the Macken's answered.

"Then it's a good thing Ciel was there! I might've died of loneliness!"

"Naw, you can't die from loneliness!"

"Rabbits can." Alois said.

"You ain't a rabbit, though." his brother replied, causing him to laugh.

"Hey, it could happen." the blonde said, glancing over to the revenant. Following his eyes, Luka did as well, and tightened his grip on his brother.

"Luka, this is Revy." the blonde menace said, introducing his counterpart. "He's a spirit possessing my old body. He'll be staying with us for a while."

"Just what the hell are you saying to a little kid?" the revenant thought, expressing it only through what was visible of his face.

"He's like a zombie, only he doesn't eat people, and he's also not as cool as me." the menace jokingly added, causing the revenant's eyebrow to twitch.

"He better not, or I'll bash his bloody head in!" Luka said, giving a determined look.

"Like you could." the revenant internally spoke. He wasn't sure as to how to respond to this new lad, just as Luka wasn't sure as to how to react to him.

"Revy, this is Luka, my little brother." Alois said. "Be nice to him."

"Okay." Revy replied, not sure what else to say. He tensed up when the blonde put the brunette down, and the lad ran over to him as if to inspect him. After circling him a few times, he stopped right in front of him, making the revenant nervous by staring at him with his big, brown eyes.

"You don't look like my brother at all." the boy said finally, bluntly stunning Revy before running back over to the original menace.

"Don't worry, Jim, I don't think Ciel will mistake the two of you." he said to his older brother, determined that this person would not make a dent in their operations.

"I won't, because I actually find Jim attractive." the Phantomhive casually butted in. "I'm not entirely sure where to put you, Revy. I'm sure there's an unoccupied guest room around here, somewhere..."

"Oh, he can use my old room." Alois suggested. "I never use it."

"'Old' room?" the shorter blonde echoed, arching an eyebrow. Before Alois could even open his mouth, Luka already did.

"Jim doesn't sleep in there anymore, 'cause he sleeps with Ciel." he said, unwittingly adding tension to the already strained atmosphere.

Alois stood, unsure of what to say to his counterpart, and the bluenette himself was just as baffled. Meanwhile the pseudo-blonde in question was completely dumbfounded. Not only were these two demons, and not only were they gay, but their relationship wasn't limited to a simple "romantic" one. That boy who used to wear the skin that he was currently residing in was currently in a sexual relationship with another boy. While Revy understood the blonde's past, it only made it all the more difficult to understand how exactly this worked out. Clearly, this lad wasn't at all "right" in the head. No matter how many times he asked himself throughout the day, he asked himself once more:

"Just what exactly have I walked into?"

 


	318. When You're Evil

The following days were nothing remarkable, to say the least. Everyone was settling back into their everyday lives, while "Revy" made an attempt to settle into his. The rest of the house was slowly getting used to his presence, but it wasn't easy. As time passed, they noticed just how "un-Alois-like" that he was.

The lad wasn't into flashy clothing, nor was he loud, but he was cynical, and somewhat negative. While these were traits of the head of the house of Phantomhive as well, the bluenette was only so when necessary. "Revy" was so at nearly everything, even the most trivial of things. Watching television with him was annoying, as he had to question every bit of "TV logic", and he was an extremely picky eater. Revy was also rather judgmental, whether it be a certain way that someone was dressed, or a particular lifestyle choice, if he didn't agree with it, it was "wrong".

All that aside, he was still a pretty decent kid. He was quiet, and, in most cases, somewhat respectful. Even if he didn't approve with the relationship of the demonic duo, he was careful to hold his tongue in order to be polite to his hosts. Revy was helpful, and did what he was told. He was also helpful to Luka when the boy didn't understand something in his lessons, even though he wasn't that well-off education-wise, but was apparently well enough read to be useful. The youngest of the "Macken's" wasn't entirely fond of him yet, seeing that he thought the blonde was "tolerable", to put it in his own, odd choice of words.

The adjustments were gradual, but were coming along alright. Everyone else also busily got along with their own routines, going back to school, and finishing the paperwork that the bluenette had put off for so long. Unfortunately, the lad had dropped everything, in his panic over the health of his little blonde Romeo, and had put off schoolwork, paperwork, and follow-up on that murder case that he was consulted about. The days after the "revenant" incident were spent accordingly.

Ciel finally answered voice-mail left by "Junior" Bailey while Alois helped him file paperwork. Fortunately, the information he had given the Scotland Yard on the matter was more than sufficient to help them make an arrest. Just to make sure, however, the bluenette personally reviewed the evidence to ensure that there were no holes to be found in the case.

In the mean time, Alois sat on the couch in the large office, and filed paperwork. The boy had become quite good at forging the Phantomhive's handwriting as a result. He would stop, occasionally, and negotiate with the bluenette a certain article that involved the other lad's direct input before sitting back down and getting back to work, making sure to time it in between Ciel's business-related phone-calls. He wasn't afraid of pausing to make weird faces at the other lad for his own amusement, however, doing so exclusively while he was on the phone so the bluenette couldn't respond or laugh.

It took a few hours, but eventually, that portion of the work was done. Then, it was time for the bluenette to join Alois on the couch and start filing paperwork as well. There was a graciously-sized amount of it that needed to be turned in as quickly as possible, all organised into eight separate stacks. One for Funtom work, one for H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. and Round Table work, and one for miscellaneous expenses; the rest were for completed work, separated into their corresponding piles.

"Thanks for helping me with this." Ciel said finally, feeling a bit guilty for asking the blonde to do this. "I know it's not the most 'interesting' thing, but it needs to be done."

"Anytime." the Macken boy replied. "I owe you, anyway, for housing my weird excuse for a family. This doesn't even scratch the surface."

"Don't worry about it." the bluenette answered. "Revy is only temporary, and Luka keeps Sebastian company. It's not any trouble at all."

"But look at these expenses..." the blonde said, dread-stricken from the sight of the bills and finances before him. His beau only chuckled at this.

"That's just pocket change." Ciel replied. "It's nothing to be concerned about. Besides, it's not like that money is doing anything else, now is it?" he asked, causing the blonde to nod. Things were quiet for a while, but then, the blonde spoke again.

"Hey, Ciel?"

"Yeah?" the bluenette asked, arching an eyebrow at the blonde.

"If there's only a certain amount of money circulating in the economy at any given moment, and we keep it without spending it, then what happens to everyone else?" Alois asked, his question legitimately startling the Phantomhive.

"H-huh?" the other boy uttered, unable to think of a response.

"I'm serious! What happens? Doesn't that money need to circulate, or something?" the blonde inquired further. "If it's just sitting at the top, then what happens to the bottom? More money can't be printed, or else inflation causes the value to go down, which makes the problem even worse..."

"Uh-uhm... well...?" the bluenette began, trying to think of a response. He snapped his fingers when he finally came up with something.

"It's called 'trickle-down' economics." he said, watching as the blonde tilted his head, waiting for an explanation. "What happens, is that we invest that money, and it eventually makes it's way back down to the lower-classes."

"How in blazes does that work?"

"It just does..." Ciel replied, growing a bit embarrassed by the blonde's cynnical expression.

"Ciel..." spoke the fair-haired demon.

"Y-yes?"

"That just sounds like the 'trickling down' is just you pissing on the poor." Alois jabbed, completely catching the bluenette off-guard.

It made complete sense for Alois to be skeptical. He grew up as a homeless orphan without a penny to his name, Ciel understood that. He understood why Alois wouldn't like the concept, but at the same time, the bluenette had grown up to a rich family, with their own set of values and morals. Believe it or not, Ciel was no saint. He had always had a greedy nature when it came to profits, just like any other businessman. Now, however, he had to avoid offending his partner, but there was no logical escape route. Alois was no idiot, and would not be fooled by any standard excuse for the system. Why, the Americans were just recovering from a depression of their own caused by it, the whole world knew that. Everyone did, but still, the system was still in place, all the same.

"W-well..." the bluenette began, scrambling for an excuse. Eventually, however, he hung his head in defeat. "...I guess that's true..."

"And it's still used why?" the blonde asked, intensely staring straight at the other boy.

"Because... politicians are rich, too, and are just as greedy?" the bluenette hesitantly answered, earning a playful punch to the arm.

"What the hell?! That's obviously a shitty idea for everybody! If the poor have no money, then who's going to buy your products?!" the blonde bellowed, showering the other boy with a barrage of half-hearted punches, as if to prove some sort of point. It was unnecessary. Ciel understood it. After the blonde stopped, he simply sat there, stunned by that revelation.

From a historical standpoint, every time this system was put in place, it led to a recession, or even contributed to the fall of ancient empires such as Rome. "Those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it", and given the bluenette's condition, it would also effect him, given the fact that he would live long enough to be around for it. He took a moment to rub his forehead and reflect on this, but this only seemed to blow the blonde away, and not in a good way.

"Are you a moron?!" Alois demanded. "How the fuck could you not see that?!"

"Well, it's not like I can do anything about it!" the bluenette protested.

"Bullshit! You've got money! Donate to charity! Bribe some parliament members! It's not doing anything, anyway, sitting in a Swiss bank account! You're supposed to be smaaaart!"

"I am smart! I just didn't think of it from that perspective!"

"You're terrible!" the blonde accused.

"I'm a demon!" Ciel quipped.

"I am, too, dickbreath!"

"How am **I** 'dickbreath'!?"

"You and I both know who does most of the sucking, around here, Ciel." the blonde said, just before uttering a small squeak in surprise when the bluenette pushed him onto his back, his body in an odd position with his legs still hanging off the side of the couch.

"Of course I do. That's part of what a top does." the bluenette replied, looking down at the blonde with an arrogant smile, amused by the other lad's pout.

"Oh, no. Don't think you're going to get out of the argument that way, Phantomhive." the other boy warned. "You're smooth, but not that smooth."

"Fine, then." Ciel said, twirling a lock of blonde hair belonging to the boy beneath him around his finger. "I'll play. Pick out a few charities you want me to donate to, and I will. It'll make me look good in the public eye, anyway." He smiled, and the blonde did, too, this time.

"You're a dastardly son of a bitch, you know that?" Alois answered, sighing at the chuckle that bubbled in the bluenette's throat.

"Yes, but you love me anyway."

"You're just lucky that it's kind of hot, sometimes." the blonde retorted. "This time, though, not so much."

"Oh, and how's that?" Ciel asked, raising an eyebrow.

"We just get done talking about horrible flaws in the economic systems in the world that effect the lives of millions, and now you're flirting with me?" answered Alois. There was a pause, as the bluenette formulated an answer, but his smile didn't wane.

"Yeah." he said bluntly. "That sounds about right."

"You're evil." the blonde accused.

"Why, I love you too, muffin." Ciel replied. "But, if my beloved boyfriend commands it, I won't lay a single finger on you." he added, sitting back up and looking back toward the stacks of paper. The bluenette didn't even bother to hide his small grin as he counted down the seconds that it would take for Alois to answer just as anticipated:

"Make it quick." the blonde said, tugging on the bluenette's shirt with slightly pink cheeks. "We've still got to finish your paperwork..."

"Oh, I would love to, your highness," Ciel answered, turning back to the blonde menace and pecking him on the lips. "...but I think I'll take my time."

"Ciel!" the blonde whined in protest as he was once again pushed onto his back.

"I would apologise, but as you know, I'm 'evil'..."

 


	319. Very Contradictory

Warwick Academy; Yes, I'm sure you're more than well aware by now about this fine school by now. The school campus stands tall, and it stands proud for yet another year of educating the offspring of the upper-crust of society, in order to provide them with the knowledge and skills that they will require to usher in a new generation of independent and well-read leaders of tomorrow. It is this year that the Sensational Seven will bid "farewell" to this wonderful campus, as they enter their twelfth and final year at Warwick Academy.

They still donned their uniforms just as any other year, bearing the navy and gold Warwick crest on their breast-pocket as they strutted on the school grounds, proud of their earned status. As if they weren't well-known on campus already, they were now officially the top-dogs. Underclassmen, beware, the Sensational Seven were impervious to the scorn of the upper-classmen once and for all, and could now bask in respect for their seniority over the underclassmen. That is, except for two particular freshmen girls, who saw them for what they really were. They were best friends, and knew the seven well. Their names were Samantha Westley, and Geraldine Midford.

"So, how's it feel to have the little sis on campus with ya, Dan?" asked Audrey, grinning as he flicked the stylus of his Nintendo DS across it's small screen. The Westley boy, however, was less than amused.

"She's so annoying~!" he groaned, slumping in his chair. "I finally get the chance to be cool, for once, and here she comes, letting the world know just how much of a cock-up that I am!"

"Haha, nice." replied the boy in the skull beanie. "I'm so glad I'm an only child. Siblings sound awful. Oh, yeah, that reminds me... Hey, Kris, when's Anastasia's movie coming out?"

"In two weeks." the faux-blonde replied. "We're all going to the premeire. I'm still trying to find an outfit."

"No way! Why wasn't I invited?!" Daniel indignantly interrupted.

"I thought you were?" Kristopherson said, arching an eyebrow.

"Why would you need to go, anyway, Dan?" Preston interjected.

"I'm her boyfriend!" the Westley boy replied.

"Huh, really? I thought she broke up with you again." Audrey said, causing the other boys to laugh.

"She did not!"

"You don't want to go, anyway." the faux-blonde said. "Our dad will be there, and he doesn't really like you all that much." Now that, Daniel couldn't argue with.

"What's the movie called again?" asked Preston.

"'Code: Zero'" Kristopherson answered. "She's playing one of the main rebels, named 'Karen'."

"Isn't Lawrence in that, too?"

"Yeah, he plays the main character. I can't pronounce his name. It's french, or something. From what I saw of her script, Anna's his love interest." the Miles boy said, shooting the Westley boy a teasing smirk, enjoying the other boy's flustered expression.

"You're bullshitting me!" the boy accused.

"I am not. Go see the movie."

"Well, I would, but I wasn't invited!" Daniel protested, as per usual with the pink-loving faux-blonde. It was a good thing that a certain pair of satanic boys walked into the room, or else who knows just how far things would escalate. The blonde menace waltzed right up to the group with his boyfriend in tow, and immediately uttered something insulting.

"Hello, ladies~!" he greeted in a sing-song voice, summoning the startled attention of the rest of the seven. The boys looked at him with surprised, yet happy eyes, after having not seen either boy in a week. "What goes on?"

"We were talking about our sisters." answered Kristopherson, as the two demons took their seats. "Nevermind that, where were you two? We haven't seen you at school."

"Solving a murder, probably." suggested Audrey.

"...Or making out." added Daniel, earning a punch to the arm.

"Well, that's an interesting story, that may have something to do with the topic of 'siblings'." Alois answered, looking back at the others. "Long story short: I nearly lost my soul, and now my old, deceased body is running around." he casually added, causing Audrey to choke on his own spit, and the rest of the boys to simply sit, gapping at the half-hearted explanation. This was going to take some time to explain.

And it did, taking up the entire start of first period, and the majority of the lads' lunch hour. Thank goodness that each and every lad had a basic idea of how this all worked, or else it would have been extremely difficult to explain. The story was told in the proper sequence, explaining that for most of the week, after the duo had been to Alois' grave, Alois started to grow weaker; H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. got involved, and introduced the fact that there was a creature known as a "revenant" behind it. They then went on about how they "zombie" was now named "Revy", and lived at their house. It was a lot for the mind of an "ordinary" human being to completely wrap their head around, but after the expected moments of shock, awe, and confusion, the jokes began.

"So, Ciel, how is it having two blondie's around, eh?" the Westley boy teased, wiggling his eyebrows and nudging the bluenette in the arm.

"Not much different than having one." Ciel replied with a sigh, knowing full-well that this response was inevitable. "Revy is cute, and all, but Jim is attractive."

"What's the difference?" asked Preston, confusedly. "Aren't those the same thing?"

"There's a lot more to attraction than just looks, you know." the bluenette answered.

"Oh, and just what is it about Alois that's 'attractive'?" Kristopherson asked with a smirk.

"Like hell, I'd tell you lot." Ciel said bluntly. "Demeanor, personality, things like that."

"Oh? Are you sure it's not the short-shorts?" The bluenette nearly choked on his own spit.

"Hey! I haven't worn those in ages!" Alois protested from his seat to the side of the Phantomhive, just opposite of Daniel. True, the blonde hadn't worn his signature short-short for a while, but their mark on his overall image has been made, forever besmirching his friends' perceptions of him. The rest of the boy's only chuckled.

"Does this 'Revy' guy wear short-shorts, too?" asked Audrey, before taking a sip from his milk carton.

"No, in fact, he's really plain, and deterrent to anything vaguely suggestive of a 'homosexual nature'." the blonde answered, nearly causing the other boy to do a spit-take.

"Really?" asked Preston.

"Yep." Alois replied. "He doesn't like me and Ciel together, either."

"So you're saying... that he's like, a straight version of you?" inquired a certain lad, who was partial to pink.

"Nope. He's really nothing like me at all, except in our face." the blonde menace corrected, crossing his arms. "He also thinks Ciel is 'creepy'."

"Well, duh..." Daniel said, beginning a crude joke. "...he's Satan, and he's also the guy who's banging his look-alike."

"Daniel!" Kristopherson warned, while Audrey punched the Westley boy in the arm.

"What? It's true, in'nt?!" the bruentte in question objected, rubbing his freshly sore appendage.

"Some of us are trying to eat, mate." spoke a certain lad wearing a beanie with a skull on it. "Still, I can't imagine how awkward that must be." he added.

"Easy. Pretend you have a gay clone..." the Westley lad said. "...now, pretend that Kristopherson was having sex with it." The faux-blonde choked on his meal, while the reaper-boy was unfazed.

"How about I don't, and you keep your little fantasies to yourself, Dan?" Bones replied, scathing the Westley boy with his words, and turning his face scarlet, accordingly.

"I don't fantasize about that shit!" Daniel retorted, causing a few of the other boy's to snort as they tried to hold in their laughter.

"Really? You seem very interested in the topic, Danny-boy!" chimed in Alois, being the only one in the group to laugh with his hand away from his mouth. "Kinda dodgy, don'tcha think?" Daniel frowned.

"I am not!" he bellowed. "I'm not gay!"

"The sooner you come out of the closet, Dan, the happier you'll be." remarked Kristopherson, speaking through his fingers.

"Fuck you!"

"I thought you just said you weren't gay?"

 


	320. Detention of the Dumbass Duo

It is once more, that we find the scene being set at the luxurious Warwick Academy. This private institution holds the record for the best education money can buy that isn't a University. It has a rugby feild, football field, basketball court, indoor swimming pool, technology centre, and the most regal school auditorium in the entire collective of the United Kingdom (aside from Weston School for Boys). Yes, practically anything the students could want for recreation is here, but none of these things are our focus, today. Today, we focus on the library of Warwick Academy.

The library was two stories tall, and was of a considerable length and width. On the first floor, there were books of all kinds, and on the second floor, the same. Any book written in the English language that could be considered "appropriate" for students was there, and surprisingly, students actually would check them out, on occasion. Some students could volunteer at the library, and earn some spending money for manning the desk, however, others, did not.

These students were some of Warwick's least pleasing individuals, as they were not there for recreation, but as punishment. You see, oftentimes when disciplinary actions needed to be taken, students would be sent here to sort books and put them back on shelves as part of their detention. Unlike the volunteers, they received no reward for their work, and were expected to stay for two full hours after school had ended to complete this task. If they didn't, they were often required to stay again. Fortunately, for one regular, he was swift, and able to finish his work in record time.

Alois had been in and out of detention since the start of this acedemic career at Warwick, but to his credit, he had in fact calmed down over the past year, and hadn't manned the shelves for quite some time. Our favourite blonde menace had been menacing less, and he was starting to rid himself of his title as a "delinquent". Today, however, that changed when he and a certain son of a politician landed themselves in trouble.

Naturally, the blonde was annoyed with this turn of events, given his clean-streak, but there was no changing the past. He couldn't go back in time and stop the both of them from loudly discussing "inappropriate" subject matter during class. He was no doctor. As such, he got on with his work, placing books on shelves, just as instructed, while ignoring the "regulars" of the detention crowd who got on his nerves.

During his first year, these students would often tease and harass him, but now, they knew better. He was "the blonde menace", one of the most frightening people in the entire school. The only one possibly scarier was Ciel Phantomhive, whom no one even dared to give a "nickname" to. Rumour has it, that the bluenette destroyed a kid with only his glare for calling him a "pirate". The other kid left for Tamworth a week later. These two "Devils of Warwick" were also dating, so if you tangoed with one, the other was bound to cut in.

The blonde stood on a small ladder leaning against one of the library's sturdy shelves, placing books up on high. When no one was looking, he'd use his tail to grab some more books from the cart, so he didn't have to climb back down again. With his sense, being cautious was no hassle whatsoever; he sensed the Westley lad approaching alone, so he thought nothing of it, considering that the lad knew of his secret, but what he didn't expect was the politician's son coming up so quickly with a cart of books of his own.

Daniel rounded the corner, and immediately crashed into Alois' ladder, causing him to lose balance, and claw at the shelf in front of him to steady himself and knocking the ladder over. Books fell off the shelves as the blonde kicked his legs in order to right himself. When he did, he looked down and saw the damage done. Both carts where knocked over, mixing the already sorted books together, most of which being Daniel's, as Alois was almost done, however, the books from the shelf also added to the mix and the confusion. The blonde looked down at the other boy, who looked up at him on his place on the shelf, seated on the floor, as the collision forced him back on his rump. He laughed nervously, but Alois was not amused.

"What in blazes are you doing?!" the blonde demanded, his tone hushed. The other boy made an attempt to pick up the books on the floor as the menace climbed down.

"I was trying to get done quickly." Daniel answered simply as Alois joined him in picking up books. "I didn't know you were there... Sorry..."

"It's alright, I s'pose." the Macken lad replied with a sigh. He didn't think it would kill the bluenette to wait on him for a while longer, but he still didn't like to make his beau wait, especially when he needed to get home and check up on Luka and Revy. The two hadn't been getting along all that well, after all. "'Nothing we can do but get these sorted and finish the job."

"Or we could just ditch and go home." suggested Daniel.

"Do you know who manages detention?" the Macken boy answered with a question, causing the other lad to shrug.

"Mister Irons?" he answered.

"Exactly. He will destroy you."

"Fair enough." the Westley lad replied, placing a few of the books back on the shelf. For the most part, he placed them in the appropriate alphabetical order by author, but there were a few times when he just randomly placed whatever book he grabbed. When there was no more room on the shelf, he and the blonde began to put the books back on the carts, which was when Daniel go an idea.

"Hey, why don't we just put them all on one cart, and work together to put them up?" he asked. "It would be faster!"

"You're right! But you know what would be even faster than that?" Alois responded.

"What?" Daniel asked.

"Putting all the books on one cart, and then I take the empty one, leaving you with that one, and then I go home." the blonde jested, earning a punch to the arm. "Fine, fine, we'll do your idea."

And that, they did; they loaded up the books, and carted them around the library before placing them in their designated locations, cracking jokes the entire way. Obviously, this punishment did absolutely nothing to dissuade them, as they continued to use the same kind of filthy humour that got them in trouble in the first place. They made jokes about the blonde menace's relationship with Ciel, and they joked about Kristopherson. They joked about the all of "dirty" bits and bobs that could possibly be present on a human being, and even some that were considered abnormal.

"Did you hear about that bloke with two dicks?" the Westley boy asked, almost shocking the blonde menace. Alois laughed and shook his head.

"There's no way that's real!" the lad said between laughs as he placed a few books on a nearby shelf. "Is that even possible?"

"It's true, though!" Daniel insisted. "There's pictures of 'em and everything!"

"You looked at another guy's dick-pics?" Alois asked in a suggestive tone, arching an eyebrow.

"Hey, when you hear something like that, gay or straight, you get curious." the other boy replied. "It's kind of like a 'comparing size' thing."

"Only you're comparing number of cocks?" Alois inquired.

"Yep. It didn't to anything but make me less curious." the other boy insisted. "Nothing gay about it."

"I dunno, mate. Looking at other people's dingle-dangles is kind of gay." the blonde replied.

"'Dingle-dangles'?" Daniel echoed. "Seriously?"

"Seriously, in all seriousness." the Macken boy said. "So what's his girlfriend think about that?"

"Actually, he's got both a girlfriend, and a boyfriend, somehow, and they're both okay with it."

"Okay, now I definitely know you're making it up." Alois said.

"It's true!" Daniel insisted. "It was on huffingtonpost! Can you imagine that, though? All three of them doing it while one of them has two schlongs?"

"I'd rather not." the demon replied. "That's way too kinky for me."

"You're a demon, and you have gay sex with Satan. How is that 'too kinky'?"

"Ciel isn't that 'adventurous', and Ciel doesn't have two dicks."

"How do I know that?" Daniel asked. "You demons could have tentacles, or some shit, for all I know!"

"Please, do tell me more about your dick obsession, Dan." Alois said, turning around and smirking at the other boy before getting punched in the arm.

"I'm not gay!" the Westley lad said, pushing the cart as they walked along the aisles of shelves. "I have a girlfriend, you know!"

"Have you kissed?" the blonde asked.

"No, not yet." Daniel said.

"Cuddled?"

"No..."

"Been on a date together?"

"Well, not exactly..."

"Held hands?"

"I'm not gay!" Daniel insisted, stopping the cart again. "I like girls! You're not going to convert me, no matter how hard you try!"

"Why would I want to? Ciel's cuter." the blonde answered, grinning at the other lad's embarrassed frown. He walked over and grabbed the last few books before putting them away, pleased with his victory.

Oddly enough, he knew a person who seemed to fancy the bruenette a lot more than his girlfriend did. Ironically, it was Anastasia's year younger brother, Kristopherson. Yes, almost everyone in the seven knew that the pink-loving faux-blonde had feelings for the Westley lad. Alois knew, Ciel knew, and Audrey knew, but it was uncertain whether or not the last two members did. It could be assumed that Travis did know, but Preston was a tad oblivious to things like this. None of them dared to say a thing about it, however. Not only could they ruin Kristopherson's friendship with Daniel, but their own friendship with the faux-blonde as well, considering the fact that the Miles boy was a tad unforgiving about such matters. It wasn't worth it, and things were sure to sort themselves out. Both boys would probably move on and form their own separate relationships, or, if the suspicions of the blonde menace where confirmed, something else could happen. It seemed as though he were the only one that thought so, however. The others simply liked to use it as the butt of a joke.

Dwelling on a serious matter for too long around Daniel Westley, however, was next to impossible. When Alois turned back around, the lad was sitting on the cart, using it as a substitute for a chair. An idea popped into his head. The blonde casually walked behind the cart, and placed his hands on the bar. With a mischievous grin, he he set his plan into motion.

"FOR NARNIAAAA~!" he shouted, and began to run, pushing the cart in front of him as he did. Poor Daniel held onto it for dear life before managing to adjust himself so that he was seated in a more sturdy position.

"High-ho silver! Away!" Daniel cried as he was carted around the library.

The dumbass-duo were on a rampage. They bumped into things, nearly ran over other detention-goers, and and knocked things over. Daniel held on with a death-grip as the blonde menace pushed him down the wheelchair ramp and accidentally into an unmanned cart, knocking the Westley boy off the cart, and himself on his own behind. They sat their with their bruises for a moment before bursting into laugher. Alois and Daniel were nearly in tears by the time someone came over to investigate the sound of the crash.

Horrified, the boys looked up at the man. He was tall and skinny, with a bony face and prominent scowl. He wore a brown suit with a green tie that complimented his red hair. Of all of the people to have come over, it simply had to be Mister Irons, the man who just so happened to be proctoring detention that day. Mister Irons looked angry, like he was going to explode at any moment; but he didn't. Instead, he took a deep breath and calmed himself, taking a moment to rub his temples.

"Mister Trancy... Mister Westley..." he began with a sigh, his gravely voice uncharacteristically calm. "...just what, pray tell, was that sound I just heard?"

"Uh... we ran into each other?" Daniel said in a half-baked attempt to lie. mister Irons sighed again.

"Is that so?" the man asked. "Then how did you and Trancy end up on the ground, and how did your leg get on top of that overturned cart?" The two boys looked at each other, hoping the their friend had an answer. Nothing. Mister Irons leaned down to get on the lads' level before speaking again.

"I expect to see you both in detention tomorrow, as well."

 


	321. Travis Speaks (For Once)

I'm not sure if this is at all remarkable, or even interesting, seeing as though I'm an ordinary human being, unlike a few of my friends. The rest of them are humans, and they're very interesting, at least I think so. A lot of the time, I'm just content to sit back and listen into their conversations, and I can never think of anything clever to add. I supposed I'm just no good at that sort of thing. It never was my strong suit, and I think that if you don't have anything relevant to add, you shouldn't be talking. Mind you, there are quite a few people how could use that friendly piece of advice.

One of them just so happens to be my father, who, as a professional wrestler, likes to talk a lot of smack for really small reasons. He once got into an argument with an automated check-out machine at the supermarket and probably would have pile-drived it, if an attendant hadn't come over and helped him. My dad's also not all that great while driving. Once, a man cut him off in traffic, causing him to hit him. The man got out and started swearing at my dad, but immediately turned pale when my dad stepped out of the car. He's a big, burly man with beard, who looks like he could knock a tree down by head-butting it. Even worse, was when he started talking like "Macho-man" Randy Savage. The other bloke naturally left his insurance information and apologised. Needless to say, my dad's a scary man. It actually kind of hurts his feelings, but he can't go near my rabbits, because he scares them. My dog, Midas, likes him just fine, though.

Hard to believe he married my mother, who's this dainty woman who looks like she would rather spend her time in a flower shop, than at a wrestling match. My mum runs a company who makes and designs jewelry, and almost always designs for women, or for men buying presents for their girlfriends or wives, however, she has designed jewelry specifically for Dad. She once designed and made him custom rings that can double as brass knuckles. He's not allowed to wear them in the wrestling ring, but he always wears his wedding ring, which I think is pretty sweet.

My mother also works with Kristopherson's mum, on occasion, seeing as though Mrs. Miles is a fashion designer. She'll come over sometimes, and look at jewelry. It's hard to believe, but she's even more eccentric than Kris. While Kris bleaches his hair blonde, his mum cuts it short, dyes it pink, and shaves the sides even shorter. She also seems to really like pink, purple, and green, and dresses in these really flamboyant outfits. That's fashion, I guess.

Kris will come over too, sometimes. He's not really good with animals. He doesn't seem to know what to do with dogs, and he gets chased by ducks. He's good with cats, and okay with rabbits. One time, though, he came over, and tried to see how many he could fit in his hoodie. I swear that's something Daniel would do, but then again, they are best friends... I'm pretty sure he fancies Dan, a bit. I could be wrong, though, so I don't think I should say anything. Besides, it's not really any of my business.

It's really fun to watch them argue, but I think it's a little easier to get along with Preston and Audrey. They're quieter, and easier to keep up with. Ciel is also quite interesting to talk to, but it's really hard to wrap my head around the fact that he's not really human, or how exactly he knows everything he does. I had no idea how easy it was to kill a person, or how often a person gets killed. He and Alois both completely baffle me.

I don't think I have to worry about them snapping and killing everyone in a bloody-frenzy, but the calmness that they have when talking about murder and the supernatural is kind of unsettling. Do you know how uncomfortable it is to sit in a room with two demons as they casually discuss a cannibalistic murderer? They're good people, but they're just so... odd. I suppose it comes with the sort of pasts they had. Another thing that's hard to wrap my head around is that something so horrible can happen to an ordinary person to make them that way. They're both certainly much stronger than me, I'll tell you that much. I don't think I could have done what they did, or experience what they did, and not come out again either dead, or completely insane. Still, they both are able to be mostly "normal", and be able to find love in one another, which I think is pretty sweet, too. If they ever need to pick out engagement rings, then I can probably get them a discount.

Everyone seems to have these strange hobbies, myself included. I really like animals and the outdoors, Preston likes computers, Kristopherson likes fashion, Audrey likes photography, Daniel likes music, and both Ciel and Alois seem to really like solving murders. Did you know all of that? Audrey's house has tons of his photographs on the walls. He's really good at it, actually. Daniel supposedly sings and plays the guitar, but I've never seen him do either of those things. I think Kristopherson might have, though. I know Preston plays the violin, though, and I think Ciel does, too. I, myself, can play piano.

Sometimes, I'll have to go over to the Phantomhive house, which is always a little intimidating. It's just to babysit Luka when Sebastian is out on errands, or volunteering at the Animal shelter, or when Ciel and Alois can't. Their house is so much bigger than mine, and much more "grand". I never know what to do while I'm there, so I mostly just go along with whatever Luka suggests, unless it breaks a rule, or if it's his bed time.

It got worse when Revy started living there, because I really don't know that much about him. He just stays in his room the entire time. Occasionally he'll come out to eat, or use the toilet, but that's it. He won't say a single word. Luka says that he's a "sourpuss", which is odd, since that sounds like something someone would say about Ciel. Apparently, Ciel isn't as strict as I thought.

I swear, you could write a bestselling series about him. I don't know what you would call it, though. Maybe when I get older, I'll work on that. I always did like English, haha.

Oh, no... I've got to go... I think Midas just swallowed one of my mum's rings again...

 


	322. Peacetime At Warwick

Warwick Academy a pristine example of what education should be. A safe environment for the children of the upper-class to learn all that they can so that they may lead the world into a better tomorrow. Warwick, unlike their ugly sister school, Tamworth, is one of the safest, cleanest, and best environment to possibly work in, aside from one or two incidents here and there. Both instances were the work of one student, however, who sadly, is no longer with us. Ever since then, bullying rates plummeted at Warwick, causing the few rotten students of Warwick to change their ways. Yes, the new Warwick Academy was safe, with little to worry about...

...Until today, of course.

You see, over the past few weeks, a handful of students had been falling ill at Warwick, and had to either be sent, or stay home. This wasn't unsual in the slightest. It was an everyday occurrence. What didn't set well with the remaining students, however, was the fact that none of them came back. Their friends made attempts to contact them, however, none of them had gotten any sort of response. On occasion, they would get the parents to answer the home phone, but all that they received as an explanation was some heavy insisting that the children were still sick. So, if this had been happening over the course of several weeks, then why was today any different? Why, because today is the day that the children of Warwick discovered why.

It was an ordinary day at Warwick. It was noon, and children were eating lunch in the cafeteria or outside, which was also popular to do. The Sensational Seven were seated in their usual spot, being silly just as always amongst the crowd of other teens, all of them oblivious to what was about to happen next. All of them, but one. That "one" became "two", eventually, and then became hundreds. That "one" was of course, the ever-observant Ciel Phantomhive.

Ciel had a habit of tuning out any conversations with the Seven that got too silly, or needlessly suggestive. He'd chime in every now and again, especially if the topic turned to him or his boyfriend, but there were many times when he was left to ponder this and that, as he often did. He mostly thought about work, or about family or domestic affairs, but there were times he simply watched the crowd like they were fish in an aquarium. It was a habit he developed in his early years of public schooling, when he didn't exactly have "friends".

He saw a few of the boys on the rugby team rough-housing, and he saw Anastasia with her friends and Lawrence. He saw Samantha, Daniel's sister, with her friend, Geraldine, Oliver Midford's little sister. It was somewhat of a tradition of the Midford house to send their children to the Weston school, but seeing as though it was a school for boys, Geraldine was ineligible for attendance. Ciel recalled that the girls of Midford were never sent away for schooling until the early 1900s, if you can believe that. Just a few years after he "died". Oh, how he's been really bad about this habit since then. Somehow, though, it was quite relaxing. That is, until he noticed something rather peculiar.

Ciel couldn't be bothered to tune into whatever crude joke was being made, or teasing and taunting done of the other lads made by each other when there was something not quite right. It was a lad, just a few meters away from where the seven sat, who looked ill. No, "ill" is and understatement. This boy looked almost "zombie-like" in his demeanor.

The boy's movement was stiff, and his eyes vacant, his skin suffering from serious pallor. He looked as though he had lost a lot of weight, judging by how poorly his uniform fit him. He looked unhealthy, and others near him took notice as well, but did nothing. The poor boy was in a cold sweat, and began to cough. It wasn't an airy sort of cough, from his lungs, no. It looked like something was stuck in his throat. Curiosity finally got the better of him, and he had to ask.

"Hey, who's that?" he asked to the group, interrupting a positively riveting conversation about breasts. Alois already noticed the lad, as he had followed the bluenette's eye after a while of quiet from the boy, but shrugged, as he had no answer. The other boys looked as well, but didn't recognise him. All of them but one.

"Jeremiah Sanders." answered Audrey, having knowledge on almost anything about anyone who is "anyone" on the Warwick campus. "His parents are into politics as well. I think they've ran against Dan's dad, actually. He's been sick lately. Looks like he's getting worse."

"Obviously..." Alois said without thinking, staring at the boy. Something was wrong. Very wrong. Why was he allowed to come to school if he was this ill? Something was wrong; very wrong.

"Are you getting that weird vibe that something horrible is happening?" he asked, leaning in to whisper to the bluenette's ear. Ciel nodded.

"My sixth sense is picking something up." the bluenette whispered back.

"Any ideas?"

"Absolutely none."

"Hey, what are you two whispering about?" Kristopherson asked, furrowing his brow. There was no way he was going to not notice the lad's conversation after something odd like a "zombie-student" turns up. "Something's up, isn't it?"

"Too early to tell." the bluenette said. "It could be, or it could be nothing."

"What's with all the zombies, lately?" asked Preston. "First there's that thing with that 'Revy' kid, and now there's this?"

"There's only one explanation." Audrey said, looking up from his game with a serious face. "Zombie apocalypse."

"Oh, please. Don't be ridiculous." uttered the Phantomhive boy. "Zombies are too easy to kill to cause an apocalypse."

"'In the name of God, all souls of the living dead shall be banished into eternal damnation'." the reaper-boy quoted, saying the standard H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. prayer. It's seldomly used anymore, but it still made Ciel chuckle.

"'Amen'." the bluenette said, finishing the phrase. His moment of amusement didn't last.

The boy across from them suddenly entered a coughing fit, shaking, and spasming, causing him to fall to his knees. Ciel and Alois immediately stood up, their eyes never leaving the scene, as their friends watched on. Covering his mouth, the boy known as "Jeremiah" coughed, coughed, coughed, and coughed some more, clutching at his chest and stomach with his free hand. The coughing turned violent, and people began to watch, some of them leaving; one or two in order to get a teacher. All of a sudden, blood began to leak between Jeremiah's fingers and down his chin, staining his uniform. More, more, and more, still, until finally, he stopped covering his mouth and bent over, placing his hands on the ground to keep himself from falling over.

At last he stopped coughing, when he began to vomit up blood instead. The demonic duo immediately made their way over to the boy, pushing other students aside in order to get there faster. Something was wrong; very, very wrong. With the amount of blood he was throwing up, he was going to die within minutes. There was nothing they could do. They couldn't cover his mouth and force him to swallow it. That could result in blood-poisoning, or it would simply come out of his nose.

When they got to the boy, Ciel and Alois simply had no idea what to do. There was nothing they could do. They didn't know what was causing this, and they certainly didn't know how to stop it. Even if they did, would he be able to recover from the trauma? Probably not. He would die. All they could do was wait, and watch as the boy looked up at them with pleading eyes, using them to beg for help when his voice was gone.

It hurt to watch, but that was nothing compared to the agony that the boy was experiencing. Had there not been a crowd, the lad's might have put him out of his misery. Poor Jeremiah reached out with one hand, and grasped at the leg of the blonde menace. This scene was familiar.

No, shove the thought aside. That was the past, this is the present. It's the only thing that matters. Still, Alois wanted to console the suffering lad somehow, but there was nothing he could do but lie to the boy, saying "everything is going to be alright."

He felt the boy's hand on his ankle. It was freezing. The boy was almost gone, now, and Alois averted his gaze. The blonde couldn't bear to look at those eyes of his. Still, he crouched down and removed the boy's hand from his ankle and holding it in his own. He didn't care that it was covered in blood and God knows what else, but the bluenette seemed to feel the same as he joined them. It was the most that the demonic duo could do for this boy, now, as those eyes of his turned glassy.

By the time Mister Irons and a few other teachers made it, it was far too late. Jeremiah was gone. The most that they could do was clear the area of children, and call the ambulance.

"What happened?" Mister Irons asked the bluenette, his voice genuinely saddened. He paced back and forth, obviously kicking himself for not arriving sooner. It didn't matter if he had or not. This boy's death was in no way his fault. Ciel, being the detective that he is, waited for the other children to leave before getting to work.

"That's what I'm about to find out." he replied, beginning his examination. He didn't bother putting on gloves, as his hands were already bloody.

First, Ciel began by flipping the boy onto his back, making sure he was lying relatively flat on the ground as opposed to the fetal position he died in. He had to act quickly before rigor mortis sat in, and made the process difficult. Then, he checked the boy's pockets and backpack for anything out of the ordinary. What he found, was very odd, indeed.

A plastic bag full of black powder, a lighter, a pipe, and a razor-blade. Obviously, this may have been the result of a drug addiction, but just what kind of drug causes one to vomit up blood? Hard to say; this black powder in the bag didn't look like any kind of narcotic the bluenette had seen before. It looked like gunpowder, and he wasn't even sure how it was consumed, if it was consumed at all. He decided to put it aside for now, and send it away to Scotland Yard later for proper analysis.

Next, he moved on to examine the body itself, mentally apologising before doing so. He would save actually disrobing the lad for the autopsy crew, but he would roll up the other boy's sleeves and pants legs just in case. There was nothing on his legs or feet, but what he did find on the lad's arms was indeed, peculiar. Correction: not his arms, but his hands; the bluenette didn't even have to roll up the boy's sleeves.

In the middle of each palm was a big, black spot. At first, the Phantomhive boy thought that they were drawn on, but upon further examination, there was no ink to be found. It was flesh, and the skin that the spot touched was "ill-fitting", it seemed. It was almost like a blister. What on earth was this?

While he was examining Jeremiah, the blonde menace continued digging in the boy's backpack, only to discover a day-planner. It was most likely empty, but it might prove useful. Alois cracked it open, peaking at the recent dates, and found nothing of interest. An assignment due-date, or two, a dentist appointment, nothing at all out of the ordinary until- hang on...

"Hey, Ciel?" the blonde called, gaining the bluenette's attention for a moment.

"Yes?" the Phantomhive answered, getting up to walk over to his partner.

"Look at this." Alois instructed, pointing to a particular date in the planner. It was only a few days prior, but it's caption was especially odd.

"Buy Black Annis from Jon 4:30 behind library"

"What does this mean?" the blonde asked, looking back toward the bluenette, only to see the other boy shake his head and shrug.

"I don't know." he said. "Judging by the pipe, I assume it might be referring to whatever that black powder is."

"Sounds like a heavy metal CD." Alois replied. "Though, I doubt he'd have to buy that behind a library, so your theory's looking good. Should we have Audrey do a little digging for us?"

"My thoughts, exactly." Ciel answered, the sounds of sirens off in the distance. "We should probably leave before we have to explain why we're hanging around a dead body."

"Good plan."

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aaaaaw~ The Black Annis has shown up~!!!
> 
> This is the start of something beautiful <3
> 
> Meanwhile, the people from FF who already know just nervously sweat...
> 
> This is the beginning of a storyline that eventually made people ask me to switch the rating from "T" to "M" and y'know, I can respect that. For the time it was... it was pretty bad for DLTD, I'm not gonna lie... The rating has been the same ever since...
> 
> Gonna be fun for you all, though~!
> 
> Until the next chapter, my duckies~!


	323. Just Say No

A shadow hung over Warwick Academy for the week following the grusome fate of Jeremiah Sanders. None of the students quite knew what happened, or how. Some who were friends with the sickly students from weeks prior questioned their fate. During this time, Ciel had inlisted the help of a certain information-savvy boy-reaper in order to quickly pinpoint the identity of this "Jon" fellow mentioned in Jeremiah's day-planner, and perhaps some insight into what this "Black Annis" was. While he waited, Ciel turned his attention to identifying the black substance found on the victim's body.

He took it to Scotland Yard, but they weren't much help. They couldn't identify the substance or what it was made of, which was crucial information, but did find that it matched something that they, themselves, had been looking into. Apparently, the substance was popping up here and there, and Ciel's suspicion was correct.

It was indeed, used as a narcotic. "Black Annis", it was called, and it could apparently been ingested in multiple ways. Some smoked it, others snorted it, while some addicts ingested tablets. All of it was the same, unidentifiable substance, consumed by all walks of life. Some were rich, like the boy from Warwick, while others while poor. A few in the middle class consumed it as well, but the most disturbing part was how they discovered it.

They only found it on the corpses of the addicts. The users had all died in every instance that the police had found them. Some had vomited up blood and bled to death, like Jeremiah, some had their immune systems fall apart, while other's bodies simply rotted. All of them had the same zombie-like look, and black spots on their palms. Friends and families of the victims expressed that they noticed that the victim had been acting strangely, and looked sick, however, never once complained of any pain or discomfort. They were vacant, as if oblivious to any harm done to them.

But that wasn't the worst of it. Oh, no. The horrible part was that when forensic scientists tried to discover what the substance was made of, they, too, would develop the symptoms similar to the original victims if the substance touched their skin; pallor, dark circles around the eyes, vacant eyes, and lethargy. Sometimes, the least they would develop a rash, growth, sores that would bleed or cancer-like tumors, all unrecognizable by any doctor, like in a few rare cases of the victims themselves. Sometimes, they would develop an addiction to it as well, and be caught stealing it from the lab before dying shortly after.

It was almost like the black death in powder form. It was appropriately named "Black Annis", just like the witch. With that thought, Ciel became a tad suspicious.

A deadly, unidentifiable drug, that caused death and decay to anyone who came in contact with it? The fact that it was named after a witch only tripped the bluenette's imagination. Thus, he decided to ask H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. for a quick favour, and politely ask their new "research team" for help. The results would be back in approximately a fortnight. Until then, all he could do was wait, and hope that Audrey has some new information to provide.

Ciel and his beloved assistant met the lad in a secluded section of the library, where none of their conversation could be heard by your average student. Ironically, it was the religious section. It was small, and somewhat dusty, as no one ever ventured back there; a perfect location to discuss deadly narcotics.

"What do you know, Audrey?" the bluenette asked after offering their mutual nod as greeting. Bones leaned against on of the bookcases, not bothered in the slightest by the dust that was probably marking his deep navy uniform blazer, and reached into it's breast pocket to pulll out a small memo pad.

"I found out everything I could." the boy said, looking a bit disappointed. "'Black Annis' is apparently the black powder you found, in case you didn't already know that, and According to Jeremiah's close friends, he started using it a few weeks ago. In other words, it works quickly." Audrey turned the page and continued reading.

"After a little bit of digging, I found out that a few other students used it as well, do you know what happened to them?" he asked, looking up at the demonic duo.

"The sick students that vanished off the face of the earth..." Alois answered.

"Exactly." Bones replied. "All of them. Sorry, but I can't tell you what happened to them, but I can tell you who they are."

"If you would be so kind?" the bluenette said, receiving a nod from the reaper-boy. The other lad turned to another page, and tore it off the pad before handing it to the bluenette.

"Thought you'd like that information." he said. "There's their names and addresses."

"Goin' the extra mile there, aren't ya, Bones?" Alois mused.

"I try." the Baines lad answered with a half-smile. "They also talked about meeting some kid named 'Jon' behind the library. Sorry, but I couldn't find out who he was. No one knows what he looked like, but his customers, all of which are currently out of my reach. No one seems to know him, but I could be wrong. I didn't have enough to go on to find out, I'm afraid." He frowned, almost ashamed of his inability to find the information. Ciel looked over the piece of paper in his hand before folding it up and placing it in his pocket.

"This is enough." he said. "If we're not too late, we should be able to interrogate some of the people on this list and find out more for you to go on. Until then, just keep your eyes open." He paused before looking as though he remembered something. "I'm sorry, I forgot your 'payment'. I'll give it to you next time I see you."

"S'alright." answered Audrey. "On the house. This is interesting; much better than the usual blackmail."

"Glad you're having fun."

"You're having more fun than I am." the lad remarked, causing the bluenette to be taken aback a little. Did he really enjoy this?

True, he felt most sure of himself and comfortable in the field than in a classroom or in ordinary social setting. Murder, homicide, drug rings, prostitution rings, kidnappings, assassination, all of it was easier for him to deal with, but did he really "enjoy" it? Looking back on it, he was sort of unsettled. He and the blonde almost treated it like a game. It killed time to catch killers, and it was exciting. It always had been, for Ciel, and Alois seemed to have taken a liking to it as well.

They did their job swiftly and with precision, but it was considered more than "a tad" abnormal to actually find amusement in death. Was he some sort of freak? Was it because he wasn't human? No, he enjoyed it while he was human as well, so that couldn't be it. Maybe he was just a freak. Fortunately for him, his boyfriend was, too, but it still hurt.

He left the library, information in hand, feeling a tad self-conscious, which was an odd feeling. The Phantomhive couldn't say that he was used to it. Ciel was instead used to being above everyone else, looking down at the idiots from high on his throne, using them for his own benefit; he wasn't used to being on their level. He still wasn't "quite", but he somehow found a little more value in others. To realise that he took a little enjoyment out of solving murders, that involve real people, with hopes, dreams, aspirations, and people they care about and care about them, was shocking. He would sometimes sit, bored in his office, and hope for a murder. It was sickening. He was sickened by himself. Truly, he was a real monster.

Still, this "monster" had a job to do. He and the blonde menace skipped class that day, and left campus to venture onward to their first location: home, to change out of their uniforms, before making the trip to the first house on the list.

Her name was Isabelle Bowen, and she lived in the city with her parents in an very upscale apartment complex. She went home sick precisely one week ago, so there was a good chance that she was still alive. Her friends tried calling, but received no answer from her cell phone, and when they called the home phone, her parents wouldn't tell them what happened to her. Naturally, it took some effort to get into the building.

When the demonic duo rang the bell to be buzzed in, they politely said that they were with the police and were working on an investigation and would like the ask either them, or their daughter a few questions. Mister and Missus Bowers, in reply, eloquently told the two detectives to "piss off", which of course, didn't fly. Ciel and Alois didn't even bother to try and reason with them, as they knew it would be futile, and began to formulate a plan. That was when, of course, fortune smiled upon them in the form of Alois recalling something from television. The Macken boy smiled mischievously, when he noticed that the name on the floor above their target was written on a scrap of paper, rather than a nameplate. This meant that the person in that apartment had just moved in, and would be perfect for what he was about to do.

"Watch this." he said as he pressed the button, and put his TV knowledge to good use.

"Hello?" the voice on the speaker said. Alois straightened himself, and told one of the nicest lies he'd ever made.

"Hi, I'm really sorry to bother you, but I forgot my key, and my parents won't be home for a few hours." he said, causing the bluenette to introduce the palm of his hand to his forehead. There was no way this was going to work. "I live on the floor below you. My name is James, James Bowers. Do you think you can buzz me in?" He and the bluenette both waited for the person on the other end to reply. This was definitely, definitely, not going to work...

"Give me a minute." the stranger said, before a 'buzzing' sound was heard. The door opened, much to Ciel's disbelief.

"Thank you so much! I owe you one!" the blonde said before entering the building with a flabbergasted bluenette in tow.

They walked the halls of the building, discussing how far-fetched that was, and how it shouldn't have worked, or rather, the bluenette did while the blonde laughed. Things took a more serious turn, however, when they made it to the correct door indicated by Audrey's scribbles. Now they had to somehow coax the family to open the door and let them in. Granted, they could have kicked in the door, but then what if they found nothing? They would have received nothing but a bill for the damages.

Thus, they first made an attempt to knock on the door, both boys reaching into their pockets in order to grab their badges. It didn't open, but there was a voice on the other side, it's owner most likely peeking through the peep-hole in the door. It didn't sound too welcoming.

"Hello? Who's there?" the voice asked, it's tone harsh.

"Senior Detective Constable Sir Ciel Phantomhive." the bluenette answered, holding up his badge. "I'm here on an investigation."

"Junior Detective Constable Jim Macken." the blonde chimed in, doing the same. "I'm with him." There was a long pause before the voice answered

"I thought I told you both to piss off?" it said. "I don't have time for you kids and your stupid games!"

"This isn't a game." Ciel replied, furrowing his brow. He hated constantly not being taken seriously due to his appearance. "There are lives at stake, and your daughter could very well be next."

"You can call the cops on us, if you want." Alois added. "They'll just tell you to let us in and cooperate."

"I think I will." The person on the other side of the door said, still wary. Two random teenage boys whom they never knew of, came to their house claiming to be with the police and asking to see their daughter? Anyone would be skeptical, and the lads understood this, so they patiently waited in the hallway until this was sorted out. Finally, the door was opened, revealing a woman with a somewhat embarrassed and frightful face.

"I'm so sorry!" she said. "I really didn't know you were telling the truth..."

"It's perfectly fine." the bluenette said. "It happens all the time. Honestly, I think you were right to be cautious."

"Who knows? We could be total weirdos." Alois added. "So, where's your daughter's room?" Mrs. Bowers arched an eyebrow and led them to Isabelle's bedroom, where the girl was resting.

She was awake, but out of it, with the same "zombie-like" appearance as Jeremiah before his death. The girl say in bed, her skin pale, and damp with sweat, eyes vacant and staring at nothing. On her palms were the same black spots. They weren't as dark, but they were there.

"Sweetie, these boys are with the police." the girl's mother called, summoning Isabelle's attention. "They want to ask you a few questions." The girl gave a nod to show that she heard the woman. With that, Mrs. Bowers was asked to leave, much to her worry. She didn't like the idea of leaving two strange teenage boys alone in a room with her sick daughter, but she heeded their request. Ciel could sense her standing on the opposite side of the door, listening. Smart woman.

"Isabelle?" he called. "I'm Detective Ciel Phantomhive, and this is my associate, Detective Jim Macken. Can you hear me? Can you answer my questions?" It took a few moments, but a response came.

"Yesss..." the girl almost croaked. Speaking as apparently difficult for her. No one could blame her, after what happened to all of the previous users of Black Annis, it wasn't surprising.

"I'm here to ask you about a drug known as 'Black Annis'." the bluenette began, getting straight to the point. "You aren't in any trouble, but I need you to tell me everything you know. We wren't going to arrest you, or anything." Naturally, she was hesitant, but she answered.

"Al... Alright..." the girl said, her voice scratchy. "What do you want to know?"

"I understand that you used this drug, correct?"

"Y-yes..." Isabelle replied, looking down at her hands.

"Where is it?" Ciel asked. Slowly, the girl pointed to a drawer on her desk, prompting the blonde to go look inside. He found black coloured tablets in an empty box of Altoids mints. Ciel turned his attention back to the girl.

"Where did you get it?" he asked. "Word on the street is that almost everyone who has it, has bought it from someone named 'Jon'. Who is 'Jon'?" The girl shrugged.

"I dunno..." she said weakly. "I dunno who he is... He's just some guy..."

"How did you find out about him?" the bluenette asked, and the girl certainly took her sweet time to answer. She looked down at her hands and shrugged.

"Just at some party..." she said finally, twiddling her thumbs. "Me and my friends were at a party, and he was there... He was real weird at first, but we started talking, and he was nice. He started talking about how good he was doing in school, and how much weight he had lost, and how much muscle he put on, and how great everything was going for him... That's when he started talking about Black Annis; how it helped him focus, and feel confident about everything..."

"So that's why you started?" The blunette asked. Isabelle nodded and looked up at him.

"Yeah." she said, looking almost ashamed of herself.

"Things weren't going too well for me." she added. "I put on a few pounds, my boyfriend broke up with me, and my grades weren't too good... Jon said Black Annis would make me feel better, make me smarter, and make me lose weight... I believed him, too. He said it wouldn't be right away. He said that there would be a week or two while it kicked in where it made you feel kind of sick; I believed that too..." The girls voice began to crack, and her eyes became watery.

"Have you used it recently?" Ciel asked, watching as the girl shook her head.

"No." she sniffed. "I kept it in my desk. I stop taking it because I can't reach it."

"Why can't you?" Alois inquired, arching an eyebrow. That was when tears started streaming around the girls cheeks.

"Because..." she began, as she cried "...I can't walk no more because ot it."

 


	324. Super Freaky

Isabelle Bowen was sent straight to the H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. research facility under the false assurance that it was a private hospital. Doctor Ackerman personally saw to her examination, starting first and foremost at her legs, and then progressed to the rest of her body, with of course, the appropriate safety precautions. When questioned by the girl why she and her assistants were wearing haz-mat suits, they simply told her that what she had consumed was a dangerous material, and coming into contact would make them sick as well.

The bodies of the victims were now also in the hands of H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. to undergo an "unique" Hellsing-brand autopsy in search of any supernatural abnormalities. The reason? Why, that was what the demonic duo were in the forensics laboratory to find out.

Much to Ciel's displeasure, there was a certain sorcerer on hand to explain the phenomena, seeing as though Doctor Ackerman was busy. Dafydd had on a lab-coat and I.D. tag as well, giving the appearance that he knew what was going on. Ciel hated that. He didn't know what was going on, and yet Dafydd Blake, of all people, did. The sorcerer, wasn't alone, however. There was a girl in the room, telling him procedures, and telling him what needed to be done.

Her short, auburn hair was pulled back in a bobtail, with her bangs hanging down, barely touching the top of her eyebrows. She was kind of awkward, like she wasn't quite sure how to compose herself around this many people, particularly demons, given the way she moved about. She knew what she was doing, and precisely how to do it, but it seemed as though she was somewhat "off" at the moment. The girl kept nudging her oval-shaped glasses back onto the arch of her nose in a figetty sort of manner, but judging by the detailing on her lab-coat and the rank on her I.D. card, she had been here far longer than Dafydd had, even though she looked about the same age. Further proof was the name on her tag...

"Hi! My name is Miranda. Miranda Ackerman!" she greeted in an overly-friendly manner. She seemed excited and nervous at the same time, as she extended her hand for a handshake. It seemed like it was difficult for her to contain herself, when the bluenette humoured her gesture, causing him to arch an eyebrow in confusion.

"I'm Ciel. Ciel Phantomhive." he said back. He gestured over to the blonde menace. "And this is my boyfriend, Jim Macken."

"Hello~!" the blonde said with a little wave, internally giddy at the fact that the bluenette introduced him in such a way.

"Oh, yes, I know. I've heard all about you from my grandma." Miranda replied.

"Oh? So I take it you're related to Doctor Ackerman?" Ciel asked.

"Yep! I'm her granddaughter. She's been telling me all about your world ever since I was little."

"'My world'?" the bluenette echoed. "It's not. It's the world you live in as well. You're just aware of how it actually is."

Alois giggled at the confusion on the bluenette's face at the girl suddenly seemed nervous again. He knew the boy was only trying to be conversational, but any human would respond that way, especially to a boy with an eye-patch, a black suit, and a permanently grumpy-looking face. Ciel had known her grandmother for many years, and she had been nothing but kind to him, so he tried to at least try to be "nice" to the person who will probably replace her. They could very well be working together for a while, so it was probably best to to make an attempt to not strike terror into his coworker's hearts. The Phantomhive boy didn't want to be a "monster". He had been making an effort to avoid becoming one for years, and since his revelation on his attitude on murder, he had been especially wary of his behaviour. Needless to say, old habits die hard.

"Don't worry, that's him trying to be friendly." the blonde said to the girl reassuringly. He walked over and pinched the bluenette's cheek. "He's being so nice lately. He used to be a real sourpuss to everyone. Don't let his scary eye-patch and frowny-face get to you." Miranda sighed, and gave a nod, prompting the bluenette to shoo his beau's hand away from his face.

He cleared his throat and said; "So, are there any insights as to what Black Annis is, yet?" The girl then stood to attention.

"Not entirely." she replied. "It's still going to take us some time to figure out what it's entirely made of. With Dafydd's help, it's going faster, but it'll still be a few days."

"Alright." Ciel answered. "Let us know if you come up with anythin-"

"Sorry! I wasn't clear!" Miranda interrupted. "We haven't figured out all of it, but we do have some of it. I'm really sorry! I should have said that instead!" Both demons looked at her confusedly, and then to each other. Ciel then looked back at the girl, and gave her a nod of reassurance.

"It's... alright?" he said, uncertain as to how to handle this situation. "You're inexperienced; these things do happen. What do you know?"

"Right! Of course, sir!" the girl said. "If you'll talk to Dafydd, he'll show you, since I can't go in the chamber. Basically, what it seems to be mostly comprised of, is demon bones."

"What?!" Alois exclaimed. "Demon bones?! Why demon bones?!"

"I don't know yet..." the girl replied. "I haven't the faintest, as to why anyone would use this or do what they're doing, but it is what it is. Demonic bones are black, aside from teeth, which explains the colour, and also why some of the other elements have been slightly overpowered. There's small amounts of what we think is rosemary, but we aren't sure."

"Rosemary has an odd, sort of negating effect on demons." the bluenette said. "That's probably why it's still detectable. Anything else would have been coroded, or 'devoured' by the bones."

"That's right! That's also why we belive the effects of the drug haven't kicked in immediately; why the victims take so long to die."

"Wait, rosemary does?" the blonde asked, completely baffled. "We're weak against rosemary? Of all the possible weaknesses, why rosemary?"

"It's not really a 'weakness', but more of a 'sedative'." Ciel answered. "It has a complacent, or calming effect on demons and their energy. In some cases, it's been known to actually attract them." He paused, looking at the blonde's still-confused expression.

"It's like 'catnip for demons'." he said finally with a small sigh.

"So we can get high off it?" Alois asked.

"Pretty much." answered Miranda. "And it's legal."

"I like the way you think." the blonde said with a smile, prompting the bluenette to roll his eye. "So, what do we do now?"

"I'm not entirely sure." Ciel replied, crossing his arms and furrowing his brow. Not having many leads bothered him. He was missing something.

"Miranda, what were the results of the autopsies?" he asked finally.

"Bad." the girl said bluntly. "Really bad. These people have been torn apart from the inside out. Their organs have been rotting, and black growths have been forming on their bones. According to my grandmother, the growths look a lot like advanced bone-cancer, only they're supernatural in nature. They respond to standard anti-freak disposal procedures. It's probably for the best that the victims' bodies be disposed of soon."

"Great, so it's Satanic cancer, then?" the blonde asked. "Super."

"We can't say that for sure, but I do think it would be beneficial to not let the Black Annis incubate for too long." Ciel said, turning to the door. "For now, we need to find out where it's coming from, and who's behind this."

"What about the girl who just came in?" Miranda asked, sheepishly. "She's still alive, and she's still infected..."

"Not my department." the bluenette replied. "I'll leave that up to the good folks of H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. to decide. It doesn't bother me either way." And with that, the demonic duo left.

The pair walked the halls of the facility before walking out into the night air. They had spent the entire day working on this. They would still have to make up an excuse as to why they skipped classes again. Goodness knows what sort of raunchy rumours were spreading by now about the couple. Still, the job came first. They had all the time in the world for education, but not to stop the spread of Black Annis.

"Do you think Audrey will have found anything else we can use?" the blonde asked as he and his beau walked to their awaiting cab.

"I hope so..." the bluenette replied. "If not, then we've got nowhere left to turn. Cases get a lot more complicated when there's 'freaks' involved."

"Aren't all criminals 'freaks'?" Alois inquired.

"Yes, but that's also the term H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. likes to use to refer to the supernatural." answered the Phantomhive lad. "Thus the term 'anti-freak', when it comes to their weapons."

"That sounds kind of racist."

"Well, they do specialize in genocide." Ciel commented, placing his hands in his pockets with a sigh. "Still, they keep the masses safe from homicidal maniacs that the police wouldn't stand a chance against."

"We do, too." replied the menace. "But we're still considered 'freaks'?"

"It is what it is..."

"I don't think we're freaks..." Alois uttered. "I think we're people, too..."

"Humans don't consider other humans to be 'people', Jim." the bluenette said. "Until they can sort that out, we'll still be 'freaks'."

 


	325. Asian Persuasion

Warwick Academy; A school up in arms. Word got out about what happened to the "sick" students. Some of them died, while the lucky ones ended up crippled. Information had been intentionally manipulated to not include the fact that drugs were involved. If the criminal behind this decided that everyone was too wary, and that no one would be buying, he or she would most likely venture elsewhere, causing the duo back to the start. Was it dangerous to keep students in the dark? Yes. Was it dangerous to let a criminal escape unto a greater unsuspecting populations? Yes.

A certain boy by the name of Audrey Baines had been put up to the task of assisting in finding the perpetrator, using his vast network of information to do so. While he was nervous around people, he wasn't while on the job. The job took priority over anxeity. How did he start this? Surely, he didn't just walk up to people, and they tell him what he wanted to know out of the goodness of their hearts.

They didn't. Audrey's information network was built from blackmail, initially. You see, the Baines boy has several hobbies; along with the known video-games, he also likes photography. In his pursuit of the latter, he was led to join the photography club, however, he didn't stay long, as he didn't like the constant requests from the newspaper and yearbook clubs to take photos for them. That said, it was while working with them that he got his start.

Audrey, while on the job, happened to take photographs of shady activity around the school. He could easily turn people in, and give them the punishment they deserve, but he doesn't, as it was better to make his victims worry about it. They would often beg him to destroy the evidence, or promise not to say anything, and offer anything to do so. Bones would humour their request, but only if they would act as his eyes and ears.

Corruption was all over the school, but then Audrey made his network. He had taken down so many bullies and other ne'er-do-wells this way, by using blackmail, and reporting his findings at key moments. At Warwick, you could categorize students into three categories: Those who knew nothing about Audrey, who were the majority; those who knew about Audrey, and those who would soon learn of him. Anyone engaging in anything dodgy knew of Audrey. While Ciel intimidated people face-to-face, Audrey did so from the shadows. To be entirely honest, he liked Ciel's method better.

His goal was to stop wrong-doing, but he instead made some kind of underground network for him to blackmail people, and use things about them against them. That's not what he wanted at all. This is why he was excited to be working with Ciel on this case. At last, he could finally use the system for it's intended purpose!

Thus, he quickly went to work, starting back at the friends of the "sick" students, and fanning out from there. He asked them about "Jon", or if their friends ever mentioned him. He asked if they talked to anybody who also seemed to know about, or have interest in finding "Jon". The Baines lad kept searching, and searching, and finally, he found something: Someone who was going to meet Jon. Naturally, he informed the bluenette of this person so he may begin a more professional interrogation.

Ciel was excited, which in turn made him unsettled. Why was he looking forward to completely crushing this criminal? With every twist and turn, with every complication, and added element of danger, he became excited. It scared him. Maybe H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. was right all along. Maybe he is a "freak".

No, now is not the time for that. It's time to focus on the case. The demonic detectives immediately got into contact with the student, and sat him down to "talk" at the police station. Ciel demanded the full cooperation of the human boy, and as if the bluenette's natural command for authority was not enough, he went on to discuss that this drug that the student was interested in taking had a one-hundred percent mortality rate. That certainly got his attention.

"What am I gonna do?" the lad asked, his head in his hands. "I already told Jon I'd meet with him!"

"Where are you planning to meet him?" the bluenette asked.

"Behind the library, tomorrow afternoon, right after school..." the student answered. Ciel leaned back in his chair, seated across the other boy, and folded his arms. He thought, for a while, and concocted an idea.

"Don't go, tomorrow, but don't tell him." he said, finally before looking to his blonde associate. "I have a plan."

"Ooh~! I love it when you have 'plans'." Alois replied. "I can't wait to hear about it."

"What?" asked the student in custody, looking up at Ciel as he stood and placed his hands in his pockets. The boy was wary of these strange lads. "What are you going to do?"

"Nothing of your concern." the bluenette answered flatly. "We're just going to do our job."

"Am I still in trouble?"

"Why, yes." the bluenette stated coldly. "Say 'hi' to the police for me."

He smirked as he walked out of the room with the lad protesting. The human boy stood up and watched the demons leave, shouting every swear he knew while commanding that they not leave him, causing the blonde menace to smile from ear to ear. Alois, too, enjoyed this a bit more than the average "human", but also like his bluenette beau, it was a sense of humour carried over from his previous life as a "human being". He didn't mind it, much. He was happy with his current life, and that's all that mattered to him.

He was having fun with the person he loved most, and that was enough for him.

* * *

 


	326. The Forgotten Room

In a certain manor, in a certain country situated just off the West coast of Europe, there was a certain room that was seldom opened. It sat quietly, waiting for someone with the key to find use for what was inside, or provide it with another treasure to hold onto. On this day in history, it was opened once again, and a certain blonde menace laid eyes upon it's contents for the first time.

He hadn't seen the contents of this room, as it wasn't relevant, or necessary, before. It was locked, due to a few dangerous items in the room, that the bluenette didn't want the Macken boys to be playing with, for their own safety. At last, the door was opened, revealing the room's slightly dusty contents.

His beau, Ciel Phantomhive, the owner of the manor and subsequently the mysterious room, had lived for a long time; one-hundred and thirty-eight years, to be exact. In that time-frame, the bluenette had gone on many adventures, and naturally, he would have a few keepsakes and artifacts from his travels. There were weapons of all kinds, some presumably being anti-freak, some not, presumably spoils of war, or some other conflict that the bluenette had gone through. There were a few medals and trophies, here and there, along with other odd bits and bobs.

"Is that a skull?" Alois asked pointing at an especially old-looking object on the shelf, causing the bluenette to cease his digging through boxes for a moment in order to answer the other lad's inquiry.

"Yes." the blunette said bluntly. "I can't remember where it came from, though."

"Well, alrighty, then..." the blonde replied, unsure as to how to interpret that. "I'll call him 'Yorrick'."

"'Yorrick'?"

"Yeah! Like from Hamlet?" the Macken boy said, picking up the skull. "'Alas, poor Yorrick! I knew him well!' like that."

"If you insist." Ciel said with a chuckle, going back to digging in boxes for the one artifact that he needed for his nefarious plans.

"Of course I do." his boyfriend replied. "'Cause I'm classy as fuck."

The blonde menace roamed the room, looking at all the items on the many shelves, and some that were peeking out of boxes. He noticed quite a plethora of cigarette lighters on one of the shelves, as though someone had been collecting them. Alois arched an eyebrow and asked:

"What's with all the lighters?" While the bluenette didn't look at the blonde and stop his work, Alois could almost hear the smirk on his face.

"They're Integra's." he said, almost proud of himself. "Sometimes I swipe them from her. That reminds me..." he trailed off, pausing to reach into his pocket. "Can you put this up there for me?" The bluenette tossed the small, silver lighter to the blonde menace, who was smiling ear to ear at the other lad's antics.

"Oh my god, I love you." he said, running his thumb over the etching on the obviously expensive lighter with amusement. "I. Hellsing", it said.

"I try." Ciel replied as the blonde put the object on the shelf with it's brethren.

Icy blue eyes scanned the dimly lit room, illuminated by only a small lamp, and fixated this time at some of the old photographs contained in only slightly newer frames. A lot of them were in black and white, with only a few in colour or sepia. The oldest was a photo from their time. It was of the Phantomhive family, along with their extended family during happier times. Alois didn't recognise hardly anyone in the picture, aside from Elizabeth Midford, whom he only vaguely recognised. The blonde assumed that the two adults in the middle were Ciel's parents, and the adorable boy with them was Ciel. Alois stared at it for the longest time, making sure that the image of a smiling, innocent Ciel was permanently burned into his mind.

The bluenette had tiny hands, and tiny arms and legs with tiny feet, along with a tiny nose and a round face with a big smile, and two big, blue eyes. He looked so different now, but it wasn't an entirely bad thing. He looked a lot like his parents, more like his mother, then, but now, he's starting to resemble his father. The Countess of Phantomhive's eyes, however, were still in possession of the bluenette, which made Alois chuckle. He was smiling so wide at this picture, that his cheeks hurt. Ciel was just too cute. It must be nice being able to compare yourself to your parents. Alois sometimes wondered if he looked like his.

Once he had decided that the image was sufficiently stored in his memory, he scanned at the other pictures on the shelf, coming across all sorts of images. There was a photograph of Ciel being Knighted, and a photograph of Ciel with a few English and French soldiers; but then, there was a photograph of Ciel with a much younger Sir Integra, which definitely caught the blonde' s attention.

She was shorter than the bluenette, and wore a skirt, in contrast to her usual suits, and had a more cheerful look about her. Ciel said he had met her when she was twelve years old, so she must have been around the same age as the bluenette was when he became a demon. Speaking of "the Devil", he looked less than "thrilled" in the photo. Now that he thought about it, Alois did notice that the "rivalry" of sorts between the two masters of monsters seemed to mostly be on Ciel's end. He chuckled as he set the frame down.

The final image that caught the blonde's eye confused him, a bit, as it appeared to be taken in Sir Integra's office. The woman, however, was nowhere in sight. There was a man who looked like sir Penwood in the background, and a man who Alois thought looked familiar, but couldn't seem to place the identity of. Ciel was in the foreground, looking confused, as if he didn't expect to be photographed, with a man that Alois didn't recognise at all, smiling at the camera with one arm around the bluenette's shoulders, and the other holding a half-empty glass of scotch. That man wasn't familiar to him at all.

"Hey, Ciel?" the blonde called, picking up the frame. "Who's this?"

The bluenette stood up, turning to the blonde and stretching. When he focused his eye on the image, the bluenette had an odd expression, that seemed almost amused, exasperated, and annoyed all at once. The man in the photo must have been a troublesome character.

"That's Sir Arthur Hellsing." the bluenette said, walking over to the other boy and grabbing the picture. "He's the previous head of H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G., and Sir Integra's father."

"Really? No way..." Alois replied. "He looks like a party animal..."

"He was." the bluenette said with a sigh. "He was a daftie, who would drink while in the middle of a war. He was notorious for hiring prostitutes, which is probably the reason for Integra's birth in the first place."

"Integra's the daughter of a prostitute? What did his wife say about that?"

"He doesn't have one. He never married." Ciel answered as he pointed to the man in the photo that looked like Sir Penwood.

"That's Sir Shelby Penwood..." he added before moving his finger to point to the remaining mystery man in the photo. "...and that's Sir Islands, when he was younger. It's hard to believe that he's all shriveled up and in a wheelchair, now..." He said with a sigh, recalling that a cane no longer served as sufficient for the man, anymore. He put the frame back on the shelf. "One would think that he'd have retired by now."

"I still can't get over the fact that Integra's mother could've been a prostitute..." spoke the blonde menace.

"Say what you will; even with all of the debauchery and antics he pulled, Arthur was a good man. He did his job very well." the bluenette replied, walking back over to the box he was working on. "Integra's not that bad at it, either."

With that, Alois quietly walked up behind the other boy and wrapped his arms around his waist, pulling Ciel in close so that the boy's back was against his chest. The blonde's chin rested on the bluenette's shoulder while his cheek was pressed against the other boy's own. The bluenette paid it no mind, as it was an action that the blonde would often perform.

"Being immortal kind of sucks, doesn't it?" Alois asked, slightly swaying side-to-side, causing the bluenette to do so with him.

"It does..." Ciel replied, a small hint of sadness in his voice.

The former head of H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. was a jolly sort, who didn't deserve the illness that brought him to his end. The thought that the man was actually younger than him made the bluenette somewhat depressed. His friends would soon die. His colleges would soon die. Everyone would die, but not Alois, at least.

"Promise me you won't do anything to get yourself killed..." Ciel said softly, as he reached back and ran his finger's through the other lad's hair, much to the blonde's surprise. Finally, Alois chuckled.

"Of course I won't. You'd kill me if I died." he said, tilting his head, kissing the Phantomhive's neck. "I'll stay right by your side, and keep you company so you won't get lonely."

"Tell me if I'm wrong, but am I sensing a double entendre in that statement?" his beau said while furrowing his brow, a shade of pink softly dusting his cheeks.

"Only if you want there to be~!" the blonde replied before releasing the boy and crouching down to search boxes. "Let's find this thing you're looking for, so we can get to it~!" Ciel rolled his eye.

"You're such a bad influence..." he said, getting back to work, himself.

"So says the 'prince of darkness'..." Alois retorted.

"I'm not the one constantly trying to seduce people."

"I don't try to seduce 'people', Ciel. 'People' is plural." the blonde said. "I only try to seduce one 'person', which is singular."

"I'm so honoured." the bluenette replied, digging through another box. He moved aside and removed several items, including a World War I-era British helmet, a rosary, or two, a sheathed knife, some more photos, and a few old toys from various other countries. He knew what he was looking for had to be in this room somewhere...

"Aha!" he said, finally, reaching into the box and holding up the item he was looking for.. "Found one. Now, we just need the other one."

"A gas-mask?" the blonde asked, crawling over and picking up the mask, dusting it off as he looked at it. "Why do we need this?"

"I had an idea while thinking about what we talked about in the lab before the interrogation." the bluenette said, still looking for the mask's twin. "I have a hunch that what we're dealing with isn't human. How else could they get access to those bones, and blend in with a crowd of students so easily? They've got to be a demon."

"And the gas-masks...?"

"They're obviously pretty powerful, and you know what happened the last time we fought a demon." Ciel continued. "We need to weaken it, and what weakens demons?"

"Oh! Rosemary!" the blonde answered.

"Exactly. We're going to burn rosemary nearby, so they'll be weakened, but we need to make sure we don't inhale any of the smoke or fumes ourselves."

"So gas-masks?"

"Yes, gas-ma-" the bluenette lost his train of thought when he turned to look at the blonde. Alois, like any teenage boy, thought it would be fun to try on the apparatus. "What are you doing?"

"'Are you my mummy?'" the blonde asked.

"Take it off..." Ciel instructed.

"No, Ciel. I told you, we need to finish what we're doing here before we can do 'that'." Alois answered, causing the bluenette to blush.

"That's not what I meant and you know it!"

 


	327. Four

The sun was wandering toward the Western sky as it contemplated calling it quits for the day over Warwick Academy. Long shadows stretched along the gound while children exited the building, having completed yet another day of learning. The Griffin Statue that sat in the academy courtyard watched their backs, knowing that they would surely return tomorrow, safe and sound.

Perhaps not, however, seeing as though the demonic duo were on a mission. As soon as the bell rang, they got changed into their gear and split up, rushing to the piles of rosemary that they had prepared during their lunch hour, positioned in various places around the school, and especially near the library, and set them ablaze, their gas-masks securely fastened to their faces. Thank goodness that Scotland Yard got them permission from the school to do this, or they would most likely be accused of terrorism.

The smoke seemed to fan out nicely, as the entire campus now smelled of burning herbs, which the lads were careful to shield themselves from. In addition to their usual suits and the added gas-masks, they wore black gloves, and ski-masks under the protective face covering in order to keep the smoke from coming into contact with the skin on their heads. Not one inch of flesh was exposed, as the pair looked like a pair of flunkies from some television drama. Once they had finished their work setting the fire, the demonic duo decided that it was high-time that they went back to the meeting spot, seeing as though this "Jon" character was most likely there by now.

Naturally, the lads had examined the area thoroughly, and decided that the best way to attack was to come from above on both sides, therefore Ciel and Alois had agreed to meet each other on the roof of the library. They had to admit, they were both quite the sight, upon reuniting. They hardly recognised each other! Now wasn't the time for laughs, however, as they peeked down at their target.

They saw the top of his head, but not his face. He was looking around, nervously. At first glance, he looked like he could be any ordinary student up to no good, however, upon further inspection, the duo sensed a dark energy radiating from the lad. It was weak, but it was there. It was unknown if this was a result of the rosemary, or if it was simply the demon's ordinary amount of power, but it was still worth the precaution. The duo had no idea what they were up against, here, so it was best to err on the side of caution.

On the beat of "three", they were to jump down and take their target by surprise. Before that, however, they readied their guns, Ciel's "Zamiel" anti-freak revolver, and Alois' "Kaspar" anti-freak pistol. This would prove to be problematic, as their target was also a demon, and thus had senses sharp enough to hear the small "click" of the weapons' hammers, even while they were dulled by the nearby smoke. The boy suddenly looked up, spotting his potential attackers, causing the duo to jump down before completing their count-down. Ciel and Alois stood on both sides of the boy, aiming their weapons straight at his head. Immediately, the lad put his hands up in the air, as if he wasn't going to put up a fight. That's when they registered it, the sight of "Jon's" face.

"Jon" had dark eyes with dark circles around them, however, he didn't look ill or even tired like the users of Black Annis. His black hair was cut sort, his bangs just barely hanging over his hairline. Jon looked surprised to see the other boys, but behind their masks, they were even more suprised to see him. Demons don't have "names" to call their own. A master must give them one. This demon, however, seemed to be named after a familiar face, one that neither boy had never expected to see again.

There, standing right before the demonic duo in the flesh, was a certain lad by the name of Jonnathan Beattie. Neither boy could believe it. He was dead.

"Just what kind of bullshit are you tryin' to pull?" Alois demanded, the aim of his weapon never wavering. Confusedly, the demon it was pointed at arched an eyebrow.

"What do you mean?" he asked in Jonnathan's voice. It was clear as day, as it was hard to forget the sound of his cries of agony after he fell on his own knife.

"Don't play dumb. You're a demon masquerading around as a dead kid." the blonde answered. "What kind of shit are you trying to pull?"

"I'm... sorry? What?"

"Let's forget that for now." the bluenette intervened, getting things back on track. "We're investigating a drug called 'Black Annis'. sound familiar?" The deceased lad's doppelganger looked at the Phantomhive with surprise for a moment, and then furrowed his brow.

"How do you know about Black Annis?" he asked.

"How could we not?" Ciel replied, taking a step forward. "There's been quite the outbreak. Our sources indicated that we would find the person selling the drugs in this particular location, at this particular time, and here you are, a demon, wearing the face of a dead child."

"You're right about the Annis, but about the 'dead child', thing, I've got no idea what you're talking about." Jon replied, standing his ground. "I don't know who you are, or why you think I look familiar."

"Then tell me this;" the Phantomhive began, taking another step forward. "What exactly do you have to gain from distributing this drug? Who made it? Answer me." He became even more annoyed and unsettled when the lad simply chuckled.

"Like I'll tell you?" the boy replied. "For the record, I don't make it, but I'm not telling you who does."

"Oh, so I take it you're working for someone?" Ciel asked. "If you 'can't tell me', then it's pretty safe to assume that you're working for someone who can 'dispose of' you for ratting them out?" Jon's face went pale, and the bluenette turned off the safety on his weapon.

"This is a special 'anti-freak' revolver, that fires bullets capable of killing all kinds of nasty supernatural creatures of the night." he said, wishing the dealer could see his eye glaring at him. "Talk." he ordered.

"I don't believe you..." the Annis-dealer said. "Even if I did, anything they could do is a thousand times worse than anything you can."

"Want a bet?" Ciel asked. "I'm Ciel Phantomhive, the demon that 'collects' other demons. Demons who I can't 'collect', and that are in my way, I dispose of, along with any other types of freaks; it doesn't matter to me what, or who they are. I rule them, they serve me. Don't try my patience."

Jon swallowed, becoming a little nervous at the lad's words. A demon? Nervous? Unlikely, yet here one was. It was odd enough that he had the same visage as a lad who was supposedly long dead, as well as a name to match, but the fact that the demon between our demonic duo was showing signs of emotion was most peculiar. Ciel decided that it would be ideal to bring him in, but wasn't sure of the likelihood of that. He gave one last warning.

"Now let's try this again." he said. "Who are you working for, and what do they intend to accomplish?" He waited patiently for an answer, but the boy was quiet for some time.

Suddenly, he bolted, trying to run away from the building, and the duo to both his right and left, taking the only side that wasn't boxed off. Jon ran for a few paces before leaping into the air, trying to get on top of the roof of another building, however, the rosemary smoke in the air poisoned him, causing his jump to be weak, and his movements slow. Quickly, the bluenette turned, and fired at the boy, hitting his leg in midair. The injury would eventually heal, as it wasn't fatal, but it would be a long and slow process for the demon.

Jon fell to the ground in a heap before clutching at his leg. Those familiar screams of pain sounded as he lay, unable to get up and flee. Right now, he was a sitting duck; as weak and feeble to the duo just as any human would be.

"I've got him!" shouted the blonde menace, as he made a dash to apprehend the boy. Something wasn't right. This was too easy. The bluenette's eyes widened for a moment as he realised what was wrong.

The gas masks weren't working. Their senses were dulled as well. They were too focused on the doppelganger to notice.

"JIM! GET BACK!" Ciel shouted, but the blonde didn't hear him in time. His muscles tensed, and he ran as quickly as he could to stop the boy in time.

But there was no time to spare. Instead of stopping the blonde, or moving him out of the way, all Ciel could do was act as a shield when the figure revealed himself. All that the blonde saw in that instant was a flash of black, and the faint outline of a person while hearing Ciel hiss in pain. Small, crimson droplets fell to the ground as the figure's claws dug into his back. His suit was cut, and his skin torn; even though the cuts weren't that deep, they somehow burned.

_Alois didn't know the fourth demon was there until it was too late._

 


	328. Hurt

There was screaming in agony, and hissing in pain. The bluenette held on tightly to his blonde beau in a last-ditch effort to protect him from the trap that lay just ahead of him. The cuts on the bluenette's back from where the figure's claws sliced open his skin burned, while Alois was simply dumbfounded as to what had just happened. While it felt like ages, it took only a moment or so for the blonde to register the fact that Ciel was holding him tightly, and that there was another combatant in the frey.

A lad, slightly older-looking than the demonic duo stood between them, and the Jonnathan-copy, wearing a Warwick uniform and a crooked smile on his face. He peeked through the black bangs of his bowl-cut hairdo, cackling at them. Something had amused him greatly, and it probably had to do with the fact that Ciel was now there, holding the blonde.

Something wasn't right. Ciel was hurt, somehow, and he didn't see it until the figure brought a hand up to his mouth and lapped at the blood trickling down his claws. They took up his middle and index finger on each hand, as well as his thumbs. There were joints in them, of course, so he could move them. When he straightened his back to perform the taunting gesture, the blonde noticed that he was quite a bit taller than both he, and Ciel, with a scrawny physique and crimson eyes to look down on the boys with, indicating his true intentions.

He wanted to hurt the boys for his own amusement; Alois knew, oh, how Alois knew. He'd seen that look before, you see. The villagers, the old man; yes he was familiar with being looked down on and tortured for fun. The fourth demon didn't even have to utter a single sound for Alois to know that he and Ciel might not win.

"Aha!" the fourth demon laughed in almost a "barking" manner. "I see you've laid the hurt down on the newbie! I'm not upset, because now I can play for a bit!"

The blonde was so focused on the older boy in front of him, that he didn't quite notice that Ciel's grip on him was going a bit limp. Horror struck Alois when the other demon reached out, and grabbed his beau, ripping him out of his arms. Even worse, the bluenette didn't seem able to fight back as his gas-mask and ski-mask were removed by force, subsequently causing the lad's eyepatch to loosen as well. The fourth demon moved his gripping of the boy from his shirt, to holding him by the hair, propping him upright and having a look at him.

"So, this is the big, bad, 'demon-master'?" the older demon said in a mocking tone, scoffing at the boy. "What happened to 'disposing all who are in your way'?" He chuckled when Ciel bared his teeth and furrowed his brow, trying his best to look menacing.

"Oh yeah, that's right, I poisoned you." the fourth demon with a cackle. He swung his arm, throwing the boy to the ground with a gut-wrenching thud.

"CIEL!" called Alois, rushing to his lover's side. The Phantomhive boy sat himself up with his assistance, but his mind was still foggy. He could still register the footsteps of his attacker coming closer, and the feeling of Alois' grip around him tightening. The other demon laughed at him briefly, which stopped when his eyepatch finally fell off.

"Well, well, well... Would ya looky there..." the scrawny lad cooed, crouching down and looking directly at the bluenette's contracted eye. "That's a genuine Faustian contract! From another demon! You weren't lying..." His smile widened.

"I like you." he continued. "I wanna play with you, sometime. Unfortunately, I'm only here to respond if that kid fucks up."

He paused to point at Jon, who was still clutching his leg. His screams subsided, but the boy still moaned in pain. The boy's "coworker" stood up, dusting off his knees, and walked over to him, roughly picking him up by the collar of his shirt, and slinging him over his shoulder like a large sack of potatoes. Then, the man faced the duo once more.

"Another day." he said. "I'll 'play' with you another day. 'Ciel Phantomhive', was it? Ooh, you're an interesting one. I'll definitely remember you. Until then, I'll offer you two peiced of useful information." He held up his hand, making a number "two" with his claws.

"Number one: You'll never find us." he said childishly, smiling in a friendly manner. "Number two: My claws are venomous. But, hey, don't worry, I only scratched ya. It'll wear off in a bit." Then, his face darkened, contorting in a wicked grin.

"Hopefully, you'll last that long." he added before turning away.

The demon casually walked a few paces, before jumping up on top of the roof of the building and escaping without any of the duo's questions being answered. Why were they using Black Annis? Who were they? Why did one of them resemble Jonnathan Beattie? What had just happened? There was one question at that moment that weighed heavier on the blonde's mind than all others, and that was: "Was Ciel alright?" He held onto the boy tightly, as if he were afraid he might leave.

Ciel was his world. He had taught Alois so many things, and had done so much for him. Ciel had broadened his perspective of the entire world in just a few years, but now, the blonde couldn't see anything anymore, because his vision was obstructed by tears. He tore off his own pair of masks and cradled the bluenette in his arms. The smoke had been dissipating for quite some time, but Alois didn't notice. He was too busy focusing on Ciel.

Alois didn't care if they were enemies at one point. He didn't care how coldly the bluenette had acted toward him in the past. He loves Ciel, and that was all he cared about in that moment. He had lost so much, and Ciel was the one who had given it all back, and more. It was Ciel, who gave him a new life and a second chance; It was Ciel, who made him able to love again; It was Ciel who had helped him love himself, and Ciel whom he loved most. Never again, did he want to experience the agonizing pain of losing someone he loved, nor did he want to lose it all again.

What of Luka and Sebastian? What of them? What of Revy? What of Integra? What of the Sensational Seven? What of himself? Ciel was important, and he couldn't die. Alois would never allow it. If he were to go, life as they knew it would fall apart. That was unacceptable. Alois would never accept it.

"Come on, Ciel..." the blonde pleaded, a small crack in his voice as he watched the bluenette's spaced out expression. "Aren't you the one who told me not to die? You can't, either... I can't live without you... Please don't leave me alone..." Ciel's clouded, multi-coloured eyes slowly drifted upward to look at the blonde's face, and he brought a hand up to cup the blonde's cheek. He was sweating, and looked ill.

"It's alright." he said. "Jim, listen to me, it's going to be alright. My... my body's already starting to break down the venom, but I need... I need you to leave me alone for a little while."

The blonde's eyes widened. "What?! Why!?" he asked, placing his hand over the bluenette's. "I can't leave you! I won't!"

"Jim... Jim, listen to me..." the bluenette said, guiding the blonde's head downward so their forehead's touched. He was breathing heavily, like he was trying to calm himself down. "Listen to me, Jim, I love you. I will always love you. I'm not going to die, so don't worry, but I need you to go... It's just a little while, we'll meet up again at home. I promise..."

"Why?!" Alois demanded. "Please, just tell me..."

"The venom..." the bluenette began, pausing to grit his teeth and scrunch his brow, briefly with a small gunt on discomfort. "...It's not affecting my body... It's affecting my mind. It's only temporary, like he said... I can feel it. " He moved his hand behind the blonde's head, tangling his fingers in his locks as a gesture to calm them both.

"Ciel?! What's wrong? What's it doing to you?!" the Macken boy asked, holding onto the boy tighter with one arm, and cupping his cheek with the other. The lad's saphire eyes glowed crimson, and his ears became pointed.

"It's bad..." Ciel answered, his hands trembling. "I can't stop thinking about blood... Please, jim... I just... I don't want it to be yours..."

"No." the blonde said sternly, his fear replaced with determination. The tears had stopped falling. "I'm not leaving you."

"Jim, please, I don't want to hurt you... Just go, I'll be fine, I promise..."

"I know. That's just all the more reason to stay." Alois said. "You never abandoned me when I needed you. You need me, so I'm going to do the same."

"I don't need you, though..." the bluenette insisted in a near-growl. "You're just going to get hurt! Leave!" he roared, startling himself, as well as the blonde. There was a fleeting moment where the blonde looked unsure, but that was quickly overtaken by a confident smile.

"If you want me to leave so badly, then why are you still clinging to me?" he asked, causing the bluenette to be taken aback in surprise. The poor boy held onto the blonde tighter, trying to find the courage to say something that he hadn't said in over one-hundred years.

"...I'm scared..." he said.

Why wouldn't he be? What was going through his mind in that moment was every urge that he simply did not want. The urge to cut and tear flesh, to break bones, to make people suffer, to become a monster. The venom was working it's way through his system, and poisoning his mind. He didn't want to do any of those things, but the mental image of blood on the walls now seemed so tempting. It scared him. Everything he was most afraid of now seemed to be possible.

What's worse, Alois was here, and would see that, and could now see him as he began to slip away. He tried not to think about what would happen if he did snap while the blonde menace was present, but it was as though that's exactly what the venom wanted. How vivid the image of what the blonde's face would look like was, if he attacked him there and then. He imagined hurting the boy, and he imagined liking it.

"No..." he mumbled, burying his face in the crook of Alois' neck. Ciel was completely lost in his thoughts. "No, no, no..."

Alois hissed in pain as the bluenette's nails became sharper, piercing the fabric of his suit, and digging into his skin. Still, he did not let go of the boy, and instead tried to comfort him while Ciel desperately pleaded with him to "not be afraid of him". He wasn't. Alois wasn't afraid of Ciel. He was afraid of losing Ciel, but not afraid of Ciel himself. He knew the boy was struggling against the venom; it was obvious, how he was shaking. Alois continued to coo in the bluenette's ear and do everything to support him in his time of need, however, he was still unprepared for the sharp pain in his shoulder.

"Ngh!" he whimpered, as he looked over to see that the bluenette had sunk his teeth into his shoulder; hard. The demon's fangs dug into his flesh, and simply refused to let go, even as blood dribbled down the bluenette's chin and stained the blonde's shirt.

Ciel's eyes were clouded, and he didn't seem to know what he was doing. The boy growled and clawed his beau's back, leaving cuts up and down it. In an effort to snap the lad back to reality, Alois bit down on his pointed ear, and much to his surprise, the bluenette released him with a small yelp. He separated himself from the blonde menace, rubbing his ear before wiping his mouth, staring directly into the other boy's eyes, licking his lips to rid them of any blood that remained.

A chill went down Alois' spine as Ciel stood up, black flames encasing his entire body. He was frozen, unable to bring himself to do anything but watched as the bluenette assumed his demonic visage; paralyzed by crimson eyes.

Alois had seen eyes like those before. Those were the eyes of someone who wanted to hurt him.

 


	329. Rosemary

Alois remained, frozen in his seated position on the ground. He was paralyzed by those crimson eyes, one nearly blinded by a diabolic signature. He wasn't quite sure what it was he was feeling, but he didn't think it was fear. No, there was fear. Fear for his own life sat in the back of his mind, while fear of losing his beloved Ciel was at the forefront. More than anything, it was shock he felt at that particular moment, as he took in the bluenette's visage.

The bluenette stood with a dazed look on his face, his horns and tail out with the rest of his demonic form. He licked blood from his fingers, acquired from the blonde's now cut up back as the boy watched the out of character display. Alois slightly shifted where he sat, the subtle, almost inaudible sound causing the bluenette's eyes to flicker in his direction. Ciel stopped what he was doing, and smiled at the blonde, a toothy, almost perverse grin that made the other boy shudder. With one last taste of the crimson substance on his middle finger, the bluenette spoke.

"Well, what do you know~?" he said, his voice sickeningly sweet, making the blonde finally snap back to attention.

"It looks like your blood tastes just as good as the rest of you, Jim." the bluenette continued, his words with that grin caused the blonde to blush. With a shake of his head, the blonde stood up, and furrowed his brow at the other boy, taking a defiant stance, wrinkling his nose, and frowning deeper as a chuckle bubbled from the other boy's throat.

"Now, now, Jim, if you make a face like that, I might just have to cut you open~!" Ciel said in his daze. While Alois knew he didn't mean any of what he was saying, and while he knew that it was entirely the venom's fault, those words in that voice rang in his ears, and caused the fear to creep up on him. Still, he had to be brave, and not let this get to him. It wasn't just for his sake, but for Ciel's, as well. The bluenette would never for give himself if he frightened the blonde for even a split-second; Moreover, all of his work to help the blonde conquer his fears and insecurities would have been for naught.

"You couldn't, even if you tried." Alois replied, clenching his fists and putting his nose in the air. Chin up, chest out, shoulders back; yes, he was going to defy this fear with everything he had. Suddenly, however, this stopped as his his eyes widened.

His muscles tensed and he leaped backward, dodging as the bluenette lunged, swinging his arm, and baring his talon-like fingernails at the boy. Ciel's tail was swishing side to side as he chuckled with delight at the blonde's declaration. Again, and again, he swung at the blonde, narrowly missing each time.

Ciel was fast, almost too fast, as Alois had difficulty timing his movements to evade the bluenette's slashes, and received a small cut or two, as penalty. One of them barely missed his eye, causing a gash on the lad's cheek to appear just below it. His skin stung, as wounds inflicted by a demon apparently took longer to heal. These trivial cuts and scrapes should have merely taken approximately five seconds to heal, but instead, they took around seventeen. The large bite on his shoulder took longer still.

His injuries only worsened, when he faltered in trying to dodge a blow, leaving him open for a follow-up attack. Ciel kicked him in the stomach, knocking the wind out of his lungs and sending him flying into the wall behind him. A flash of white appeared before the blonde's eyes as his head hit brick before it and the rest of the lad fell to the ground, gritting his teeth at the ringing in his ears as well as the sound of his attacker's laughter. He briefly rubbed the back of his head to soothe the pain, only to feel a warm wetness, as well as what felt like brick. He glanced behind him to see that there was now a large crack in the wall with specks of blood on it. No wonder his head was spinning. Fortunately for him, the bluenette politely waited for him to regain his senses before throwing his next taunt.

"Get up." he commanded. "You just challenged me, didn't you? Get up! It'll be no fun if you don't fight back!"

Alois propped himself up on his hands and knees, looking over his shoulder at the wall. He did not want to be pinned into a corner, at the moment. He then looked at the bluenette, just as the lad brought his foot upward, aiming it at the already bloody flaxen locks of the menace before bringing it back down again. He hit earth, leaving a decent-sized scar in it's face, as the the Macken boy rolled out of the way in the nick of time.

Using this as an opportunity, the blonde hopped to his feet and made a dash toward parts unknown. It wasn't his intention to run from the bluenette. No, he made a promise, after all. He simply needed to get out of the position where the bluenette could trap him. The wall to his back was a problem, but no more. Now the only problem that persisted at his flank was the bluenette himself, as he tailed him, much like a predator hunting prey.

Fighting the bluenette wasn't something he wanted to do. He didn't want to hurt Ciel in any way, shape, or form, so simply evading him was his only option at this point. Needless to say, it wasn't "easy" in the slightest. Ciel was fast. Maybe it was the fact that he was in his demonic form, but he was making it difficult for the blonde to carry out his plan of "stalling until the venom wears off".

It was worth a try. Black flames covered the blonde's body, concealing any trace of him. At last an arm protruded from the fog, swiping at the inferno as Alois revealed himself.

He had forgotten how revealing his attire was in this state, and had actually grown unaccustomed to the short vest that revealed his abdomen, and the short-shorts that allowed only a thin strip of skin between them and the lad's thigh-high boots. Oh, how he had forgotten about the shorts. He had grown accustomed to wearing ordinary pants, lately, and had to admit, it was somewhat embarrassing, being a seventeen-year-old wearing "booty-shorts", as they were commonly referred as.

Still, he could not allow the bluenette to see him show any signs of weakness. He glanced over his shoulder at the boy and frowned. Why did he get the macho military jacket that wasn't positively freezing?

It was a split second, but the blonde was distracted enough from his task of evasion for the bluenette to get an edge on him. He leaped into the air, touching his feet to the surface of a wall of one of the many buildings before kicking off, and landing in front of the boy. Their chase was brought to a screeching halt when Ciel cocked back his arm and released it, the force of his movement combining with the blonde's running, sending the poor lad soaring into the air yet again. Alas, the bluenette ran faster than he could fall, meeting the boy at his designated impact site and introducing him yet again to his fist.

Again, and again, and again...

By the time Ciel had gotten bored with this move-set, Alois had sworn a rib of his was now broken, perhaps two. Thank goodness, demons healed quickly. It would only take a matter of minutes, unlike Sebastian, who could heal a gunshot wound to the head in a matter of seconds. Alois rather didn't like being one of the youngest of the Phantomhive household's demons. The poor lad's body was covered in bruises, as he fell to the earth at last with a gut-wrenching thud.

"Too weak..." the head Phantomhive demon uttered. "I thought you would pose more of a threat! Poor, pathetic little Jimmy... I guess I'll just have to-" He was suddenly interrupted when a vine wrapped around his throat.

Thorns dug into his skin as more and more vines sprang from the earth and wrapped around the bluenette's limbs, holding him in place. His eyes were wide with surprise, especially when he saw the blonde stand up. He was a bit wobbly, at first, but then, he was steady, and as sturdy as a boulder. The fair-haired teen's eyes were on fire, emitting an eerie crimson glow.

"I'm not 'pathetic'." he said, clenching his fists. "I'm not 'weak', either! I'm Jim Macken, Junior Detective Constable, Agent of the Round Table; of Her Majesty, and assistant to Sir Ciel Phantomhive! I've been to hell and back, seen and experienced things that could make the most hardened of men weep like mere children! I'm not 'weak', I'm not 'pathetic', and I'm not afraid! Not anymore! Not ever again!"

Ciel stood, listening to the other lad's words, eyes wide, as if he were a deer caught in the gaze of headlights. The thorns dug into his flesh, but he did not register it. All he could focus on were those words, and that face. Slowly, a smile crept onto his face, followed by a laugh.

"Excellent!" he declared, black spikes emitting from his body and cutting the vines into pieces. Alois did not flinch. He didn't bat a single eyelash.

He saw this coming. That was Ciel's newest signature, "Umbra Regalia". Now, instead of weaving his energy through his shadow and creating spikes, he could make them directly out of his garb. They were stronger, and made him much harder to touch. While Alois, too, knew a few spells, they were no match for this level of magic. Still, he did have one trick up his sleeve, but he was wary in using it. Time was not on his side as he tried to make that decision, as the bluenette charged again, this time, focusing his spikes toward his front, and using them as an offensive weapon. As he closed in, Alois made his choice.

"Kaspar!" he called, holding out his hand. Black flame gathered in his palm, growing and raging before dying down again.

Lo, and behold, the Kaspar semi-automatic anti-freak handgun, right in the menace's palm. Hoping that his aim was true, he pulled the trigger, unleashing a barrage of bullets straight at the bluenette. They struck each and every spike, shattering them to pieces as the bluenette closed in.

Ciel slammed both feet onto the ground, bringing himself to a complete halt in order to register what had happened. He looked around to see that his spikes where gone. As he turned back to the blonde, he felt something strike the side of his face. It was Alois' boot.

Blood seeped from his lips as the flesh was cut on his own sharp teeth as the boot collided with him, before sending him skidding across the dirt to land a generous amount of distance away. Wiping his face, the bluenette grit his teeth and growled like a wild animal. With a snarl, he called upon his own weapon.

"Zamiel!" he shouted, black flames appearing in his palm. Alois took that as an invitation to flee, and get out of his range.

Bullets whizzed by as the bluenette fired over and over again with his shaking hands. He couldn't quite seem to aim straight for reasons unknown, but whatever they were, they seemed to irritate the boy immensely as he roared like a vexed beast. Waves of heat seemed to radiate from the projectiles as they missed the blonde menace. It was as though the bluenette was trying not to hit him before he could duck behind another wall.

"Great..." Alois huffed, furrowing his brow in frustration. "S'nice to see that Ciel has so eloquently forgotten to give me his gun before becoming a rampaging psychopath..." He reloaded his weapon, thinking about his next strategy. That's when he thought about it. Why couldn't Ciel fire straight?

Had he wanted to, Ciel could have emptied the entire revolver into the back of the blonde's skull before the boy even hit the ground. Why didn't he, though? Why was his aim so dramatically off? Was the venom wearing off? Was it Ciel fighting back? He didn't know. Maybe the anti-freak bullets in the weapon were interfering with the venom's properties. Either way, his opponent was getting weaker, so he needed to somehow gain the upper-hand.

"Boo." whispered a voice, causing the blonde to turn around and point his gun at the source. He found himself staring down the barrel of a certain revolver while it sat in the hand of a certain bluenette. Alois furrowed his brow, and threateningly put pressure on the trigger while the Phantomhive boy's smile only grew.

"Oh...Jimmy, Jimmy, Jimmy..." The lad said in a patronizing manner, unfazed by the other lad's brandishing of a loaded gun. He shook his head, before smiling sweetly at the blonde. "You and I both know that you couldn't."

Alois' facial muscles relaxed, but the frown remained in place. It was frightful now, as the bluenette chuckled. He lowered his gun, and turned the safety back on, looking up at the bluenette with sad eyes. Ciel stared back, putting pressure on the trigger, yet there was a small glint of something familiar in those crimson eyes of his in that moment. It looked like despair.

The blonde closed his eyes, listening to his beau's chuckling and taking in the subtle scent of rosemary in the breeze.

The gun went off, but not before the blonde's eyes snapped open and he struck the bluenette's hand, changing it's line of fire. Zamiel fell from Ciel's hand and onto the ground. When the bluenette recovered from the shock, he bared his teeth. The demonic duo fought back and forth, getting in several punches and scratches on one another. Alois got behind Ciel and grabbed the back of his head before slamming it into the wall. Unfortunately, the bluenette didn't take too kindly to the action.

Ciel wrestled his way out of the blonde's grip, and snaked his way to the blonde's flank. In a cruel attempt at vengeance, the Phantomhive lad gripped tightly onto blonde locks, and slammed the other boy's forehead into the wall. He did it again. Then, he did it again, and again, and again, and again...

He let go of the blonde for a moment, allowing him to fall to his knees, the wall itself keeping him from completely falling over. Bits of brick were embedded in his forehead, and bits of skin were missing as blood dribbled down his face. As for the wall, there was a shattered brick where one sound one was once. For Alois, the world was spinning, and his head felt foggy. He tried to get up, but he couldn't stay balanced.

Violently grabbing the back of his shirt, the bluenette threw the blonde across the courtyard. He landed on his stomach, instinctively putting his arms out in front of himself to cushion the impact. The world was a blur, and the only thing Alois could hear was a high-pitched ringing in his ears. He still thought he smelled something familiar. As the world slowly faded back into focus, he saw it:

A pile of rosemary that hadn't been lit. One of them must have forgotten it, but now, Alois was sure glad they did. Slowly, he started to crawl over toward it. If he could just get at least a handful, maybe he could do something. The lad was about to find out, as the bluenette grabbed his ankle, and yanked him upward. A revolver was shoved in the blonde's face once more as he dangled by his ankle in the bluenette's clutches.

"I wanted to thoroughly rip you to shreds..." the bluenette said through grit teeth. "...but you're not worth the trouble."

Quickly, Alois threw his handful of rosemary at the other boy's face, not expecting much, but his quick thinking actually surprised the other lad. Ciel stood there, trying to remove the demon's kryptonite from his field of vision, only to be kicked in the stomach by the blonde's free leg, ensuring his release, and that he fell on his head for what felt like the fiftieth time that day. With another swing of his legs, he kicked the bluenette's feet right out from under him, causing him to drop his gun.

Once again, Alois tried to make his way to the rosemary pile yet again, only to be tackled by Ciel. An arm's reach was all there was between Alois and his secret weapon, but there was also an irate, murderous bluenette on top of him, growling like some sort of ravenous beast. Ciel cocked back his arm, reading another strike as the blonde frantically tried to reach the herb.

Instead, he swung his own arm, punching the bluenette in the face. The opportunity he had created was seized as the lad flipped the bluenette on his back, rolling them both over closwer to the rosemary. Before Ciel could respond, the blonde quickly grabbed a fist ful of the herb and shoved it in his face, holding it tightly over his nose and mouth. It was then, that a change occurred.

All was quiet. All was calm. Ciel completely froze on the contact, as his eyes widened. Soon, however, his entire body relaxed as thy rolled into the back of his head. His hand, which had been poised to strike, instead curled it's fingers around the blonde's wrist, holding his hand where it was as he inhaled the herbs' scent with a sigh. After a few moments of watching the boy, Alois resumed his usual form, battered and beaten, and a little confused at the bluenette's sudden change in behaviour. Suddenly, it all made sense once he, himself started to feel a bit light-headed.

Rosemary, in large quantities, can get demons high.

With the little rationality the blonde had left, he reached into his pocket with his free hand, and pulled out his cellphone before dialing H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. headquarters. He knew that they were going to have so much explaining to do afterward, but right then, he didn't care. Even if they were in a courtyard, surrounded by "Demon-nip" while Alois was straddling Ciel, it was still better than being dead.

"Hello?" he called, starting to sway a bit. "This is agent Jim Macken... We... We... We need some medical attention..."

* * *

 


	330. A Clingy Phantomhive

Two boys were rushed to H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. headquarters for serious medical attention. One suffered from many scrapes, bruises, and cuts, along with two broken ribs and a concussion. However, do to his supernatural persuasion, he did not require much assistance in getting better. Naturally, they offered the blonde some rosemary-based anesthesia, but the lad declined, opting to simply tough it out.

The other boy, however, did not have that option. Ciel was kept on anesthesia until the staff was sure he was no longer violent. He was a complete mess, refusing to go to sleep, but not competent enough to be fully awake, and as such, he was restrained several times while the doctors tried to decipher just what exactly happened to him. It didn't help that the lad was constantly squirming while saying something along the lines of that he "couldn't find his sunglasses", or some sort of nonsense. Not even the blonde could really tell, it was so slurred and muddled together.

Doctors performed tests on the bluenette, even in his current undesirable condition, drawing blood, and scanning his head to check for any abnormalities in his brain. Those in the paranormal research department certainly got a kick out of seeing the lad acting so bizarrely, especially a certain sorcerer as his snickered before being told to leave the room. His presence upset the Phantomhive boy.

Soon, however, he joined his blonde beau in a medium-sized room with two beds propped up against one wall, and a television and a counter on the other. Alois smiled weakly at the bluenette as he was escorted by armed gaurds and commanded to lay down on the bed just to the blonde's right. It took quite a bit of threatening, as well as some intervention from Alois in order to persuade the ever-stubborn Phantomhive to heed their orders.

In a huff, Ciel plopped onto the comfortable, but somehow not bed and crossed his arms. He found great interest in the ceiling, somehow, and began to find patterns in the panels, being careful not to stare into the lights for too long. It wasn't long before his eyes started to wander around the room, finding fascination in everything. It felt like he was trying to take in too much information at once, so it was a tad overwhelming. This was especially heightened due to the lad's current light-headedness. Granted, he was better than before, but he still was a tad "off".

He stared long and hard at the ceiling, finding patterns in the random markings on the panels. Ciel found great interest in it, until his eyes wandered further out into the room, at the television, then to the counter. The lad counted the many bottles on it before that became dull; by then, the Phantomhive's sapphire eye ventured to the blonde menace in the bed next to his, finding the lad's visage fascinating.

Alois' laid on his back, his face filthy, coated in dried blood smeared across it where there was a feeble attempt to clean it off. There was blood matting his hair together in the front, and on his suit, which he still wore, as well. While the bluenette was changed into hospital attire, the blonde menace kept his work clothes on, as it was difficult for him to move, at the time. His eyes were closed, and he chose not to breathe, as it luxury that only caused him pain. His ribs were still in the process of regenerating, but it was still painful. How on earth Sebastian was able to be filled with holes like Swiss cheese and not even bat an eyelash was certainly beyond the blonde's comprehension. The poor boy's senses were still a bit foggy, but he could still feel the bluenette staring at him. He didn't, however, sense the lad moving, and jumped when he felt pressure on the edge of the mattress as the lad crawled into bed with him.

"What are you doing?" he said, his voice barely audible. It made the bluenette sad, even in his impaired state.

"I want to be with you." Ciel replied, laying down, and nuzzling into the other boy, placing his hand on the blonde's abdomen, rather than his ribs.

"You're still high, aren't you?" Alois asked, rolling his eyes when the bluenette only groaned in response, pressing his nose further into the lad's shoulder.

"You do know that Sir Integra is going to want to talk to you about this, right?" he continued. "If she sees us in bed together like this, she'll go mental."

"I don't care..." the bluenette said. "I need to be here."

"Why's that?" inquired the Macken lad. "You'll be embarrassed about it later, we both know that."

"I need to make sure you're okay, though..." Ciel answered. "Sir Integra can kiss my arse." Alois laughed, weakly.

"And you can't do that from over there?" he asked.

"No. If I just ask you, you'll just tell me you're okay. I need to make sure that's true."

"You don't trust me?"

"I trust you. That's why you'd get away with lying to me." Ciel said. "You're too kind to me. You lied when you told me you'd be okay..."

There was a brief pause as the blonde tried to sort out his answer. He did sort of "lie", didn't he? It wasn't as though he expected to have his ribs broken, but he didn't expect to walk away unscathed, either.

"I know." he said, finally. "I'm sorry. I wanted to protect you-"

"I did this to you." the Phantomhive boy interrupted. "I could feel your bones breaking, and I could feel your head hit that wall... I was powerless to stop it, though. I'm not the one who needed 'protecting', here..."

"Still don't regret it, though." Alois replied. "I'd do it again, in a heartbeat."

"I could have killed you, Jim..." the bluenette said.

"I could have killed you too." retorted his beau. "You act as though this is some kind of big deal..."

"It IS a big deal." Ciel said. "I hurt you, and I hurt you badly. What if you hadn't thought of the rosemary in time? What if I did kill you?" Alois opened his eyes and looked at the other boy as the lad tightened his grip on the blonde.

"I couldn't live with that..." he continued, hiding his face in the blonde's shoulder. "Only a monster would do something like that... Only a monster would enjoy hurting you..."

"Let's hope we don't meet any, then." the blonde said, sparking the other boy's attention. He looked up at Alois, genuinely confused by what the blonde had just said.

"What?" asked Ciel, arching an eyebrow and cocking his head to the side.

"I said, let's not meet any monsters, then." the blonde answered, meeting the other boy's gaze. "If a monster could kill me, and that would upset you, then let's hope we don't meet any."

"You do know that I was talking about myself, right?" inquired the Phantomhive.

"That's weird," retorted the Macken. "you're not a 'monster'."

"I hurt you, Jim."

"No, that freak with the stupid bowl-cut and bad manicure did with his weird poison. Weren't you paying attention?"

"You're not taking this seriously!"

"YOU'RE high as balls!" the blonde said. "Come to your senses, already. As much as I like how cute and docile you're being right now, you're not a monster. That's final."

True, the blonde was afraid in the moments where the bluenette wasn't himself, but he was certain that it wasn't "Ciel" who did this to him. As horrid and sour the bluenette had been in the past, there was no possible way that he would make an actual, conscious effort to harm him. He knew this. How? The bluenette was the one who convinced him. There was no way that Ciel Phantomhive would ever say that he was "afraid", without reason.

Ciel is proud. Ciel is strong-willed. Why would he show such weakness? Why had he shown so much weakness to the blonde beforehand? Ciel is proud, but prioritizes the blonde's needs over his pride. Ciel would have never given insight to his possession of fear, unless he really meant it. Alois was about to tighten his grip on the bluenette, when the other boy suddenly sat up before leaning over the blonde, placing one hand on both sides of his head and leaning down to face the lad. His eyes were still a bit lidded, but the rest of his expression made it seem like he was serious.

"Why do you blindly believe that?!" he asked. "I'm a horrible person! You said it yourself! I'm 'evil'. How can you not be afraid after what I did to you? I am a monster, Jim!"

His frustration grew as the blonde seemed to be completely unfazed, but before he could continue, he was rendered silent by the blonde reaching up to "shush" him, before cupping his cheek. How it was the the bluenette's firey temper could be quelled by such a gesture, he would never know. Ciel leaned into the blonde's hand as he stroked the bluenette's cheek with his thumb.

"But Ciel, a monster wouldn't regret what they did." Alois said, offering a small smile.

Almost immediately, the bluenette's face softened, and he collapsed from his hands to his elbows. He leaned down and touched their foreheads together, not caring about the matted, bloody condition of the blonde's locks as they mixed with his own. He closed his eyes, uttering a heavy sigh of relief before pressing his lips against the blonde's in a tender kiss. When he pulled back, the blonde was still grinning as he nuzzled their noses together.

"Why are you so good to me?" Ciel asked, causing the blonde to chuckle.

"Because you're always good to me." Alois replied. "If I couldn't support you when you need me most, then what kind of boyfriend would I be?"

"Quoting Sebastian..." the bluenette began. "...What a turn-off..." Alois laughed.

"You love it."

"I love you."

"I love you, too, muffin."

 


	331. Brain Science

Alois was relieved. He could finally breathe again, his ribs almost completely healed. The blonde was also glad that the bluenette beside him was feeling better, albet his head still somewhat foggy. He was content with the other boy snuggled into his side in the hospital bed, simply enjoying each other's presence, as the bluenette wasn't much for conversation at the moment. Alois especially enjoyed this, as ordinarily, their positions were reversed. It made him feel like gloating, somehow.

Still, the fact remained that they still didn't know what had caused all of this. How could a poison effect Ciel Phantomhive, one of the most stubborn and strong-willed people on the planet, in such an oddly specific way? Ciel always did seem odd about the concept of "humanity", so was it just a simple coincidence? Surely it was, seeing as though the demon who did this obviously hadn't met, or even heard of the other boy until that moment.

In was in Alois' hope that it simply was "coincidence", somehow. Something didn't sit well with him about it in the slightest. The blonde hoped that the tests that the bluenette was subjected to upon arrival to H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. could provide further insight into the matter. Oh, lord, there was still the fact that those demons got away.

Sir Integra was bound to be unhappy with all of this. What if she deemed Ciel as "dangerous"? What if she demanded that he be exiled, or worse, executed? Ciel wasn't dangerous! He was Ciel! He was loyal to his country, and to his employers. He did all of his jobs well, and exceeded expectations. More than that, his heart was human. The only ones who he is "dangerous" to are criminals, ordered hits, and anyone who would try to harm the people he cared about. As such, he was more dangerous to himself than anyone, right now. He had been put in a vulnerable position when he wasn't ready, in all of this. That's a mark against his mental health.

What if the venom affected him permanently? What if he had completely lost his mind after this as a result? Would he become batty, or even violent, even after the rosemary completely wore off? Ciel was scared. Alois knew that.

The bluenette was aware of what he was doing, and was powerless to stop it. Having his power taken away frightens him, and losing those who have become important to him scares him as more. Combining the two along with his own insecurities of not being "human" was a recipe for disaster.

Ciel felt the blondes bones breaking on impact. He felt the lad's head impact the wall, over, and over again, and heard the sound it made as brick met cranium. The bluenette could still remember the taste of Alois' blood, and it unnerved him. He still couldn't wrap his head around how the blonde could forgive him! That only made him worry more. He held onto the blonde tightly, and refused to let go, even when the door began to open.

"Mister Macken, I have the results of Ciel's tests, is he-... Oh my..." Doctor Ackerman trailed off, as she witnessed the scene. The elderly woman adjusted the glasses on the bridge of her nose, as her eyes focused on the sight of two openly romantically involved boys in each other arms while laying in bed together.

"Nothing's happening, I promise." Alois said in reassurance. "Ciel's still high, and insisted that he needed to cuddle."

"Well, that makes more sense than the 'sunglasses' thing from earlier." the doctor replied with a shrug. As a woman of science, she was not opposed to homosexuality, as evidence proves that it is a natural thing. She didn't quite understand or approve of it, but, she admitted, it was probably her age.

"Would you like for me to tell you the results now, or should I wait until Mister Phantomhive isn't..." she trailed off, unsure of the proper phrasing.

"High as a kite?" the blonde suggested.

"Exactly."

"Go ahead. I can explain it to him later."

The woman smiled, and picked up one of the many files in her arms before handing it to the blonde. Then, her face became somewhat serious. This probably wasn't good.

"Our findings conclude that the venom injected into mister Phantomhive's body was a neuro-toxin designed to target very specific areas of the brain." she began as Alois followed along, opening the file to look at images of contents of his boyfriend's skull.

"It attacks areas responsible for fear." the woman continued. "The toxin attacks the amygdala and prelimbic cortex, acting on preconditioned data and using that as a basis. In other words, it 'learns' about what scares you.

"From there, it stimulates other areas, and causes hallucinations, making the body more willing to act on whatever impulse it wants. It changes external behaviour, but shockingly, internal behaviours were left out."

"Is that why Ciel says he remembers it?" asked the blonde.

"Most likely." Doctor Ackerman replied grimly. "It's intended to make the target suffer emotional turmoil, and trauma. Mister Macken... Is... Is Ciel alright?" Suddenly, the bluenette shifted slightly.

"I'm perfectly fine. I'm just a bit drained, is all." he said, his tone making him sound more like his usual self. "It won't happen again. Next time, I'll be ready for that freak's venom."

"That's not how this works." the woman replied. "If he scratches you, you're still going to feel the affects of the neuro-toxin. You can't get it out of your system with shear willpower..." The bluenette scoffed and nuzzled his face back into the blonde's shoulder, unable to formulate an argument.

"As stubborn as ever..." the woman said with a sigh. "We're still unaware of how this will effect your mental health in the future, mister Phantomhive. It is of utmost importance that you be careful. There are people who care about you, and who don't want to lose you." A pang of guilt ran through the bluenette's chest in that moment, yet he said nothing. Instead, he silently chose to hide his face in the blonde' s shoulder.

"Expect a visit from Sir Integra after you sober up." Doctor Ackerman continued. "What you did was 'unacceptable' in H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G.'s eyes, so you may be up for evaluation."

"That's not fair!" Alois declared. "It wasn't his fault!"

"Unfortunately, some of the members of the council of Twelve wrongly don't see it that way." the woman said with a sigh. "I'm sure that Sir Integra will understand. She's a lot kinder than she looks."

"Hmph!" the bluenette scoffed. "Her? Kind? That's not even funny as a joke."

"Why do you hate her so much?" asked the blonde menace.

"Because reasons." Ciel answered as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"Honestly, this little rivalry you've got going on with her is so petty..."

"She started it." the bluenette said, squeezing the blonde tighter and burying his face in the lad's neck. "I don't care about her, anyway."

"You're so funny when you act immature." Alois mused, causing the other boy to pout. The doctor looked on in silence before taking out her pen and making a few notes on her clipboard. She looked up at the two boys.

"Uhm, I know this isn't a very good time to ask, but while you're both here, there's been something that I needed to ask you..." she hesitantly began. "Now, I need you to answer me with all honesty, alright?"

"Alright." the blonde answered. "What is it?" The woman nudged her glasses before speaking.

"Are the two of you... in a sexual relationship?" she asked, causing the faces of both lads to instantaneously heat up.

"I, uh... Well, we... Uhm..." the blonde began, the bluenette spouting similar nonsense. The doctor before them simply rolled her eyes.

"I'm going to have to ask the two of you a few follow-up questions, then."

* * *

 


	332. A Serious Talk

The demonic duo was mortified. They sat there in that room for what felt like hours answering personal questions about their sex life. As time went on, Ciel began to sober up more, and more.

By the end, his face was completely red as he answered things such as how often they engaged in sexual activity, how many times, what kind, whether or not they used protection of any sort, and the like. How on earth he landed in this predicament, he would never know, but as the questions kept coming, Ciel began to fear that he had done something incredibly wrong.

Part of H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G.'s task is to research the supernatural, and their data on demonic sexual behaviours is naturally very limited. Part of the task of the Phantomhive house demons is to provide the organization with research material and data on their kind. Ciel and Alois just happen to be able to provide data in a new area of research. What troubled the bluenette most, however, was what on earth Sir Integra was going to say upon coming across this data.

Oh, how he would never hear the end of it. She would in no doubt be repulsed at the lads' habits. Then again, the woman was called "The Iron Maiden" for a reason, if one might know what I mean. She herself, had never had a sexual encounter previously. On the other hand, however, she might not give the slightest care, as it was just simply data.

The woman was remarkably uninterested in sex for a human being, yet her personal morals were strong. Ciel still had no idea as to how exactly the woman felt about him being romantically involved with another man. Now that she will discover that his intimacies were also physical, goodness knows what could happen. The thought that his arch-nemesis would know absolutely everything about what he and the blonde did in the bedroom was positively horrifying. One piece of information, however, worried him the most, and that was when they started this aspect fo their relationship, seeing as the blonde was only about fifteen at the time. Ciel worried that he might be labeled a paedophile, seeing as though he is over a hundred years of age, and condemned by the Round Table as a not only a "monster", from his previous actions that day, but also a "statutory rapist".

Doctor Ackerman, however, seemed completely unfazed. She was more interested in the data than the moral implications. In her eyes, Ciel was still a "teenager", even though he had been a teenager longer before she herself was one. He still looked exactly the same as he did when she was a young woman entering the facility for the first time, having been unable to find any other place in the medical profession due to her gender, at the time. To her, Ciel had always been just another patient, if not one of the more pleasant ones to work with. She had gotten to know him over the course of several decades, and knew that his intentions were not vile in the slightest.

She did, however, give a few words of warning about the health-related issues that may arise when it came to man-on-man sexual intercourse that she knew of. She also warned that she had no idea of how or if these things effected demons. The boys were utterly mortified. This old woman knew more about sex than they did, and now knew how they went about it. She even gave advice on new practices to adopt at their pleasure, which both irked and humiliated the boys, this coming from a woman in her late seventies.

"...Next is the issue of mister Macken's age." she said, touching on the issue that nagged at the bluenette's mind the most. "I'm not entirely sure on what the policy is for demons, but you are aware of what the legal age of consent is, yes?"

"Y-yes..." the bluenette uttered, beginning to miss the stupor of rosemary. Perhaps he wouldn't have been so embarrassed, had this conversation occurred earlier. "...It's seventeen..."

"Right." the doctor replied. "Now, I'm not sure what the moral implications of this are for demons, but I'm not entirely sure how the Round Table will feel about all of this, seeing as though the relationship began when mister Macken was underage."

"I am aware..." the blunette answered. "This looks really bad, doesn't it?"

"From where I'm standing, I can't be sure." the woman said. "Personally, I think that there's a lot more research to be done before we can decide that. We have yet to decipher whether or not you, yourself are 'legal age', as we aren't entirely sure of the developmental process of demons. Right now, at least according to our scans, your brain has the same developmental status of the average human teenager."

"So by demon-standards, at least, Ciel and I are the 'same age'?" asked a certain blonde menace, concerned for his beau. He didn't want to put the lad in any sort of trouble. He didn't even know that there was such a thing as a "legal" age. The last thing Alois wanted was for the bluenette to be in any kind of trouble, let alone be the cause.

"More or less." the woman replied. "We're going to need further analysis until then, however. In the mean time, I think it's alright for you two to go home, for the moment. Just be careful from now on."

With that, the group said their goodbyes and departed, but not before the lads where handed two very small containers, and asked to bring back a -ahem-, "sample of their genetic information". The lads decided that they needed to reassess this case, including the new dangers that they had come across as they considered what action that it would be most appropriate to take. When they came home, however, they came across a new problem. H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. had called Sebastian, and Sebastian had told Luka what had happened. Needless to say, the boy was very upset.

"Big brotheerrrr!" he cried, running up to the older Macken as soon as the entryway door opened and wrapping his arms around his siblings waist, burying his face into the blonde's abdomen.

"Oof!" uttered Alois, being taken by surprise at the action. He didn't expect the younger lad to know, or for him to be so worried. He reached down and patted the bruenette on the head.

"What's wrong, Luka?" he asked. "Did we take too long to get back?"

"Sebastian said you got hurt, and you had to go see the doctors again!" the younger boy answered. "Are you okay, Jim?! Are you hurt real bad?!"

"No, no! I'm fine, now." Alois said as he began to flex his free arm. "Your brother's tough, you know! It's Ciel who got messed up really bad." Luka looked up at the blonde, then turned his head to look at the bluenette who stood next to them. With a frown, the youngest of the Macken's furrowed his brow.

"You're in trouble!" the lad declared, pointing his finger at the Phantomhive boy accusingly. "You beat up my brother! I thought you loved him! Ass!"

"What?!" Ciel asked, almost startled by the bruenette's accusation. "I do love Jim! I would never hurt him on purpose! I was poisoned!"

"That's what they all say!" Luka argued, having no idea as to whether or not that held any actual legitimacy. "Wanker! Ass! Git!"

"Hey! Watch your mouth! Just how old are you?!"

"I'm nine, stupid!" Luka replied. "I thought you were nice!"

"Luka, he's telling the truth." interrupted the blonde menace with a reassuring smile. "Ciel was poisoned by some weird demon's claws. It happened because he was trying to protect me. He told me to leave him behind because he knew that he'd been poisoned, and knew it was going to do something bad to him, but I didn't listen." Luka looked up at the boy, and then back to the bluenette, he looked to his brother again, and then back to his brother's boyfriend.

"Fine. I'll let that shit slide this time." he said, before pointing at the bluenette once more. "I've still got my eye on you, Ciely."

"Relax, little bro, Ciel's a good guy." the blonde said, picking his brother up from his armpits, and slinging him over his shoulder. Alois looked to his beau for a moment, and added; "Aren't you, Ciel?"

"Since when?" the bluenette thoughtlessly uttered, unable to withhold the remark. When the younger Macken shot him a glare, however, he quickly opted to attempt to right himself.

"I'm a demon who works for a shadow-government, so I hardly think that makes me a 'good guy'." he said. "But, I'm not a bad guy. I still love my boyfriend, friends, and this little family we have and would never want any harm to come to them. Business is separate from that."

"But you take Jim to work with you." Luka replied.

"That's because his bosses are my bosses too. We can't change that." said the Phantomhive.

"What if something bad happens?"

"Then I'll save him."

"You didn't save him today."

"Luka!" the blonde warned, setting the other boy down. "Ciel feels really bad about it. He's also still a little sick. Be nice."

"Okay..." his brother said as his feet touched the floor. "I'm sorry."

"It's alright, Luka." spoke Ciel. "You have every right to be worried about your brother. It won't ever happen again. We're going to find the ones who did this, and stop them."

"So you are a good guy!" the bruenette said. "Why do you always pretend that you're not?"

"Because, in case you haven't noticed..." Alois began, crouching down to whisper to his younger brother. "...Ciel's kind of weird."

Luka giggled at the blonde's comments, while Ciel simply rolled his eye with a small sigh. Satisfied with his brother's words, the youngest of the Macken brothers trotted off to go and do whatever he does. It was almost his bedtime, so he was probably about to go take a bath. Somehow, the lad had commondeered the friendship of Bernard the rubber duck, much to the amusement of the previous owner. It was then that a thought occurred to the blonde menace.

"I'm really gross." he stated, holding his blonde, blood-caked bangs between his thumb and index finger. "I think it's high-time for a shower."

"Alright." the bluenette replied. "I'll be in my office after I change."

"Oh, so you're not going to join me, then?" Alois giggled.

"I think it's best if I don't. I broke your ribs today, remember?"

"We did it in the bath after I got shot in the head, remember? It's fine if you really don't want to, but if you're just still feeling weird about our little 'episode'; don't." Alois said, reaching toward the bluenette and cupping the boy's cheek. "It wasn't your fault. Don't feel responsible for something you had no control over. You did everything you could. Both of us know that."

"It wasn't enough." Ciel replied, gently moving the blonde's hand away. "I was completely powerless to stop it. All I could do was watch, and feel myself hitting you..."

"So you blame yourself?"

"I'm the only one to blame..."

"That's stupid." Alois uttered. "The only one that's to blame is that demon with his freaky claws. If anyone's to blame, it's him. You're just as much of a victim as I am, here."

"I still couldn't stop it."

"Yeah, like you can stop neuro-toxin with just your will." the blonde asked. "Do you hear yourself talking right now? You're talking nonsense. Are you still high?"

"Is it wrong to feel guilty for what I did?" Ciel asked, furrowing his brow in annoyance.

"Only if you didn't do it, and you're weirdly obsessive with being 'strong'." the blonde retorted, his tone sounding a bit peevish as well.

"I want to be able to protect you, Jim!"

"Well, I want to be able to protect you, too!" the blonde said, brow furrowed in irritation. "How many times do I have to tell you, before you get it through that stubborn head of yours?! You don't have to do everything alone, you aren't responsible for everything bad that happens, and you aren't solely responsible for my well-being. I see you upset and in distress, but you won't let me to help you! Let me help you through this! You helped me when I needed you! Let me repay you for once!"

Ciel looked at the blonde, wide-eyed for a moment. Why did the boy want to believe that he wasn't to blame? It was his hands that struck the blonde, and no one else's. It was his fault. It had to be. There was no other way. He simply lacked self-control, didn't he? The bluenette's will needed to be stronger in order to find the demon who caused this mess, and bring him down; he was certain of it. There was part of him, however small, and hidden it may be, that was monstrous in nature, and he needed control of it.

"I'm sorry..." he said, finally. "I... I just can't... I need better control..."

"Of what?" the blonde asked. "Your fear?" Ciel was taken aback by the accusation.

"The venom affects the part of the brain that deals with fear." Alois continued. "You were a little high when Doctor Ackerman told us."

"I'm not afraid..." the bluenette insisted.

"Yes, you are." Alois said. "You told me yourself, remember?"

* * *

 


	333. Ignorance Isn't Bliss

The blonde's words rattled around inside the bluenette's cranium for several days after the incident. When Ciel claimed to require "better control", the blonde laid his observations out in the open, bare for all to see. "Of what? Your fear?" Alois had said. The more he thought about it, the more Ciel began to lean toward the truth. Alois was right. Ciel was afraid.

Oh, how he was afraid. The Phantomhive boy couldn't even recall the last time he had been so afraid. The fact that the bluenette wasn't human was immovable. It could not be changed, yet the fact somewhat scared him. In every legend, and most stories told that weren't some silly romance novel aimed at young girls, demons were evil. Demons are wicked, vile, despicable beings, whose entire existence hinges on destroying that of others, causing misery and taking delight in despair wherever they went. These ideas where planted into Ciel's head from when he was a very small child, so it was the most "innocent" and "unstained" part of him, deep within his consciousness that was in fact, afraid of what he had become. This feeling had persisted for one-hundred years, but now, it was exposed; naked before his eye. He did not want to be a monster, especially now that he had people who had eliminated the possibility from his thoughts.

Monsters hurt people, but there were people who Ciel did not want to hurt. No, he wanted to protect them, but that is not what monsters do. The only reason a monster would do such a thing is if it was to be rewarded in return, yet, the bluenette wanted nothing more than the company of his friends and the approval of his peers, along with the love of Alois. Yes, love is a very powerful motivator, after all. It had been ages since the bluenette had a taste of it, but now he wanted more. It was an addiction, of sorts; one that no monster would be able to sustain.

Ciel had every reason to wish to defy his supposed nature. Was it actually necessary? Well, history has proven otherwise. Could a monster care about the welfare of others while asking for nothing in return? Could a monster hold a sense of duty, bound together with sentimentality and loyalty, rather than benefit? Could a monster feel all the things the bluenette could? No, to all of these.

Still, the bluenette remained a tad shaken from his experience, however. It's not every day one is drugged into a bloodthirsty frenzy and tries to murder their boyfriend. Even now, after contemplating the incident for a few days, the demonic duo remained a tad distant, each going their own way for the time being, and only interacting when absolutely necessary. They only conversed at school and at the dinner table. Because Revy had commandeered Alois' old room, however, they still shared a bed. The lads simply scooted to the opposite ends, and avoided contact, no matter how much they wanted it. Sometimes the bluenette didn't go to bed at all. Sometimes he stayed up and worked alone in his office, ignoring the passage of time completely. Ciel didn't like giving the blonde the cold shoulder, but he felt as though he needed to sort his own internal conflicts, first.

To some extent, his beau understood this. Alois was sure to honour the bluenette's decision, no matter how much it hurt him. Without the bluenette's reassurance, the blonde's old insecurities began to crawl up on him once more, causing the lad to ponder whether or not the Phantomhive lad wanted to continue the relationship at all. No matter how many times he reassured himself that this wasn't true, the idea persisted.

Unsurprisingly, the duo themselves weren't the only ones affected by this. The rest of the household was a tad worried, as well. Luka especially worried for his older brother's happiness, because even though the blonde had done his best to put on the facade of normalcy, Luka knew better. He knew of the subtle hints that something was off, but no matter how many times he asked, Alois simply told him that everything was "fine". It annoyed the boy to no end.

Revy, too, was a bit concerned, for even though he didn't entirely approve of the lad's relationship, he knew that the stability of the household depended on it. He didn't like watching the duo flirt, nor did he like them looking at each other too amorously. In fact, the slightest romantic implication between the two made him wrinkle his nose in disgust. While he has excepted that this is a somewhat "normal" thing for the demons, the revenant still felt disturbed by the fact that the blonde shared his face, and that another boy was kissing it; just when he was starting to actually like his new appearance, too. Regardless, the demonic duo had shown him much kindness, therefore they couldn't be all bad. In fact, they were good people. To see them acting a bit upset worried him, just as it worried the butler of the household.

The eldest of the demons, Sebastian, was naturally concerned with his master's mental health, but sympathized, somewhat, given the somewhat traumatic experience that the bluenette had just undergone. Whatever it was that happened to his master, it hit the boy on an oddly deep level. Sebastian understood Ciel's concerns, as well as an ordinary demon could. He didn't understand the fear of demonity that the Phantomhive had, but he knew it concerned the boy greatly.

Sebastian was somewhat hesitant to knock on the door to his master's office, as the boy had holed himself up inside the room for several days. Still, there was important business to attend, and he simply could not stay back and twiddle his thumbs. His master needed some sort of guidance in this situation, and if the man in black could not assist, then what kind of butler would he be?

"Master?" he called, knocking on the door. He was answered by a grumbling noise that only vaguely sounded like a "come in", but regardless, the man took it.

With a twist of the knob, and a push on the door, it was open, allowing Sebastian entrance. It was then that he finally set his eyes upon the room that had been lived in for almost three days. Sebastian could have sworn he organised it while the bluenette was at school, but the piles upon piles of books, papers, and files simply refused to die, as they returned once more to cover almost every available surface. Somewhere amongst the debris was the head or the household himself, presumably seated at what had once been a desk.

A sigh escaped the man's lips as he entered. His master had obviously been living in this room, avoiding the actual problems he faced. Much to everyone's exasperation, this was Ciel's preferred method of coping when it came to "people-problems". The boy would ignore all else except for the case at hand. Unfortunately, information on said case was scarce, and the boy was running out of leads.

Black Annis was spreading fast, killing users left and right. It ravaged the bodies of all who took it, including the girl whose legs had been previously incapacitated. She was gone, now, as was Black Annis. It seemed to have disappeared off of the face of the earth.

Ciel was baffled at this. At first, it seemed as though Black Annis was everywhere, but now, it was gone. After the final user had died, Black Annis was no more. Either people stopped buying, or the more probable explanation, the fact that production of the substance had most likely come to a halt. Perhaps whoever was responsible was on hiatus, laying low while the police lost interest, however, that didn't seem likely. The makers of Black Annis had probably been informed by their cronies of the bluenette's existence, and meddlesome involvement. But why?

Why did they do all of this? What was the point? What could possibly be gained from selling a narcotic that kills the user, and why use a copy of Jonnathan Beatie to do it? None of it made any sense. Where the demons working underneath someone? If so, who? Ciel thought back to the encounter he and his blonde beau experienced with the doppelganger and the clawed demon.

Beatie was easy to take down. Too easy. Was it the rosemary? No, because the demonic duo would have been effected in the same manner. The gask masks failed because smoke from the burning herb seeped through the fabric of the duo's clothing and made contact with their skin. Was the duplicate a "new" demon? Hard to tell. No one is quite sure how demons come to be, not even the demons themselves.

Then there was the other demon; the one with claws coated in poison. Alois had dubbed him "Bowl-cut Billy", seeing as though they didn't know the villain's actual name. Even with the disappearance of Black Annis, and the reappearance of the Beatie lad, the demon with the claws and the bowl-cut captured the bluenette's interest the most. The way he seemed so genuinely amused by the situation, and how he spoke. What he said was more important, however, because it gave the most important clues.

Ciel now knew that this was an organised group behind this, and that they seemed to be under control by an individual of great power. They would have to be, seeing as though the clawed demon, who was so rearing to fight, was kept at bay by the thought of his superiors. There were further clues, hidden by what the young man had said to the demonic duo right before he left. Why did he bother to tell them about the poison in his claws? Wouldn't it have been better to have let them figure it out, and hopefully destroy them both in the process?

"Hopefully you'll last that long." the demon had said.

It made no sense. Why tell them? As Ciel thought, replaying everything that the demon had said within his mind, and recalling the events over the past few days, it struck him. The demon kept saying that he wanted to fight the bluenette one day, and given the context of the situation, it became clear.

They wanted to use him. Ciel wasn't sure how, but the demon had seen a potential pawn in the bluenette. The fear that the bluenette had experienced was key. That demon had no way to decipher what the boy's fear was on his own, so he left it up to the poison. It didn't matter to him. All he knew was that it would be crippling to the boy, and would "persuade" him to back down. Who knows what else the demons could do? Just what would he be able to make Ciel do, had he actually given it thought? Most people, the threat of expeiriencing fear again would be sufficient, but not for Ciel. He was defiant.

He plunged deeper and deeper into his thoughts, becoming more angry with each passing second. He was angry at them for thinking so little of him, for making him experience that kind of suffering, but most of all, for making him do what he did to Alois. It was Alois who riled his passions with an intensity on par with his hatred. The fact that they could make the bluenette attack him, and drive them apart angered the Phantomhive unlike anything had in a long time. To be used as a weapon against his own was unacceptable. Ciel's dignity, pride, and morality would not stand for it. Sebastian could feel the intensity of these thoughts as soon as he entered the room. The man's audible sigh was enough to spark the Phantomhive lad's attention.

"What is it, Sebastian?" he asked, his tone impatient, the fact that his butler had apparently grown an attitude only heightening this.

"It's been three days, and you haven't left this room once, master." the man said as he began to tidy up once more. "What of school? It's Monday."

"Is it?" the bluenette asked in surprise. He glanced at the date that the computer on his desk displayed. It was Monday afternoon. He had missed school. "So it is... It doesn't matter. It isn't as though I've never learned the material before."

"I'm afraid it does matter, my lord." Sebastian answered gravely. "You have friends who worry about you, and poor Alois had no idea what to tell them, seeing as though he doesn't know what you're up to, either."

"I'm working, of course. He should know that."

"He does, but he doesn't know where you've progressed, or why you refuse to talk to him." The man looked to his master, noticing a small, fleeting expression of guilt flash across the boy's face.

"I told him, already. It's to protect him. It isn't as though I like being cooped up in here, either." Ciel said, folding his hands.

"It would appear that mister Trancy doesn't see it that way." Sebastian said.

"Then why doesn't he talk to me?"

"Because you're the one who demanded space, my lord. He's simply respecting your wishes." His master sat, crossing his arms and furrowing his brow. He didn't seem to be understanding the blonde's actions.

"Ordinarily, he would barge in, regardless." the lad said.

"Circumstance has changed." replied the butler. "If I may say, you were quite the mess, after the 'episode'. Alois has already tried talking to you, my lord, but that tactic has failed. Thus, he's trying out this one; giving you your 'space'."

"Surely that isn't right..." the bluenette said.

"But it is. We all saw it, master." Sebastian interrupted, causing the boy to be a tad surprised at his butler's sudden rudeness. "Things aren't 'right' around here."

"What do you mean?" asked Ciel.

"A house cannot operate without it's lord." the man replied, walking over to the desk. "The lack of communication has thrown things out of order. Revy is refusing his studies, Luka is worried sick, Alois has entered a depression and has started acting out again, and I..." He paused, trying to find his footing. How exactly did he feel? He didn't know. He hasn't "felt" before.

"I... don't like seeing things fall apart." Sebastian concluded, attempting to sum up his thoughts on the matter. His master sat quietly, turning away from the man to stare at the piles of paper on his desk.

The Phantomhive sat, deep in thought, trying to wrap his head around what exactly he had done. Revy would no doubt refuse cooperation once it was no longer required of him, and Luka was surely worried about his older brother and the state of the blonde's relationship. Then there was Alois... Alois? Depressed? As Ciel thought, the idea became more than plausible. His beau was quite sensitive, and needed attention. Ciel was like the blonde's social crutch, allowing him to feel comfortable around "ordinary" people without feeling anxious, just as the blonde helped Ciel himself interact normally with people without giving the implication that he wanted them dead. Ciel helped mute Alois' need to cry out, and Alois helped embolden Ciel when it came to being "sociable". When the blonde wasn't sure, he acted out in all kinds of ways. When told of the blonde's latest maneuvers, the bluenette immediately felt responsible. It was as though he was trying to make the Phantomhive notice him again, even if he himself didn't know it. With a heavy heart, Ciel sighed.

"...Have I gone about this situation entirely wrong?" he hesitantly asked his butler. The man clad in black smiled softly.

"Yes." he bluntly replied. "In fact, I would say that you've behaved quite badly. I do believe it's high-time to open the door and let your partner assist you."

"I'm not sure what that will do." Ciel protested. "The case is nothing but dead-ends..."

"Not the case, my lord." Sebastian replied. "Your 'personal problem'."

Ciel froze, unnerved by the butler's knowledge. "How did you know about that?"

"Simple." the man answered. "If I can not detect when something is deeply the matter with my lord, then what kind of butler would I be?"

"One that minds his own business..." the bluenette muttered, standing up. "So, what exactly do you propose I do?"

"Well, my lord, I would assume that groveling would be an appropriate measure."

"I don't grovel." the boy huffed.

"Not even for the man you love?" Sebastian inquired, causing the bluenette's face to turn red. He had said it many times to the blonde, but hearing his butler speak of his affections was extremely embarrassing, somehow.

"I... I don't know how..." Ciel uttered, causing the man to smile his signature sly grin.

"Well, then, I suppose it's time to learn-"

They were interrupted when the office door violently swung open, prompting both demons to jump in surprise. There stood the blonde menace himself, eyes wide, and fear plastered on his visage. He looked horrified.

"The Round Table." Alois began. "The Round Table wants to meet with us. All of us."

 


	334. The Monster With Twelve Faces

All of them. The round table had requested the presence of all of the members of Phantomhive house to meet with them. Given prior events, this was certain to be disastrous. All of them knew it. Even Luka, who held the hand of his older brother for the entirety of the car ride. He was afraid because everyone else was. Obviously, wherever they were going, it wasn't good. All of the lads were dressed in fancy suits, causing both of the younger Macken boys to squirm with discomfort. Yes, the atmosphere in the vehicle was uncomfortable. It's air was heavy, as were it's passenger's emotions.

Luka insisted that Alois sit in between both himself, and Ciel in the backseat, in hopes that they would start talking again. The gesture was wasted, however, as neither of the older demons so much as glanced at each other, both too stubborn to stop playing this needless game of theirs. Alois simply stared ahead, between the driver's and passenger's seats and out the windshield, looking past the shoulders of Sebastian and Revy to watch the road. His beau, on the other hand, looked out the window, as he did his best to shallow his growing anxiety.

While his calm facade was almost flawless, the boy was an utter mess on the inside. He had failed his mission, let a dangerous demon escape, became a monster, caused unnecessary property damage, wasted H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. research time and hurt his beloved Alois. He didn't want to imagine the punishment that could be in store. What if they sentenced him to death? What if they exiled him, or worse? What if they took Alois away? Ciel wouldn't be able to live with that. He hadn't even had the chance to apologise, yet. Oh, how he needed time to prepare for such an event. Apology was not a strong skill of his.

There were many times during the trip that the Phantomhive boy wanted to simply reach over and grab the other boy's free hand, but he was afraid of making the blonde upset. Yes, Ciel knew he had made a mistake. He had made mistake, after mistake, after mistake, over the course of just a few days. It was ridiculous, but even though he had heard the blonde tell him that he was forgiven, would Alois forgive him for not believing him?

Ciel was afraid. He hadn't been afraid in a long time. He was afraid of becoming a monster, afraid of upsetting Alois, and afraid of losing the boy all together. Ciel is the head of the Phantomhive household, and all who dwell within it's walls. It is his duty to protect each and every one of it's residents. Now, however, it would seem that he had failed this task entirely.

His fear had now spread. It spread to the demon "family" he had forged, and it spread to the Round Table as well. This meeting was in no doubt the result of his "unfortunate outburst" while under the influence of demonic venom.

"This is ridiculous..." Revy said suddenly from the passenger seat. "Why do all of us have to go?"

His inquiry was met with silence for the longest time, as no one seemed to know the answer. Any answer their minds could possibly formulate, however, were shoved to the back of their consciousness. Luka gripped Alois' hand tighter, unintentionally beckoning his attention. The blonde looked over at his brother and smiled.

"Don't worry, Ciel and I will take care of it." he reassured. "We always do, don't we?"

"Not lately, no..." Revy muttered, causing the silence following to become heavier than ever before.

Soon, the car lulled to a complete stop in front of their destination; the Hellsing Estate. It was here that they parted ways. Sebastian, Luka, and Revy were all ushered into separate rooms where they would undoubtedly be questioned about life at Phantomhive Manor. It was sneaky of them. The Round Table meant business. It was just the demonic duo who would be facing the Council, and they naturally didn't want any servants or children in the way of their discussion.

Silently down the corridors they were lead by a miss Seras Victoria, who was stilll just as courteous and kind as ever. In all honesty, however, she was off-put for a while due to the odd atmosphere around the boys. Still, given the circumstance, she could not blame them. Instead, she sympathized with the lads, knowing how the experience might have taken a toll on their relationship.

"I don't think you have much to worry about." said the Draculina, suddenly. "These old men may be stubborn, but once you explain what happened logically, I'm sure they'll come around!"

"Obviously, you have no idea how politics work..." Ciel replied. "Old men are hard to persuade, no matter how much evidence you provide. They'll still hold onto their outdated beliefs."

"Explains a lot, doesn't it, Alois?" Seras retorted with a toothy grin, causing the blonde to snicker with his hand covering his mouth. His beau looked on with confusion. Indeed, that statement summed up the entire situation perfectly.

Even with miss Victoria's efforts to lighten the mood, once they arrived before the great wooden door that housed the Hellsing estate's meeting room, the weight of the situation brought it crashing into the ground. Behind that door was the Convention of Twelve, also known as "The Round Table Conference", England's odd sort of "shadow government". Once that door opened, the game was on, and the demonic duo would have to argue their case. They didn't know how they would do so, however. They weren't on the best of terms with each other, after all. Still, they longed for each other's company again, and that would never happen if one of them were dead. With one last glance to one another, and a small nod, they opened the double-doors, and set foot into the lion's den.

Before them was a large, oval-shaped, wooden table with the council seated on all sides of it. All eyes were on them, and several of them didn't seem happy; primarily Sir Hugh Islands and Sir Arthur Kirkland, however, that could simply be attributed to the fact that they were never happy to see anyone. Sir Islands sat in his chair at the head of the table, with his wheelchair placed next to it; on the other end was Sir Integra Hellsing, with an odd, neutral expression on her face that seemed to be masking her true feelings on the situation. Between those two were Sir Arthur Kirkland, Sir Rupert Midford, Sir Gregory Penwood, Sir Rob Walsh, Sir Anthony Greendown, Sir Pennyworth, Dame Cooper, Dame Bowe, and so on.

Some of them did in fact seem unnerved by what was happening, while others, like Sir Midford and Sir Walsh, seemed to be under the impression that this was "a whole lot of effort for nothing". Even with this, the duo wasn't in the clear yet. They still had to win over the two people who the council really took seriously. Islands would be next to impossible, but Hellsing could possibly be persuaded. By the expression on her visage, however, the likelihood of this was questionable. The boys walked in, Ciel offering a small nod, while Alois offered a salute.

"To what do I owe the pleasure of meeting with you today?" Asked the bluenette, as if he already didn't know. This, however, only seemed to agitate Sir Islands.

"Don't be coy, demon." he spat, glaring at the pair. "You know perfectly well what you're here for."

"Ah, so it is the 'Black Annis Incident', then?" Ciel replied, masking his anxiety, as if rehearsed. "I take it that you have all been informed of the events that took place?"

"Oh, we're informed, alright." spoke Sir Kirkland. "We know of your little 'episode'."

"So you don't want to know about the case or the demon who escaped?"

"More like the demon you let get away!" the man retorted, furrowing his large eyebrows and enjoying the bluenette's small flinch at the statement. "You're a monster. How do we know you're not on their side, now?!"

"Sir Kirkland, that is enough." Sir Midford butted in. "The point of this meeting is not to point fingers."

"Easy for you to say." replied the younger man. "You're his kin."

"Sir Midford's relation to my mortal line has nothing to do with the topic at hand." Ciel stated. "For what purpose did you summon me here, other than to point out my obvious demonity?"

The boy spoke, chin high and hands placed behind his back, assuming a proud stance. The blonde menace did the same, unintentionally mirroring the bluenette's attempts to maintain an upper hand. Whispering filled the room, before one of the members of the council spoke up.

It was Sir Greendown, who spoke. The man was a bit of a romanticist, contrary to his post, and held a great amount of compassion. He was an open-minded fellow in his mid-forties, with dark skin and a friendly smile, but today, that smile was absent. Sir Greendown wasn't too familiar with the Phantomhive demon, however did not object to his personal choices. When he sought companionship and later confessed that he was in love with another male, Sir Greendown accepted it. Should Ciel wish for happiness, that was fine with him, as it brought no one any sort of harm. Today, on the other hand, was different. Ciel had crossed a line, however unintentional, and no one was sure if the effects were only "temporary".

"Sir Phantomhive..." began Greendown, "...The fact of the matter is that we are uncertain that the effects of the so-called 'venom' of the demon who attacked you was entirely temporary. We're worried about your mental health, and your ability to maintain... trust."

"So you do suspect me to be a monster..." the bluenette said absent-mindedly, causing the blonde to break his stance momentarily to look in his direction.

"We're sorry, Ciel." Sir Greendown replied. "But with someone of your records and... 'condition', we have to maintain a certain amount of security."

"Are we certain that the venom's effects were only temporary?" asked Sir Kirkland.

"Our tests confirm that the venom has left Sir Phantomhive's system, and the scans of his brain indicate no abnormalities." said Sir Integra, breaking her silence. "However, we have never dealt with this kind of substance before, and out knowledge of demons is very limited."

"So there is no way to be certain?"

"I'm perfectly fine." Ciel insisted, furrowing his brow. "It will not happen again."

"What proof do you have?" asked Sir Islands. "How are we to believe you?"

"I... don't know..."

"So there's none?"

"No, I..."

"So there's nothing?!" demanded Sir Kirkland. "Friendly ghosts are one thing, but demons with a history of violence and decipt are another! We can't be certain of Phantomhive's integrity!"

"How dare you?!" spoke Sir Midford. "Ciel Phantomhive is a man among men! He's served this country longer than you have!"

"Only because the threat of death hangs over his head!"

"That's only because of people like you!"

"If there is no way to be certain, how can we handle this?" asked Sir Penwood.

"I don't know. I say just leave him be." answered Sir Walsh.

"We cannot let this go!" said Sir Islands. "Lives are at stake!"

"He's a monster!"

"He's a man!"

"He's a child!"

 **"ENOUGH!"** Ciel roared, commanding the attention of the room.

All eyes were wide and were on him. Even those who were originally sure that the situation was nothing were shocked as the bluenette stood, brow furrowed, fists clenched, with a furious expression on his face. Sir Midford was confused, Sir Kirkland was frightened, and Sir Hellsing was surprised by the Phantomhive's sudden outburst. Moments passed, and as the demon looked around the room at the faces of his superiors, he was terror-stricken as it dawned on him that he had made yet another wrong decision, one that could have cost him greatly.

"I have something to say." spoke a certain blonde menace, cutting through the silence like a knife in the dark. Attention was now his, as the room hesitantly shifted from the Phantomhive to the Trancy, including that of the bluenette himself.

"You are all being incredibly disrespectful." Alois boldly said, hardly batting an eyelash. "Ciel has been trying to defend himself, but none of you are listening. Did you call us here to discuss the situation in a civil manner like adults, or bicker like children?"

"Very well, Mister Trancy." replied Sir Islands. "What, pray tell, do you have to say about Sir Phantomhive's outburst just now?" The elderly man was immediately taken aback by the blonde's smile.

"Obviously, after all of this time, you still don't know Ciel." the menace said with a smug grin. "When having to deal with other people, Ciel, to be frank, is a complete idiot." He took a moment to pause while a few of the council members chuckled.

"Moreover, both Ciel and myself have undergone a somewhat traumatic experience." he continued, much to the bluenette's surprise. "Please respect that although we are demons, we are still subject to emotional trauma. Physical injury will heal quickly, but Ciel's primary injury was mental. Are you all aware of what exactly this venom did to Ciel? Sir Integra," he called, beckoning the woman's attention, "...do you have the file on hand?"

It was then that Sir Hellsing's expression changed, somewhat. She now seemed amused by all of this. The blonde's statements caused an almost complacent expression to come over the woman's face as she opened the file in front of her.

"Certainly." she answered, putting out her cigar in a small ashtray to her right. "Shall I read it?"

"If you would be so kind, 'Sir'." Alois replied, his smile widening.

"'It has been concluded that the venom injected into the patient, demon subject no. 001, Ciel Phantomhive, is a neuro-toxin which affects the parts of the brain that process and respond to fear.'" the woman began, reading the report that she was given directly. "'The venom is of a supernatural sort, allowing it to bypass most of the subject's regenerative defenses, like most drugs and potions with supernatural properties. As such, the venom was not broken down until later, and was able to gain access to the subject's brain.'"

"'From there, it was able to learn and create what the subject fears most, thus forcing the subject to act upon it.'" she continued, not bothering to paraphrase. "'In Ciel Phantomhive's case, under psychiatric study and analysis, it is determined that this is what Phantomhive believes to fully 'lose one's humanity', and to become a 'monster'. The subject has deep-rooted fears of feeling 'powerless' as a result of traumatic history, and it has also been determined that the subject is deeply afraid of loosing his attachment to demonic subject no. 003, Jim Macken, as a result of fondness and what can be described as 'romantic love' for subject 003.'"

The woman smiled as the bluenette's face heated up. Allowing the council to suspect that he had any sort of weakness was one of the last things he wanted. These people would no doubt use this fear of his against him. He was certain, and yet, the blonde menace at his side was absolutely giddy at the report. Everyone else in the room, however, was utterly shocked.

"So... What you're saying is..." began Sir Midford, arching an eyebrow. "...This... venom... is able to 'learn' what someone's afraid of, and make it happen?"

"Correct." Integra replied, closing the file. "It could be assumed that it could do all kinds of things, once it has control of your nervous system. Hallucinations, schizophrenic fits, anything, all to perfectly normal, rational people."

"Bloody hell..." uttered Sir Kirkland, leaning back in his chair and running a hand through his hair.

"So what are you suggesting, Sir Integra?" asked Sir Islands. "Is he a a possible threat, or not?"

"Well, I wouldn't say that Sir Phantomhive isn't capable of being a 'threat'." spoke Integra. "He is, however, a person of exceptional character, so it is doubtful that he would use this power of his to plunge the world into chaos, especially since he now has a 'family' of sorts."

"A... 'family'?" echoed the elderly man in confusion.

"Yes, a 'family'." Ciel said, feeling emboldened by this evidence. "I, too, have people who I care about, just like anyone else. I love Jim, and I want he and his brother to be happy and well. I have friends, and I have family. Why is this still shocking to you?" Sir Islands looked genuinely confused.

"But... you're a demon?" he said, causing the bluenette to feel even more defiant.

"It doesn't matter. I can still feel." Ciel answered, causing the man to be taken aback. "My heart is no longer numb, and I would prefer to keep it that way. I was poisoned while trying to protect Jim, and I don't regret it. What I do regret, however, is hurting him, and not believing in him when he told me that it wasn't my fault. I can't forgive myself for either of those things, even though he was able to." He looked to the blonde menace, as a he continued.

"I'm not the best with people. In fact, I'm quite rubbish. He's right." Ciel said, never breaking eye contact with the blonde. "Even still, now that I know what it's like to not feel alone anymore, I want to associate with them, and not with monsters. If I am a monster, then I'm a poor one, as a monster who is afraid of being a monster is so pathetic that it doesn't even amount to a joke."

The bluenette accidentally faltered, returning the smile that appeared across his lover's face. Whether he knew it or not, it only helped his case. The Council was positively stunned at the display. Some of it's members had known the boy for up to fifty years, but it was only now that they had seen the bluenette smile in a genuine sort of manner. Ciel Phantomhive was cold, cruel, and efficient at some of the most daunting and horrible tasks. He was dutiful, prideful, and untouchable, with an other-worldly presence. The boy wasn't human, and had no interest in being close to anyone. Friends were pointless to him, and "love" was a laughable concept, yet here he was, speaking of love, friendship, familiarity, and down-playing his absurdly prideful self while smiling amourously at another living being. Fifty years; it took fifty years for anyone in the Round Table conference to know that the boy was even capable of such a thing. Imagine the shock for Ciel, himself. For him, it was one-hundred.

Moments passed, and the bluenette turned his gaze to the room of astonished men and women. He stood boldly and defiantly, chest out, chin up, with a gaze that could silence the roars of lions. Here, he stood, less of a monster than ever, before a panel that thought him to be one for half a century.

"Great scott..." mouthed a certain young man by the name of Kirkland.

"Sir Integra," called Sir Greendown, a small smile appearing on his face. "I do believe your 'plan' worked." The woman in question uttered a chuckle before lighting a cigar. Now it was Ciel's turn to be confused.

"'Plan'?" the bluenette echoed. "What 'plan'?"

"Simple." Sir Hellsing replied, taking a puff of nicotine. "It was the plan to make you 'human'."

 


	335. A Nefarious Scheme

Naturally, it is always a good idea to keep an eye on one's employees, especially when they aren't human. Thus, when the task to keep an eye on the Round Table's favourite blue demon, the job fell to H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. As rude and somewhat invasive this may seem, one can never forget that Ciel Phantomhive was a person of questionable morality to begin with, and with the addition of his paranormal persuasion, he could become a massive threat very, very easily.

Let us not forget the person that the Phantomhive demon was; hot-tempered, yet cold-hearted, with a history of following through with revenge. He was, and still is, a person who will try get his way by any means necessary. What if his goal was destructive? His means weren't always pleasant, so what would be his ends? The imaginations of the Round Table ran wild, speculating this. They were always afraid of what the boy is, and what he could do, as they didn't fully understand the nature of his "condition". As common with humans, they fear what they do not understand. They fear what is not like themselves. Ciel Phantomhive is a demon, and humans from all over the globe have been fed stories of what demons are like. He could snap at any moment and drag them all down to the pits of hell, for all they knew! The members of the Round Table have every logical reason to be afraid of the boy. They know the stories of demons, and they know the story of Ciel Phantomhive.

They knew how he was tortured, and nearly killed upon the murder of his parents and the destruction of his home. They knew of how that ten-year-old boy sold his soul to a demon for revenge, and how he spiraled downward, deeper, and deeper into darkness fueled by anger and hatred. They knew of the murder, the scheming, the deceit, and how he, at the young age of thirteen, transcended mortality and became a demon. Yes, they were wise to be wary of the boy. He is a legend; one that the public must never hear of. For mere mortals to try to take command of a legend, was in no way, "easy". They would have to be as cunning, as resourceful, and as deceitful as the legend himself, and as such, they left H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. up to the task of keeping them two steps ahead.

Sir Arthur Hellsing was the first to keep the boy under surveillance. He didn't try with all of his might, however, as he always acted somewhat familiar toward the bluenette, for reasons unknown to the Phantomhive himself. They were somewhat friendly, however, Arthur had a job to do, so he enlisted the assistance of several H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. operatives to feed him information as to the nature of the bluenette's recent pursuits. He never bothered to spy on Phantomhive Manor, itself, however, given the fact that not even the smallest misplacement or out-of-ordinary occurrence never went unnoticed by the estate's butler. Arthur trusted that the bluenette wouldn't be up to anything extraordinarily scandalous, and this trust was carried over to his daughter, Sir Integra Fairbrook Wingates Hellsing.

Integra, however, was slightly more strict, even though she didn't employ the same number of "watchmen" to survey the lad's doing. She had a better idea, instead. Not only did she use her influence to reach out to Scotland Yard, when it came to the woman's attention that a former emplyee of H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. just so happened to work at the same school that the Phantomhive demon was attending as his cover, she unintentionally paved the way for future discovery.

Former H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. operative, Captain Robert Irons was in no doubt surprised when he was contacted by his former employer, and even more surprised at the news that one of the students in his class wasn't human. The man was offered a generous sum of money to report information on the bluenette to H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. on a regular basis; an offer he could not refuse. How else could he have afforded to pay for his son to attend Weston College for boys? Not only that, he is now able to save up for the boy's University, all on a teacher's salary.

For months, there was nothing out of the ordinary. Ciel would walk into the classroom, listen to lectures, and then quietly leave without saying a word to anyone. Day in, and day out, the bluenette did this, and his teacher was actually starting to become concerned. Ciel was quiet. He didn't talk to his classmates at all; not a single word. There were times when the man actually forgot he could speak! Curious, the man did some digging around, talking to students and teachers alike, only to become more concerned. The boy wasn't in any clubs, nor did he seem to have any friends. It was as though he hadn't any interest in being close to anyone. Integra did say he was a bit "cold", but surely that didn't mean "anti-social", did it? Ciel didn't want to be there; Mister Irons could see it on his face. The boy was bored, and only there because he had to be. What a dull life. Naturally, it was ages before there was anything to report. When the teacher did finally come across a discovery, H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. was just as perplexed as he was.

The bluenette became fidgety in class, and looked at the clock often, as if he were dying to leave. He seemed as though he was in a hurry, and with the Intel from Scotland Yard, the organization learned why. Ciel had a new "pet", it would seem, but it took months until the picture became clearer. That day, Mister Irons had some very interesting news to report, indeed; The arrival of a new student with platinum blonde hair and a peculiar fashion sense. Ciel Phantomhive had made a friend.

A friend? Ciel Phantomhive doesn't have "friends". He has coworkers, acquaintances, and employees, but no "friends". Naturally, H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. was quite interested in this new blonde fellow. Where did he come from, who was he, and how did he get the Phantomhive talking so easily? The organization did much digging on the boy, but found nothing of any use. According to his documentation, his name was "Alois Trancy", and he lived at Phantomhive Manor as the bluenette's "adoptive brother". It was obvious that these documents were forged, but why would the bluenette go through with all of this? This was odd behaviour, even for Ciel Phantomhive, and H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. wanted to get to the bottom of it.

The more they learned about the blonde, the more concerned that H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. and the Round Table became. The blonde was unruly, and a juvenile delinquent. However, it seemed as though he would listen to Ciel. Was he trained to be this way, or was it nothing of concern? No one knew. It wasn't all bad, however. As Mister Irons continued to watch the boys, the Intel began to change.

Ciel was now talking in class, and with the help of the blonde menace, had made more friends. These boys were obviously human, and unaware of the bluenette's true self. The Phantomhive was chatting, smiling on occasion, participating in school events, and going on trips with friends from school. No longer, did he seem bored and distant. Now, he was engaged in normal, teenage behaviour. Ciel Phantomhive, slowly, but surely, was becoming "ordinary".

Members of the Round Table agreed, this was exciting news. The boy was not losing his productivity, but was now becoming slightly less frightening. He now had weakness. He now had a heart. He wasn't just some terrifying monster! It was wonderful! The time was soon approaching, however, that they would have to confront the bluenette about his "friend", the mysterious "Alois Trancy". None of the Round Table members could come up with any sort of information on the lad, or of just what sort of impact the boy was having on the bluenette. That is, until a shocking piece of information came in from their ginger, Warwick informant.

At the time, false rumours of the blonde menace supposedly sleeping with the headmaster in order to get into the Academy came about, spread by a certain child actor who later transferred to Tamworth Academy, Walter Hackett. In an effort to stop these rumours, the demonic duo had devised a plan to get Walter and his flunkies caught in the act of bullying. The plan called for mister Irons, as memory serves. Among the chaos of trying to round up Hackett and his goons, Mister Irons caught a glimpse of a most peculiar sight. While other students were watching the teacher, mister Irons was watching Ciel and Alois, as the bluenette leaned in and kissed the other boy on the lips.

Irons was shocked, of course, but he didn't report it right away. No, no, he wanted to make sure he truly saw what he thought he did. As time began to pass, the man started to believe he was mistaken. Surely, he had just caught the boys at some odd angle while he was wrangling rascals. He thought this for a while, until the day he saw the two boys holding hands in the hallways. It happened again, and again, and again. Ciel Phantomhive and Alois Trancy were apparently an "item".

Sure, he found it odd, how the blonde wore short-shorts on occasion, but Mister Irons was not one to judge, especially as the menace was a known trouble-maker, and liked attention. It was indeed peculiar how he was able to hang on the bluenette without the Phantomhive even batting an eyelash. Ciel warmed up to the boy quickly, and it was simply assumed that with the blonde's attention-seeking behaviour, Ciel had simply given up in protesting. Clearly, Mister Irons' "gaydar" was completely broken. Nonetheless, this was a major development, and had to be reported immediately.

Just try to imagine the Council's shock at the revelation. Ciel Phantomhive, of all people, being in a romantic relationship was surprising enough, but the fact that his sweetheart was another male was downright bizarre. Council members who had known the boy for over fifty years did not see this coming. His relative on the council, Sir Midford, was surprised, and even Sir Integra, herself, who was the boy's "rival" of sorts, hadn't the faintest idea that this was even possible. Then again, neither did the bluenette. Now, not only did they have to address the fact that the bluenette had made an acquaintance with someone who had somehow bypassed all legal documentation and procedures, and whose existence could only be described as "shady", but they must now discuss the repercussions of the boy perusing a relationship of an amourous nature with the boy. Clearly, they had their work cut out for them. None of them had the fainest clue as to how to advance, that is, until a certain idea had struck Sir Integra.

Ciel cared about this boy. It was as obvious as it was strange. Either way, the bluenette was becoming less cold towards others. He was becoming less "monstrous", and more "human-like". The Hellsing woman saw that this could be a great thing. Ciel would become easier to manage, and this "Alois Trancy" boy could become an asset as well. This was confirmed upon further Intel that the blonde was in fact, demonic. Now, instead of two demonic associates and research subjects, they could have three. Sebastian was easy to manage as long as Ciel was easy to manage, and Ciel seemed easier to manage with Alois, and vice versa. The days of the Round Table feeling intimidated by the bluenette may in fact, come to an end.

That is, if they play their cards right. The first thing the Council did was inform the bluenette that they were aware of the blonde's prescence, and demand his history and how he came to be. Next, they would have to indoctrinate the blonde to be obey their commands. It was easy, since Ciel did not want to lose his beau, and Alois heeds the bluenette's wishes. The affects of the blonde's presence were far greater than they had anticipated, especially, after the discovery of the blonde's past.

At first, they simply believed the blonde to be another problematic demon, but under the further analysis of Sir Integra, this was wrong. The blonde obviously gave the bluenette someone he felt that he could relate to, and confide in, which was essential to "humanising" him. As wonderful as it would be if the bluenette was a machine that did whatever it was told, he wasn't. He has thoughts, opinions, and whether he likes it or not, emotions, that he had no one to express to. Everything was bottled up, which was extremely dangerous for a person of Ciel's nature. It made it easy for him to be pushed over the edge, and should that happen, may the lord have mercy on their souls.

Thus, the game was on. Years went by, and Ciel Phantomhive was almost like any "ordinary" human. He was happier, and though he was more easily sidetracked, his productivity was up. H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G.'s knowledge of demons expanded as a greater variety of living subjects came in, all with their own interestingly unique personalities. Much was learned by both parties, all because of this plan that Sir Integra had proposed. Let the blonde stay, as long as he follows our rules.

No senseless violence, all laws must be obeyed unless it is necessary to break them while on the clock, one must be referred to, and documented with their real name, always finish work in an appropriate amount of time; et cetera. As long as the rules were followed, there was no reason to dispose of the blonde, correct? The goal was to gain a more useful and compliant tool, as well as a variety of tools. Make Ciel less threatening, gain more agents, and advance research. That was the proposed agenda.

Further argument stated that it was unknown how the bluenette would respond to having his "lover" taken away. Ciel was attached to the blonde, and cared for him; what would happen should the Round Table give the order to "dispose" of him? History tells that when people of value are ripped from Ciel Phantomhive in a cruel fashion, the boy will not stop until every last person responsible is dead. The stories of the bluenette were very persuasive.

Ciel Phantomhive would become "human". He would gain a heart. He would gain compassion, and a greater sense of empathy. The blonde's presence, as observed by the Council, was almost therapeutic to the boy. To both of them, really. That was H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G.'s "evil plan".

The boy was dumbfounded. All of this time, Sir Integra had been pulling strings. She had been looking out for him and the blonde, both. It was clever. Had it not been for her, disaster would have befallen, as the Convention of Twelve foolishly made a fear-stricken decision without first pondering all of the factors involved. All of this time, Sir Integra had made it possible for the demonic duo to remain "the demonic duo". Not only did she accept Ciel's feelings for Alois, she encouraged it. How on earth had Ciel missed that? The boy stood, silently staring at the woman with an astonished expression while the woman smoked a cigar with a smug smile.

"Well, there you have it." she said, concluding her explanation. "I'd say this plan has worked out quite nicely for everyone, wouldn't you agree?" The bluenette couldn't answer. He didn't know how to.

"I believe that Sir Ciel Phantomhive is not guilty for the actions caused by the venom." she began, raising a hand. "All in agreance?"

Eleven out of twelve members of the council raised their hands, including the ever-cynical Sir Arthur Kirkland. The only one not to do so was Sir Hugh Islands, the poor man. He had fallen asleep in his chair. Given the fact that the man was well into his nineties, no one bothered to wake him. His Retirement was far past due. He could no longer walk, and he's blind as a bat, yet he still remains. Finding a replacement for him, however, was next to impossible.

"Very well," Integra continued, lowering her arm, a gesture mimicked by the others in the room. "Now onto the matter of what action should be taken in regards to Black Annis. Given the circumstance, I would like to request that the case be reassigned to H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G."

"What?!" the bluenette demanded. "Why? This is my case. Why should I surrender jurisdiction?" he stubbornly asked, causing his beau beside him to introduce the palm of his hand to his forehead. Just when it seemed like they were in the clear...

"H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. has greater access to research and data-gathering." replied the woman. "In addition, it is far too dangerous to reexpose you to the demonic venom."

"What if humans are exposed to it instead?" Ciel asked. "Is that alright with you, Integra?"

"No." Integra said. "But humans cannot topple buildings with their fists."

"Allow me to help..."

"You may help by providing us with all of the information you have gathered thus far." She turned to her coworkers. "Is this acceptable?" She was met by nods and utterances of agreement from the rest of the Twelve, all but the silent Sir Islands.

"I'm afraid I'm going to have to agree with Integra." said Sir Midford to the bluenette. "As horrible and in humane as it sounds, losing you would be costly. Human soldiers are easier to replace. In addition, H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. has greater access to information that you simply don't have, Ciel. I'm sorry."

Ciel furrowed his brow. He was not pleased with this. No, not one bit. These people had to be crushed, and he wanted to be the one to crush them. They had invaded Ciel's mind, made him feel weak, and made him harm Alois. He was still haunted by the feeling of the blonde's ribcage breaking with the strike of his fist, and the sensation and sound of the blonde's head being bashed against brick by his hand. Ciel was irked by the fact that at the time, part of him kind of liked it. That, however, wasn't him. It was the bowl-cut demon's venom, that caused this, and he wanted revenge. Integra saw it in his eye, which was part of the reason that she proposed this new idea, and why Sir Midford agreed. He, too, didn't want to undo the progress that was made today.

This almost happened as Ciel opened his mouth to speak, only to be stopped by the feeling of the blonde menace grabbing his hand. The Phantomhive boy looked over at his boyfriend to see him shaking his head, silently telling him to let it go. Even if they lost their case, they still won a small victory by becoming more "human" in the eyes of the Council, which was necessary for their survival in this modern world. They could be trusted. It's best not to accidentally take it away. As much as the desire burned within him to argue with the Hellsing woman and take what was "his", Alois was right. One must chose their battles. Instead he focused on the sensation of the blonde's soft hands in his. He really missed that. He had one the Council's favour, and had nearly patched things up with his beau. There were still things that needed to be said and done, but losing it all over a petty argument with his rival was not worth the trade-off. With that, the bluentte begrudginginly backed down.

"Understood." he said, turning back to the council. "I will have the information in sometime tomorrow."

"Thank you for your cooperation." said Integra with a smile. "You are dismissed. Meeting adjourned."

With that, the sounds of chairs scuffling against the floor were heard as the Convention of Twelve gathered their things and stood up to leave, a few staying behind in hopes of waking Sir Islands. Ciel and Alois, too, left the scene, hand-in-hand. They walked the large, lonesome corridors on their way to reunite with their supernatural compatriots, who were probably done with their own interviews by this time. Still, they weren't done. No, not yet. There were still things that needed to be said; the sooner, the better.

"Jim?" Ciel suddenly called, slowing down their pace somewhat.

"Yeah?" replied the blonde.

"Thanks for covering for me in there. I have no idea what would have happened if you hadn't."

"You would have probably been regarded as a psychopath who was more likely to kill all of them than they thought. Don't worry about it." Alois said with a grin. "Sorry about losing the case, though..." he added sadly.

"It's alright. I don't know if we could solve it on our own, anyway. At least I know it's in decent hands." Alois arched an eyebrow.

"'We'? 'Our'?" he echoed confusedly. "So, you were going to let me help?" He was surprised when the bluenette stopped walking, and turned toward him. He expected a playful rebuttal, like usual, but instead, he got something else.

"Yes... and, about that..." Ciel began, looking troubled by his own words. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to block you and everyone else out. I just... don't really know how to cope with this sort of thing..."

"Does anyone, really?" asked the blonde.

"Some better than me." his beau answered. "So, if I hurt your feelings or made you seem unwanted, I'm really sorry."

"You act as though I haven't already forgiven you. You're stubborn, and really awkward when it comes to people. I know what I signed up for."

"But if it bothered you, you could have told me and I would have done something..."

"Hmm... No, you wouldn't." said the blonde, bluntly. "You were still super-freaked-out by Bowl-cut Billy's freak juice, so you needed some space. It's alright, love. I'm pretty sure that's a semi-normal reaction, though, I'm not really an expert on 'normalcy'."

A rush of relief washed over the bluenette. He was certain that the blonde was scared and confused, but it would seem that he had once again, misjudged the boy's strength. He made a mental note to be more mindful of that in the future. With a smile on his face, he cupped the blonde's cheek with his free hand, leaned forward, and pecked the boy on the lips. Alois was smiling, which made the bluenette want to smile in return.

"'Freak juice'?" he echoed, arching an eyebrow at the blonde's obscure terminology. "That sounds disgusting."

"Yeah, there was probably a better way to phrase that." Alois replied. He shrugged. "No taking it back now, I guess." Wrapping his arms around the bluenette's waist, he added: "I'd rather have your 'freak juice', though."

"Christ, Jim, that's obscene. We're still in public." the bluenette said with a small smile, placing his hands on the other boy's biceps. He leaned forward once more, and kissed his beau discovering just how badly he missed the sensation.

Alois smiled into the kiss, and happily returned the gesture. He was already consciously aware of how much he wanted to be with the Phantomhive boy, and held onto him tightly. Yet, they were in fact, in a public space, so it couldn't last. The duo pulled away from each other, cutting the interaction short. They were both immensely happy with it, nonetheless. There was one person, however, who was not, as the duo discovered upon opening their eyes again.

Sir Arthur Kirkland stood before them in the vast corridor, brow furrowed, mouth agape, blush staining his cheeks, and with a small twitch of his eyelid. The redness of his face seemed to be contagious, as it quickly spread to the other two boys. It would appear that they had been caught, and by one of the few people on the council who wouldn't simply laugh it off.

"What in blazes are you doing?" he demanded.

The bluenette was completely off-gaurd. He couldn't think of anything to say. No excuse, no clever quip, nothing. Thank heavens that he wasn't alone in this situation, as Alois had the gall to speak.

"Kissing my boyfriend." the blonde bluntly said. "Why?"

"Don't you think that engaging in public displays of affection are somewhat unsightly?" the man asked, causing the menace to frown.

"Would you say that if I were a woman?" he asked. "Strange, getting flustered at the sight of two men who love each other engaging. That's a bit 'suggestive', don't you think, Sir Kirkland?"

"Whatever." the man replied in a huff, his frown deepening. "Just try to be more respectful to others from now on." With that, he fled, leaving the two to themselves. It was high-time they followed his example, and got going, themselves.

"That guy's totally in the closet, isn't he?" Alois said with a grin.

"Now, now, let's not be hasty, Jim." replied Ciel. "We have no right to make that assumption, just because he's very conscious of male on male intimacies, and often receives calls from a rather 'flamboyant' French diplomat." The blonde responded by giggling and releasing the bluenette from his grip.

"We should get going." spoke the blonde. "The others are waiting, and are probably worried."

"Oh, so we aren't going to continue?" jested the bluenette with a smug grin, only to jump in surprise when his beau pat him on the rear.

"That's to be continued in private, my darling~!"

 


	336. Back To School, Back To Fools

Another day fell upon Phantomhive manor, following the events of the following afternoon. The demonic duo had patched things up, however, Ciel did receive quite the scolding from the youngest of the Macken brothers for his previous behaviour, which the bluenette accepted regardless of the sound of giggling emitting from the blonde menace. Things were looking up, but that still didn't shake the bluenette's grouchiness.

He simply woke that way, partially due to the slight aching of his hips and the smug look on his beau's face as they underwent their usual morning routine, but it was mostly due to the fact that he had lost his case. Never before, had a case been taken from him, so he wasn't entirely sure how to respond. While he knew better than to feel somewhat disgruntled toward the head of Hellsing house for denying him his sport, he simply couldn't help himself. Ciel still wanted his revenge against the demon with the bowl-cut and claws.

It preyed on his mind as he put on his uniform, and ate breakfast with the rest of the so-called "family" that lived together in the large estate. The lad's scowl seemed especially grim as he brushed his teeth afterward, staring at his reflection in the bathroom mirror. It was as though he were trying to stare himself down for being so irrational and immature as of late. While he would never admit it, the boy was somewhat embarrassed by his actions. Still, the family was together again after much interrogation from it's members by order of the council, and things were starting to look up once more, regardless of the Phantomhive's nagging "gut-feeling" that this was certainly far from " _over_ ". H.E.L.L.S.L.N.G. was more than competant, and the most efficient anti-freak organization in the world. Surely, they would be able to handle this on their own; at least, that was Ciel's hope.

The Phantomhive was somewhat relieved to finally be setting foot on the soil of Warwicl Academy once more. He hadn't been attending for over a week; not since the "incident". According to various text messages from Audrey, the spread of Black Annis had ended at Warwick, meaning that the two demons responsible had moved on. God knows where the went, or why they began in the first place. The fact that one of the demons shared the face of a deceased classmate unnerved the boy greatly, as well. How on earth was that possible? Why would the group behind all of this use Jonnahthan Beatie in the first place?

"Maybe he's like Revy." the blonde suggested as the pair walked up to the front doors of the building that the pair's first class was in. "Maybe he's a revenant trying to get revenge for the kid."

"While that theory does make a bit of sense, there is no mistaking it..." the bluenette began. "...whoever it was, they were a demon. A revenant only has human-level strength, so he wouldn't have been able to even attempt an escape. Moreover, he wouldn't have been hindered by anti-freak bullets..."

"A fluke?" asked the blonde. "Or do you think it's something more _'sinister'?"_

"Given the abilities of these demons, I _wish_ it were only a ' _fluke'..."_ sighed Ciel. While he liked having "emotions", it seemed that all he did as of late was worry, and stress over every single thing. As he sat down at his desk, he groaned, furrowing his brow as the blonde menace stepped behind him and began rubbing his shoulders.

"Poor poochie..." his beau cooed, smiling as he leaned into the blonde's touch.

"Forget _me,_ what about _you?_ This affects you as well, you know..." the bluenette said.

"Yeah, but I try to look on the bright side of things." the blonde replied. "If you only focus on darkness, you'll feel nothing but worry and sorrow at every waking moment. I've got my _one-eyed Romeo_ back, so I'm good."

"Your 'one-eyed Romeo' is kind of inconsiderate..."

" _'Socially awkward'_ and ' _knowledgeable when dealing with others appropriately'_ , _**yes**_ , but _'inconsiderate',_ _ **no."**_ Alois said. "You've been nothing but considerate of my needs, so I'll hear nothing of it." He ran his fingers through the bluenette's locks, displacing his groomed appearance for laughs. "You didn't know, but now you do. When you have problems, I'll help you through them. _I literally get paid by the government to do this, Ciel_."

"Oh, so it's not out of the goodness of your heart, then?" the bluenette' jokingly inquired.

"Yes, _I've been using you this whole time for sex and free wi-fi_." replied his beau in a similar manner.

"Oh, how you _wound_ me." Ciel said with a roll of his eye and a small smile as he watched the other boy take his seat. "I don't know how I'll ever be able to go on, now."

"Yes, _suffer,_ cyclops! Your tears, _they are delicious_." Alois answered, licking his lips at the bluenette. Their playful banter, however, came to an end all too quickly, as they were spotted by a familiar face.

 _"You!"_ shouted a certain brunette, son of a politician, pointing his finger accusingly at the Phantomhive boy from the doorway of the classroom. Behind him, to his left, was another boy that the demonic duo knew well, a faux-blonde by the name of "Miles".

"Where in blazes have you been?!" Daniel demanded, walking closer to his supernatural friends. "What is with you and blondie over there disappearing off of the face of the earth all the time?!"

"I was _working."_ the bluenette bluntly replied. "What did you think I was doing? Lazing about, watching Graham Norton?"

"How would I know? You could be fighting _mermaid druglords_ , for all I know!" Daniel spoke.

 _"Close,_ they were _Satanic_ druglords." replied the Phantomhive. "It takes time, and several ' _issues_ ' came up."

"What are you, some kind of _supernatural 'James Bond',_ or something?" asked Kristopherson, feeling the need to speak up.

 _"Basically_ , only he gets less women." Alois answered.

"I'm pretty sure you count as a _'Bond Girl'_ , Alois." the boy in the pink tie commented.

"'Scuse you, I am _ **the**_ _'Bond Girl'."_

"Who cares?" interrupted Daniel. "Kris, aren't you a bit mad that nobody told us what was happening?" Kristopherson shook his head.

"Well, I assume that if it's some big government secret, it's pretty unlikely that he'd casually send out a text saying _'going to kick druglord ass brb'."_ the faux-blonde replied, causing the politician's son to frown.

"I had a lot on my mind. I _still_ have a lot on my mind..." Ciel said. "...government secrets, or no, it is hard to think about what my friends think while there are lives at stake, including my own, as well the welfare of my household." The humans looked confused.

"We were called to a Round Table meeting yesterday." the blonde said in an attempt to clarify. "Shit happened, we got in trouble, and Ciel's grumpy. He always is, before, during, and especially after those meetings. Don't worry about it."

"Why do we always miss this stuff?" asked Daniel.

"Because you're ordinary humans, and ordinary humans aren't involved in supernatural politics, as _God intended."_ the bluenette answered.

"What about the members of the Round Table?" the Westley boy asked. "Aren't they 'ordinary humans'?"

"Human? Yes. Ordinary? No. They're positively mental." the blonde menace said. "Sir Hellsing killed her uncle and enslaved Dracula when she was twelve, and Sir Kirkland is a homophobe who's oddly close to a male French diplomat, and an American one as well. Sir Islands is like, a million years old, and Sir Midford got shot in the chest and then proceeded to carry his pregnant wife out of harms way, and _that_ is how your little sister's best friend was born, Dan."

"She's also my first cousin four times removed." the bluenette commented casually, causing Daniel to be taken aback.

"My sister is friends with relatives of _Satan?!"_ he asked, placing his hands on the sides of his head.

"How _rude_ , I had relatives before I was _'Satan',_ you know."Ciel answered. "Don't worry, she's one-hundred percent human. She won't indoctrinate Samantha into a life of demonity and evil."

"Good! 'Cause what am I supposed to tell our mum if that happens?!"

"That her daughter is now the anti-Christ?" suggested Alois.

"First of all, I'm pretty sure that title already belongs to Ciel, and secondly, our mum can barely handle _Kristopherson,_ let alone demons!" Daniel said.

"Oh yeah... Why is that? Does she think Kris is gonna rape you and make you gay?"

" _Pretty much."_ the faux-blonde said with a shrug, an almost unnoticeable flush to his cheeks.

"So she's an _ignorant bitch?"_ Alois asked, snorting when the faux-blonde only answered with silence and dodgy eyes. Obviously, the boy had been given a bit hard time by Missus Westley in the past.

"Hey, fuck you! Don't say that shit about my mum!" Daniel demanded, placing his hands on his hips.

" _No thanks, I'm taken."_ the blonde eloquently replied. "I'm just stating the facts, mate. If she believes that Kristopherson is going to rape you because he's gay, then she's kind of an _idiot_."

"Why are you talking this way about my mum?"

"Why are you letting your mum talk that way about your best friend?"

 _"Guys, cut it out, we're way off topic, here."_ Krisotpherson interrupted, breaking up the argument. The topic made him extremely uncomfortable. No matter how much he agreed with Alois, Daniel was still his best friend.

Barbara Westley, Daniel's mother, despised Kristopherson. The moment she found out about his sexual preference, she had passively voiced this at every given opportunity. As soon as her son would leave the room, she would always torment the faux-blonde about how he was "always such a cute boy" and that it was "a total waste", or about how un-masculine he was, and so on. The line was drawn when she blatantly told the boy that he "better not get any ideas about her son", and threatened to use her husband's authority to convict him of sexual assault. Daniel had no idea why the lad chose to leave early that evening, but it was because he was deeply hurt by the woman's words. Who on earth wouldn't be? Kristpherson refuses to go anywhere near the Westley household whenever there is even the slightest chance that Missus Westley might be there. Daniel understands to an extent, but obviously doesn't know the full gist of things. His friend is afraid of telling him due to the fact that his tormenter was the bruenette's mother, and Krisotpherson was afraid that his friend wouldn't believe him and be angry at him. The poor lad. He had simply picked the worst person to sort of fancy, hadn't he? Fortunately, the woman was hardly home, as she and her husband were often campaigning, or traveling.

" _Doesn't it piss you off, Kris?"_ Alois asked, furrowing his brow, and looking at the faux-blonde in disbelief.

"I just try to _avoid_ her..." Kristopherson replied. "There's no point in arguing about it. Besides, it's not that bad..."

"Your face says you're a _liar."_ the Trancy lad said, causing Daniel to look at his friend and examine his visage.

The boy in the pink tie tried his best to remain an indifferent expression, but lacked the talent and years of training to do so, like the Phantomhive lad. As soon as he saw movement from the Westley in the corner of his eye, he averted his gaze in hopes of avoiding conflict. Daniel, of course, was relentless in his staring.

"Is it that bad?" the boy asked, prompting Kristopherson to shrug in response, unable to concoct an answer. Naturally, Daniel was shocked.

"Why didn't you say so?" he asked. "I would've tried to do something about it."

"I dunno..." the faux-blonde answered. Alois rolled his eyes.

 _"Just kiss already."_ he said, causing the two humans to jump in surprise.

"Fuck you! I'm not gay!" barked the Westley lad, his face changing hues, much to the amusement of the blonde.

"For the last time, Dan, _no_. Ciel would light you on fire and send you to hell." Alois replied, taking delight in twisting the other lad's words for his own amusement.

" _True story_." remarked the bluenette. "Though, you forgot the part where I go into rage."

"Aw, you'd go into rage for me?" the blonde cooed, placing his hands together. "Sorry, Dan, Ciel knows the way to my heart."

"I'm not gay, and you two are messed up..." the Westley boy stated, as if this weren't already a known fact.

"Exactly. That's why we get along so well!"

"And it's also why you skip school to fight terrorists and druglords!"

"No, as difficult as it is, sometimes, I try to keep my work and my personal life separate." Ciel said.

"That's a bit _cold_ , don't you think?" asked Kristopherson.

"That's why I said it's _'difficult'."_ the bluenette answered.

"He's always fussing about how I might get hurt on the job." Alois clarified. "That, and I'm sure my cute butt in a suit has something to do with it."

"Ciel has a _suit fetish?"_ asked the faux-blonde.

"I _don't have a suit fetish."_ the Phantomhive protested.

"It's okay, Ciel." insisted the menace. "I check you out all the time while working. It's no big deal."

 _"Jim!"_ Ciel warned, a blush forming on his face. He wouldn't have felt so embarrassed by this, had they not been in public. His outburst, however, only made his beau smile wider.

"So, _you're_ the one with a suit fetish, huh, Trancy?" Kristopherson teased to no avail. Alois simply wasn't embarrassed by this sort of discussion.

"It's not just the suit." he began. "Ciel just has an amazing butt. The suit just frames it perfectly."

"Is it that great?"

 _"Like it was hand-crafted by the gods."_ Alois answered, causing the bluenette to turn an odd shade of dark red. The lad did everything within his power to try and mask his embarrassment, but it still showed through all the same.

Perhaps he wouldn't have been quite so embarrassed had it not been for the events that took place the previous evening. Ciel frowned at the smug-looking smile across the blonde's face, as he was the only one who knew exactly what the bluentte was recalling, and was quite pleased with himself about the fact. The blonde defied the non-verbal threats that the bluenette was sending his way, and felt greatly amused by his beau's embarrassment and impure thoughts. As if Ciel didn't have enough to worry about, he now had to worry about his masculinity as well. This giggling menace of his was going to be the end of him, he was certain.

"Please don't talk about my butt in public." he requested, prompting a less than satisfactory answer from Alois.

"Only in private, then? You got it, boss." the boy said, giving the bluenette a "thumbs up" and a less-than-subtle wink. Now he was doing this on purpose!

"Alois, that is more than I need to know about you and Ciel, thank you." said Kristopherson, rubbing his forehead.

"You're just mad because you think it's hot." the blonde retorted, causing the boy in the pink tie to frown.

"No, trust me. I _don't."_ the Miles lad replied. "The whole 'murder-mystery' and 'demonic' thing is kind of a turn off."

" _Racist."_ Alois accused.

"Are we going to just ignore the fact that Ciel was gone for a week hunting druglords?" asked Daniel.

"Eh, stuff like this happens every once in a while." replied the menace, leaning back in his chair. "We have all the time in the world for school, so passing isn't really a priority. Murder is more exciting, anyway."

"But he didn't invite you?" questioned the Westley lad.

"He was in one of his moods. It happens to the best of us."

"But most people don't solve murders..."

"There is just no pleasing you, is there?" Alois asked. "Give us a break! Let's see _you_ try to juggle murder and supernatural crime cases while blending in with humans and dealing with your own identity issues, as comes with the territory of not being human anymore, and try to maintain healthy relationships with friends, peers, coworkers, and significant others. Throw school into that mix, too. Why not? _Easy,_ right?"

"Well, if you put it _that_ way..." Daniel trailed off, taking his seat.

"Exactly. Ciel has also got his company to worry about, so it only makes things more difficult." the blonde said, looking over at the bluenette to see the boy turn pale. That was not a good sign. The gears started turning in the blonde's cranium, as he pieced together the reason why. He leaned in to whisper to the other boy.

 _"Need help with paperwork when we get home?"_ he asked, offering the Phantomhive a smile. Ciel ran a hand through his hair and sighed.

" _If you would be so kind_..." he replied, slumping in his chair. He had completely forgotten about Funtom, as per usual, when absurd things happen. "I still need to get that information to Integra, as well."

"I'm always happy to assist~!" the blonde declared, marking the beginning of another day at Warwick Academy.

 


	337. Forest Warfare and Playing Dirty

All that Audrey could hear was the sound of foliage crunching beneath his feet and his own erratic breathing. Sweat collected at his brow as he ran, his legs on fire. His heartbeat was erratic as his enemies drew close, pounding in his ears so loudly, that he wondered if _they_ could hear it as well. He worried if his protective padding and helmet would be enough should he come under fire, and he clutched his gun, preparing for the worst.

The reaper-boy suddenly stopped, seeking shelter behind a tree. He placed his back against it's trunk, and tried to catch his breath. This was bad. Was he the only one left? He didn't know. His friends were separated in the confusion of the first crossfire, and he worried for their safety. What had started out as a simple game had turned into a hunt, and the Sensational Seven were the prey.

Preston was in no doubt hit by now, unless he had somehow found Travis, or Kristopherson. Kristopherson was in no doubt with Daniel, who might have gotten them both caught in some sort of trap, with his idiocy. Yes, they were in no doubt, doomed from the start. They should have never agreed to participate.

Oh? But what of the demonic duo? They were perfectly alright. Why? _Because they were the hunters._

Most of the Seven had always wanted to play paintball, so naturally, when they discovered the paintball gear on the grounds of Phantomhive manor, they had to play. Sadly they didn't consider the fact that the ones who use it are Ciel Phantomhive and Alois Trancy, for "practice". The demonic duo had been trained to kill; no bullet shot fired by them misses, as their poor friends discovered. Even Audrey, who had military training from H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G., bore the blue and purple markings across his chest and back.

Sociopaths of a supernatural persuasion, enlisted by the government to "remove" threats to the crown and to the people of the United Kingdom, foreign, domestic, human, and not; It was oddly easy to forget that two such people resided in the group. They acted almost like anyone else, given a few quirks, so it was only natural to do so. Yet, it was a mistake that might prove costly, as the crew are now playing a game that involves firing a gun at people with a pair of individuals who could kill without remorse, and casually go home to have tea afterward.

The duo was cold, cunning, lightning fast and powerful, with an absurd desire to win. This was not anticipated, however, the lads did believe that they were giving the pair a handicap by separating them. There were three teams, total: Ciel, Alois, and then the rest of the seven. Each demon was counted as a team by themselves, which the other boys thought was hilarious until it backfired. One would think that one person against six other boys, one being solitary as well, would have difficulty, but this was in fact, not the case. Without humans on their team to hold them back, Ciel and Alois could move freely, and do as they please. Audrey saw this now, and was on edge.

Demons were stealthy. The additional humans would have caused noise, but demons were silent. Demons could hide in any shadow, and take any shape. Demons defied the laws of nature, and laughed in the face of physics. For all the Baines lad knew, one of them could be right on top of him, and he would never know until it was too late.

 _"Dammit."_ he mouthed, not uttering a single sound. The reaper brushed his hair out of his face so he could see more clearly, knowing that his eyes would most likely deceive him all the same. He saw nothing but still felt as though he were being watched.

Where? _Where?!_ Was the enemy behind him? To his left? Right? Above? In front? Audrey saw nothing! He heard nothing! There was nothing, yet he knew something was definitely there. Was it his mind playing tricks on him? It couldn't hurt to be sure. Audrey moved, this place wasn't safe. He had to flee before it was too late! Sadly it was, as he discovered where his threat truly lied. It was below him.

A tree root grasped at his ankle, and crawled up his leg before he could make his mistake. Audrey shook his appendage in an attempt to free himself. Before he could even look up, something hard struck his chest, staining the the lad's protective vest purple. He averted his vision to the projectile's assumed point of origin, directly in front of him, took aim and fired, hitting nothing but air.

He was struck again. This time, it was his back, now the same hue as his front. Audrey turned around to the best of his ability without being able to move one of his legs. He fired, but came across the same problem as before. His foe had moved yet again. Bones furrowed his brow in frustration, and grit his teeth upon hearing rustling to his left. He turned once more, but before he could aim, he was shot again, and again, and again. Once a cease-fire occured, the boy heard giggling, and looked down at his vest.

 _ **"Trancy!"**_ he shouted, unamused by the purple smiling face that now decorated his front. His attacker burst out laughing.

"Sorry mate, couldn't resist!" called the blonde's voice from goodness knows where.

"Let go of my leg!" Audrey demanded.

"Don't worry, I will!" Alois replied." _Once I'm out of range, that is._ Laters!" More rustling was heard, becoming more and more faint with every passing second.

"Alois! Get back here!" the reaper boy shouted, furiously trying to free his leg. Once he decided that it was most likely clear, he set his gun down and began to pry at the root to no avail. Suddenly, he froze upon hearing more rustling behind him. He paused and picked his weapon back up before calling out.

"Alois, I told you to let me go-" His eyes widened. " _Oh shi-!"_

"... _What was that?"_ Kristopherson asked, summoning his friend's attention. He ventured through the forest accompanied by a certain politician's son, and the two became more anxious with each passing second.

Neither Kris or Dan had any experience operating a firearm, not one designed to shoot paintballs. The most they had ever fired were NERF foam darts; certainly not something that could actually harm someone. The fact that their enemy has had more than ample experience with weaponry and stalking targets was immensely unnerving. Still, the pair knew they probably had it better than others.

"I dunno." Daniel answered, his tone never raising above a whisper. "They probably got somebody."

"It sounded not too far off." the faux-blonde replied. "We should get out of here."

 _"Or,_ we can take them by surprise while they're distracted."

"Are you mental? They're demons! They will _destroy_ us!"

"That's why we should take 'em by surprise!" Daniel said. "There's two off us, and since they're on different teams, there's probably only one of them. There's no way that they can get us both!"

 _"Yes there is."_ Kristopherson retorted. "They're demons, and they kill people for a living. Do you really think that shooting a couple of _teenagers_ isn't within their bloody ability?"

"Oh, C'mon, don't be _a sissy."_ the Westley lad teased.

"Then don't be an _idiot."_ his friend replied. "You're completely ignoring common sense!"

" _Ssh!"_ Daniel hissed, placing a finger to his lips. Both boys froze, examining their surroundings. Their ears were at attention, hearing nothing but the sound of wind between the trees. Kristopherson furrowed his brow.

 _"What are we doing?"_ he whispered. "Did you hear somethi-"

Kristopherson was completely sut off by the Westley lad, as the other boy grabbed his arm. The faux-blonde's mind simply couldn't keep up as he was yanked along, ending up hiding behind a tree with his friend. Even more confusing than that was the fact that the other boy had tripped on the way there, dragging Kristopherson down with him and leading them both to end up in a most embarrassing position on the forest floor. Daniel had his back to a tree, with the pink-loving Miles boy drawn in close to his chest, arms at the brunette's sides while Daniel's were tightly wrapped around the other lad's shoulders. Funny, how such board shoulders could fit almost perfectly. Very suspect, indeed.

 _"What the fuck are you doing?!"_ Kristopherson demanded, separating from his friend. His heart was pounding in his chest, and his face was completely red. The faux-blonde was just glad that the helmet he wore concealed his visage from his friend's gaze. He only wished that the same hadn't gone for the other lad as well, so he could see just how disgusted he was from being so close to another man.

 _"Saving your ass!"_ Daniel replied, dusting off his front as if to wipe away evidence that Kristopherson was ever there. He then reached behind him and rubbed his back in an attempt to ease it's soreness, only to find that his glove was now purple.

" _Alois."_ the Miles lad said, shifting so that he could peak around their ingenious hiding place in search of their attacker. "Where'd he come from? I don't see him."

"This is why we need to sneak up on them." Daniel replied. "That way, they can't sneak up on _us,_ Kris!"

"Piss off. Your idea would never work."

"It would so!" protested the Westley lad, inching away from his friend.

"Being able to play _Call of Duty_ doesn't make you able to actually defeat someone trained in assassination, _Dan!"_

"It's _practice!"_

"It's a _game,_ and a _stupid_ one!"

"It simulates being a soldier perfectly!"

"Yes, except for the part where is actually shows a realistic rendition of warfare! Ciel would kick your ass for that." Kristopherson said, turning to face the other boy, only to grunt in pain as something small and hard spontaneously impacted his chest. He looked down and saw purple.

" _Oh, shit!"_ Daniel exclaimed, picking up his weapon as his friend scrambled for his own. It was far too late, however, as their assailant decorated them with his own signature hue. Kristopherson and Daniel could have sworn to have heard giggling as they did their best to shield themselves from the onslaught, awkwardly using their arms as barriers to no avail.

"That's a good colour for the two of you!" a voice called out, undoubtedly the blonde menace with a less than subtle hint of amusement in his voice.

"Goddammit, Trancy!" Kristopherson barked. "This is never going to come out! _Shit_..."

"What is it?" asked Daniel, wiping paint away from his visor so that he could see properly again.

"It soaked through my pants..." the faux-blonde answered while squirming with discomfort, causing the demon to bust out laughing.

"You... ha... you should've seen it! Haheha-haha!" the blonde declared. "You were rolling up into balls like a couple of rolly-pollies!"

"Shut the fuck up before I kick your ass!" shouted Daniel. "Where are you?! Come out!"

"You obviously don't understand the first thing about combat, do you?" Alois asked. "If the enemy can't see you, they can't shoot you, and not being shot is the entire point. Maybe if you weren't _cuddling on the ground with Kristopherson,_ you would have fared better."

" _We were_ _ **not '**_ _cuddling'!"_ Daniel shouted, evidence of being flustered clear in his voice.

"Uh-huh. Sure." answered the demon. "Whatever you say, Dan. Don't worry, I won't tell Anna that you were being all _lovey-dovey_ with her brother. I've got a few more targets to shoot at. Laters~!"

"We were _**NOT**_ being _'lovey-dovey'!"_ the Westley boy nearly shrieked. "I am not gay, Trancy! You hear me?! _Not. Gay!"_

" _Christ_ , Dan. Give it a rest. _He's just trying to piss you off_." Kristopherson interrupted, standing up and stretching. He rubbed his arms where he was hit repeatedly in effort to soothe some of the pain. He couldn't, however, soothe some of the pain from the Westley boy's words. He understood that the bruenette wasn't of the same orientation, but it still hurt.

"Am I really that _repulsive?"_ he unwittingly asked. He looked over at the other lad, and realised that he had to quickly cover his tracks. " _Gee, thanks."_ he added, putting a sarcastic and playful spin on the question.

" _You know that's not what I meant..."_ Daniel replied, standing up. When he made eye-contact with the faux-blonde, he tilted his head in confusion. The boy was frozen, staring.

" _What?"_ the Westley boy asked, only to see the other boy slowly point past him in response. He turned around, and froze, himself. " _Oh, fuck..."_

"How do you think the others are doing?" asked Preston as he spun the small top with many numbers on it. "Six _.'Lose a leg in the enchanted forest'_... Crap... Yout turn, mate."

With that, Travis took the top and gave it a spin as the two sat inside the manor walls and played board games while everyone else was outside, their paintball gear was on the floor, next to their chairs. After the initial skirmish everyone had at the start of the match, both Preston and Travis had realised the mistake they had made, agreing to play with a couple of demons, and wisely decided to abandon their post. Instead, they ventured indoors to play games, accompanied by yet a another, smaller, demon.

"I bet big brother's got them beat by now..." Luka said, watching as the Sullivan boy completed his turn. "...Or Ciel. Pretty sure they're gonna save each other for last, though."

"Why's that?" asked Travis, placing the top in front of the Macken boy, who stood on his knees to work the object correctly on the table that was too high up for him.

"'Cause they're both demons." he answered bluntly. "They're both real competitive, and like challenges. I wonder how Ciel's gonna do, though, with his weirdness about fighting Alois, now."

"Maybe he'll forfet?" suggested Preston while Luka moved his gargoyle-shaped gampeice across the board. The top was then presented to him before smaller boy answerd.

"Doubt it." Luka said. "Jim was holding back last time."

"So he's going to go all-out?" the Omid boy asked, moving his peice.

"Yep. He don't like to admit it, but he _really_ likes to show off for Ciel." the younger replied as Travis spun the top next. "Ciel's been practicing magic, but Jim wasn't just sitting back and watching him, y'know..."

" _Oh, I won_..." Travis said suddenly, as he made it to the end of the board. Luka stood up in his chair.

"What? For real?!" he asked before sitting back down and crossing his arms. " _Bugger."_

"That's not something a kid should say..." said the Sullivan boy, baffled as to how this boy came to know such words. Their source, however, was outside, quietly making his way through the trees.

"They aren't out here..." Alois thought, clutching his gun. "Guess they gave up. Oh well... It wouldn't be any fun to take them out, anyway..."

Now, the blonde was walking in circles in search for his real target. The wooded area that surrounded the property was only so big, and parts of it had been sold within the past hundred years by the land's owner, Ciel Phantomhive. Alois grew ever more excited at the opportunity to face the bluenette once more, but was cautious, as he didn't want to end up bested, himself. Ciel is a formidable opponent, after all. Even with their new, familiar status, they each considered the other a rival. The demonic duo found fun in trying to compete against each other at this and that, and paintball was no different. It didn't matter what the game was, or even if it was spoken, they felt as though they had to win.

But before either of them could do so, they had to find the other. Alois was wary of shadows, given the bluenette's ability, especially with the abundance of them within the forest. The blonde hid in them, himself, as well, taking pride in the mastery of this ability, thanks to Sebastian. While Ciel studied more advanced magic with a certain sorcerer, Alois observed, and learned himself, also going back later and learning the basics with the Phantomhive butler. It was high-time that the blonde became a "proper" demon, he felt, and given the fact that the bluenette was more-or-less unaware of this gave him an edge.

Did he feel guilty about concealing these abilities from Ciel? Definitely. He knew that as soon as he used them, the question "why didn't you use that during the Black Annis case" would arise. That answer was simple, however. It was the fact that Alois still wasn't that practiced, as well as the fear of actually hurting the bluenette on accident. What if Alois exerted too much force under pressure? It was a natural response, and an occurrence that the blonde would like to avoid if at all possible.

Yet, he did not intend for his pursuit of power to be a "secret", as he simply didn't feel that it was important enough to bring up, no matter how much he enjoyed peacocking for his beau. As much as he wanted to simply waltz up to the other boy and strut his stuff, he was afraid of somehow faltering due to his inexperience, and making a fool of himself instead. He would only use what was necessary, and what he had adequate degree of mastery over. He had nothing on par with the Phantomhive's _"Regalia Umbra_ ", but what he did would simply have to suffice.

Now, his sixth sense was his friend. Even as he passed through familiar terrain, things were not "right". By chance, he stumbled across the area where he had left Audrey, and though most everything was as it should be, there was something "off".

There was the root that had confined the reaper-boy, now devoid of it's grip as the blonde menace released Audrey as promised, and there were splotches of purple paint on the tree that the boy had been standing in front of. There was one detail that was out of place, however. It didn't belong. It was the fact that in addition to the purple paint, there were now specks of _blue_ as well.

Ciel had been here, and judging from the way the paint had struck the tree, he was there shortly after the blonde had left, and fired at Audrey while he was still trapped. Ciel had been right behind him, and if that was the case, then what of Kristopherson and Daniel? Had he gotten to them as well? More importantly, _where was he now?_

In a flash, Alois moved as blue pigment struck the tree in front of him. He landed on one of the tree's many branches, and paused to decipher the origin of the projectiles before firing in that direction. To his delight, his attacker dodged it, coming out of his hiding place in the foliage, and dashing across the clearing. He was no fool, however, and returned fire as he did so, prompting the blonde to seek shelter behind the tree's trunk.

His position didn't last for long, as the bluenette rushed him from the side. Alois was actually having trouble dodging, given the other boy's speed. Both of them knew when to dodge, and both of them knew when to fire, which threw things off. Do you attack, or do you evade? Or both? The blonde chose both as he fired at Ciel, buying himself more time to evade while the other boy took his previous hiding place.

"Not bad." Ciel mused. "Have you gotten faster?"

"A bit." the Trancy lad replied with a chuckle. "I've been practicing."

"How did I not notice? I really _have_ been occupied, haven't I?" the bluenette called.

"Yeah, but now I have your _full attention,_ don't I?" Alois asked in response.

"Yes, you do." the bluenette said, moving from his cover and firing in the blonde's direction. Said blonde evaded the slow paintballs with ease, but the bluenette's reflexes were sharp. He would fire before the blonde moved as compensation, using his sixth sense to anticipate as to where he should be aiming.

He was impressed by the blonde's ability, yet did his best to keep his mind on the objective at hand. This failed him, of course, as the lad heard the small " _click"_ of an empty weapon. In his focusing on hitting the blonde menace, Ciel hadn't kept track of his ammunition, allowing the blonde to close in on him.

To his surprise, instead of firing his own weapon, his beau closed the distance between them and swung his fist, prompting the bluenette to jump backwards to evade. In doing so, he had sprung the blonde's trap. Thus, he was tangled within tree roots that the other boy had been preparing while the bluenette was distracted.

Since when could Alois do such a thing? Ordinarily, he would have had to stay in one location to focus his energy, but now, he was running and jumping all over the place. Moreover, he wouldn't have been able to summon such strong plants, or instruct them to wrap around the bluenette's body with such speed. Indeed, Alois _had_ been practicing. The thought caused a small smirk to appear on Ciel's face as the idea of his blonde beau obtaining such power somehow pleased him. Ordinarily, he would have taken it as an invitation to improve his own skills, but no. Not now. He was proud of his blonde menace. The Phantomhive took delight in watching the scared little boy he knew improve, and knowing that he was a major part of it. Alas, he had no time to linger on these thoughts, as paintballs impacted his chest.

"Ow! Jim! What the-?!" he grunted with each projectile. Alois obviously wasted no time in going in for the kill, as he learned after the first time he and the bluenette had fought one-on-one. "Augh! _Stop it!"_

" _Talking...";_ another shot, _"...is how...";_ another, "... _your opponent_..."; and another, "... _finds the time_..."; one more, "... _to respond."_

He kept firing, despite the protests from the bluenette. Ciel was happy that the boy was taking things seriously, but plastic balls filled with paint striking him repeatedly was quite annoying, especially with the fact that neither of the demons wore any sort of protective gear, as always when they played this game. Usually, the first one to be worn down by this fact was the loser, and Alois knew it. He fired quickly, and relentlessly, waiting for Ciel to declare his surrender. Ciel, however, is notoriously stubborn, and will not yield in the face of adversity. Instead, he fights back.

Black flames encased his body, and Alois knew what was coming next. He held his fire accordingly, as any rounds he fired at the bluenette in this state would be wasted. The roots turned to ash as diabolic flames ravaged them. As for the bluenette himself, he assumed his demonic form, pointed ears, horns, tail, and all. His beau whistled a flat note in response.

"Breaking out the big guns, are we?" Alois mused, grinning regardless to the fact that the bluenette was now somewhat "serious".

"Correct." the bluenette stated. "Speaking of _guns..."_ he trailed off, kicking his empty paintball gun to the side before dashing into the bushes.

The blonde menace was on guard, but he wasn't prepared for what happened next. A paintball struck him in the chest, and his eyes went wide. Ciel didn't have _two_ guns, did he? Alois looked down, and saw pink paint on his chest.

"You bastard!" he accused, pointing at the smirking bluenette. " _You stole Kristopherson's gun!"_

"There's no rule against it." Ciel replied, pleased with his ingenius plan. "Maybe you should have thought of it when you had the chanc-"

 _PAFF!_ The lad was struck mid-sentence by a paintball to the chest. Ciel furrowed his brow and stuck out his chin.

"So that's how it's going to be, is it?" he asked.

"Yep." said Alois. " _I like winning."_

 _"So do I_." the bluenette retorted with a smile, pointing his weapon at the other boy.

As much as he hated fighting the blonde in actuality, something about a _game_ was completely different. The playful nature between them both was surely a factor. He took delight in besting the menace, and while he would never admit it, being bested, himself. As long as it were Alois, he didn't mind, even with the fact the the blonde would brag about it until the cows came home.

Would that be the case today? Both boys were keen to find out. Paintballs flew through the air faster than any human would be able to see, and the lads employed their magic in hopes of defeating their opponent. Alois would try to repeat his trap, attempting to keep Ciel locked in one location with various plants, and then Ciel would escape using Regalia Umbra on his cloak, over, and over, and over again.

"What's the matter?" the bluenette teased, evading the blonde's attacks. "I thought you had been practicing? Haven't you learned any new tricks?"

"Of course I have!" Alois called back. "For example..." he trailed off, putting the bluenette on guard.

The blonde was going to attack him with something new? Well, if that's the case, he had better keep moving if he was going to evade. Ciel kept on the look-out as he ran about, having completely lost sight of the boy. Where was he? To the left? Right? Above? Below? Perhaps he was right behind Ciel, or...

Ciel turned to watch where he was headed, and there appeared a black wall of flames. He tried his best to slow down, but with his built-up speed, held difficulty in the feat, causing him to crash into the obstacle. The flames did not burn, and instead simply felt warm. Ciel felt no wall impacting him, but instead felt that he crashed into a person. He had crashed right into the other boy while he was in the middle of his silly trick.

Instinctively, the bluenette dropped his gun and wrapped his arms around the blonde as they both fell to the ground with a thud. It was then that he had discovered something was very, very wrong. The lad's eye widened in shock and horror has he felt something peculiar against his face.

His nostrils were filled with the scent of the blonde, but this frame was certainly not. It was far too slender, and oddly shaped. The bluenette tried to move, but his legs were tangled in another's, and hands were placed on the back of his head, holding it in place. He was frozen, confused by it all, and especially by the odd, squishy feeling against his face. Suddenly, the foreign object vibrated as it's owner giggled. The sound was familiar, but of a higher pitch. No, it couldn't be...

Ciel jerked upward, separating himself from the being. He fell flat on his rear, and stared at the blonde in front of him. Pale skin, pale hair, cat-like pale blue eyes, all familiar features, save for the fact that their owner had breasts. The bluenette's face turned an impossible shade of red as the realization dawned on him.

 _"J-J-Jim?!"_ he stuttered, causing laughter to erupt from the-, _ahem, "girl"_ in front of him.

"Oh my god! Your face!" tears were nearly streaming down the blonde's faces as she laughed, and clutched at her sides. "That's beautiful! Priceless! I want to remember that!"

"Stop laughing!" Ciel barked, trying his best to maintain at least a small shred of his dignity, but failing miserably. "What in blazes is g-going on?!"

"Transformation, _duh!_ All demons can do it." Alois replied, standing and picking up his-, or " _her"_ gun. _"I've been practicing_."

The barrage of bullets that followed came without mercy, pelting the bluenette while he was still down. Every time Ciel felt as though he could counter, he would set his eye upon the unusual appearance of the blonde menace, and falter. Poor boy, all he was able to do was try to shield himself with his arms and tail. The torture seemed to last ages, until it all simply stopped all at once, the sound of an empty paintball gun hitting the ground being the only thing occurring. Curiosity getting the better of him, the bluenette cracked his eye open. Immediately it widened, and he simultaneously was regretful he did so, and strangely thankful at the same time.

" _Buh... buh.. uh-uhm..."_ was all he could manage to say at the sight. The devious blonde menace had lifted the front of "her" shirt, exposing herself as distraction while she casually reached down and grabbed the gun with pink ammunition that the bluenette had dropped. Curves, bumps, breasts, all the same blonde but displayed in a completely new way. Naturally, Ciel was spellbound. As if sealing some unholy power away, Alois dropped the shirt and aimed the gun at the bluenette.

" _Like what you see?"_ the blonde teased, snapping Ciel back to his senses. The bluenette furrowed his brow and tried to look defiant, even with his flushed complexion.

"Wh... what the bloody hell was that?!" he demanded, not at all convincing the blonde of his integrity.

"It's transformation magic. I _told_ you." Alois replied, voice higher than usual, with a greater odd, feminine touch. "It's a signature of demons, you know."

"But why a woman!?"

"Could be useful." the blonde said flatly. "What if there's a case in the future that requires a woman to draw less suspicion? Mostly, I learned how to bother you, though. Is it working?" Ciel simply looked away in response. " _I'll take that as a 'yes'."_

"Fine. Whatever. _You win_." the Phantomhive grumbled. "You've got my gun. I can't play anymore. Can you _please_ change back now?"

 _"Yes!"_ the blonde hissed in victory before unloading the final functional paintball gun. "I like how winning through your _libido_ is always a possibility."

"Shut up!" Ciel replied. "That's not why! Aren't you, you know, _embarrassed?"_ Alois paused to think for a moment.

"Well, yeah, I guess." the blonde answered with a small shrug. "Mostly 'cause it feels really weird with nothin' _'down there',_ and _these things_ are kinda tender." she added, cupping her breasts in front of the flustered bluentte.

"I... I didn't need to know that..." Ciel replied, standing up and dusting himself off. Straightening himself, he resumed his usual demeanor. "Come on, we should go find the others."

" _Sure you don't want to cup a feel, first?"_ Alois teased.

"Yes, I'm sure! We are in the middle of a forest, with our friends roaming about, so now is hardly the time or place to be _'adventurous'."_ the bluenette said, walking away. The blonde trotted after him, grinning from ear to ear.

"Are you _one-hundred percent certain?"_ Alois asked.

"Yes!"

_"Really?"_

"I said _yes!_ I _don't_ want to touch your breasts!"

"I'm just making sure." the blonde said. "I can only keep this form for a few minutes at a time, and it takes awhile before I can do it again. Don't want you to accidentally miss your chance, y'know?" Ciel choked on his own spit at that.

"I forfeited, and you would have been back to normal in minutes?!" the bluenette demanded.

"Pretty much." Alois replied before arching an eyebrow. "Wait, I thought you forfeited because I had your gun?"

"Well, yeah, _that's right!"_ Ciel said. "I also can't play with those boobs stacked against me!"

"Don't you mean _'odds'?"_ asked the blonde.

"That's what I _said."_

 _"_ No, you said 'boobs'..." Ciel paused at that to replay the words he spoke in his head.

 _"I... That's_..." He fumbled, scrunching his eyebrows together to think of an excuse. "Just a slip of the tongue. Those things are a distraction."

"Yeah, that's kind of why I took this shape, mate."

"Great. Now that that's established, can you _please_ change back?"

"Nah, I kinda wanna see if my time's improved." the blonde said. "My best time so far is four minutes, and I wanna see if that's changed. Also, torturing you is fun. Is it that awkward for you?"

" _Worse than you can imagine_." grumbled the bluenette. "If we come across the others, and you're not back to normal, _I'm_ not the one who's going to have to give an explanation."

"Ooh, mister _big, scary, Guard dog_ gets flustered by boobies! Can't let everyone know that, can we?" Alois replied, starting to sound a bit winded. "Don't worry, I don't think I've got much longer. _Last chance~!"_ Ciel's blush returned anew.

"I'm not touching your chest!" he protested, turning to face the other... demon.

"Oh, c'mon! I see that look on your face, you totally want to!"

"No way! Not doing it. It'll feel like I'm _cheating_ on you, or something..."

"Cheating on me, _with_ me? _Seems legit_." the blonde replied.

"Shut up! You know what I mean-" Ciel's train of thought came to a crashing halt as the blonde menace grabbed his wrist and placed his hand on "her" chest. The bluenette's eyes widened, his mouth hung open and his fingers twitched at the feeling of the soft mound fitting perfectly in his hand. The boy's face was completely red in contrast to the slight blue tint of his hair, and his earrings stood out as his flush ventured to his ears. Alois, on the other hand, was incredibly entertained by the incoherent noises that dribbled from the bluenette's mouth as the poor lad tried to form a thought.

The blonde's smile only widened as flames surrounded them, and " _she"_ once again became a " _he"._ The action was enough to cause the bluenette's eye to trail up to Alois' face, causing his brow to furrow as the other boy smiled so wide that his cheeks hurt. With that, the blonde positively lost control of himself, and exploded into a fit of laughter.

 **"** _ **JIM!"**_ the Phantomhive boy bellowed, his voice cracking from embarrassment. This only made things worse. Tears streamed down his beau's face as the blonde hid it in the bluenette's shoulder, clinging to the boy and using him to muffle the sound of his own absurd cackling. It was as though he needed the source of his amusement to hold himself up.

 _"It's_ _ **not**_ _funny!"_ Ciel insisted, growing tired of waiting for the other boy to recover.

"It's fucking _hilarious!"_ his boyfriend finally exclaimed. "Your face! Oh, God.. Your facccee!" He laughed. "Now, that's a thing of beauty, right there! Hah!"

 _"Be quiet!_ Of course I'm going to be taken aback if my boyfriend fucking becomes my bloody girlfriend and makes me grab a tit! _I have never grabbed a tit, Jim!_ I don't know what to do about that!"

"You said _'tit'!"_ the blonde exclaimed before laughing again. " _Twice!"_

" _Don't ever do that again!"_

"No promises!" Alois replied. " _Ciel Phantomhive_ is _weak_ against the _almighty powers of the majestic titty~!"_

_"Can we stop talking about this,_ _**please?!"** _

It was a good while until the blonde menace finally heeded the bluenette's pleas and reduced his amusement to a small chuckle here and there on their way back to the estate. It was the only sound audible from either boy for the longest time, until it's source began to question the silence from the bluenette, and the prominent scowl on his face. It died off completely as Alois began to fear the worst. Ciel was prideful, and the blonde had humiliated him. History has shown that one does not evade retribution for such a crime with ease. The silence between the two was maddening; almost deafening, and soon, it became too much for the blonde to bear.

"Ciel?" he called. "Are you mad at me?" There was no response.

"I'm sorry..." he added, looking at the ground as he walked. "I was just playing..."

"I'm not mad." spoke the bluenette, cutting the other boy off. "Just... embarrassed... and confused, amoung other things. It's incredibly confusing to be dating a man one moment, then a woman who is actually the same exact person the next, and finding them both sexually attractive."

"I won't do it again..." said the blonde.

"I never said you _shouldn't..."_ Ciel replied. "That's actually a useful skill that could come in handy in the future. It's just... You took me by surprise, is all..."

"How was I supposed to know you'd _freak out_ about boobs?"

"How was I supposed to know you could _obtain_ them? I need time to mentally prepare myself for this sort of thing." the bluenette stated, pausing to turn to the other boy. "I had to do that before dealing with you as a man, as well."

"I can see that." Alois replied. "I'd probably freak out, too, now that I think about it. It's just funnier when you do it, 'cause you're always so 'calm, cool and collected' all the time."

"I hardly think that grants reason to transform into a woman during a paintball game..."

" _You're_ the one who transformed into your demon form, remember? _I'm_ the one who resorted to unnnessecary measures?"

"Yes." Ciel replied. "Aren't you the one who's always going on about how you're ' _not a girl'?_ For you to become one means that the situations must be positively dire!"

"Hey, it's not like I enjoyed it." Alois said. "I just wanted to test my abilities."

"By becoming a woman?" teased the bluenette.

"Sure. Why not? Don't think I'll adopt that shape often, though."

"Really? Why not?"

" _I missed my dick."_

* * *

 


	338. Imposing Normalcy

Once again, we find ourselves at the prestigious Warwick Academy. All is well, save for the new bruises that now decorated the bodies of some of the human members of the Sensational Seven. The boys were still aching, while Travis and Preston felt quite pleased with themselves for wisely avoiding the playfulness of the group's own resident demons.

One of which, was quite grouchy on this particular, day. It was the bluenette, and he had been humiliated to an extreme during the lads' game of paintball. The Phantomhive boy was notorious for his thirst for vengeance, and he desired it upon none other, than Warwick's own "blonde menace".

He had to admit, he was indeed, impressed by the boy's advancement in ability. Alois could shadow-step, had perfected his plant ability, and had greater transfiguration abilities. Who knew just what else he was capable of? Ciel was curious, however, he wasn't entirely happy about the other boy's shape-shifting, as it was the source of his humiliation.

Feminine curves, and a sweet voice that were both simply modifications to the body of his beau tormented him, as the image of the blonde's naked female figure flashing him was somehow stuck in his mind. He knew Alois' body well, but this was something new. Ciel didn't like this new curiosity. No, not one bit. Ciel had grown accustomed to a homosexual relationship, thus, workings of the opposite sex where completely foreign to him. Was he attracted to Alois? Yes. Was he attracted to the "female" version? Yes, however, it somehow felt as though he were somehow unfaithful for having such thoughts. Damn him. Damn that blonde menace for causing such confusion to stir inside the bluenette's mind.

Oh, how he would pay for this. Ciel would assure it. He didn't know how, or when, but sometime, somehow, he was going to get the blonde back for bringing the Phantomhive such shame.

"What's eatin' him?" asked Kristopherson, taking note of the bluenette's peculiar behaviour. The blonde menace looked over at the grouch in question, causing the boy to furrow his brow by simply smirking at him.

"He's still mad that he lost his case." Alois half-lied. While it wasn't the object that held the entire focus of the bluenette's not-so-sunny disposition, it was certainly still part of it.

The mentioning of it only renewed Ciel's resentment over the matter. He hadn't heard anything from H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. on the progress of his case, and it nearly drove him mad. Alois's gender-swapping and the feeling of "his" female breasts distracted from this, especially since the blonde did not own a single brassiere. Good gods, what on earth was H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. going to think of this? Surely he was going to look like some kind of paedophile, who was constantly grooming the blonde to do who-knows-what to him. Ciel didn't want trouble. He just wanted his case.

"Those demons need to pay for what they did." the bluenette stated. "It's only natural that I'd want to be capable of taking care of it personally."

"I seriously don't get your obsession with vengeance and making people 'pay'." said Audrey. "If you aren't allowed to interfere, then that's that, right?"

"You do realise who you're talking to, right?" asked Kristopherson. "It matters to Ciel. I'd be pretty pissed off too, if I were him."

"You go, girl." declared Daniel in a joking sort of manner. The bluenette, however, did not appreciate the words of support, and grumbled. In an effort to quell this beast, Alois sacrificed himself out of the goodness of his heart, and hugged the bluenette from behind, hanging on him as per usual.

"What you need, is a new case." spoke the menace,freeing one arm to poke his beau's cheek. "A murder, an undercover mission, anything, really..."

"Both of your obsessions with murder have to be unhealthy..." said Preston.

"But, that's how we get shit done, Pres!" Alois declared before turning back to the bluenette. "C'mon, what'd'ya say? I'll call Bailey, if you want."

"Maybe he needs a break from murder." suggested Travis, becoming pleasantly talkative. "Both of you have been under a lot of stress from work, haven't you? You nearly lost your soul, and Ciel fussed over getting it back, you were attacked by demons and Ciel was poisoned and beat himself up over it; maybe you both need a break from being 'Supernatural Detectives' for a while?" Both demons simply looked at each other for a moment, and then silently looked to the Sullivan boy again in confusion.

"Do you even know how to be normal teenagers?" asked Kristopherson, earning a blank stare followed by a shrug from each of the two boys.

Both of the demons have been anything but "normal" for the entirety of their lives thus far. If was a skill that they both sorely lacked. With them, it has always been fights between life and death, survival, plotting, scheming, manipulation, controlling wealth, murder, imprisonment, emotional trauma, revenge, supernatural adventures, and collaborating with shadow governments. How on earth "normal" teenagers behaved was a complete mystery to them. From what they knew from television, it seemed quite boring.

"I'll take that as a 'no'..." the faux-blonde concluded with a sigh. It was then that the Westley boy concocted one of his dastardly schemes.

"We'll teach you!" Daniel declared. "It'll be easy!"

"And just what makes you so certain?" inquired the Phantomhive boy, arching an eyebrow at the absurd proposition. He knew that the Westley lad wasn't the brightest boy, but did Daniel really think that he was going to be able to make Ciel Phantomhive act in a manner similar to an ordinary teenager?

"I have a plan." Daniel replied, as always. "We'll all just drag you along to do normal teenager stuff!"

"Such as...?" asked Alois, who was just as skeptical of the bruenette's methods as his beau.

"Hanging out, going to parties, prank wars, you know, stuff like that." the Westley boy said, as if that was supposed to clarify something.

"So? Ciel and I do that sort of thing all the time." replied the blonde.

"Filing paperwork, catching baddies James Bond style and nearly killing each other does not count as 'normal', Alois." said Kristopherson, butting in. "Dan probably means something more along the lines of getting together at someone's house and socializing, playing harmless practical jokes, or going to the cinema together. By the way, when was the last time you two went on a date?" The demonic duo simply shifted in their chairs bashfully.

"Who cares? I've got an even better idea!" the Westley boy declared proudly, sparking the attention of the others.

"What are you talking about?" asked Audrey. "What else is there to do?"

"Tsk, tsk, tsk! Audrey, you're so simple!" Daniel replied, much to the annoyance of the Baines lad. "I'm only talking about one of Warwick's oldest traditions."

"Wait..." said Preston. "You don't mean...?"

"Oh, I mean." the bruenette retorted. The humans in the group seemed to understand what the lad was referring to, but alas, the demons did not.

"What are you talking about?" asked the Phantomhive boy. "Are you going to tell us, or not?" His brow furrowed as a wicked grin appeared on the Westley's face.

"You know the Griffon statue out in the courtyard?" Daniel asked.

"Yeah, why?" Alois answered, confused.

"Well, did you know that Tamworth has a statue of a Centaur, kind of like it?"

"Are you going somewhere with this?" Ciel inquired, unhappy with the negligence that the other boy took to simply cut to the chase.

"It's a tradition at both schools for the twelfth years to vandalize the other school's statue." Travis said bluntly, mush to the displeasure of the politician's son.

"Travis, you ruined it!" the lad said. "I was trying to build on dramatic effect!"

"Who cares?" asked Alois. "So, what you're saying, is that you want us to help you jack up Tamworth's statue, huh?" He paused to look to his bluenette beau. "Well, what say you, Ciel?"

"Vandalism is a crime, and I do not need to have any marks on my record." the Phantomhive boy replied. "I have enough of them, as it is."

"Bullshit, you're already working on, like, ten different scenarios, aren't you?" the blonde menace jabbed, causing a small smirk to appear on the other demons' face. Perhaps this was a semi-healthy way of "toning it down" a bit, when it came to the duo's shady activities. After all, they have to start somewhere, don't they?

"You know me so well." the Phantomhive lad replied. "Very well. It sounds like it could possibly be entertaining. This is going to take some planning. Give me two days, at most, and I'll have a strategy."

"Hey, you're supposed to be trying to be 'normal', remember?" asked Audrey.

"But Audrey," Ciel replied. "Where's the fun in that?"

 


	339. Beyond The Iron Gates

Twenty-four hours. It took only twenty-four hours for Ciel to acquire the information he needed, when he had asked for a minimum of three days. The Phantomhive information network had a long reach, and the head of the family did not hesitate to use it, even for the most trivial of tasks. Efficiency, precision, discipline; all components of a successful mission, among others. While the human boys felt that it was a tad bit "overkill", to the demons, if you were going to bother doing something, one plans their procedure thoroughly. The two had learned from experience, of course. In their youth, they simply went about things willy-nilly while spouting things about "revenge" and the like. History shows how that chain of events played out. Then again, it was the same path that lead them both to become who they are now, conversely.

Ciel used his usual people in the process; Audrey Baines, with his own expansive network at Warwick, and Nigel Irons, a former student of Tamworth. Audrey knew people, who surely knew other people with information about Tamworth, and Nigel was there, personally. They knew the layout of the school, and what campus security was like, all important information for such a task. According to Daniel, the perpetrators of vandalizing the Tamworth Centaur-statue were often caught and punished, however leniently, due to their families' wealth. The goal was to deface the statue without getting caught, so naturally, research was a necessity.

Tamworth's only defense was an iron gate on each side, security cameras, and a few guards. The plan was relatively simple. Preston was the main weapon at their disposal, surprisingly, as he was the only one who could deactivate the security cameras, and open the electronically-controlled gates. At precisely twelve o' clock, he would hack into the school's mainframe and open all of the gates on each side of the school from home, communicating with the others via walkie-talkie. Moments later, he would deactivate all of the cameras on the Eastern side of the campus, drawing the guards away from their stations in order to investigate before he deactivated the rest. Audrey and Kristopherson would then loiter on the Northern and Eastern sides in case the guards fanned out. Both boys are the fastest runners, aside from the two demons, who were needed at the Southern side with Daniel and Travis, where they would deface the statue. It was located on the Southern side of the campus, as opposed to Warwick's, which was in the center. The demons would help the remaining members vandalise the monument to greater extremes. Should either "decoy" run into trouble, they would be able to leave their team in order to assist in their escape.

"This is ridiculous..." Daniel complained through his mask. "...All of this for a stupid statue?" asked Daniel, waiting for the signal.

" _You're_ the one who wanted to go through with this, Dan." replied the blonde menace.

"Yeah, but I didn't sign up for a damn espionage mission!" complained the Westley boy. "Don't you think this is all a bit _much?"_

"Nah, it's pretty _'normal'_ for me and Ciel." Alois answered, much to the displeasure of the politician's son.

"That's not 'normal'!" Daniel protested. "The whole point of this was to attempt to make you at least semi-normal!"

"It is 'normal'! It's _our_ 'normal'!"

" _Will you girls be pipe down?"_ interrupted the Phantomhive lad, annoyed at the obnoxious behaviour of the "dumbass duo". "We're on a ' _damn espionage mission'_ , remember?"

Daniel crossed his arms in protest, and the blonde menace placed his hands on his hips with a pout. Neither lad appreciated being referred to as a female, regardless to the fact that one of them was capable of becoming one at his leisure. All four boys stood, waiting. Suddenly, the small crackling of a radio was heard, followed by the voice of a certain boy of Indian descent.

"East cameras down." said Preston. "How long until the gaurds get there?"

"The distance from the security office to the Eastern end is approximately fifty meters, and given the length of the average adult human's legs, it should take about _two-and-a-half minutes."_ the bluenette said into the radio. "Speed is also a factor, however, so given the age of the average security guard, I'd say give it a bit longer."

"Right, then." Preston answered, and the crackling ended.

"It's scary as hell how much thought you put into this..." said Daniel, frightened, slightly, at the bluenette's thoroughness.

"Well, I _am_ a demon." Ciel replied. "No matter the mission, _failure is not an option for a Phantomhive."_

"What about that _'Black Annis'_ thing? Or that time you and Alois took down that cult? Didn't you like, blow up the building on accident and nearly die?" the Westley boy asked, tilting his head, only to shrink seconds later at the glare he received for his musings.

"This would be way easier to pull off ourselves." said Alois with a giggle. "Is there a backup plan?"

"Of course." replied the bluenette. " _Grab everyone and run."_

_"Seems logical, to me."_

"Hold on! You plan all of this shit, but don't have a _backup?!"_ demanded the Westley boy.

"It's just a bunch of security guards. It's not like we're up against some undead uprising, or anything." replied the Phantomhive.

"You would _love_ that, wouldn't you?"

"Well, I'm not saying _'yes',_ but..."

Suddenly, with a creak, the gates behind them opened, meaning that their mission was on. They had to stop their bickering. With a crackling of the radio, Preston spoke.

"Gates are open." he said. " _Audrey, Kris, you're on."_

"Roger that." spoke Audrey over the radio.

"On it." replied Kristopherson on his end.

"We'll follow suit in thirty seconds." said Ciel.

"Now's your last chance to wuss out, Dan." Alois teased.

"Hell no! This was my idea!" protested the Westley lad. "I'm no wuss! I'm twice the man you are!"

"When you're able to kill a man with your bare hands, I may consider believing that." the blonde replied, noticing the silent Sullivan boy in the corner of his eye. The boy was completely frozen. "Travis, you okay?"

"I don't like this." the tall boy said. "What if we do get caught?"

"Then me and Ciel will get you out of here. No worries!" the blonde answered, patting the lad on the back. "Just a little property damage. What's the big deal?"

"The fact that it's _illegal?"_ Travis replied, causing a giggle to bubble up in the blonde's throat, and a chuckle to emit from the bluenette, much to his own confusion.

They didn't care about the police. They _are_ the police. Their law is very different from normal humans. They've killed people; more than they could ever count, with out one single regret. To them, vandalism and hacking into private databases held the same amount of indecency as stepping on someone's foot. The only difference was that to them, the latter simply wasn't as _fun_.

"Good one, Travis." said the blonde. "If you want to go home, though, go ahead. You don't have to join-"

"Thirty seconds are up." said Ciel, grabbing the bag of spray-paint and other items. "Let's go."

"Yessir!" Alois replied, following suit. Behind him was Daniel, and, with a moment of hesitation, so was Travis. The poor lad could only think to himself:

_"This is going to go wrong, somehow..."_

* * *

 


	340. An Utter Masterpiece

"Hey, Alois, pass me the paint." Daniel instructed.

"You want blue, or gold?" the blonde asked in response.

"Gold."

The dumbass duo along with Ciel and Travis were hard at work in the dead of night, spray-painting Tamworth's prized centaur statue, as well as gluing things to it and other such acts of vandalism. Most of the damage, however, was done by Daniel and Alois, as Ciel took time and care in his destruction, and Travis was simply hesitant. The pair of fools wrote all kinds of obscene things on the statue, and drew rude and downright inappropriate things on it's visage. The centaur now had "nipples", and paint was smeared across it's mouth as "lipstick".

"What are you drawin', Dan?" asked the blonde, his interest piqued by the muffled laughter of the other boy.

"A dick." the Westley boy replied before snorting.

_"A golden dick?"_

"Yep."

"...On it's ass?"

_"Yep."_

"That's pretty _suspect_ , I'd say." Alois jested, causing the other boy's eyebrows to furrow together behind his ski mask.

"Duh, that's why I did it." Daniel replied. "Their centaur is gay. It's both gay, and a bottom."

"You act as though it's a bad thing." the blonde replied.

"Well, it's not something a tough, school mascot should be, now is it?"

"You do know that Ciel and I are two of the toughest motherfuckers in Britain, who straight-up kill both people and monsters alike, and we do _'it'_ with each other all the time, right?" the blonde asked, causing the other boy to be taken aback more than "a bit".

"I did _not_ need that image, Alois..." the Westley boy replied with a shudder.

"Then _stop thinking about gay sex,_ Dan." the other boy said as he wrote the word " _Belieber"_ on the beast's side. The son of a politician was about to defend himself, but then the bluenette spoke up instead.

"Will you two be quiet?" he said, gluing a large bow to the Centaur's head. "We're trying to be _discreet,_ remember?"

"Whatever..." Daniel said reluctantly before getting back to work. All was then silent, the only sound heard being the spritzing of spray cans in the night. It all ended so suddenly, however, when the silence was shattered by the crackling of the walkie-talkie, and the one of their comrades called out.

"Guards on the North side. They haven't spotted me yet, but they're headed West." said Audrey. He sounded slightly out of breath. He had most likely been running to avoid detection. Ciel picked up the walkie talkie.

"Good work, Bones. Head East, and rendezvous with us at the Southern gate." he instructed. "We're almost done here. Try to avoid detection. Kristopherson, you there?"

"Yeah, I'm here." answered the faux-blonde over the radio.

"Did you hear Audrey? There are guards heading in your direction. Stay out of sight, for now, but get ready in case we need you to buy us more time." Ciel replied.

"Got it." said Kristopherson. "Let me guess, _Dan's drawing dicks on the statue, isn't he?"_

"How did you know?" asked Ciel, unsurprised.

"I know _him_." the faux-blonde answered with a sigh.

"We'll tell him to speed up his 'masterpiece' so you don't have to do any actual 'distracting', alright?"

"Sounds like a plan. Kristopherson: out."

With that, Ciel put the walkie-talkie back in his pocket. He looked to the other lads, shaking his head in disapproval. He didn't understand the fun in the actual vandalism, but he did see how the infiltration was exciting. Gazing upon the glorious work of art that they had created, he spoke.

"Alright, that should be good." he said. "Let's start to wrap things up. Audrey's on his way out, and Kristopherson's about to be in the line of fire. Let's be out before they know something's wrong.

"But Ciel! Daniel's not done with his homoerotic artwork, yet!" replied Alois in fake protest.

"It's not _'homoerotic'!"_ the Westley boy argued.

"I dunno, drawing dicks on things is _pretty gay_ , mate." spoke the Macken boy, causing the politician's boy to grit his teeth.

"I. Am. Not. Gay!" Daniel declared, jumping in surprise when the lights placed around the campus suddenly illuminated the area. They heard the sounds of shouting off in the distance.

"Goddammit, Dan! We told you to keep your stupid voice down, you idiot!" the blonde menace said, pointing at the Westley boy accusingly.

"Hey! This ain't my fault! You shouldn't have been calling me gay!" the other lad protested.

"Guys, we need to get out of here." said Travis. "Ciel, do you know what happened?" The bluenette shook his head, reaching for the walkie-talkie.

"What happened?" he barked into the device. _"Status report! Now!"_

"I dunno!" answered Audrey. "The lights came on all of a sudden!"

"They're on over here, too!" said Kristopherson. "The guards know we're here! They're headed toward the statue!"

"How'd they find us?!" demanded Ciel.

"The cameras are back online!" answered Preston. "I'll try to shut them off again... _Shit!"_

"What?!"

" _They're closing the gates!"_

Ciel looked up at the other boys, who looked confused and frightened. Alois, however, was not. He looked at the bluenette with an amused grin, almost as if to teasingly say: _"What now, Phantomhive?"_ It was as though he were challenging the bluenette to impress him with a strategy; the strategy that he failed to come up with in his arrogance, under the impression that this was going to be "easy".

To him, this was a game. To Ciel, this was a game. Games, however, were meant to be won, and the sensational seven had to be the victors at any cost. It was all, or nothing. The demonic duo could be in and out easily, with a hop, skip, and jump. The humans, however, were the problem. Humans were slow, and got tired. They would never make it in time before the gates closed. Thus, Ciel gave his orders.

"Jim, get Travis and Daniel out of here. I'll go after the others." he declared, to which the blonde answered with a small bow.

 _"Yes, my darling_." the menace said before taking off with human boys in tow. He slowed his pace considerably so that they may keep up, but with him, the humans may be carried over the wall, should they fail to make it before the gates close.

Now, Ciel had to find the other two. He placed the device back up to his ear, and pressed the button before speaking. "Kristopherson, Audrey, where are you?"

"Eastern side." replied Audrey. "There's no guards on this side that I can see, but if the cameras are back, they'll probably be here eventually."

"Western side." said Kristopherson. Ciel paused to hear the sounds of voices drawing closer.

"Kris, head North. Audrey, stay put, and both of you, stay out of sight." he instructed "I'm on my way."

With the sight of flashlights rounding the corner, Ciel vanished, heading East to find Audrey. The boy was a sitting duck, since he had to stay put, and it only made sense, given the fact that there were guards in the other direction. _Why, oh why, didn't he plan for this?_

 


	341. What Cannot Be Seen Cannot Be Harmed

Audrey held his breath from his place in the shadows, afraid that exhaling even in the slightest would be enough to alert the guards that patrolled the campus. The lad had been on edge from the moment that the lights came on. They knew that he and his friends were here, and there would be consequences, should any of them be caught. What of the others? Were they able to get away? Had they been caught already? Were they alright? Would _he_ be alright?

He didn't know. All Audrey could do was hide, and hope he wasn't found. His muscles were tense and he was starting to feel a bit light-headed from holding his breath for so long. He had no idea if he was hidden well enough, or if there were even any guards near him, because of darkness, but there was something in the air that sent chills down his spine in the worst possible way. He felt as though he were being watched, yet saw nothing.

The boy was half grim reaper, yet here he was, _afraid._ The boy who was part-way " _death"_ was afraid of he-didn't-know-what. He found himself partially ashamed of this. Death? Afraid of what? An overweight man in his late thirties? He was so pathetic, that he hardly amounted to a joke.

Of course, but he did not know, that he was right to be frightful. There were dangerous things where the light didn't touch. Darkness was their hunting ground, both figuratively, and literally. They dwelled in darkness and preyed on the darkness in the hearts of mortals. It called to him.

 _"Audrey-"_ called a familiar voice, as a hand placed itself on the Baines lad's shoulder. Immediately, the boy jumped away, releasing all of the tension exerted on his muscles all at once.

 _"BWAGH!"_ Audrey yelped, startled by the sudden noise and contact. He quickly cupped his hand over his mouth in order to not make any more sound before turning around to face his attacker. Bones squinted as he peered into the darkness, seeing a small amount of a pale face, illuminated by what little light available to his hiding place, with one single, surprised-looking eye. His brow furrowed as he recognized the visage.

"What the fuck, mate?! You nearly scared me shitless!" the reaper-boy angrily demanded in a hushed "yell".

"I came to get you out of here." said his friend, a boy around the same height as he, with an eyepatch and an odd demeanor that could hardly be described as "endearing".

"You were looking the other way, and I needed to get your attention." Ciel continued. "All I did was the logical thing, and call out to you. Calm down."

"But why'd you sneak up behind me?!"

"To avoid being spotted by the guards, of course." the Phantomhive boy answered. "Not _everything_ I do has malicious intent behind it, Audrey..."

"Your demon-powers are stupid-scary, man..." replied the reaper-boy, taking a deep breath in hopes of calming his nerves. The other boy was unfazed, as usual.

"I'm pretty sure that that's the _entire point_ of them." he said, stepping out into the open. "Now come, we have to find Kristopherson. He's moved to the North side, and is on his way East. We should run into him."

"That's it?" asked Audrey. "You're not really good at this whole _'normal'_ thing, are you?" The bluenette paused to look over his shoulder to face the other boy. At first, his face seemed confused, but it soon resumed it's usual stoicism.

"I haven't been _'normal'_ since I was _ten years old_." he said in a rather serious tone. "A bit of high-school hijinks isn't going to change that."

"Well, maybe if you'd just _give it a try?"_ asked Audrey. "Not everything has to be methodically planned and carried out in a serious way. Just go with the flow, y'know?"

"If I just _'went with the flow',_ we wouldn't have gotten past the fence. The fact that we're even talking right now is because of a _lack of_ planning." Ciel replied, as he continued to walk. "Don't think that forcing ideals of what's 'socially acceptable' onto me will undo over one-hundred years worth of acting the way that I do." He paused to think. "I don't understand why this concerns you at the moment... it's... _odd."_

 _"I'm '_ odd'?" Bones inquired as he followed the other boy. "We're in the middle of a 'situation', here, and we were just trying to make it so you could have fun like everyone else... Now, I don't think Daniel's idea of going about it was really all that smart, but, it's all we could come up with."

"What are you talking about?" Ciel asked, arching an eyebrow. The corner of his lips twitched as they morphed into a smirk. "I _am_ having fun."

Bones couldn't think of anything to say to that. While he was confused, he could understand that the rush of adrenaline one gets when one is placed in such situations can be "fun", however, he still had trouble wrapping his head around the lad's behaviour. Really, it was quite difficult, when dealing with either demon seperately. They seemed more "ordinary" when they oddly balanced each other out. Audrey didn't dwell on this too deeply, however, and simply shrugged it off.

There was no way that he could ever fully understand either lad. He knew this. Their experiences were simply too different. When one has had the sort of life that either of the demonic duo have had, one does not understand how "normal" people operate, nor will anyone understand them. The sensational seven were not there. They hadn't experienced the death, humiliation, deceit, exploits, and warfare that the demons had, and it was _unlikely that they ever would._

Audrey, however, almost wanted to see more of this chaotic world that the pair had both despised and loved all at once for himself. The mysterious world of the paranormal and unnatural piqued his interest long ago, so he could understand the thrill of danger. All the same, it was frightening.

Look at all of the horrible things that could happen. You could rot from strange drugs, or be turned into a cannibalistic monster that fumbled as it obeyed the commands of it's vampiric master. One could be torn to shreds by a werewolf, or poisoned by a demon and forced to kill your loved ones. Your death could be fast, or it could be slow. It could be painless, or agonizing. This world that the demonic duo lived in was dangerous, yet the "danger" became their "normal", to the extent that they found the mortal way of life somewhat _boring_.

" _Freeze!"_ shouted a booming voice, causing the reaper-boy to jump, and the bluenette to lazily turn in the direction of the source. There, was a small group of guards standing before them. They looked excited, as if glad that they were finally able to see some action. This changed, however, when the bluenette blatantly ignored their orders, and walked on.

"Hey! Kid! Get on the ground!" shouted one of the guards, yet the bluenette ventured on, followed by an uncharacteristically nervous Audrey, who was uncertain of the bluenette's "plan".

"You're in a lot of trouble, brat!" shouted another man. This one, however, actually moved to do something about it.

He charged the bluenette, moving to tackle him to the ground. His plan failed when the bluenette grabbed his arm, and haphazardly swung threw the poor man over his head to land on the ground with a loud _thud_. Ciel did not break his stride even once, and was pleased at the expressions on the men's faces. He didn't have to look at them. He could feel them. He could feel their confidence waver at the sight of an "ordinary" teenage boy throwing a full-grown, two-hundred pound man over his head with one hand. The boy smirked to himself as his friend felt slightly better about the situation. Audrey was relieved that their chance of escape was high, but it was still unsettling to see a boy who appeared to be only seventeen or so pick up a grown man with one arm, and toss him effortlessly, as if he were a pillow. The Phantomhive lad was well versed in the art of violence, and had the power to truly show it.

The guards were frozen, as they simply couldn't believe what they just saw. Collectively, they immediately attributed the event to their eyes simply playing tricks on them, and thus they stormed the boys all at once, in hopes of subduing them. The bluenette, however, vanished into thin air. His friend was stunned, and afraid that he had been left behind. That is, until he felt himself being picked up by some unknown force. He was thrown over the bluenette's shoulder with a small yelp before the demon took off running. The boys lost the guards almost immediately, as most of them, to be frank, were a bit out of shape.

Silence reigned once more, until the sound of shoes clicking against concrete pierced it when the bluenette stopped. He looked back toward the direction they came from, seeing nothing, so he finally placed the reaper-boy on his feet. The poor lad rubbed his abdomenn, pained from having the demon's shoulder jabbed into it with the force of his own weight.

"Did you have to pick me up like that?" he asked in a hushed tone. They were still being chased, so it's best to give absolutely no hint as to where they are hiding.

"Sorry, I didn't think you would be able to keep up." the bluenette replied before venturing onward. "We still have to find Kristopherson. We're on the North side, so he should be nearby." The boy paused and pulled out his walkie-talkie.

"Kristopherson, are you there?" he asked into the device. Moments passed before the crackling sound of the radio was heard.

"Yeah. What's up?" the faux-blonde answered. Good. He was still alright.

"We're on the North side. Where are you?" Ciel asked.

"Heading East? You want me to go back?"

"Yes. We ran into some guards on the East side, and they're quite cross."

"Alright. I'll be there." Kristopherson replied. "There's a gazebo on the North Side. Meet me there?"

"Roger that." Ciel answered, and with that, he placed the object back in his pocket.

With that, he began walking again, knowing that the other boy would follow to keep up. There wasn't much need for words, he thought, seeing as though given the context of things, they were obviously going to go wherever Kristopherson was. No explanation is needed. After all, it was obvious, wasn't it?

 


	342. Pink Damsel

Onward, went the blue demon and his friend with the odd, multicoloured eyes, to the gazebo where they were to rejoin the last of their group, a boy with bleached-blonde hair by the name of "Kristopherson". The faux-blonde was careful to avoid any guards on his way, staying within the shadows. Truth be told, he was quite nervous, regardless of the fact that he had been on many similar escapades, as per request of a certain son of a politician. He had never wandered off on his own in accordance to a plan. As a matter of fact, this was the first time they had a plan! He didn't like being alone in this situation. He really wanted to deface the statue with his best friend's group, but there was no arguing with the bluenette. Kristopherson didn't even want to try to do so. One doesn't simply argue with _Satan_ and "win", you see.

His anxiety only grew after he made it to the gazebo, and he was the only one there. The faux-blonde wanted to wait, but felt naked staying in the same location for too long. Wind stirring through flora, causing an ungodly rustling sound did nothing to calm his nerves. He felt as though he were being watched from all sides, like he was surrounded by a pack of wolves that he couldn't see. Oddly, Kristopherson wasn't at all that far off. There weren't any "wolves", but there was one "dog", accompanied by Bones.

_"Kristopherso-"_

The faux-blonde jumped with a small, startled squeak at being called out to. He whipped his head around to face his attacker, only to furrow his brow in annoyance. The voice sounded familiar, and for a good reason. It belonged to the bluenette, who, once again, was confused as to what he had done wrong.

 _"What's the matter with you?! You trying to give me a bloody heart attack or somethin'?"_ demanded Kristopherson in a hushed tone. Ciel simply glanced at the reaper-boy momentarily, as if questioningly. The boy simply nodded in response with his lips pressed in a straight line.

" _Told you."_ he said to the bluenette, wondering if the boy sincerely didn't know how to approach people, or if he was doing it on purpose. Ciel looked back to the faux-blonde, regaining his composure.

"We're going to get you out of here. What does it look like?" he asked in his usual, somewhat regal tone. "Are we just going to stand here and wait for the guards to find us again, or are we going to leave?" Kristopherson sighed.

"Let's go." he said. "I'm tired, and I want out of this stupid ski mask."

"Black really isn't your colour, Kris." Audrey jested, snapping to attention as the bluenette wordlessly moved again. The lad was really not good at social interaction, now was he?

"I know, in'nt?" Kris replied, following suit. "So, do we have a plan to get out of here, or what?"

"Yes," said the Phantomhive boy. "We find get to the closest wall, I carry you over it, and then, we meet with the others. Simple."

"That's it? What about the guards?" Bones inquired.

"If we see any, we head in another direction." Ciel answered bluntly.

"That's so half-assed." spoke Kristopherson. "I still can't believe you plan a whole operation without a backup plan."

"Maybe I did that on purpose?" suggested the bluenette. His pink-centric friend, however, wasn't amused.

"Why the hell would you do that?"

"To make things more interesting." Ciel replied. "Simply running in, painting a statue, and running out is honestly kind of _boring_."

"Please tell me you're not serious." said Audrey. "You're telling me that you didn't make a backup plan because you thought it would be _fun?"_

" _Yes."_ Ciel answered. It really was hard to tell if he was joking or not. The demon's sense of humour was… _different_ , and the others really couldn't put the bluenette above such a thing, considering the sorts of stunts he had pulled in the past. When it came to ridiculousness, Ciel was a close second, followed behind Alois' first. Daniel was third, for the sole reason that there are simply things that he is incapable of doing.

At last, they made it to the wall. It was made of stone and covered in moss, towering over the lads' heads. The lads knew that neither Kristopherson, nor Audrey would be able to climb over the obstacle on their own. As much as the two didn't want to, they would have to use Ciel as a method of transportation, in this case. The pain Audrey felt in his abdomen from being carried before did not aid his decision, nor did the idea of being carried like some sort of damsel in distress sit well with the boys.

Ciel was indifferent. It wasn't him, in their shoes, although he knew the feeling well from his youth. He was often carried around by his butler, when the boy was human, because like Kristopherson and Audrey, he simply lacked the absurd strength, agility, and grace of a supernatural being. That was one thing about humanity that the Phantomhive did _not_ miss. He quite liked being able to go anywhere he pleased, whenever he willed it, and not be "babied" by a certain butler.

"We can do this several ways." Spoke the bluenette. "I can carry you piggy-back, over the shoulder, or 'bridal' style. Take your pick."

"Piggy-back's kinda gay, over the shoulder hurts, and bridal is _really_ gay…" said Audrey.

"Well..?" asked Ciel.

" _Over the shoulder."_ Audrey said bluntly, and as soon as the words escaped his lips, he was hoisted into the air, and like the name implied, placed over the bluenette's shoulder with a gutsy " _oof"._

" _Wait here."_ Ciel instructed to Kristopherson before taking several paces back from the wall. With a running start, he leaped into the air, effortlessly clearing the wall with an unnerved reaper.

Kristopherson listened, hearing the sound of the demon's shoes hit the concrete sidewalk on the other side, yet, that wasn't all. The faux-blonde arched an eyebrow as he heard voices from the opposite side of the wall. Surely it was just the bluenette given Audrey further instructions; most likely, he was telling the other boy to run for it.

Moments passed, and the Miles boy started to become uneasy. Just how long was he going to

be left defenseless on the interior wall? He was out in the open, as well. There was nowhere for him to hide. His anxiety turned into panic as he heard voices drawing closer at his back. They sounded angry. Closer, closer, and closer still. Soon, they were no longer muffled, and their words became clear as the loudly rang in the faux-blonde's ears.

"Hands where I can see 'em!" one of the guards shouted, causing the poor boy to nearly jump out of his skin. Where on earth was Ciel? "Turn around!"

Kristopherson did just that. As instructed, he slowly put his hands in the air, and turned to face the guards. The light from the men's flashlights was almost blinding, especially since they felt the need to point them directly in the boy's face. Kristopherson's knees felt weak as he was certain that he was going to be arrested. _Perfect_. One of the last things that the boy wanted was a criminal record.

The lights were so blinding, that he had to finally close his eyes as he listened to the men bark conflicting orders. He was told to get on the ground, and stay where he was, to put his hands behind his back, and to put them on his head; it was like they didn't know how human anatomy works. It was confusing, so all Kristopherson could do was stand there, frozen while the voices grew louder and more angry. The poor lad was afraid he would be tackled, or tazed. He wasn't entirely sure which one was worse. All he could do was hope that they would be kind enough to cuff him gently, which was entirely unlikely.

What was more unlikely, however, was the circumstance of his rescue. Suddenly the shouting stopped, followed by varying expressions of fear and awe. Curious, the faux-blonde cracked open an eye to see nothing. Following the guards' eyes, however, he discovered peculiar phenomena occurring at his feet.

Roots twisted, and convulsed, taking on an odd life of their own. The boy's mind didn't have enough time to process what was happening before the roots sprang forth from the earth and wrapped around his body. All he could do was let out a shout of surprise as he was hoisted into the air by seemingly possessed vines, and dropped over the wall to fall onto unforgiving concrete. At least, that's what he thought would happen. Instead, he found himself caught by a certain menace by the name of "Trancy", or sometimes "Macken". The menace flashed Kristopherson a toothy grin as he held the boy like a woman on her wedding night.

"Why, hello, there." Alois teased, causing the faux-blonde to furrow his brow and wiggle out of the other boy's grasp.

"Leggo of me!" Kristopherson instructed, less than thrilled to be held by the demon. Once his feet hit the ground, he was able to see that the bluenette hadn't left him, but was instead forced to deal with an uncooperative Alois Trancy instead. Now, Kristopherson understood why the lad did not come to his aid right away.

"Let's go." Instructed the Phantomhive boy, as he and the others made a mad dash to freedom. They would all rendezvous at Phantomhive manor, where they would discuss the results of the mission in detail.

By this, of course, we mean celebrate, and act silly.

 


	343. Nah

Phantomhive Manor; one of the last regal manor houses from the Victorian era still standing. While this may seem unremarkable, this manor house was unlike any other, save for the H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. organization's headquarters. The difference between the two was that one was basically a military base, and the other was simply a house. All the same, the house of Phantomhive had been subject to destruction countless times, as it was much older. It has seen fire, explosions, natural disasters, murders, and assassinations with such frequency, that the family that has lived there for generations no longer bats a single eyelash at these occurrences. As the house welcomed it's seemingly final heir, it appeared as though its light might have been swallowed by darkness for good. The house had seen some bad times, however, the house had seen some good, as well. Even with the last of the Phantomhives, there were moments when the residents of the house smiled. There was joy. There was laughter. There was a warm sort of feeling in the air that simply refused to die. Alas, it did so once the master of the house left it. He died, and the house stayed grim and silent for fifty whole years.

Then, by some miracle, the master returned; back from the dead. He hadn't aged a single day, and neither had his faithful butler, both clad in black. The joy did not return, however. While the manor's physical condition was restored, the warm atmosphere did not. It was solemn and serious. The master simply worked, as did the butler, performing their old duties, along with new ones. New faces appeared within the manor's walls as well, but they would soon leave in a matter of hours. They were only there for business. Over fifty more years had passed since the master's return. Much had changed. Tasks had changed. Employers had changed. London had changed. The one thing that did not, however, was the grim air that hung within Phantomhive Manor.

But not today, nor four years ago. The house was expected to stay grim forever, and perhaps worsen, with the addition of the master's old nemesis taking up residence. This turned out to be a false speculation. In fact, the opposite occurred. Today, there was laughter, and there was joy. There were new faces, smiling, and making merry. The master of the house, himself, began to smile regularly, and more people took up residence. In the past, the head of Phantomhive would have been annoyed, but now, he was more than happy to accommodate. New familiars, new friends, new interests, and a new atmosphere. Sure, there were times where there was gloom and doom, as with any household, but now things appeared to be reverting back to how they once where over one-hundred years ago, since the changing of family heads. Yes, Ciel Phantomhive, the last of the Phantomhives, was resembling his parents more and more with each passing day, whether he knew it or not.

Today, there were guests at Phantomhive Manor. They were the master's friends. Yes, he now had "friends", but things were still far from "normal" at Phantomhive Manor. It was still a house of demons, and had always been a house built on lies and death. These boys, however, wished to make an effort to "normalize" the Phantomhives, foolishly believing that performing childish, silly antics would do so, however half-heartedly. Still, the boys were smiling and carrying on, all the same, reminiscing on the daring feat they had accomplished only an hour ago.

 _"…and Ciel threw the guy!"_ spoke Audrey, explaining what had happened on his side of the story. "He did it with one arm; right over his head!"

"I thought _'subtly_ ' was the point of the whole operation, Ciel?" joked Alois, nudging the bluenette's arm with his elbow. In response, Ciel simply scoffed.

"What was I _supposed_ to do?" he asked. "Simply allow him to tackle me?"

"No way, that's _my_ job." the blonde replied with a grin. "The government pays me to do so."

"You're joking, right?" said Kristopherson, joining the conversation.

"No, I'm quite serious." Replied the blonde menace. He held out his hand to the faux-blonde, his smile fading. "They don't, however, cover _rescuing little gay boys_ who _aren't_ Ciel." His façade wavered when the bluenette in question gave him a questioning look, but kept his eyes on Kristopherson's. " _Pay up."_

"I'll have my insurance people get back to you." The Miles lad retorted. "Don't you think that's a bit overkill, though?"

"They've been overdoing things this whole time." Said Travis. "I'm not really surprised, anymore."

"Well, what did you expect from a couple of demons?" asked Alois.

"True." Said Audrey. "I'm still not really sure what the point of all of this was."

"The _point_ was to show these two that you can have fun without murder or supernatural shit involved!" Daniel declared, crossing his arms over his chest. "Clearly, that didn't happen!"

"You wanted to normalize a couple of secret agents by having them break into someplace?" asked Preston.

"That's…" the Westley boy trailed off, trying to think of an explanation. He hadn't really thought about that, it would seem.

"Of course…" said Kristopherson. "Anyway, I think there was definitely another way to counter that guard. Hell, even I could do it."

"But could you throw him over your head?" asked Alois.

"No, because I'm a human being!" the faux-blonde replied. "There's no way I can lift a grown-ass man!"

"You threw Cameron once, though…" said Daniel.

"I didn't _pick him up_. I used my shoulder." Argued Kristopherson. "Point is, that was a bit much in that case."

"Why'd you _toss_ him, Ciel?" asked Preston. The bluenette folded his arms in response.

"I just did." He stated. "I couldn't just stand there, with Jim watching…"

"Wait, wait, wait, Alois was there?!" asked Audrey, turning to look at the menace. Alois uttered a small, nervous laugh, and offered a shrug.

"Guilty?" he replied. "I got done getting Travis and Dan out, so I thought I'd stand by as back up."

"Like I said, I couldn't stand idle." The Phantomhive repeated. His remark, however, caused an amused grin to creep across his blonde Romeo's face.

"You were _showing off_ for me?" asked Alois, causing the bluenette's features to falter, briefly, and a blush to stain his cheeks; a fact that made the menace absolutely giddy.

" _Aw~! That's so cute!"_ he said, leaning into the bluenette and resting his head on the other boy's shoulder.

"I was not." Insisted Ciel, trying his best to maintain his dignity. "I just wanted to _flaunt my power…"_

"That's ' _showing off'_ , mate." Said Audrey with a small chuckle.

"That's so sweet." Kristpherson remarked. "Well, in a weird, psychotic sort of way…"

 _"High-functioning sociopath."_ The bluenette corrected.

 _"Gaaaaaay~!"_ declared Daniel, interrupting the flow of conversation. "I was expecting some cool, demonic reason, but instead it's just gay."

"Being a demon isn't 'cool', Daniel." Ciel stated. "It's trying. One must always stay mentally sharp and emotionally stable under the watchful eye of the Convention of Twelve."

" _But you get to throw people and use magic."_

"Not all the time. It's really not that fun." Uttered the bluenette. "Magic isn't at all remarkable. It's more of a _science,_ really."

 _"Bippity, boppity, E=mc^2"_ said Audrey, earning a laugh from the other boys. Ciel, however, was only mildly amused. He took the subject of "demonity versus humanity" very seriously.

 _"Very funny_." He said, sarcastically. "Being a demon means that we must do all of the things that you're trying to make us feel aren't 'normal'. It's very 'normal' to us. Murder, conspiracy _, that sort of thing."_

"Yes, but, you do get a _tail."_ Bones added, jokingly. "Like _Goku_."

"Whoa, wait, _you have a tail?"_ asked Daniel, arching an eyebrow at the bluenette. "Like, a pointy one, like on TV and stuff?"

"It looks more like a monkey's, actually." Audrey clarified.

"You've seen it?!"

"Yeah. Alois, too."

The others simply looked at the boy in disbelief. The only other member of the seven to have seen one of the duo's demonic forms was Kristopherson, but he had only seen the bluenette's in a dimly-lit area. The rest knew nothing of the pairs "true" appearances. The lads had been speculating as to whether or not there existed a "demonic state" in the duo's arsenal of surprises, and the confirmation of this fact only made them more curious. _What does a demon look like?_ Humans, are, by nature, curious creatures, after all. When those words were uttered by the reaper-boy, the question lingered in the air: _"Could we see it?"_ It hung freely until it was captured, and spouted outward by the Westley lad.

"Can we see?!" he asked excitedly, nearly jumping out of his seat. "Why does Audrey get to see?! I wanna see!" Ciel huffed in response.

"We're not some kind of _side-show freaks_." the bluenette said, crossing his arms. "Audrey only knows because it was an emergency."

"But this _is_ an emergency." Daniel replied. "I am in _dire_ need of this information."

"Why?"

_"Because reasons."_

"Wow, you really are the son of a politician." Said Alois in an amused tone. "I don't really mind, but if Ciel says 'no', then that's how it is."

"Convince your man!" Daniel demanded, turning his attention to the Macken boy.

"Why? It sounds _reasonable,_ to me." The blonde answered.

"Since when do you give a damn about _reason?"_

"Since I developed a nasty case of _self-respect_."

Daniel huffed at the response, displeased with this outcome. He wanted to see the demon's real forms, but there was simply nothing he could do. He didn't want to try and force the pair into something they didn't want to do, but he also really wanted to see _demons_. His hands were tied. There's nothing that could be done.

"Fine…" he said, defeated. "I don't want to see your _gorilla-self_ , anyway…"

"Gorillas don't have tails…" said Preston.

_"Silence, non-believer!"_

"We're not gorillas. We're just people with horns and a tail." Ciel corrected.

 _"Do you have goatees and pitchforks, too?"_ Daniel asked.

"No." answered the blonde menace. _"That's a stereotype, you racist fuck."_

 


	344. Thoughts That Keep You Up At Night

A shroud of darkness enveloped the estate as night fell; the only sources of light permissible by the sky being it's moon, it's stars, and the occasional satellite circling the globe. All was still, and all was quiet, even with the Phantomhive house's additional guests. The sensational seven had decided that it was a good idea to stay the night with the Phantomhive "family". Some took occupied guest rooms, while a few were content to simply sleep in the floor of the entertainment room, as it was most likely where they would inevitably drop from exhaustion.

Preston commandeered one of the guest rooms, as he was afraid of what the others might do to him while he was sleeping. Waking up with obscene phrases and rude drawings on his face in permanent marker was less than desirable. Travis occupied a couch, as the floor hurt his back. As always, he put his earplugs in and ignored the other boys when he got tired. The Sullivan lad would often escape a situation undetected, even with his large stature. It was as though he weren't even there. Meanwhile, Audrey had jokingly crawled up on the pool table in the game room, declaring that this would be his "bed". He accidentally ended up falling asleep, therefore he may be regretting his decision in the morning when his back begins to ache. Fortunately for him, however, Sebastian was kind enough to provide him with a pillow and a blanket while the man made his rounds about the manor, as he often did at night. He was the only person who was usually awake at this hour, as Luka had a "bedtime", Revy usually went to bed around midnight, and the demonic duo were usually in bed by this time as well. Oddly, however, Sebastian wasn't the only one awake at this time. No, there were two other boys who we have yet to mention in this entry.

Kristopherson and Daniel had commandeered the floor of the entertainment room, each building their own little "nest" within their sleeping bags. The last thing the boys wanted was a repeat performance of their unsettling awakening they had experienced during the previous time they fell asleep in a floor together over the summer. Safe and sound in their own sleeping bags, they each kept to themselves, however, Daniel was wide awake.

" _Pst, Kris…"_ he called in a small whisper, earning a small groan from the other boy before the faux-blonde rolled over on his stomach and propped his head up in order to address the boy across from him.

" _Yeah?"_ Kristopherson replied sleepily, rubbing his eye. " _What is it?"_

"I can't sleep." Spoke the Westley lad. "This house is too weird."

"How is it weird?" asked his friend, only half-listening.

"It's a demon-house." Daniel answered. "It's really old, big, and fancy. Who knows what kind of weird things there are around here?"

 _"You mean besides the demons and dead kid who live here?"_ Kristopherson replied with a question, his sass still present, even while tired.

"Duh, Kris." The brunette said with a frown. "I mean, there could be dead bodies under the floor, or zombies chained up in the basement."

"Doubt it. It sounds unsanitary."

"But Kris! This is a house for _demons_ , we're talking about!" In response to the Westley's outburst, Kristopherson sighed.

"Dan, when you go to _my_ house, what do you think?" he asked, causing his friend to arch an eyebrow.

"What do you mean?" Daniel asked.

"I mean, what do you think is there?" Kristopherson clarified. "Since I'm gay, do you think there's like, rainbow thongs, leather, assless chaps, and dildos hidden in the back of my closet?"

 _"What?! No! Of course not!"_ the Westley boy declared, embarrassed by the faux-blonde's question. He knew that Kristopherson acted a tad differently when he was tired, but he hadn't expected the other boy to say something, so, well, _unnerving_. Like most people, Daniel was really uncomfortable with the idea of associating his friend with those things.

"Well then, if I'm gay, and I don't have weird 'gay' things in my house, why is it certain that Ciel would have 'demon' stuff in his?" the Miles boy asked.

"You do know that this is _Ciel Murders-People-For-A-Living-And-Gets-A-Kick-Out-Of-It Phantomhive_ , right?"

"I don't think he's stupid enough to hide bodies in his _house_ , Dan." Kristopherson yawned. "Ciel and Alois are our _friends_. They're not going to let anything in their house hurt us. Go to sleep."

"I can't take it, though." Daniel replied. "I can't just sleep knowing that there could be _dead people_ in here!"

 _"There is. His name is 'Revy'. He's upstairs. Good night."_ The faux-blonde said, laying his head back down and trying to get comfortable. His hopes for a good night's sleep were shattered, however, when his friend reached over and shook his shoulder.

 _"I'm gonna go explore."_ Daniel said, only to receive an indifferent-sounding " _mm-hm_ " from the Miles boy.

" _You're coming with me."_ He added, this time earning a groan from the other lad as he knit his eyebrows together.

 _"Whyyyy?"_ Kristopherson whined, unhappy with this turn of events. He had just broke into a rival school and evaded a bunch of security guards. He tired, and in no mood to play any more of the brunette's games.

"Because I don't want to go by myself!"

"Then don't go?"

"I have to go! I can't sleep with this on my mind!"

 _"Have fun, then."_ Kristopherson said, rolling over and pulling his cover over his head. Moments passed. Daniel must have given up. Kristopherson finally allowed his muscles to relax as he started to drift off once more into slumber, at least until he was rudely awoken once more by the Westley boy.

Kristopherson's eyes widened as he felt pressure on top of him, and his covers were abruptly yanked off of him. His face turned red all the way up to his ears, and his heart rattled in his ribcage as Daniel sat on top of him, straddling him, with a determined look on his face. Needless to say, Kristopherson was wide awake, now.

 _"You're coming with me!"_ Daniel declared, snapping his friend back to reality. Kristopherson immediately furrowed his brow, and tried to shove the Westley lad.

 _"What the fuck are you doing?! Get off me!"_ he commanded, his pleas falling on deaf ears.

"Not until you agree to come with me!" the politician's son argued. "I can't go by myself! You're the only one who can come with me!"

"I will kick you in the balls if you don't get off right now!"

"You wouldn't dare!" Daniel said, a teasing grin creeping across his face. "What's wrong? _Can't handle a guy being on top of you?"_

"NO! I can't! Get off!" Kristopherson replied, the deep red colour of his face concealed only by the dimness of the light in the room.

"Okay, okay, fine…" Daniel said, freeing the lad. " _No homo,_ though. _Guys just aren't my thing_."

"Very homo, Dan. _Very_ homo..." Kristopherson replied, trying to calm himself and suppress the more than _undesirable_ _effects_ of having the other boy so close to him in such a suggestive manner. "If I walk around the house with you for a bit, _will you leave me alone?"_

"Yeah." The Westley answered. "Just for a bit. At least long enough for me to not be convinced that there are dead bodies around here somewhere."

"Whatever…" sighed his friend, getting up and stretching. "Let's get this over with…"

"Right-o!" said the politician's son with a salute. Thus, the pair set off in exploration of the mysterious Phantomhive house.

 


	345. Sneak Sneak Motherfucker

The sounds of creaking floorboards filled the halls, even as Daniel and Kristopherson did their best to step lightly. It seemed as though they had never creaked before until they were required not to. The boys where in a demon's house, and there was no doubt in their minds that they would wake them up. After all, demons do not actually require sleep, and along with their supernaturally-sharp senses, they were surely light sleepers. Obviously, neither boy had actually seen the Phantomhive head in the morning.

Down hallways, up hallways, and into every single unlocked room they could find, they traveled, only to find nothing. While the boys were certain that there wouldn't be anything in an unlocked room, it was still disappointing. Kristopherson was especially annoyed by this, seeing as though he did not want to be part of this little "adventure" from the start.

In all honesty, he would rather be sleeping, however he had once again, falling victim to the Westley lad's pseudo-persuasive ways. He knew that the boy hadn't meant anything by his taunting, but couldn't help but feel violated, all the same. The faux-blonde's face was still a bit red just from remembering the sensation of the other boy sitting on top of him. He was so close, yet so far, with the other lad's horrific case of _heterosexuality_. Fortunately, the halls were lit dimly, and the red stains on his cheeks were not visible.

"You'd think there'd be _something_ …" Daniel said in a hushed tone. "Everything's so... ' _normal'_ … It's creepy."

"First you try to 'normalize' them, now you think they're too normal, but at the same time, they aren't?" Kristopherson pointed out. "Make up your mind already…."

"It's too normal for a demon-house!" answered the Westley lad. "It's suspicious!"

"You're suspicious!" the faux-blonde retorted. "You're the one wanting to search people's houses!"

 _"Excuse me, but do you boys need something?"_ called a third voice, causing the two lads to nearly jump out of their skin.

The first-responsive noises the made were almost inhuman, but the only one that truly wasn't human was the man who stood behind them. Embarrassment immediately sank in as the boys took in the sight of Sebastian, who was simply performing his rounds when he came across the boys. The man looked at them questioningly, patiently waiting for an answer.

" _N-no_ …" Daniel said finally, struggling to find his words. "We're good. We're just looking around, is all…" Sebastian, of course, didn't quite buy it.

"Mister Westley, please don't pull any hijinks while everyone is sleeping." Replied the butler.

"I wasn't! I just wanted to look around!" the Westley boy argued. "I wasn't gonna mess with anything. I was just gonna look. It's not every day you're in an old-timey Victorian mansion."

"Can I believe him, Mister Miles?" Sebastian asked, turning his attention to the faux-blonde and thus causing the poor boy to flinch.

"Well, yeah…" he said, knowing that there was absolutely no use in lying to the man in black. "Like hell I'm going to let Dan do something stupid in _Satan's house._ He couldn't sleep, thinking there might be dead bodies or something under the floor, and dragged me along to look. We'll go to sleep once I'm done showing him just how _retarded_ he really is."

The poor Westley lad was speechless. His friend had betrayed him, revealing their plans to "the enemy". What was going to happen now? Was Sebastian going to stop them? Were they going to be in trouble?

"Alright, then." The man replied. "As long as you aren't going through anything you aren't supposed to be, that's fine, I suppose."

"Where aren't we 'supposed to be'?" asked Daniel, arching an eyebrow.

"Anywhere where there's a locked door." Sebastian said. "The master's office, for example. There's important business documents that really shouldn't be rummaged through. Nothing out of the ordinary. Mostly, it's to keep Luka out of trouble during the day."

"Fine." The Westley boy answered. "That sounds reasonable. "We'll be done soon."

"Very well, then." The butler said with a small bow. "Please alert me if you need anything."

Thus, the man made his leave. The boys waited until he was out of sight and longer still, to make sure he was gone, before speaking. Before they did with their words, the Westley boy communicated with his fist, lightly punching his friend in the arm.

 _"What the hell was that?!"_ he asked in a hushed tone. "Just tell Ciel we're going through his stuff, why don't you?"

"Even if I lied, Sebastian was gonna find out anyway!" Kristopherson answered. "Besides, it's not like we're up to no good, or anything. There's nothing to find!"

"How do you know?"

"Because the butler just said so!"

"Yeah, like the butler's going to tell us about all of the weird shit that goes on." Daniel retorted. " _'Oh, yes, there's dead bodies in the walls, and a sex dungeon in the basement, but there's nothing to worry about. Go back to sleep!_ '" he added, imitating the man's voice.

"Or _, there really is nothing_ , and we're wasting our time." The Miles boy said. "You're mental."

"Oh, c'mon, where's your sense of adventure?" his friend asked.

" _Asleep."_ Kristopherson said with a yawn. "Like _I_ should be. I'm tired."

"But I need you to keep looking arou-"

Suddenly, a door, just beside the pair opened. The two froze, as a younger-looking boy with short, blonde hair stood within the frame. He appeared to be quite groggy, as well as irritated, however, that could have simply been because of the lad's odd eyes, with icy-blue irises, and black where there was supposed to be white. He was dressed for bed, and the room he came out of was dark. It was _Revy_ , the spirit currently possessing the former body of the blonde menace, and he was trying to sleep.

"What the hell are you doing out here?" the boy asked, his voice sounding disturbingly similar to Alois', only registering as much younger. Kristopherson and Daniel looked at each other, before looking at the boy.

 _"Uh, nothing_ …" they said in synch. The revenant's eyes narrowed.

"Well, keep it down. I'm trying to sleep." He said, much to the confusion of the others.

"You need to sleep?" asked Daniel. "Aren't you… y'know, dead?"

"Yeah, but I still need sleep." Revy answered. "Vampires are dead, too, but they need to eat, sleep, and go to the bathroom. I'm no different."

"Oh…"

"Sorry for waking you up." Said Kristopherson. "We'll shut up."

"What are you doing, though?" the deadman said. "Don't you need to sleep, too?"

"Yeah, but Daniel's bent on finding some weird, demonic stuff in this house somewhere." The faux-blonde answered. "I'm trying to get him to give up, but he just won't."

"Oh." Revy said. "Well, I dunno what to tell you. You could try the memorabilia room, but it's always locked. Even I'm not allowed in there, and neither is Luka."

_"What's the memorabilia room?"_

"It's where Ciel keeps all the stuff he's collected over the years, I guess." Answered the revenant. "I couldn't tell you what that stuff might be, though. He's kind of freaky, so I don't think I'd want to find out…"

 _"Jackpot!"_ Daniel declared, startling the other two boys. "Where is it?"

"On the first floor, near the servants' quarters." Revy said. "But like I said, it's locked, so I don't know how you're going to get in."

"Easy. _Know where I can find a screwdriver?"_

 


	346. Doom And Gloom In The Memory Room

" _What are you doing?"_ the Miles lad asked of his friend, who was busily trying to unscrew the screws holding the doorknob fastened to a certain door.

Kristopherson certainly did not like the turn that the course of events had taken. He was alone, roaming a dark house with his best friend, the boy whom he had held a crush on for several years. Not only that, said friend was trying to break and enter into a locked door in the house of "The Devil", knowing full-well that it was the memorabilia room. It could easily be the most dangerous room in the entire building. After all, it was where the head of Phantomhive kept all of the "treasures" and various trophies he had collected over the span of one-hundred years. There was undoubtedly some unsavory items in there; weaponry, most likely, and possibly one or two dead things.

Why on earth didn't the faux-blonde stop the Westley lad from pursuing this adventure in the first place? Had he not held a certain weakness for the other boy, he most certainly would have, a fact that Kristopherson kicked himself over as he nervously scanned the hallway they stood in for any signs of life, or rather, _death_. He was almost sure that one of the demons of the house would pop out at any given moment, and if that were to happen, Kristopherson didn't even want to think of their fate.

" _I'm opening the door."_ Daniel answered, removing the last screw. He then proceeded to remove the doorknob as quietly as possible, which in the Westley boy's case, it was extremely surprising that he hadn't awakened the entire estate.

With that, the boy stood, dusting off his kneecaps. With a gentle push, the door easily opened. Daniel pulled out his cellphone and turned the power on as a make-shift flashlight.

" _And 'Bingo' was his name-o."_ he said in an amused tone before walking inside, hesitantly followed by a nervous Kristopherson.

Dust filled the lungs of the two boys as the navigated into the darkness. The contents of the room were hard to see, given the lack of lighting. Kristopherson used his cellphone as well, turning the brightness on to it's maximum setting. Immediately, he wished he hadn't.

" _Is that a human skull?!"_ he asked, his voice threatening to break a whisper. "That's a fucking human skull!"

"Holy shit…" said Daniel. "Is… Is… that a _monkey paw?"_

"What's with all of the _lighters?"_ Kristopherson further inquired. "Why is he keeping _lighters?_ Why does he need them?"

"Forget that! Where'd he get a bloody _monkey paw?!"_

"' _Creepy-ass monkey paw .net',_ how the hell should _I_ know?!"

"Why does he keep this stuff?" asked Daniel, looking around the room. "It's creepy…"

"Well, Dan, it looks like we found the 'weirdness' you were looking for…" spoke Kristopherson, doing the same. He paused, looking on one of the shelves. He picked up a familiar object; the dairy of Claude Faustus. Ciel had apparently kept it. Now this, he could understand keeping.

"I was expecting some kind of weird, sex dungeon at the very least. This is over top." Said Daniel, snapping the faux-blonde back to attention.

"A ' _sex dungeon'?"_ the boy asked, arching an eyebrow at his friend with an almost concerned expression. "What the fuck, Dan?"

"Oh, _please_. You know how they are." The Westley boy answered. "They're probably upstairs shagging as we speak." The very suggestion made Kristopherson sudder.

" _Gross_ , Dan…"

"Oh? What's wrong? I thought you _liked_ Alois?" the politician's son teasingly said, unintentionally striking a nerve.

"That was before I found out he wasn't human." Kristopherson replied. "Besides, he's bit too ' _out there'_ for me."

"How so?"

"He's a _sociopathic secret agent for the Queen,_ Dan. Do you really have to ask?"

"True." The Westley boy said. "That, and he's somehow okay with his boyfriend hoarding this freaky shit."

"Someone who can date _Satan_ is obviously not right in the head."

"I here you, mate."

Kristopherson wanted to sigh as he often did when he had these conversations with Daniel, but knew he would choke on the dust in the air. The son of a politician was completely ignorant to the faux-blonde's feelings just as always, and just the way Kristopherson preferred to keep it. He didn't need to feel any more awkward around the lad than he already did, nor did he want his friend to be uncomfortable, either. Sometimes Kristopherson wished things could go back to the way they used to be when he was "straight", but knew that would only make him miserable. Being able to love whomever he chose was quite liberating, so long as it _wasn't Daniel Lennon Westley_. The boy was his best friend, a heterosexual, and dating his sister. It was a deadly combination. Kristopherson assumed that he would move on, eventually, but it was quite difficult when both boys were so used to being close.

Alas, poor Kristopherson. His heart was heavy as he put the happiness of his friend and his sister above his own. What was he to do, though? Try and force his friend to change sexual preferences? That was extremely unlikely.

The Miles lad shook away the thought, turning his attention back to the contents of the room, honing in on a semi-ordinary-looking shelf, with oddly "normal" items on it. There were a few trinkets, here and there, such as small toy army-men, and what appeared to be a somewhat more recent installation, two framed patches that looked like they belonged on a uniform; one of the Hellsing Family crest, and one of the Phantomhive family. Next to it was a picture of Alois in his formal H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. Youth Camp uniform when he completed his training. Kristopherson almost found it to be quite "sweet" of the bluenette for keeping such a thing, but then he saw the most unusual item on the shelf, an old dagger with the phrase _"Meine Ehre heißt Treue"_ inscribed on it's blade. Kristopherson didn't want to know the story behind it. What he was somewhat curious about, however, were the photos that decorated the shelf, placed in rather nice frames.

Some of the images were in black and white, while others were in sepia, of all things. They were obviously quite old. Some of them were in colour, but were obviously not recent, either. One of them was of Ciel, himself, with a man who appeared to be in his late twenties seated behind and ambulance with a blanket over his shoulders. He looked like a _detective_ of sorts, and judging by the film, it looked as though the photo was taken in the early 90's, at the latest.

There were still more interesting photos, however, like a black and white photo of Ciel and different man, taken in what appeared to be a conference room with a large, oval-shaped table in the background. This man seemed slightly older than the last, and was dressed in a much more expensive-looking suit with a "wild" sort of look about him. He still smiled just as wide as the last, if not wider, as he reached from behind the bluenette and pulled the boy's cheeks into a "smile". Ciel looked hardly amused, which Kristopherson found extremely entertaining. He could see that the H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. insignia was in the background, so that gave him a major clue as to what was going on.

Kristopherson was most fascinated, however, by the oldest of the images, a sepia photograph taken of a group of people. There was a man and a woman in the center, with a young boy and a dog between them, and groups of people on either side. It appeared to be a family photo, with both sides of the center-group's relatives in it as well. There was another family with two children, a boy and a girl, to the man's side, and another woman with red hair to the woman's. The photo appeared to be taken in front of the very house that Kristopherson stood in. The faux-blonde became increasingly unnerved with each passing moment that he stared at the image, noticing more and more small details.

He felt that the family in the center looked familiar, especially the child, a small, smiling boy with big eyes. The more Kristopherson stared at the boy, and the more he tried to reason as to why this photo was important, the more and more clearer it became. At last, he couldn't stand it anymore.

"Dan…" he called, trying to get the attention of his friend. "Dan, come here. You need to see this…"

"Yeah?" the Westley boy said, turning to face Kristopherson before migrating to his side. "What is it?"

"Look here…" Kristopherson said, placing a finger on the image, pointing to the boy in the center. "Doesn't this kid look _familiar?"_

"I guess…" Daniel replied. "Why?"

"No, look at him. _Really_ look at him." The Miles boy instructed. "Who does he look like that we know?" Daniel paused, furrowing his brow to think. He stared at the image, taking in the young boy's features, but then, his eyes widened, as the realization hit him like a ton of bricks.

" _No way…"_ he said. " _That can't be…"_

" _It is."_ Kristopherson said with a nod.

"Are you _sure?"_

" _Positive._ Just look at that face. Imagine it _angry_."

" _Holy shit…"_ the politician's son exhaled, rubbing his forehead before running a hand through his hair. "That's… _Ciel?"_ Kristopherson nodded.

" _What the hell happened?"_ Daniel continued, taking a seat on a box. "I mean, how did he go from _that_ , to….?"

" _Sociopathic, Satanic, power-hungry tyrant?"_ Kristopherson said.

"Yeah… That…" Daniel said, sadly. "He looked like such a happy kid…"

"You heard the story, though." The faux-blonde said, placing the picture back on the shelf. "The one about how he got here?"

"Yeah, but… seeing _that_ …" the Westley began, "…it really… it kinda… I dunno… _puts it all into perspective?_ Before, it just seemed like _just_ a ' _story_ ', but now… now it's _real."_

"Yeah…" Kristopherson replied. "I know…"

"Man, I feel shitty now for going through his stuff…" Daniel said, scratching the back of his neck. He stood up, pausing to think for a moment.

"Let's put everything back…" He said finally, taking a step forward. That step, however, backfired when his foot got caught on something, and he fell flat on his face. " _Oof!"_

"You okay?" asked Kristopherson, arching an eyebrow as he curiously eyed the boy. Daniel got up, sitting on his knees, and coughed from inhaling some of the dust that had collected on the floor. After a fit of hacking up dirt and debris, the Westley lad finally made himself able to form coherent speech.

"Yeah, I'm fine." He said in between coughs. He looked behind him, at his ankle. "The fuck did I trip on?"

"Let me see." His friend said, walking over to the other boy, crouching down. He began to untangle Daniel's ankle from what appeared to be a handle made of rope. Upon further inspection, there was a door beneath the box that the lad had been sitting on.

"It's a door." He said, looking up at the other boy. "Where do you think it goes?"

"Probably to all the _really_ freaky shit." Daniel replied. "To their se-"

"If you say _'sex dungeon'_ , I will strangle you." Kristopherson warned. "I'm serious."

"Fine, fine…" His friend replied before making an attempt to push the box to the side and uncover the trapdoor. " _There's only one way to find out, though_ …"

Hesitantly, he extended his arm, reaching for the handle to pull up the door. The lad's hearts pounded in their chests as they mentally prepared for the worst. After all, if they were unnerved by the monkey paws, weaponry, and human skulls in the front room, heaven knows what lies hidden beneath it. Once Daniel had a firm grip, he began to lift, and pry open the door. They saw nothing of it's contents thus far; nothing but black. Somehow, they knew they would be evoking the wrath of some ancient evil by doing this, but it was far too late to turn back now. It was either risk a scare, or risk being called a "chicken" by the other for the rest of their days. Blackness; nothing but blackness.

_**BAM!** _

_"AAGH!"_ the boys screamed in sheer terror at the noise and movement, as the door was forced shut, the handle ripped from the Westley's hand as a foot came stomping down to close the doorway to "adventure".

That was nothing. It was a mere, childish fright in comparison to the terror they felt next. Slowly, their eyes traveled up the leg of their attacker, making their way to a single, cruel, eye, holding nothing but malice for the two of them. Yes, they had been discovered, not by a minion, or by the "wife", but by the Devil, himself, _Ciel Phantomhive._

The bluenette stood, crossing his arms in his over-sized dress-shirt, legs exposed from the knee down by the lad's shorts. He was not happy, nor was he the slightest bit amused. In fact, he seemed angry, which was a terrifying thought, made even more terrifying with the bluenette's face. Fear bubbled up inside the two human boys as the demon looked down at them. Just what was going to happen to them? They didn't know. They couldn't understand the bluenette, so understanding how he punishes is no simple task. Kristopherson and Daniel knew that he punishes criminals in violent ways, so really, that was the only thing they had to go on.

It was completely understandable, however, why Ciel was so angry. He let these two boys stay in his home for the evening, and he finds them after breaking into a private room, the most dangerous room on the premises, trying to open the trapdoor that should not be opened under any circumstance by an outsider. Of course he would be cross.

" _What are you doing?"_ he asked, his eye burning. " _Nevermind,_ actually. I'm sure I can guess. The real question is ' _what made you think that this was alright'?"_

" _I… uh…"_ Daniel said, struggling to find his words as the room became colder, yet inflamed. Most of the ice-fire was rightfully directed toward the Westley lad, as the bluenette knew how the boy likes to operate. It was likely that Kristopherson was just tagging along.

"You do realize what room you're in, correct?" Ciel asked. "It's the memorabilia room. It's where trophies, important items, and the spoils of war go. There's weapons, and magical artifacts, alike, in here."

" _I couldn't sleep._ " The politician's son said, finally, as if it were a legitimate excuse. "We were exploring, but then Revy told us about this room…"

"So _Revy's_ in on it as well? I'll have to have a word with him." Ciel replied, shocked that he needed to remind the deceased lad to not tell visitors of this room. " _Go on_."

" _Well…"_

" _We were curious."_ Kristopherson interrupted, preventing the other lad from digging himself into a deeper mess. "You never tell us anything about yourself, so it seemed like a good idea to find out."

"I don't talk about it because it's unnecessary." Ciel said.

"But look at all of this stuff! You've been a busy guy." The faux-blonde answered. "You've got enough stories to be the next _James Bond,_ don't you?"

"I don't care about recognition." Stated the Phantomhive lad. "This is a personal space of mine, and I don't want you in it. There are things in here that can kill you, like what's _behind the door you just tried to open."_

"What is it?" asked Daniel. "What's down there?"

"That's where I keep the most dangerous artifacts." Ciel answered. "Not like you would be able to get through, anyway. There's barriers all through the tunnels, and touching just one of them might cost you an arm."

"What the hell?! Why is that sort of stuff in your house?!" the politician's son demanded, looking at the demon with a concerned expression. He couldn't believe that there were things that dangerous right under his nose. Truly, the supernatural world was an odd one, however, he simply couldn't imagine life without, anymore. He had seen too many things that he cannot _un_ see.

"Because my house is the safest place to store it, other than H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. headquarters." The demon stated. "Some of them are due to be moved to their facilities, but moving some of them is an issue. First, I have to disarm the barriers to even get close, and then there's the trick with the safe… Just trust me on this."

"But what's down there, that's so dangerous?" asked Kristopherson. "Are you harboring the apocalypse, or something?"

"No, but they're still bad." The bluenette replied. "Remember Walter Springfield?"

"The guy with the gross vines in his body? How could we forget?" the faux-blonde answered, shuddering at the memory. All of the seven were there to witness the showdown between Springfield and the demonic duo, and it almost cost them their lives.

"The very same. Springfield gained his abilities during an accident, where one of the holy artifacts of Rome got lodged within his body, or rather, a few of them." The Phantomhive said. "The _Silver Coins of Judas Iscariot;_ only seven are down there, because that's all that was retrieved from Springfield's body. The remaining twenty-three are still in Rome. I would highly recommend not touching those. If even one of them gets it's roots in you, you'll be begging me to put you down. _I don't want that to happen."_

" _Jesus…"_ spoke a certain politician's son, absent-mindedly. "Why didn't you send them back to Rome?"

"The Vatican's anti-freak sector, Section XIII, has a very deep-seeded hatred for the English, especially those even remotely associated with H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G." the bluenette said. "Technically speaking, I'm not even allowed to set foot in Italy. There's also _The Hand of Akeldama_ , a fragment of the _Lævateinn_ , as well as the family rings of Phantomhive and Trancy."

"Why's that last one dangerous?"

"You should never leave anything that once contained your soul just lying about." Ciel said bluntly. "Jim did, and now he's in the twenty-first century _. There's no telling what else could be done with them._ "

"I still can't get over the fact that you keep all of this stuff in your house…" Daniel said, to which the Phantomhive boy furrowed his brow.

" _I still can't believe you broke in here. Now I have to replace the doorknob. We can't close the door to the most dangerous room in the house, now because…?"_

"Oh… heheh… _sorry about that…"_

" _GET OUT."_

* * *

 


	347. Crime and Punishment

" _One minute and thirty seconds."_ Spoke a certain blonde, seated on the edge of Ciel's desk with a grin. In his hand was a stopwatch, and along with his rear, pieces of a pistol were scattered neatly upon it's surface. His beau frowned.

 _"Not quick enough_." Ciel said. "Sebastian can do it in at least _ten seconds_."

"Sebastian's on this weird level where I'm not even sure if he's _real_ or not." The blonde replied, hopping off of his seat in order to join the other lad at his side. "Seriously, who else can _disassemble a pistol in ten seconds?_ Nobody! Sebastian is on a higher level than _Jesus,_ Ciel. You know, _the_ Jesus? Jesus H. Christ? The guy can turn water into wine and walk on water, but _Sebastian_ can walk on water and _stop a speeding train with his bare hands_."

"And to think, all of this time, he's been simply butlering and babysitting." The bluenette said, a small smile on his face. "Just think of the sort of headway we could make if we simply had him do _our_ job."

"All you would have to do is order him to." Alois answered. "Why don't you?"

"I _like_ my job. Also, I simply prefer to oversee these sorts of things, personally."

"Yeah, who knows what could happen if you didn't? _You might accuse the wrong person of murder and try hunt them down to avenge your honour."_

"I've been there. It wasn't much fun." Ciel jested. "On the bright side, however, the person I accused of murder ended up being quite remarkable, and assisted me greatly later in life."

"You seem rather fond of them." Said the blonde menace, wearing a playful smile. He took a seat on the armrest of the bluenette's chair. "Were they cute, or something?"

" _The cutest."_ the Phantomhive boy answered while the other boy played with his hair.

"Should I be worried?"

"No, they died a long time ago." Ciel said. "However, a few years later, they came back, cuter than ever."

"I certainly hope you're not talking about _Revy."_ Alois said, causing the bluenette to chuckle.

"No! How long are we going to play this game?"

"Until you stop talking and reassemble that gun instead." The Macken boy teasingly replied before separating himself from the bluenette.

It was early morning at Phantomhive manor, and everyone else was still asleep. That is, save for a certain butler, who simply roamed while performing a few of the items on his "task-list" before the obnoxious teens could be a hindrance. The demonic duo did the same, to some extent, finding themselves unable to fall back asleep following the discovery of a pair of intruders.

Sebastian was called upon to temporarily mend the door until a sturdier one could be obtained in the morning, while Ciel and Alois tasked themselves with teaching the delinquents responsible a lesson. Now, the duo simply waits until the other lads discover what they had done. They spent it taking turns to see who could be faster at disassembling and reassembling a pistol. So far, Ciel was at one minute and thirty seconds for disassembly, and two minutes for reassembly. Alois was behind by quite a bit, due to the fact that one-hundred years worth of practice was something that he simply did not have. As such, he was at three minutes for disassembly, and five for putting it back together.

The pair did this for hours while talking about this and that along the way, and just enjoying each other's company. It somehow felt like ages since they were able to converse normally between only the two of them without murder, crime, or silly friends to occupy or interrupt the discussion. Sure, there were guns involved, but no violence, that is, until the door to the office flew open, shattering the brief moment of bonding between the two.

" _WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS?!"_ Daniel demanded angrily, holding up his wrist. Subsequently, the wrist of Kristopherson Miles followed, and just as the Westley boy was, the faux-blonde was more than "unamused".

" _Handcuffs_ , of course, what does it look like?" Ciel answered bluntly, causing his beau to giggle. "You have eyes, don't you?"

" _WHY AM I HANDCUFFED TO KRIS?!"_ the son of a politician followed up.

"Didn't you know?" asked Alois. " _Criminals who break into places get handcuffed_." Kristopherson's frown only deepened.

"Look, I know you're trying to get back at us, but isn't this a bit extreme?" the faux-blonde asked. "How are we even supposed to get dressed like this?"

"I have to piss!" said Daniel. "I also need to shower! _I CAN'T DO THESE THINGS ATTACHED TO KRIS!"_

"Figure it out." Said Ciel. "Those willing to commit a crime must be ready to accept or evade consequence."

"How long are we supposed to stay like this?" Kristopherson inquired.

"Good question." The bluenette replied. "I'll be sure to tell you once I have an answer."

"Fuck that! We have school tomorrow!" the Westley lad protested. "How are we supposed to put on our uniforms? How are we even going to get there?!"

"You're left-handed, right?" asked Alois. "Kristopherson's right handed. We made sure not to cuff your dominant hands. One of you can drive. You still have feet to work the pedals, and one hand is enough."

"I drive a stick-shift…" said Kristopherson.

" _Like we didn't already know that, Kris!_ " the menace jested. "If that's the case, then Dan can drive."

"That doesn't fix the 'getting dressed and going pee' problems, not to mention that my mum's going to kill us!" Daniel argued. "Just let us out!"

"Sorry. Rules are rules." Said the Phantomhive lad. "On the bright side, however, _we'll know who to arrest for your murder_."

"Just give us the bloody key!" ordered the politician's son. Sadly for him, Ciel Phantomhive does not take orders. Instead of instilling fear in the bluenette, the lad's demands only brought on defiance.

"Oh…" the Phantomhive lad said, reaching into his pocket. " _This_ key?" He held the key out in front of the two human boys, with a smug look on his face. Meanwhile, Alois walked behind him, and opened a window.

"Yes! _Give it here!"_ Daniel said, holding out his good hand.

Instead of heeding his command, however, the bluenette scoffed. The demon then proceeded to toss the object behind him and out the window that Alois had prepared to land somewhere in the garden in locations unknown. The demonic duo, truly, were in sync with one another. With that, the two other boys looked horrified. The heat from their anger died as their faces went pale. Eventually, however, the shock subsided, and the outrage returned with even greater intensity.

" _WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO THAT FOR?!"_ demanded Kristopherson, slamming his free hand on the bluenette's desk. Ciel simply leaned forward, resting his chin in his palm.

"I don't take orders." The bluenette replied. "I _give_ them. _Don't break into locked doors in my house with things that can kill people inside_. If you want free, figure out how to _free yourselves."_

"You really _are_ a demon!" Daniel shouted.

"Thank you, but I'm already aware." The Phantomhive lad replied. "And as a demon, I would appreciate it if you would stop gawking at this fact, and not play with dangerous supernatural objects. Are you even listening?"

"So this is just punishment for that, huh?" Kristopherson asked with a sigh. "C'mon, Dan, let's start looking…" he added, tugging at the other boy's wrist.

With that, the two left in defeat, but not before shooting a few spiteful glances at the demons as they walked out the door. Kristopherson was hasty to disconnect himself from the boy for personal reasons, as well as practical reasons. Daniel was angry because he couldn't go to the bathroom. Kristopherson was upset because if he did, he would have to suffer standing next to him. It was a somewhat cruel punishment, but as the boys had said, their tormentors were demons. It was for their own good. How else were they to learn not to prod at the supernatural and dangerous?

A sigh escaped the bluenette's lips as the door slammed shut. Alois shut the window behind him before joining the boy, coming up behind him and wrapping his arms around Ciel's neck. A giggle vibrated in his throat.

"I expected them to be angrier." He said.

"I'm glad they weren't. It would've been more of a hassle." Ciel replied, rubbing his forehead. "By the way, how did you know to open the window?"

"I guessed." Alois answered. "You held up the keys and spoke in a way that made me think you were going to get rid of them, so, I opened a window."

"Clever." commented the bluenette, placing his hands on the other lad's forearms. "Think they're going to have a hard time?"

"Yeah, but that's the point, now, isn't it? I imagine that if they don't find the key or break the cuffs, we can always just let them go, right?"

"Oh, but I threw away the key?" Ciel said. "How will we get them out?"

"We're detectives. We have more than one pair. Keys for handcuffs are universal, so any key can work on them." Alois answered. "And, if I'm wrong; demon strength."

"Ah, yes, violence is _always_ the answer, isn't it?" the Phantomhive mused.

"You bet your sweet ass, it is." His beau replied. "Also, while you were distracted, I put the gun together."

" _What?!"_ Ciel leaned forward, placing his hands on the desk in front of him, and staring at the spot where an organized mess of gun parts once were; a pistol in it's place. His surprise only amused the blonde menace, causing him to laugh as he leaned with the boy.

"Oh yeah. That's right." The blonde said. "I got _SWAG."_

" _Gross."_ the bluenette replied. "I didn't need to know that."

"Shut up, faggot, you know what it means."

"Just how, pray tell, am _I_ the _'faggot'?_ What does that make you?"

" _Alois Trancy."_

"That's even _worse."_ Ciel stated, laughing as the other boy bopped him on the head.

* * *

 


	348. Luka Searches

I woke up 'cause I thought I heard yelling, but when I looked around, everyone was still asleep, 'cept for Jim and Ciel. Sebastian, too. I saw them. I couldn't find Dan or Kris, though. That happened later. When I talked to big brother, he said that Kris and Dan were mad at him and Ciel 'cause they did something to punish them for breaking into the memory room. No one's allowed in there 'cause it's dangerous. Don't they know the rules? Guess not, but it makes sense, though, 'cause they don't live here.

After that, I went downstairs and talked to Sebastian, who made me breakfast. I was kinda hoping some of the others would be up, but all of them were still sleeping. Big brother and Ciel sat with me and ate, though, and Rey did, too, after Sebastian woke him up like normal. Jim and Ciel talked about work and school and stuff, and Revy talked about how he was " _flamed on his blog",_ whatever that means. Jim and Ciel work all the time, and seem to really like it. They're just like the cops on TV! It's so cool. School also sounds real fun, but I can't go until I learn how to hide my horns. Sebastian says I'm on a higher level then most of the other kids my age, so I'll be ahead of them. I was supposed to go when I caught up! Stupid horns. When will they go away? I wanna see what school is like! Revy's almost caught up, too, so he'll actually be going to school before me. It's not fair…

Ciel and H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. are trying to figure out how to get me to look "normal". When I asked how Jim did it, they said that he turned into his demon form, and then a few days later, he was "normal". They said they didn't want me to do that the way he did, 'cause he was hit with a bat. The people who did it are in jail, but I don't think that's fair. They apparently killed a bunch of people. Shouldn't they die? Ciel said "no", because that's not how the law works. I guess that's okay. As long as they're punished, somehow. Bad guys shouldn't get away with nothin'.

That's their job, though. They hunt down bad guys and put 'em in jail. Sometimes, though, they do kill them. I'm confused. Ciel says it's 'cause the people they kill are either supernatural, or serious bad guys who the Round Table wants gone. That sounds wrong, to me. I'm real confused a lot of the time when it comes to Jim and Ciel's job.

They seem like they have fun doing it, though. It's like it's all they do. Don't they play? Jim plays with me a lot, but Ciel works all the time. Sometimes, we all go to the movies, or something, though. One time, we went in the Ferris Wheel and went up real high and then we got to eat hamburgers. It was well excitin'! Really fun! But I wonder why Jim and Ciel don't go on dates and stuff like boyfriends and girlfriends do. Is it just not something that two boyfriends do? They still really like each other, which makes me glad. The "two boys together" thing is kinda weird, and the "two girls together" thing is, too, but Jim and Ciel and Charlotte and Amelie are all happy, so it's okay. It's pretty normal, now.

Kristopherson like boys, too, but he doesn't have a boyfriend. I think he likes Dan, but maybe they're just real good friends. It's confusing. I'm still real confused on this stuff. I don't really get boys and girls, either.

I saw Kris and Dan out in the garden today while I was playing. They were arguing and stuff, and it looked like they were looking for somethin'. They kept yelling the word "fuck" at each other angrily, and I was kinda mad 'cause Ciel and Sebastian don't let me use that word, but they stopped as soon as they saw me, and got real quiet.

They said they were looking for a key 'cause big brother and Ciel handcuffed them together while they were asleep. I was wondering why they were still in sleep-clothes, and didn't brush their hair and stuff, but it was 'cause they can't get dressed cuffed together. How would they get their arms in the sleeves, and changing underwear would be really, really, really weird. They couldn't get dressed 'cause they were stuck together, and Ciel threw the key out the window. That was really mean, but if they were sneaking around in _that_ room, I'm glad they're not hurt.

I wanted to help, but Jim told me not to. He said they wouldn't learn their lesson if they got help, which makes sense, I guess. I felt bad for just watching, though, so I took a walk and looked in a bush or two, but didn't find anything. I could hear Kris and Dan yelling almost everywhere I went.

Daniel was real loud, and Kris was angrier than I thought he'd be. Maybe he doesn't like Dan, after all. His hand that was cuffed was in a fist the whole time, and he looked like he wanted to leave. I was worried. Though, I guess I'd be pretty pissed off, too, if I was handcuffed to somebody and digging through flowers and bushes in my PJs to find the key.

Some of the others came and laughed at them, with only made them madder. Travis stopped to help, but couldn't find it, either. Soon they just kind of gave up, and started looking for other ways to get out. They went into the kitchen and tried butter, and they looked for tools to try and cut the chain with. Sebastian keeps them hidden real well, so they couldn't find any. They wanted to go to the store, but they were in their sleep-clothes, and Kris said he'd die from embarrassment.

Audrey Googled how to get out of handcuffs, and said that the easiest way was to just buy another pair and use the key for it. Daniel said a bunch of swear words, and said stuff about how that's the same problem as with the tools. He was really mad because he had to pee real bad. He was starting to do the weird dance and everything.

I wanted to help, but didn't know how, so I asked Sebastian if he knew what to do, and he said he found a key in the garden while working and we tried it and it worked. Grown-ups are really good when it comes to this sort of thing, huh? I guess you should always ask for help first.

 


	349. Queer Theory

Warwick Academy; the crème de la crème of Academia in the United Kingdom. Other students wish they could attend Warwick, other schools wish they could _be_ Warwick, and yet, there is but one Warwick Academy. Here, there is a plethora of clubs and student organizations for it's attendants to enjoy. There's the rugby team, which is perhaps the most famous of Warwick's sporting teams, rivaled only by football, but there are non-athletics based clubs as well, such as the art club, the gardening club, and the photography club, closely linked to the yearbook club, which is headed by a certain Miles lass.

More importantly, there are the student government originations who cater to the whims, grievances, and needs of Warwick's attendants. There are hall-monitors, and the Bureau of Student Presidents, which is a meeting of the heads of each and every club on campus. At the head of it all, however, is the Warwick Student Council, who manages everything. They are the ones to decide if a club that wishes to be formed is acceptable, and the ones who organize events.

Unlike other clubs, however, the members of this group are decided via school-wide poll, and the school's most prolific students are usually the ones to enter the race. Anyone may enter, regardless of year, but only twelfth-years may enter for president, and vice-presidential seats. Today is the day that the results come in, and Daniel Westley, for one, was not pleased in the slightest.

" _How the hell could I have lost?!"_ he demanded to no one in particular.

"Probably because you weren't the best for the job." Said Kristopherson absent-mindedly from his own seat.

"How aren't I?! My dad's a politician, for Pete's sake!" the Westley lad argued. After a moment or so, he paused to think, before narrowing his eyes at his friend.

"Hold on, who did _you_ vote for, _Kris?"_ he asked, leaning forward in his chair. His brow furrowed as the other boy hesitated.

"Lawrence." The faux-blonde said bluntly. "Sorry, but I didn't think you'd be able to run everything."

"Why not?!"

"You couldn't even organize the Tamworth trip, Dan." Audrey pointed out. "We're lucky Ciel did, or else we'd be in serious trouble."

"Ah, yes, the noble Sir Phantomhive!" the disgruntled son of a politician sarcastically spoke. "No wonder he made it on the student council, and I didn't!"

"Wait, sorry?" Ciel called.

"Didn't you hear?" asked Audrey. "You made it to vice president. Lawrence got first."

"This is the first I've heard of it…" the bluenette replied. "I don't even recall _running_."

"You don't have to. All that needs to happen is for someone to put your name on the ballot."

" _I decline."_ Ciel forcefully stated. "I don't have time for such _nonsense_."

"It's not nonsense!" argued Daniel. "Just think of the power!"

"Yes, parading around, doing the busywork that faculty couldn't be bothered with, while only pretending to have any real influence on the overall system." The Phantomhive said. "Sounds invigorating."

"What do you mean 'pretending'?" asked Kristopherson. "Doesn't the student council call the shots?"

"No. They don't." Ciel answered. "They are there simply to get students to believe that they make a difference. If they feel like they have no say at all, then morale decreases, causing grades and satisfaction with the school to go on the decline. This is a _business_. It's best to keep customers _happy_. Real power comes from whomever controls the school's budget. The student council doesn't even look at it."

"You are really depressing, you know that?"

"Would you rather see reality and find a way to make change, or live in blissful ignorance and simply cope?"

"So I should be aiming for the school-board, then?" asked the Westley lad, confused.

"You'll be out of school by the time you're even eligible, and by then, it'll be small game." The Phantomhive said.

"Still depressing." Daniel replied.

"Trust me, I've had a lot of experience with corruption and shadow organizations. It's one of the more interesting aspects of my job."

"Seriously, are you like, _James Bond_ or something?" Butted in a certain boy in a beanie with a skull on it. "You could write a best-selling series on about your life."

"I'm no writer." The bluenette said. " _I'm simply one hell of a detective."_ He added, causing the blonde menace at his side to giggle.

"Well, if you'd tell us your stories, maybe one of us could write them down?" suggested Kristopherson.

"I'd rather not."

"Why?"

"I don't quite like the idea of sharing them." Ciel spoke eloquently. "I'd rather hold on to whatever 'normalcy' I have in front of you lot. Maybe someday, but definately not today."

"That only makes me more curious…" the faux-blonde stated.

"Curiosity killed the cat…" Said Audrey.

"…And satisfaction brought it back." Added Alois. "Though, if you can't handle the idea of the student council actually holding no power, then you definitely won't be able to handle some of these stories."

"You've heard them?" Kristopherson asked.

"Of course~! Sometimes I retell them to Luka." The Macken boy answered. "They're excellent bedtime stories."

"You're going to mess that kid up…" said Daniel.

"I don't tell him the grisly stuff. I'll save that for when he's older." Alois replied.

"That explains why he keeps giving me that weird smile every time I see him…" spoke the bluenette.

"He looks up to you. Be proud." The blonde menace said with a grin. "Besides, it's easier to explain our job this way. If I tell him that we're going to be gone for a bit because of work, that's all the explanation he needs. All he says is _'Have fun! Be careful!_ ' and then he goes back to watching _Pokemon."_

"Your family is so weird and so normal at the same time, that it's almost maddening." Said Kristopherson. "Now I see why Dan wanted to see what was up with your house…"

"See!? It's obvious now, in'nt?!" Daniel exclaimed, standing up in his seat before the Miles boy grabbed his shoulder and forced him back down.

" _Down, boy_." Said Audrey with a snicker.

The Phantomhives were the most "ordinary" demon-family the seven could think of. The head of the house went to work, and so did his "wife". The butler stayed home and took care of the children of the group, and all was well. The only odd bit was the job that the demonic duo actually performed, as well as the occasional supernatural occurrence in the house, usually initiated by the blonde menace for his own amusement.

It was all so surreal how mundane this was. In the Phantomhive household, demons and murder is normal, and so is keeping weaponry and cursed objects in the house; responsibly, of course, under lock and key. It was just like having a gun with a child in the house. There was caution, rules, and order in what would appear to be chaos at a quick glance. The idea of a "demon family" was astonishing, but to the Phantomhives, this was their "ordinary". Demons are an everyday occurrence as it is, but to humans, they are usually invisible. The Sensational Seven have the luxury of seeing the world as it truly is. It is the same reality, but the perception has changed.

Moreover, it was shocking to all of them how two "ordinary" human beings could turn into the disturbed, yet socially passable demons that the demonic duo were today. Kristopherson was hit the hardest by this thought, as he actually saw the bluenette before he became… _this,_ in a photograph. The lad had both eyes, bright and cheerful, with a big smile on his face. He was also told stories by the younger Macken boy about the lad's brother. It hurt the faux-blonde's heart to hear about the happiness that Alois had, knowing how it soon turned into pain and suffering.

Often, the Seven were horrified by the story of how the duo came to be. The words spoken did not hold nearly as much weight as the image that the pair had now, and the stories of how they were as children. The full weight of the story told hit home once the complete perspective came into play. Only then could the lad's even begin to grasp the horror of the events spoken of; when they held onto the image of ordinary, happy children, who played games with people who loved and cared about them, only to have it all torn from them while being twisted into the monsters that they had become. The most frightening of all monsters are the ones who were happy once. Those are the monsters that have something to kill for.

The boys were, however, genuinely happy for the duo. Even after all of their suffering, they somehow still managed to find happiness. It was as though the end of a tragic tale had been rewritten so that good prevailed over the forces of darkness at long last. At last, the heroes were home. There was joy, there was love, and all was right again.

That said, the pair had the rest of eternity ahead of them. All anyone could hope for was that the joy would last. The calm was unsettling to the demons. They felt as though a storm was brewing. Thus, the pair sought conflict to keep their minds at ease. Solving murders was almost therapeutic to Ciel and Alois. They had been in darkness for so long, that staying in the light for too long burned.

As entertaining as the plight of the Sensational Seven on Tamworth's centaur statue was, it wasn't enough. The demons needed something to occupy themselves with. Ciel had hoped that H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. would run into difficulty on the _Black Annis_ case, but alas, the bluenette hadn't received even the smallest update on it's progression. Ciel and Alois both were starting to grow anxious from the horrible peace.

"Cooler than your family, I bet." Alois said finally. "Does our family solve murders and bash supernatural heads?"

"No, but my dad's an actor, and my mum's eccentric as hell." Kristopherson replied.

"It's true." Added Daniel. "The woman has _short pink hair, wears fur, and smokes while cracking dirty jokes."_

"I've seen her, too." Said Preston, an uneasy expression adorning his visage. "You'd like her a lot, Alois. _Trust me_ …"

"Kris, I _must_ meet your mum." The Macken boy replied, placing his hands on his desk and leaning forward.

"No way. She'll go mental talking to you." The Miles boy said finally. "Unless you want her to go on and on about how much of a 'cute couple' you and Ciel are, I wouldn't recommend it. She'll probably demand that you two model for her..."

"Will we be getting _paid?"_

" _Not doing it."_ Butted in the Phantomhive lad, arms crossed and brow furrowed, his expression not changing even as the blonde reached over to him and pinched his cheeks.

"But Ciel~! You're so cute~!" the menace cooed, only causing the other lads to snicker. After a few moments, he let go of the bluenette's face, only to wrap his arms around the other boy's shoulders and play with his odd, bluish-black locks.

"Then again, I kinda wanna keep you to myself." Alois added, nuzzling Ciel's cheek.

Ordinarily, the Phantomhive would have made some attempt to make the blonde cease his actions, however, time has only shown that when dealing with Alois Trancy, all attempts to make him behave appropriately in public were in vain. Moreover, the bluenette had simply become accustomed to interactions like these. It was just one of the conditions of dating the menace. Besides, it was only moments until class began, so there was really no point at all. The blonde would have to separate himself from the bluenette in order to participate. Ciel's assumptions were correct, as the teacher walked into the classroom.

"Mister Trancy, please separate from Phantomhive." bluntly requested Missus Chang, the English teacher. The woman was more than familiar with the blonde's antics by this point, and did not bother to waste much energy on it.

"The bell hasn't rang yet!" the blonde protested.

"As long as you're on campus, you have to follow the rules." The woman replied.

" _But Ciel's cuddly!"_

"I don't care. Save it for later." Said Missus Chang.

"I'm like a _rabbit,_ though! If I don't get the right amount of attention, I'll _die!"_

"That is information that I _don't need_ , Trancy." The teacher replied in response to the lad's protest. Alois frowned as the classroom rumbled with suppressed giggling from his fellow students, including his friends. With one last squeeze, the blonde menace pecked the bluenette on the cheek before releasing him, prompting the teacher to roll her eyes.

"Now, turn to page one-hundred and thirty-eight in _Twelfth Night."_ Missus Chang instructed. "We'll be picking up where we left off last week…"

" _Gaaay~!"_

"Yes, mister Trancy _. We know you are_."

* * *

 


	350. Daniel Speaks

Morning… I'm hate mornings… I'm always running late for school, so I always have to hurry. It's probably because I have to try and get myself up. Usually Sam will wake me up, though, if I hit the snooze too many times. She's usually dressed and ready to go by then. She eats while I'm getting ready, and most of the time, she'll make me something, too, unless she's mad at me. I always have to eat in the car while I'm driving us to school, which usually works out because I'm always sitting at damn traffic lights. London traffic in the mornings is the worst.

My parents are never awake when I'm supposed to be up, or they're out. Usually, they're out campaigning for something. I hardly ever know what for, anymore. Sometimes, dad just pops up on the news for now apparent reason. It's stupid. It's like they aren't even there.

Today I got up a little earlier than usual, because Sam needed help finding her shoes. I may or may not have used one of them last night to squish a spider, but that's not important. The point is, I actually had time to go at a semi-decent pace today.

I took a shower, brushed my teeth, combed my hair, put on deodorant, and went to get dressed. Not before spritzing a bit of cologne here and there, though, if you know what I mean. I always forget to lay my uniform out the night before. One day, I got in trouble for wearing red sneakers because I couldn't find my black shoes. Stupid dress code. Alois wore bloody bootyshorts, and nobody gave a damn! _"Well, there's nothing in the rules against it",_ my ass!

Most of my time is spent looking for my stupid red tie; the one that doesn't make me look like a total pillock. I always toss it somewhere when I get home, so I had no idea where I threw it. I was about to give up and just were one with some stupid pattern when Sam said she found it on top of the kitchen counter. Now I remember. I took it off while putting a hot pocket in the microwave. Now that I think about it, though, wearing the one with the pattern would make Kris go mental, which would have been pretty damn funny.

Usually, I just have him help me fix it when I get to school. Sam helps me tie it, and then Kris double-checks it to make sure it's done properly. One time, Sam rushed it, and it annoyed him so bad, that he almost tore it off to retie it. He said he was really sorry, afterwards, but I just thought it was funny.

Kris and his weird fashion-obsession is always really funny. One time, he came over to my house to help me pick out and outfit for a gig, and found my "YOLO" t-shirt. The look on his face was priceless! He's got good taste in clothes, though. He looks good in almost anything. When we were at camp, even his nighties looked like he planned them! Like, he spent more than three-seconds putting them together. Who does that? Kris does, apparently.

He's really pretty, for a bloke, too. He and Alois both are. It's really weird when we're out in public together, and people think we're dating. I keep having to tell people that I'm not gay! The man's got a pretty face and a great personality, but dick just isn't for me. Tits is where it's at, anyday!

It's really weird, though, since I'm goin' out with his sister. She's been kind of distant lately, so I think she might want to break up again. I just can't figure her out. I think she might be fancying that pretty-boy actor, Lawrence, just because they shot a movie together, and I say good riddance! I was supposed to get her first kiss, but then _Code: Zero_ comes out. How am I supposed to deal with a girl who kisses other guys? I don't care if it was just for a movie!

I can't even watch _Devil Butler_ anymore, and part of it's because of Lawrence, but most of it's because of Ciel and Alois. I keep getting mad, now, because it doesn't follow the "original story". It's fucked up. Still, I wanna know how the actual story goes! What happened between then and now? Did Ciel punch Nazis? Did he travel? Did he meet Winston Churchill? Did he go to school like he does now? Did he ever go to college? He could have invented the internet, for all I know, but he won't tell. I respect his privacy, but I wanna know!

This is the kind of stuff I think about while talking to the kid; him _and_ his wife. It still kind of weirds me out, seein' Alois hang all over Ciel, though. It shouldn't, but it does, and I don't really know why. Like, the other day in class? I tried not to stare at them, but I couldn't help it. It's just so weird. Too demons being gay with each other? That's not something you see every day. I don't even want to know what they do in their free time. I'm happy that they're happy, but I don't need to know the details about that. I am not comfortable with that. Still, it's kinda fun to see if Ciel will get embarrassed if I poke at him enough. Just point out all the hardcore eye-sex they have in the middle of class, and watch his reaction. Sad thing is, it's worse when they have a case. Guess they're too busy to get any.

No, I'm not gay. I'm just worried about my friends' relationship, is all. They just happen to be blokes. I'm not gay. They are. It's normal. Shut the fuck up.

 


	351. Blue Romeo Meets His Match

Finally, after what seemed like ages of planning and preparation, a certain blonde lad was ready to do something that he had never done before. The plan was set. It was perfect. There was no doubt in his mind. Sadly, he was a tad embarrassed, and didn't quite know how it was going to work.

You see, Alois was often tired of being called things like a "girl" and "Ciel's wife". Even if he could take on a female shape, Alois was a _man._ He wanted to be treated as such. Too long, had he left everything up to the bluenette, and too long, had he been forced to wait for the bluenette to make the first move. Today, the menace decided to take matters into his own hands. The final question, however, was simply a matter of his resolve.

He had rehearsed many different scenarios in his minds for the past few weeks, but never quite correctly seized his opportunities. Should he wait until it becomes relevant to discussion, or should he simply barge into the other lad's office and lay his cards on the table? Many times, he had walked himself through these options, only to back down at the last minute.

What was he afraid of? It was Ciel! He loved Ciel. There is nothing to fear! Still, the ever-lingering possibility that he might look foolish hung within the Macken boy's mind. His goal was to impress the Phantomhive, not make him laugh.

Alois had consulted with several people in the planning of his endeavor. He talked to both of the Miles siblings, and Mister Travis Sullivan, as he seemed oddly knowledgeable in the field, and actually gave the better advice. Finally, he conversed with Sebastian, the Phantomhive family butler, as he was one of the leading experts on everything "Ciel". According to him, the best way was to simply ask, as if the thought hadn't already crossed the blonde's mind.

Thus, the plight of Alois Trancy began. Alois had waited until they were already alone in the bluenette's office, as the thought of simply barging in and demanding the other boy's attention was too embarrassing for words. One of the worst things about dating Ciel Phantomhive, was that he was the only one who could actually make the infamous blonde menace of Warwick Academy feel _bashful_. This is why Alois waited, but his waiting was starting to ruin his chances, as his imagination began to talk him out of things while time passed.

Even still, the blonde had set out to do this, and he wasn't going to back down, now. While the Phantomhive lad was proud, forceful, possessed an iron will that never shirked in the face of adversity, so did _Alois_. He was not going to allow a silly case of the jitters interfere with his plans, so of course, the blonde shoved his insecurity and doubt to the side to ask the bluenette:

" _Hey, you wanna go do something later?"_

Ciel looked up from the papers on his desk and blinked at the other boy, whose face was slightly pink, visible by only a small amount behind the book that Alois was obviously not actually reading. Something about it made the bluenette smile, whether it was the slight, uncharacteristic uncertainty in the blonde's voice, the way he presented itself, or the fact that he even asked such a question. With a chuckle, the bluenette put down his pen and offered the other boy his full attention, even if he couldn't see it behind his flimsy paper shield.

"You mean, like a _date,_ or something?" Ciel asked, his amusement only heightened by the small jump the other boy did at the word.

" _Yeah…"_ his beau said, puffing himself up a bit in an attempt to maintain his "cool".

"Well, what did you have in mind?" inquired the one-eyed demon.

" _It's a surprise."_ The blonde replied plainly, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"Well, then, _surprise me_."

Alois jumped, his grip on his book consciously tightening. He peered over it's pages with wide eyes, the smug-looking bluenette staring back at him. It took him a moment to process the other lad's instruction, but the blonde spoke at last.

"You mean, like _… now?"_ he asked nervously. He had not anticipated this. "Don't you have, like, work and stuff?"

"Yes, but it can wait. I'm sick of it, at the moment, anyway." Ciel answered. "I'm too interested in this 'surprise' of yours to focus on it."

The blonde paused before finally saying; "Fine, then… Get your ass read and meet me downstairs." while his beau looked on with amusement at the Macken's immediate retreat.

Yes, this evening was sure to be interesting. Ciel could tell just by the way the other lad fussed about and nearly tripped on his way out of the office. The bluenette stood up, stacking his papers before putting them away neatly with a small smile.

" _I can't wait."_

 


	352. Everything Is Predictable

It seemed like hours had passed before the blonde finally joined the bluenette, nearly falling down the stairs in his haste. By Ciel's suspicion, he speculated that the blonde had difficulty picking out something to wear. His assumption was in fact, correct, although the blonde wouldn't dare admit to that.

"Oh, so you've finally decided to join me?" the bluenette teased. "I was beginning to wonder if the 'surprise' was that I would be going by myself!"

"Oh, hardy har-har…" Alois said, his words dripping with sarcasm. "For your information, I was trying to fine _these."_

The menace reached into his pocket before extending his arm out to the bluenette, whose eye widened in surprise. In front of his face was a set of car keys. Now, however the blonde managed to get them, or what he could possibly use them for was beyond the Phantomhive.

"And just what are you going to do with those?" he finally asked. "I don't recall you ever acquiring a license!"

"That's because you've been too busy to notice~!" the blonde said proudly, taking the keys and twirling them around his finger. "While you were moping around, I asked Sebastian to teach me to drive. I took the test, I passed, and now; _Mercedes Benz keys in my hand_."

"And you never mentioned this to me _because…?"_ asked the Phantomhive boy.

"I wanted to surprise you. Did it work?" Alois answered with a smug grin. "That's not the _real_ surprise, though. It's the date itself!"

"Alright…" Ciel said finally, simply accepting the turn of events. If it turned out that the blonde was not fit for operating a motor vehicle after all, the bluenette supposed that they could simply call a cab.

"Later, losers!" the blonde playfully called as he and his beau ventured out the door and toward the garage. He was followed by the bluenette, who had to help him find the vehicle. The blonde still had a bit of trouble differentiating different models, as to him, he knew that there were cars, trucks, vans, and so on. There were no other differences, and the fact that most of the cars of the Phantomhive household were all painted black did not help him in the slightest.

Eventually, their chariot to destiny was found, and so far, the blonde was not off to a good start. He had become a tad frustrated and even more embarrassed by his "incompetence", and silently wondered if he could actually do this of not while he sat in the driver's seat. He was only snapped back into reality as he heard the slamming of the door to his left.

"Riding shotgun today, ' _sir'?"_ he jested in an attempt to calm his nerves. The bluenette simply rolled his eye.

"Well, it wouldn't be much of a ' _date'_ if we sat miles apart, now would it?" retorted the Phantomhive. "So, what's on the agenda for today?"

"I told you, it's a surprise!" the blonde answered. "And I'm your boyfriend, not your butler. You said that like I'm the keeper of your schedule…"

"Well, seeing as though you're currently seated in the driver's seat about to drive me around and take me somewhere for a certain amount of time, you're in kind of a butler-ish position."

"Ah, Butlers don't go on dates with their masters, though."

"You're right, and _butlers also don't just sit there in the driver's seat when there's places to go_." Ciel jested, reminding the blonde of their mission. "Or do you not really know how to drive after all?"

Alois simply scoffed and turned on the car's ignition. He checked the mirror before backing the car out of the spot. With a final glance at the bluenette, he paused to stick out his tongue at the other boy before taking off down the long driveway.

"I showed you, huh?" the blonde asked, quite pleased with himself.

" _Just wait until we hit London traffic…"_

Ciel was right. Cars took up almost the entirety of the road, as the lads were unlucky enough to decide to start their adventure during evening rush hour, when everyone else was going home from work. The demonic duo took it as an opportunity to talk about this and that, business, pleasure, and life in general. They teased each other and had a good time, but after a while passed, Alois was starting to get anxious again.

" _Fuck."_ He muttered under his breath, glancing around the scenery. His beau raised an eyebrow at the blonde's actions, but soon realized his reason.

"Need help with directions?" he asked, causing the blonde to snort.

"What? No! I've got this!" the blonde said as ineffective reassurance. "Don't you worry your pretty little head! I know _exactly_ where I'm going."

 _That was an hour ago._ The blonde menace had driven through the same neighbourhood almost three times, now, and counting. He tapped his index finger on the steering wheel as his frustration became apparent. When the teen was cut off in traffic, now, he had almost reached his breaking point. The boy looked as though he wanted to flag down the other car and beat the driver into a pulp.

"You know, it's okay if you need help finding it…" the bluenette said.

"But then it isn't a surprise!" the blonde declared. He frowned deeply before pulling out his phone at the next red light, typing in the name of the location he was so desperate to find.

" _Green light."_

" _Oh shit!_ " Alois exclaimed at the bluenette's observation, hitting the gas with phone in hand; that is, until he dropped it, and it fell into the floor. "Fuck!"

"I've got it." Ciel said, leaning forward. Fortunately, it landed in the passenger's side of the vehicle. Before the blonde could stop him, he had already taken a peek at what the boy had begun to type.

"Oh, the _Sherlock Holmes tour_ , huh?" the bluenette asked. "Sounds exciting."

"You weren't supposed to look!" the blonde said. "Now it's not a surprise!"

"Sorry…" Ciel said apologetically. "I didn't mean to. How did you know I've never been, though?"

"I asked Sebastian." the Macken boy replied. "I wanted to try the Jack the Ripper tour, but obviously, you're already more than knowledgeable about 'him', aren't you? I figured it might either make you laugh manically, or extremely angry."

"Possibly an odd combination of both." The bluenette said. "Turn right, here."

"We're actually _stupid-early."_

"Well, we could always go eat something."

"Bit early for that, too."

"It's not like we really _need_ to eat, though."

" _Point taken."_ Said the blonde. "I was gonna punch in directions for the restaurant during the tour, though."

"I can probably tell you where it is." Ciel replied. "What's the name?"

"I think it was like _, 'Galvin la Chapelle',_ or somethin'?"

"Jim…"

"Yeah?"

" _You need a reservation to get in there…"_ the bluenette pointed out. He looked on in astonishment as the blonde's face contorted into a menacing scowl.

" _FUCK!"_ he shouted at the top of his lungs, not giving a care in the slightest that the windows were down. The boy slammed on the brakes, causing cars behind him to honk their horns. "Ah, fuck you!" he shouted at them before taking off again, hands clasped onto the steering wheel with enough force to strangle a man tree times his size. His beau was absolutely speechless at his behaviour. After all, it was rare to see the blonde so flustered. Ciel reached over and grabbed one of the other boy's hands in an attempt to quell his self-inflicted fury.

"Take it easy, it's not the end of the world." He said reassuringly. "Besides, I've eaten there before. You'd hate it. It's super-fancy fine dining. I have another place in mind. Just turn left here."

While the blonde's ego was hurt, he had no other option but to comply. Any attempt to argue any further would only make himself appear more foolish. After following the bluenette's instructions, the demonic duo ended up at a small, hole-in-the-wall-type establishment. The blonde's nerves had calmed down quite a bit during the drive, but he was still unsure.

"Is this it?" he asked as he parked the car. "It doesn't really seem like your kind of place…"

"Any place is my kind of place as long as the food is good." The bluenette replied. "It's much better on the inside." He added, holding onto the menace's hand as he led the boy into the building.

The pair sat down and received a menu each, and to Alois' surprise, everything on it looked great. Leave it to Ciel to find a place like this off the top of his head. The fair-haired demon uttered a heavy sigh as the thought crossed his mind. It did not go unnoticed by the bluenette seated across from him.

"Are you alright?" the boy asked, already knowing the answer. He looked on with a concerned face as the blonde offered him a sad sort of smile.

"Yeah, just kind of bummed." Alois answered. "I wanted to take you out, but completely screwed it up… I'm just not good at this sort of thing… I don't know how to organize things and make smart decisions. That's you're thing. All I can do is just follow you around…"

Alois was trying. He was trying so hard to impress the bluenette somehow, and was becoming more than frustrated when things began to go wrong. It hurt his ego and made him feel small. Even after weeks of thinking about it, the blonde simply couldn't pull off the 'perfect' date. It simply wasn't in his power or ability, even though he had given it his best effort. The bluenette, however, had caught on long before they had set out as to what the other boy was up to, and in all honesty, it warmed his heart.

"What are you talking about? You've done an _outstanding_ job so far." The bluenette said, causing the blonde to arch his eyebrow with a frown.

"Ciel, don't sugar-coat things. It's not like you." Alois replied. "I wasted a bunch of time being lost, and didn't even know about the restaurant situation, more than that, I couldn't even find the bloody car in the garage!"

"Maybe so, but you do realize how you've only just gotten you've only been in the 'modern' world for _four years_ , and have a driver's license before _me,"_ The Phantomhive boy began, listing off items on his fingers, "you made an attempt to memorize the route even though you aren't that familiar with the city, memorized the schedule even though I caught you off guard so you didn't really have time to, you did research, and consulted with other people while making an honest effort to accommodate my tastes at your expense. As far as I'm concerned, you did everything _right."_

"So I do everything 'right', and _still_ manage to screw up?" Asked the Macken. _"Perfect_ …"

"No, that's just life. It could happen to anyone, _especially_ a time-traveling, slightly demented demon." Ciel said, reaching across the table to grab the blonde's hand. "Even with that against you, you tried anyway, and with everything you had. I've always kind of admired that. And, the fact that you'd do it for _me?_ Well, to be frank, I'm _touched_."

Slowly, the blonde smiled. He griped the other boy's hand in return. With that, he finally looked up again.

"You're so smooth…" he said, giving a playful smile. "Maybe you should tone it down sometime, and let me have a turn."

"Please, _you're smooth when you're not trying_." Ciel answered.

"At least let me pay for the food this time, though."

"Whatever you say, _Jimmy."_

"Thank you kindly, _poochie_." The blonde teasingly said. "Well, I'm ready to order. You?"

"Just a minute. I haven't decided yet." Ciel answered. " _I was too busy stroking your ego_."

" _That's not all you'll be stroking by the day's end_." Alois jested, wearing a smirk.

"Thank you for being courteous enough to buy me dinner first. You're such a _gentleman."_

" _Damn straight."_

"It's anything _but."_

Alois simply laughed at the little exchange while the bluenette smiled behind his menu at the ridiculousness. He was glad to have finally managed to lift the blonde's spirits after all the poor lad had gone through in an effort to show him a good time. The two ordered their food, and began conversing in their usual manner, discussing all manners of things, some of which irked a few of the other patrons who were prone to eavesdropping.

"So you're saying that it only takes about two to three minutes for someone to die from blood loss?" Alois asked in between eating his favourite greasy fish n' chips. "How the fuck did I survive that?"

"Well, it depends on where the stab wound is, and the quickness of medical attention." The Phantomhive replied. "In your case, you had a bunch of demons to give you immediate treatment."

"Still hurt like a bitch, though."

"I know, and I'm sorry. I've been shot in about the same spot, and I'm told it's a similar feeling."

"Really? When?"

" _Her Majesty's personal guard, 1888_." The bluenette replied. "A year before I met you. I'm not entirely sure how I survived that, because I wasn't given proper treatment for several hours. It was right before Sebastian killed the angel that worked for Queen Victoria. I would've killed her, too, but she died before then. I was in shock for most of it, though."

" _Ooh~! Tell me more, you dastardly fiend!"_ Alois cooed, faking a shudder. The bluenette chuckled, but just as he was about to open his mouth to reply, his phone vibrated. He looked up at the blonde, silently asking for permission to answer it.

"Go ahead." Alois said, making a 'shooing' motion with his hand. The bluenette glanced at the device, only to discover that it wasn't a call, but a rather irate text message.

"What is it?" the blonde asked.

"Work." Ciel answered. "It's detective Bailey."

"Don't tell me… a murder? _Now?"_

"No, not a murder." The bluenette said. "A kidnapping."

"Can the police not handle it?"

"Probably not. It's not just an ordinary kidnapping." Ciel stated. "It's of the children of a high-ranking politician."

"You're joking…"

"I'm not… We can't let this slide… I'll give you three guesses as to who was kidnapped…"

"Do they go by the name of ' _Westley'_ perchance?" asked the blonde.

" _Indeed, they do."_ The bluenette answered.

"Fine. Let me take care of the bill first."

"I'll be in the car."

"Keys?" the blonde said, tossing the keys to the vehicle at the other boy.

"Thanks." Ciel said, catching the item before heading out the door. His beau stayed behind and shook his head.

" _Dammit, Daniel… Cock-blocking without even trying…"_

* * *

 


	353. The Situation

A certain black Mercedes Benz parked inside of the parking garage near Scotland Yard headquarters. Two teenage boys piled out of it, one with pale blonde hair and icy blue eyes, and another who was only slightly shorter with blueish-blck hair and an eyepatch. Both lads calmly walked inside the building, as if they owned the place, yet they were somewhat hasty, as if they had somewhere to be.

They did. They walked to the office of a certain Detective Gabriel Bailey, and, opening the door, they found the man in his mid-fifties, accompanied by a younger-looking version of himself by the name of Michael. The two men looked up at the boys, one of them exasperated, and the other panicked.

"Took ya long enough." Said Bailey Senior. "I was starting to wonder if you'd ever look at your phone! I called you about a dozen times!"

"We were in the middle of a date." The bluenette said bluntly. "You don't just check your phone on a date. There was no way I could have even known it was you." He leaned forward and put his hands on the man's desk. "So what's the situation?"

"Terrible." The man said with a heavy sigh. "Your friend… Well… We're not too sure about him…"

"What do you mean?"

"We don't know if he's alive or not."

Terror struck through the demonic duo in a split second after hearing those words. Daniel wasn't remarkably close to the lads, but he was still their friend. Alois clenched his fists.

"How?" he demanded forcefully, furrowing his brow.

"Because he was the one who told us he was missing." The man replied. "An hour ago, we received a call from a cell phone from a kid who said his name was 'Daniel Westley', and that he and his sister had been kidnapped. Apparently, the men who did it simply broke into their house and forced them into a vehicle, but only after knocking the wind out of him since he fought back."

"Idiot…" Ciel said. "Let me guess, he was caught during the call?"

"You got it." The elder detective replied. "There was yelling in the background, and then the line went dead. We don't know what's going on."

"Were you able to trace the call?"

"No. We have no idea where he is."

Ciel rubbed his temples, trying to fight off a headache. He paused to think, taking a moment to evaluate the situation. Why kidnap Daniel? Ciel assumed that it had something to do with his father, but why not abduct him instead? Ciel thought and thought, and finally, had an idea.

"I think I might know what happened." He said finally. "Daniel's father is a politician, and he probably has rivals."

"Then why not abduct him instead?" asked Bailey Junior, arching an eyebrow. The man was fairly new to the game, and couldn't quite keep up with the bluenette, yet. "Why his kids?"

"Because the person who did it is a coworker of his." The bluenette answered. "Another high-profile politician can't let anyone know he's involved. Kidnapping Mister Westley would immediately notify him of the identity of the mastermind, and after he was released, he would tell everyone. Children are different. There's no way that ordinary teenagers would be able to name and identify all of the big league politicians. Whatever they want from Westley, they're going to get it by taking his kids as hostages. That's probably why you haven't heard from him yet. He's probably been told that his kids will die if he does."

"Well, now that you put it that way, do you have a plan?" asked Bailey Senior, his mind put at ease by the bluenette's speculation.

"Naturally, and with that, I have all I need here." Ciel replied as he turned to walk out of the door.

"Is that it?!" asked Michael. "You weren't here three minutes!"

"I don't have three minutes to waste." The Phantomhive boy replied. "I'll talk to you later, Gabriel."

"I look forward to hearing your results!" the older man said. "Sorry for interrupting your date, kiddo!"

"Oh, don't worry about it, I only planned it for a few weeks." Alois quipped as he followed his beau out the door. "You owe me some fish n' chips! I didn't get to finish mine!"

With that, the two demons headed back down the hallway to their car. The blonde was irritated by the turn of events, but he couldn't just leave the Westley lad. Daniel was his friend, and he didn't want to lose him. As much as he wanted the perfect evening with his boyfriend, some things were just more important, like the life of a mutual friend. Alois didn't like losing people important to him. He didn't want it to happen ever again. He remembers just what happened last time all too well, and he was going to do everything he could in order to stop it. As much as he wanted to spend a lovely evening with his boyfriend, stopping a kidnapping together might be pretty fun as well, even with what was at stake.

"I need to make a phonecall when we get to the car." Ciel said finally. "I'm going to ask around for any potential suspects."

"Any leads?" asked the Trancy.

"One."

"Ah, well that's better than none, I suppose." The blonde said, opening the passenger door for the bluenette before the boy crawled inside. "I'm sure you can handle it."

"Oh? What happened to 'taking charge' this evening?" Ciel teased as the other boy hopped into the driver's seat.

"I already tried, and we saw how that went." Replied the Macken boy. "Besides, this stuff always turns out better when I just let your brain work it out."

"You'll never work up the ability if you don't build any experience, though." Ciel said.

"I know, but from that look on your face, you've already got a plan, so why let it go to waste?"

"What look?"

 _"That_ look." The blonde replied, pointing at the other boy's visage. "The one that says, 'I know exactly what's going on and I'm about to put the puzzle together'."

"Are you saying you'd like to know what I'm up to?" asked the Phantomhive boy.

"I'd be _delighted."_

"Remember how I said the mastermind would be a political rival?"

"Yes."

"He most likely is, but not just any rival." Ciel explained. "This person knew where the Westley's lived, and knew when the parents were out, so I suspect that this person was fairly close to Westley."

"So we find out who he works closely with, and find out which one's acting weird?" his beau asked.

"Precisely." The bluenette replied, reaching into his pocket and pulling out his phone. "In this case, motive isn't especially important, but I'm sure we'll find out eventually." He dialed a few numbers before pausing. "Maybe afterwards, we can go do something together?"

"Like what? The Sherlock Holmes tour will probably be over by then."

_"Oh, I have a few ideas in mind."_

 


	354. Behind The Locked Door

Fuck. My head hurts. My stomach hurts. I can't see because my eyelids are too swollen. I want to go home. I'm told that Ciel was kidnapped a lot when he was younger, but I'm not Ciel. I'm not some super-human, sociopathic, hell-child bent on revenge and murder. I'm an ordinary guy. I can't handle this kind of shit. I wanna go home…

Those guys busted into my house while I was watching TV. Broke the windows, and waltzed right inside. Took me by surprise. I tried to fight 'em off, but I was on my own, and it's hard for one seventeen-year old boy to fight off three grown men while in his boxers. I'm still in my boxers. I've got a crummy T-shirt on, but I was kidnapped in my bloody boxers. Earlier I thought I'd be embarrassed when someone came to get us, but I don't care anymore, as long as I get to go home.

A few hours passed after we were taken to wherever we are, but the police never showed up. Judging by the looks of things, we're in a nice house, at least. Could be worse, I guess. It could be somebody's basement. My sister and I were locked in a back room, and fortunately, they didn't think to check our pockets. I guess they didn't think that a kid in their underwear and a thirteen-year-old girl would plan ahead and pocket anything before we were captured, but they've never met my sister. Sam said she grabbed her phone as soon as she heard the yelling after the glass broke. She did this weird thing where she stuck it in her bra. She said that she thinks it's kinda gross, but she sees other girls do it, and she thought it would be better to do that instead in case they searched her pockets. Sometimes, I'm really glad to have a smart-ass sister.

I took it from her and called 999 as soon as we were alone. I didn't want anything bad to happen to her if we were caught. I've seen shit in movies where they do some fucked up shit to hostages who try to call for help, _especially_ girls. Honestly, I'd rather they kill me than do that to her. She's my kid sister. She's annoying, but there's no way she could ever do anything so heinous to deserve that shit.

I'm glad I thought of that, 'cause we did get caught. One of the blokes who kidnapped us heard me talking, and came in. He kicked me square in the jaw and then stomped on the phone. It was an iPhone without a case, not some Nokia. I wish it was. Maybe then he would've broken his leg, and then I could take it and bashed his head in with it. That didn't happen, though, and after he was done smashing the phone, he moved onto my face.

He kept kicking me, even when I was down. _Especially_ when I was down. I tried to put my hands in front of my face to stop him, but he kicked me in the stomach instead. I pretended to pass out and he quit, but not before yelling at Sam. I swear, if he tried to hit her, I'd've bitten his leg.

After he left, I sat up and inspected the damage. I'm pretty sure I've got a black-eye, maybe in both of them, and I'm covered in bruises. My lip is busted, and I think my nose might be bleeding, but that might just be my lip. I'm not sure. Now I'm beat up, _and_ in my boxers. I have reached a new level of shame. The worst part, though, was Sam. She was scared. Really scared. There was nothing I could do to help her, either.

I can't remember the last time I saw her cry like that. She was little. I think it was a few days after our parents left for a long time without us, and we were stuck with Nathan. She missed mom and dad, and she was scared of Nathan. I don't blame her. I think that's why she hardly ever leaves her room now. She would always hide from him 'cause he was shit to us. He'd put gum in her hair, call her names, and she'd go to her room and lock the door to get away from him. I wonder if she cried then, too. Dammit. Thinking about it makes me want to cry, but I think my eyes are already watering from being kicked.

All I could really do was hold her and tell her I'd keep her safe. I'm not sure how I would, and I'm sure she knew it. She always was smarter than me, like that, but she's also really strong. She uses her brain like a weapon, and takes down the bullies at school by herself, and for her friends. She pissed of Nathan a lot before he moved out because she's call him out on his bullshit. She was scared, but she did it anyway. Here, she can't do that. You can't reason with these guys and making them mad could kill us. I don't blame her for crying. I want to cry. I can't though, because she needs me more than ever. She's only thirteen. She's not Ciel Phantomhive, either. She's my cute little sister who likes books, monsters, and mysteries, and she can't fight three knuckle-dragging, grown-ass men with fists that are practically the size of her goddamn head. If I can't, then she definitely can't.

I kinda wish Kris was here. He'd probably be able to give them a piledriver or somethin'. Demon-boys would be more helpful, but Kris is more likely to happen. Sadly, it didn't, and it's all up to me.

I was really starting to worry after more time passed. Sam began to calm down, but I was starting to wonder if the police were gonna find us. We haven't heard any sound from outside in forever. We don't even know what we're here for! I called the police, and I was hoping to see results in a few minutes. Can't they like, trace calls to find people? I'm pretty sure they can, so why have we been here for hours? As more and more time passed, almost every single horrific explanation crossed through my mind, and one of them had to do with the apocalypse being outside, I think.

Finally we heard yelling outside. We jumped as we heard the sound of guns and banging. I held onto Sam tighter and just stared at the door, waiting for the apocalypse to come bursting through it at any moment. I nearly lost it when the door opened, and out came fucking Alois, nearly scaring the piss outta me.

" _Hey, kids! We're here to- whoa… Why are you in your underwear, mate?"_

 


	355. The Fairest Of Them All

Ciel made his phone call, and the two demons sat back in the parking garage of Scotland Yard simply smiling. This was far more interesting than they had anticipated. They knew who to look for and where to go, but both lads agreed, the sensible solution to call the police and tell them to simply arrest their suspect was boring. Thus, the lads opted for the more "entertaining" route, and decided to take care of things themselves.

It was easy, given who they were up against. All the lads had to do was waltz up to their front door and ask to be invited in. There was no way the suspect would be able to refuse, as he had everything to gain from inviting Sir Ciel Phantomhive, an associate of the Round Table conference, into his home. This was especially true when he was in the middle of trying to acquire a _special_ promotion.

Thus, the demonic duo launched their plan into action. They easily got hold of the suspect's address, and even got permission by the council to "purge" him, preferably without actually killing him. The Phantomhive family's Mercedes Benz lulled to a stop in front of the home of Jared Meisel, one of the leading candidates from prime minister, and a primary candidate for a position on the council of Twelve, that is, until this evening.

He was supposed to replace Sir Hugh Islands, and elderly man who's on his last legs. Islands, after many, many years of service to the council, as decided to step down. His mind wasn't as sharp as it used to be, and he acknowledges this. Ciel was just angry that no one had decided to inform him of all of this until now.

Even still, he had a job to do. He hand his companion simply walked up to the door and rang the bell. It was answered by a man who appeared to be in his late fifties, with an obvious combover. He looked perplexed to see the two boys, arching an eyebrow.

"Yes? Can I help you?" he asked, blocking the doorway so that not even the contents of the large house were visible.

"Jared Meisel?" asked the bluenette, earning a nod from the man. "I am Sir Ciel Phantomhive, an associate of the Convention of Twelve. I have been sent here with business to discuss with you."

"The Round Table?!" the man asked. "But, you look so…"

"I _own_ a mirror, mister Meisel." Ciel interrupted. "May I come in?" His singular eye gleamed as the man hesitated before stepping aside. The man was embarrassed to have to subjugate himself to a teenager, but, the lad did know about the Round Table. Ordinary civilians are unaware of it's existence, after all. The lad simply walked inside as if the house belonged to him, followed by an equally grumpy-looking blonde lad. The politician was almost afraid to ask as to what his identity was, but was sure he'd find out.

"So, uh, what can I do for you?" asked Meisel, watching nervously as the two boys looked around his home.

"We're here to discuss your 'promotion'." The bluenette answered, looking at the items seated on top of a nearby coffee table. "We understand that there was debate on whether or not it would be you who received it, or a Mister Westley." The man twitched at the name.

"Ah, yes, good man, Westley. A bit of a nutter, though." The man replied. "He's always been a bit 'out there', even during our days at Oxford."

"Oh, so you went to college together? Are you both very familiar?"

"Oh, yes! We go hunting all the time on weekends, and when they were smaller, sometimes he'd bring his kids along. A good bunch, the Westley's."

"Interesting." The bluenette said with disinterest. "Did you have _guests_ over? There's a lot of empty dishes lying about."

"Huh?" Oh, yes!" the man replied. "A few hours ago. They're long gone."

"You just left them there?"

"I didn't get around to picking them up." Meisel stated. "Believe me, the state of my house doesn't correlate at all with how I do my job."

"Is it?" Ciel asked. "Well, mister Meisel, I do believe it's almost time that I skipped right to the point of this visit."

"Which is?"

" _Your arrest."_

Ciel pulled out his gun and aimed it at the man, who simply put his hands up defensively, eyes wide with shock. Part of him knew this was coming, but didn't expect the gun. Regardless, Meisel insisted on playing innocent.

"What for?!" he asked, eyes never leaving the barrel of the gun. "I haven't done anything!"

"Wrong. You kidnapped the son and daughter of Richard Westley." The Phantomhive corrected. "You're under arrest. Tell us where you're keeping them, and tell your thugs to step down."

" _Thugs?_ What thugs?" the politician asked, only to jump when the bluenette whipped his gun around, pulling the trigger three times before pointing it back to him. There was screaming as the boy shot through a curtain, a closet door, and through a sofa that was up against the wall.

" _Those_ thugs." The bluenette answered. The blonde behind him smirked at the display, an action that frightened their suspect greatly. "Jim, go find Daniel and Samantha."

"On it." The menace replied before taking off thought the house. He was intent on finding the two quickly, so that he might still have a chance to salvage this evening yet.

Alois wasn't quite keen on this turn of events, and was even less keen that it was Ciel who did all of the talking and intimidation. He made a mental note to work on his one-liners, later, in hopes of coming up with something "cool" to say quickly enough to actually say it. The lad cursed himself after coming up with several, after the fact. He didn't even get to introduce himself!

That aside, it wasn't hard to find the whereabouts of the Westley children, as they were kept in one of the most predictable places possible. The house didn't have a basement, therefore a food pantry was the next best bet. Alois twisted the locked doorknob until it broke, allowing him to open the door with ease. He burst into the room, intent on saying something at least remotely clever.

" _Hey, kids! We're here to- whoa… Why are you in your underwear mate?"_

Daniel Westley furrowed his bruised brow at the question. He sat there, clutching his frightened sister while unglamourously dressed as if he hadn't planned on going anywhere at all that day in a green pair of boxers and a beat-up grey T-shirt. While Alois' line was completely ruined by the Westley's odd attire, at least he had something intelligent to say.

" _Fuck you!"_ Daniel shouted in response. "Where the fuck have you been!? I called the fuckin' cops hours ago!"

"Well, you know what they say, Danny-boy…" the blonde began. "… _'When seconds count, the police are only minutes away'_. Now get up. You too, Sam. We're gettin' you out of here."

"But why are _you_ here?" asked Samantha, standing up.

" _Junior Detective Constable Alois Trancy,_ at your service." The menace answered, taking the girl's hand _. "Senior Detective Constable Sir Doctor Ciel Phantomhive_ is outside arresting the guy who's responsible, or at least is threatening him with a gun. Follow me."

"You've got to be kidding…"

"Sometimes, I wish he was." Said Daniel, getting up. "Trust him. He's legit _. Ugh!"_

The lad winced as he stood, the bruises and sprains he suffered giving him difficulty. He pushed onward, only to be surprised when the blonde menace let go of his sister's hand to help him. The Westley lad wasn't so grateful, however, when the blonde scooped him up and carried him like a princess.

"What the fuck?! Put me down!" the boy shouted, face turning red.

"No time. Your slow-ass will hold us back. Besides, _she_ thinks it's funny." Alois replied, nodding in the direction of the other boy's sibling. Samantha was busy trying not to laugh, holding her hand to her mouth in an attempt to mute herself.

"Sam!" Daniel yelled while red in the face. "Shut up!"

"I'm sorry, Sam, but you're brother isn't the fairest of them all." The blonde teased.

"Yeah, I know. He's not a very good princess, but he's pretty good at being a dork." The girl replied.

"SAM!" the son of a politician protested, only causing Alois to laugh.

"I like you. You're funny." Alois said. "Follow me. We'll get you and Princess Daniel out of here."

" _I'M NOT A PRINCESS."_

"Dan, if you keep shouting, the stress is going to make your injuries worse." Samantha stated as she followed the blonde back through the house.

 


	356. Pink Panther

_"Daniel, honey! It's so good to see you! Well, not beaten up, but you know what I mean!"_

The Westley children called home to tell their parents that they were alright, only to find that the house was in no condition for living, at the moment, and their parents had rented a hotel room. Mister and Missus Westley were relieved that their children were alright. They were worried sick! They offered the children a hotel room of their own, but really, Daniel and Samantha didn't want to be bothered at the moment. Thus, they went to the only available lodgings they could think of. The Miles house.

Daniel knew better than to try and stay at the Phantomhive's house after the incident during his previous stay, so he phoned another friend. That friend was Kristopherson Miles, he best mate for many years, who inevitably agreed. So, with a quick car ride via Phantomhive and Trancy, he arrived at the door, only to be greeted by a rather eccentric woman by the name of Andrea. Andrea Miles; Kristopehrson's mother.

The woman had short hair, dyed pink with the sides shaved, and wore the most extravagant of clothing. It was only natural, for a high-profile fashion designer, but the sight was still quite shocking to the demonic duo. The woman stood there, holding a cigarette with her purple, French-manicured nails, smiling at all of them warmly.

"It's good to see you, too, Mrs. M." Daniel replied with a busted smile. "Thanks for letting Sam and I stay the night."

"Don't worry about it. Just come inside, and let us get you fixed up. Kristopher has the first aid kit ready, and Kris has you a change of clothes waiting." The woman replied. "Oh! And who are you?" she asked, ushering in the two demons as well.

"That's Ciel and Alois." Daniel said, answering for them. "They saved our asses."

"Oh! So you're _Ciel and Alois!"_ the woman said. "I've heard lots about you~! Come in, come in! Don't be shy!"

The two demons looked at the woman, then to each other, and back again. This woman was strange, not only in her appearance, but in her demeanor as well. She was bubbly, friendly, yet had some odd ferocity about her that confused the duo to no end. It was unbelievable that this woman was somehow the mother of a boy like Kristopherson. They had the same eyes and partialness to the colour pink, but other than that, they were nothing alike.

"Careful, lads, she might want you to play dress-up." Daniel teased, eager to see just what the flamboyant woman had in store for the poor demons.

"No, no, no _, no!"_ protested the Miles woman. "Absolutely _not!_ Faces like these require _specific_ clothes! Not just anything in the back of the closet will do! Unfortunately, I don't have the time to whip something up, so I'm afraid it'll have to wait until another day…" she said in a disappointed tone.

"Still, thanks for saving Danny. I don't know what my kids would do if something bad happened to him." Missus Miles added, addressing the duo. "Danny! What are you still doing there? Go get yourself patched up!"

"Yes, ma'am." The Westley boy said without a single protest. He was uncharacteristically polite toward the woman, who had now made her way to a large recliner in the living room and commandeered it. She looked up at the duo, who only stared back at her, thoroughly unsure of what to do.

"Well, take a seat, then!" She instructed, snapping the boys to attention. "Have yourself a rest. You did just foil a kidnapping, after all."

Awkwardly, the two boys took a seat on the couch in the vast room, not quite sure what to do. They tried their best not to stare at the colourful woman as she looked them over, blowing rings of smoke with her cigarette. Suddenly, however, she stirred, remembering something.

"Oh! You two aren't bothered by smoke, are you? I can put it out, if you'd like." She said.

"No, I'm fine…" said the bluenette.

"I'm good." Added his beau. Kristopherson's mother simply arched an eyebrow.

"Not a very talkative bunch, are you?" she asked teasingly. "It's odd, because Kristopherson told me that you were quite the wild-child, Alois."

"I've been learning to behave better around new people." The blonde said bluntly, crossing his arms.

" _Obviously._ Didn't you threaten him with a ' _coin-sock'_ once?"

"No." replied the menace. "It was _twice."_ He smiled as he earned a laugh from the Miles woman.

"And what about you, Ciel?" she asked. "I hear you're quite the mastermind."

"I'm afraid that's classified information." Ciel stated, folding his arms.

"Ooh~! So _serious."_ Missus Miles replied, resting her chin in her palm. "So we have a serious mastermind, and a fun-loving delinquent? Quite the team."

"I prefer the term ' _n'er do-well'_." The blonde menace jokingly corrected. "Ciel does most of the work. I just kind of act as a flunkie."

"That's no good! The key to a stable relationship is equality and understanding!" The woman said. "Ciel, surely you let Alois take the reins, sometimes, yeah?" She arched an eyebrow as the bluenette opted to say nothing.

"Bit of a mysterious one, isn't he?" she asked, turning back to the blonde.

"Not really. He's just easily embarrassed." Alois answered, giggling at the small blush that formed on his partner's cheeks. "He's just better at taking charge of things. Whenever I try, I only seem to crash and burn…"

Now that, caught Ciel's attention. The bluenette was trying, in his own right, to surrender some of his pride and allow himself to be whisked away just this once, as it appeared to be important to Alois. The blonde menace had his own ego and esteem issues, therefore it was important to allow him to build that sense of security and power up. He hasn't had one-hundred years to improve himself, and was therefore still learning.

"You just need practice." The bluenette said finally, averting his gaze from the others and feigning disinterest. "Tonight was your first time trying to organize a date. Moreover, it's not your fault that Daniel had to go and get himself kidnapped."

"I know, but I don't want to be some girly-boy, forever!" the blonde declared. "Is a macho-moment or two too much to ask?!"

"Oh, so you two _are_ gay." Called a voice, beckoning the attention of the three. They turned their heads to find Samantha standing in the doorway, wearing some of Anastasia's old clothes. "I figured as much."

"I'm not ' _gay',_ I'm _Cielsexual_." Alois corrected. "Sorry 'bout that. Your brother was carried princess-style by a girly-boy who fancies tiny blue cyclopses. Hope you're not too mad." The girl simply took a seat on the armrest of the recliner that the Miles woman was seated in.

"Nah, it's fine." She said. "It was kind of worth it to see him like that. He's really touchy about stuff like that. Don't worry, I'm not like our parents or stupid brother. I really don't see what the problem is. If you're happy, then go for it."

"Samantha is definitely the smartest of the bunch." Commented Missus Miles. "Daniel says he's running for Prime Minister, but he's got some _severe competition_."

"I look forward to that battle!" Alois declared. "So, yeah. Ciel and I are together. Before we got the call that you and Dan were kidnapped, I was actually trying to take _'Sunshine'_ , over here out on a date."

"Sorry about that." The Westley girl replied. "I didn't do it on purpose, I swear."

"A _likely_ story!" Alois said, crossing his arms with a faux-frown.

"You're right. Totally my fault. I did it to thwart you and your 'homosexual agenda', as mum puts it." Samantha stated, her words dripping in amused sarcasm. "Getting kidnapped is hard work, so I think I'll be going to bed soon."

"The guest room is already set up for you, sweetie." Said Missus Miles. "Tell Dan he's sleeping on the couch. He's not going upstairs near my teenage daughter's room for obvious reasons."

"'Kay." The Westley girl said, stretching as she stood up again. "Night, Missus M."

"Night, Sammy." The pink-haired woman replied, watching the girl as she left the room with a smile. As soon as Samantha was out of sight, however, she frowned, surprising the two boys. " _Tch._ "

"Wh-what is it?" asked Alois.

"That kid doesn't deserve to live with an ignorant bunch like the Westley's…" the woman replied, putting out her cigarette. "Neither of 'em do! Their parents are hateful, and they're never home! It's a wonder that this hadn't happened sooner!"

"Are they really that bad?"

"Well, according to them, you, your boyfriend, and my son are all out to destroy society as we know it, and poor people are worthless." The woman said. "Their father's not the bad one, though, it's their mother! Damn that Barbara… She cares more about money and appearances than her damn kids!"

Odd, how a fashion designer would complain about someone else worrying to much about their appearance, but neither lad was about to ask for details. It made them wonder if this sort of fiery persona was somehow hidden under the skin of a certain faux-blonde they knew as well. It was obvious now, however, where the lad got his strong, opinionated qualities from.

"Don't like her, huh?" Alois asked.

"Nope. Never have, never will. I only used to tolerate her because our kids are best mates." Replied Kristopherson's mother as she stood up. "Well, I guess I better make sure that her son's still not dead. Sorry I let that all out on you. She just makes me so mad!"

"Don't worry about it. _Ciel_ gets that way sometimes about one of our bosses."

 _"Not my boss."_ The bluenette interrupted.

"She kind of is…" the blonde replied. "I guess we'll be taking off, then? Tell Kris to call us if you need anything."

"Will do. It was so nice to meet you two! I still hope to design you something, someday, so don't think you'll escape that." Missus Miles replied.

"Sorry about your date, too, but on the bright side, _the night's not over yet_." She added with a wink, causing the blonde to blush slightly while the bluenette simply pretended not to hear. All three, however, looked up at the ceiling as they heard yelling from the second floor.

" _Fuck no, I ain't wearin' your boxers!"_ shouted the Westley boy as he argued with his pink-loving friend.

"Don't be such a baby!" Kristopherson shouted back. "They're _clean!_ Besides, there's no way in hell you're going to wear that nasty pair you came in here wearin'! Did you even change clothes after you got up this morning?!"

"Well, I didn't know I wasn't gonna get the chance to!" Daniel barked in response. "I was in my own house! I can run around in my nighties if I want!"

" _Gross!"_

" _You're the one wanting me to wear your gay-ass underwear!"_

With a heavy sigh escaping her lips, Missus Miles put out her cigarette on a nearby ash tray. She started to make her way over to the stairs. She said:

"Now I have to make sure they don't kill each other…" She paused to look back at the demonic duo. "See you around, cuties. Be safe."

"We will." Said Alois, grabbing the bluenette's hand and pulling him up off of the couch. The other boy snapped back to attention, fumbling a bit due to his surprise at the action, but nevertheless, recovered before he could crash into the blonde.

"Guess it's time to take our leave." Alois said, reminding the bluenette of their next course of action, just in case he hadn't heard it. "Where to next?"

"I don't know." Replied the bluenette, straightening his clothes. "You're the ' _master-planner'_ for this evening, aren't you?"

"Like I have any idea what I'm doing." The blonde retorted. "The thing I planned for us to do is long since over, and I've got no more ideas. It took me a week to come up with that, so coming up with something else in a matter of minutes is near impossible!"

Ciel paused, and thought for a moment. He furrowed his brow in concentration, but then, all at once, stopped. He grabbed the blonde's hand.

"Let's discuss this in the car." He said. "We already said we'd leave, so loitering about would be rude, now wouldn't it?"

"Alright." Alois said, allowing himself to be led out the front door by his beau.

The pair walked back to the car, still parked exactly where Alois had left it in the Miles' family driveway. Alois unlocked the door before slipping into the drivers' seat, while his companion did the same on the passenger side. After buckling his seat-belt, the menace ran his hands through his blonde locks with a long sigh. He then somehow managed to motivate himself to start the ignition.

It was dark. The day had ended, and there was nothing left to do but to go home. The blonde had completely missed his chance to impress his bluenette beau, but there was no use fretting about it now. Before he could shift the vehicle into reverse and back out of the driveway, however, he felt something warm and soft brush against his cheek. Alois turned his head to look at the source of the sensation with a confused look as the other boy buckled his seat-belt.

"What was that for?" he asked, earning the bluenette's attention.

"For a good evening." Ciel replied. "Even though things didn't go exactly as planned, I still had fun."

"That's because you got to bust a baddie, though." The blonde said. "I didn't arrange that."

"Doesn't matter. You were there, and you helped me out." He beau answered. "Even more so, you helped me with small talk with Missus Miles. That is something that I would not have been able to do."

"Small talk is not stopping terrorism…"

"But if small talk is something that stumps one who can handle terrorists with ease, then just how difficult is it?" the bluenette asked. " _Very_."

"Not really. I just talked." Alois replied. He paused for a moment. "So, what exactly is the plan now?"

"Well, the way I see it, we have two options." The Phantomhive boy stated. "One: We go home and call it a night; _Or…."_

 _"'Or'…?"_ the blonde echoed.

_"…You show me just how much of a man you really are."_

"Oh…" Alois said, pausing as a blush formed on his cheeks. " _Oh!"_

"That is of course, only if you _can."_ Ciel added with a smirk, which didn't fade even as the other boy cupped his cheek and guided him to meet halfway between their two seats, so that he may be reacquainted with the blonde's lips.

They certainly took their time, as fingers tangled into locks of hair, and seat-belts that were foolishly buckled beforehand dug into flesh. Still, the two didn't care as they parted, yet their breath still intermingled with their proximity. With one last peck on the lips, the blonde menace finally spoke.

 _"I think I can handle that."_ He said playfully. "Let's get out of Kris' driveway, first."

"Good idea." Ciel replied. "I know a good hotel nearby."

"Perfect. Just don't get too upset when I take away your precious composure when we get there."

 


	357. What You Won't, What You Will

When Ciel awoke that morning, he was confused as to where he was. This obviously wasn't his bedroom, but upon recalling the events of the previous evening, he had it all figured out. He and the blonde menace had rented a hotel room for the night after they both decided that they couldn't wait until they made it home for their intimate exploits. A chuckle escaped the Phantomhive's lips as he thoughtlessly played with the blonde locks of the boy snuggled up next to him. And to think that this lad who was now clinging to the bluenette out of affection and an enjoyment of body heat had put on quite a display only a few hours prior.

Ciel couldn't even open the room door before the blonde had his arms around his waist, kissing his neck while whispering into his ear. The poor bluenette understandably had a hard time getting the lock to work under that sort of pressure. He had almost forgotten that when asked to prove himself, Jim Macken always delivered. In an instant, the clumsy boy who's botched-up plans and attempts to gain approval were somehow sweetly endearing was gone, and in his place was the kind of person that he had set out to be in the first place; cool, powerful, but most of all, seductive. As much as the Phantomhive boy found himself wanting to regain and exert his power over this type of person, part of him only wanted to see more.

It embarrassed him to no end to recall this now. Ciel looked over at that same boy that gets him so riled up that he forgets he has pride, seeing that peaceful, sleeping face of the blonde's as he clung to the bluenette in his sleep. Thoughts about how he would like to show the Macken boy what for entered Ciel's mind, but for now, he was certainly more than content to lie here with him in his arms. Indeed, it was rare that they acted so sweetly toward one another, so he was secretly determined to make it last.

Murder was fun, espionage was thrilling, kidnappings were exciting, but all the same, moments of peace had their merits as well, particularly this odd, fuzzy feeling that the blonde gave Ciel. As weak as he felt it made him, that odd feeling made him crave moments like these.

When he was younger, he would have definitely perceived this as "weakness", but now he was simply in awe of how silly and childish a speculation like this was. His may have seemed like a wise, logical human being perhaps to none other than his thirteen-year-old human self, but now, he tends to feel as though his entire mission of "hatred" and "revenge" seems like one, big tantrum. His beau tends to agree, even in regards to his blonde self. Time heals almost all wounds, and letting go of hatred when the mission of over is how you become able to find something new.

What a fool he was. Now, Ciel was just glad to be moving on from such childish notions. He had forgotten that there were people who still cared about him, and failed to realize that his selfish pursuit of worthless revenge would hurt them, and solve nothing. What was it he had said as he was about to be devoured the first time?

_"Be as brutal as you want. Etch the pain into me. It's proof I had a life worth living."_

How ridiculous! He wouldn't have lived long enough to do so! Wallowing in pain and sorrow like a pig wallowing in it's own filth; how disgusting! Bravery is not charging blindly forward and shutting out fear. It's overcoming it. Besting adversity is not focusing solely on pain and shutting out all else. It is moving forward _despite_ of it! Ciel knows this now. He has lived a long life and seen many things. He has made a significant impact on the lives of others, and the world itself as a whole, in his exploits. He has suffered, but found happiness regardless. Never has he forgotten the events of that day, nor will he ever.

One cannot have true strength by simply "forgetting". It takes summoning courage in one's darkest hour, and going through to the end despite the odds. It takes being able to find the light inside of darkness and to go forward. Staying hateful, pained, and sorrowful is weak. It's simply giving up. Giving up is what kills people, and is what would have killed him on that day. Those who are strong do not lay about complaining about how horrible things are. They stand up and see the bad, before they fight to end it. It is not weak to pursue one's happiness, or the happiness of others. Ciel was but a child, and did not understand that. He had been broken down, yet time has helped repair him. It has helped him stand on his own two feet without relying on the strength of others.

Having "pawns" to do one's dirty work is not strong. Hiding in the shadows is a necessity for his line of work, but not for all other things. Ciel walks forward, be it night or day with his head held high. It is a sign of his strength. His power is not derived from others, but from within, and he uses it however he sees fit! His might protects not only himself, his heart, and his pride, but it is so vast that it may be extended to others as well.

Life is not a mere chess game where all serve one king. Life requires one to move forward, pursuing happiness regardless of the hand that you have been dealt. That is the power of Ciel Phantomhive. His power does this for himself, and for those who he holds close to him. They are not pawns. They are far too precious for that. His might protects not only himself, but all of those in his "kingdom". That is the duty of a king! If life is not fair, then so be it. That will not stop those who are strong from still trying to live it. Ciel knows this now, and he won't be changing any time soon.

He could hardly believe how simple-minded he was a hundred years ago. He was naïve, and hasty, believing that revenge would somehow accomplish something. He didn't even bother to think about how he was going to carry it out! He had left it all to chance and to Sebastian, only to be fooled into an attempted murder of someone who was completely innocent of the crimes the bluenette had so thoughtlessly pinned on. That same person who he tried to kill was the one who was asleep in his arms now. Jim Macken was the lad's true identity, and the one that the Phantomhive eventually began to hold affection for.

The bluenette stroked the blonde's flaxen locks as he pondered possibly everything under the sun. He was surprised when his actions caused the menace to stir, clenching his eyes shut before opening them and setting sights on the bluenette for the first time that day.

" _Mornin_ '." He said with a smile, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. "How art thou?"

"Pretty good, considering the night I've had." Ciel answered.

"Oh, don't pretend like you didn't _love_ it." Alois replied. "I'm just surprised you got me back. Did I bruise your ego?"

"Not really. I was just still riled up, is all." The bluenette clarified as the other lad sat up and stretched. "I could have gone without, but I couldn't resist."

"Seeing me act 'manly' turns you on?" asked the Macken boy, arching an eyebrow. "How very _innnnnterestinggg~!"_

"It's not the 'manliness'. It's the 'confidence'."

"So me being 'confident' turns you on, huh? And just how often does this occur?"

"I'd rather not answer that." Ciel answered, sitting up, himself. He stretched his arms, flexing his muscles with a grunt, prompting a smile on the blonde's face.

"That sounds a lot like the noise you made last night." The menace mused. "Only more _tame."_

" _Shut up…"_ the Phantomhive boy replied, throwing the blankets off of himself before swinging his legs over the side of the bed. He sat like that for a moment, staring at the floor and trying to figure out which articles of clothing were his. The bluenette's cheeks were slightly pink at the words of his beau, yet smiled soflty as he felt the lad snake his arms around his neck and embrace him from behind.

"Aaw~! Someone's embarrassed~!" the blonde cooed, causing the Phantomhive to roll his eyes.

"Whatever…" Ciel said. "We should hurry up and get dressed." He added in an attempt to change the subject. "Luka and Sebastian are still expecting us." It was at that point that the Macken boy's smile faded.

"Shit! What's Luka thinking since we didn't come home?!" he asked, removing his arms from the bluenette and running his hands through his own hair. "He's probably wondering where we are!"

"Don't worry about it. I texted Sebastian on the way here last night. I told him that work came up and we wouldn't be back until today."

"Good thinking, sir!" Alois said. "We must make our engagement in flagrante delicto a priority."

" _Here, here."_ The Phantomhive replied in agreement before standing up and gathering articles of clothing. He took what was his and tossed items that were his partner's to the boy in question. Ciel paused for a moment, however, as he noticed that there was a pair of icy blue eyes focused on his naked form.

"Do you have to stare _every_ time?" he asked, earning a nod and a smile from the menace.

"Yep. Besides, _you_ stare at _me_ , so fair's fair." Alois answered bluntly.

" _I do not…"_ Ciel argued, only for a blush to appear on his face as he turned around to find that the blonde wasn't hidden by blankets any longer, and was seated on the edge of the bed where he was earlier.

"Hey, _eyes up here_." The fair-haired demon stated, pointing to his face and snapping the other lad back to his senses. "It's so cute how you still get embarrassed by seeing me naked."

"Well… Who _wouldn't_ be?" the other boy said, donning his eyepatch before slipping into a pair of underpants.

" _Me."_ Alois stated as he scooted off the bed and began dressing himself as well. When he turned to sneak one last glance at the bluenette, he formed a pout at the fact that the boy was now fully covered. "No ' _good morning kiss'_ and now no _eye-candy?_ You're _awful!_ And after I tried so hard for you!"

In response, the bluenette rolled his visible eye at his beau's need for melodrama. With a small sigh, he walked over to the blonde and gripped the lad's chin between his thumb and index finger. Alois happily followed the guidance of the Phantomhive as he led their faces closer together into a kiss. His hands gripped at the bluenette's back, pulling the boy close and releasing his hold on the button of his trousers, causing them to sag a little. The other lad chuckled into the kiss and moved his hand to tangle itself in flaxen locks once again while Ciel and his beau invaded each other's mouths.

It was far too early in the day for such a kiss, but the two boys simply couldn't help themselves. It was at times like this that Alois highly appreciated that he no longer had to lean down in order to be intimate with the bluenette demon; and Ciel that he did not have to stand on his toes. This only improved the ease in which they maneauvered, which in turn helped their focus and stamina.

Finally, the boys parted, their noses still touching. Alois planted another small kiss on the side of the Phantomhive's mouth, prompting the bluenette to move the boy's hair behind his ear. Ciel moved his head so that it was to the side of the blonde's, his breath tickling the other lad's. With a smirk, he whispered to the blonde.

" _You did great last night_." He said, pleased with himself at the feeling of his beau's shudder; the warmth of sudden heat in the blonde's cheeks against his own. When he released the boy, he was rewarded with an embarrassed smile and a red face.

"U-uh, you mean… The date, or…?" Alois asked in reply.

" _All of it."_ Ciel answered, turning to resume getting ready while he allowed his partner to linger on that thought. He couldn't tell if the boy was nervous, giddy, or both, but it still quite pleased him all the same.

He reached down and grabbed his coat, finding his cell phone on the floor underneath it. Picking up the device, his eyes widened. "One missed message" it said. The name?

" _Hellsing"._

Immediately, he pushed redial. Placing the phone up to his ear, he summoned the conversation of the Hellsing woman. A ghastly was to spend a morning after a lovely evening, it was.

" _It's about time you answered_." The woman said, skipping the greetings altogether.

"I was busy, Hellsing." Ciel replied. " _What is it?"_ He heard the woman scoff over the phone, which peeved him greatly.

"I bet you were." She said, forcing the boy to fret as to what she knew against his will. "I wanted to congratulate you in assisting us in narrowing down the candidates for Sir Island's replacement."

"I was just saving one of my idiot friends." The Phantomhive replied. "Had he not have been involved, I most likely would have left it up to the police."

"How _kind_ of you to give so much care to the public." Sir Integra said in a patronizing manner. "Just what was so important that you would have to reconsider?"

"A date." The bluenette said bluntly, causing the blonde to look up, surprised. He was a bit confused by the fact that the other boy admitted to that so flatly, especially to Sir Hellsing. "I _have_ a social life, Hellsing, as well as other obligations."

"And you place that above your obligations to the _public?"_ the woman asked.

"If the yard actually _did their job,_ I wouldn't _have_ to." Quipped Ciel. His rival on the other end of the line paused, taking that in for a moment before formulating a reply.

" _I understand."_ She said, taking the Phantomhive aback. "It is important for you to maintain those relationships. Still, you must answer the call when you're summoned, regardless. When you're needed, you're the one who can do the job. Nothing can change that."

"Even when it's a job that a human can do?"

"Even then. This is the task that you have been put up to. You must honour it."

"It sounds like a _punishment,_ if you put it that way." The bluenette said.

" _It is."_ Replied Sir Hellsing. "For turning your back on humanity, even without your consent, you must be contained within the instructions of the Round Table. The other alternative is your death _, as well as the deaths of everyone under your command."_ Ciel paused to glance at Alois for a moment.

"I know it's not fair. Life never is." The woman continued. "You, however, know just how true that is more than anyone. Your freedom is not an option."

"Because I'm not _human?"_ Ciel asked, clenching his fist.

" _Because you're not human."_ Integra answered, a small hint of what sounded like sadness in her voice. "In recent years, however, your improvement has made the Round Table reevaluate this. You're making us question just what it means to be 'human'."

"Even you?"

" _No."_ the woman said. " _There's never any doubt in my mind."_

"Just what did you _really_ want to talk to me for?" Ciel demanded finally. "Surely you didn't want to just _chat_."

"How right you are. I'll just get to the point, then." Replied Integra. "We want yourself and Jim to introduce yourselves to the new member of the twelve in a meeting this afternoon." She heard an exasperated sigh escape the bluenette's lips before he answered.

"Very well, we'll be there." The boy answered. "The usual location?"

"Yes." The woman said. "Also, there was one last thing…"

"What?" the bluenette asked, thouroughly annoyed by this point.

" _Sir Islands went to the hospital last night."_ His rival said, piquing his interest. "The council would like for you to visit him sometime soon."

"How soon?"

" _Very."_

"I see…" Ciel replied, knowing the implication. Sir Islands was an elderly man; in his _nineties_ , in fact. It was amazing that the man had somehow remained active, and mentally sound for so long.

Even though Ciel and Sir Islands were not at all entirely fond of one another, or fond at all, really, the demon somehow felt a small pang of sadness in his heart. It wasn't the first time that someone who was important in the bluenette's life had passed away, and it certainly wasn't going to be the last. Ciel paused to allow this to sink in.

Just how many deaths would he see in his lifetime? How much mourning would he do? The thought terrified him now more than ever, with the breaking of his defensive barriers to "outsiders".

"I understand." He said. "I'll get on that as soon as possible."

"We would appreciate it." Integra replied. "Don't forget about that meeting this afternoon."

"I won't." And with that, the call ended.

He let his arm fall to his side, phone still in hand, and stared directly ahead. Immortality had given him so much opportunity, but at what cost? He had seen so much, and there is certainly more to see. He had faced so many obstacles and challenges, but there was certainly so much more in store for him. The demons were bound by the will of the Round Table, a constantly changing power that was so fragile, that it would be child's play to overwhelm them. Yet, he and his companions were somehow at the mercy of these humans; these weak, pathetic, mortal humans. They were still powerful, all the same, however.

Ciel knows from observing with his own eyes just how powerful these humans could be. The people at H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G had killing demons like him down to a _science._ They could strip him of his immortality with ease, along with the others in his household.

The Phantomhive was terrified of existing forever and watching those around him die, while at the same time, not existing at all. Nothing frightened him more, however, than the even the thought losing those who were important to him yet again. He was snapped out of his trance by the blonde menace, as he felt a pair of arms wrap around his waist, and a chin on his shoulder.

"You okay?" the Macken boy asked in a concerned voice. The bluenette paused before speaking.

" _Sir Islands is dying_." He said.

"Oh…" replied the menace.

"The round table wants us to visit him, and to attend a meeting this afternoon." the boy added. "They want us to introduce ourselves to Mister Westley."

" _Super."_ Alois said. "More of the whole ' _demons aren't real'_ thing, huh? Probably will be especially interesting, though, seeing as though we know his kid." He smiled as he formed his words, but it faded when he was simply met with a small " _Mm-hm_ " from the other boy. The blonde tilted his head to the side, resting his head on the other boy, allowing him to think.

" _Jim?"_ Ciel said finally, prompting the other lad's immediate attention.

"Yes?"

" _Promise me… that you'll stay by my side."_ He said solemnly, reaching back to grasp at the back of the blonde's head. Alois kissed his neck and said:

" _I will."_

 


	358. Trust

After checking out of the hotel, the demonic duo ventured home to shower and don some fresh clothing. They then proceeded to laze about until their next meeting, getting a bit of paperwork done and playing with Luka. When the time came, however, they had to put their coats back on and bid the boy and their butler "goodbye" one more time, but fortunately, they would actually return that evening. Luka wasn't too upset. He knew that his brother and his boyfriend had important work to do that kept people safe, so he was actually excited, and looked forward to a new story when they returned, as usual.

When the lad's brother and Ciel made it to the conference, they were met with a setting that was a tad more casual than usual. The seats around the ovular table had been rearranged as the power in the room shifted. In Sir Island's seat was Integra, and in Integra's seat was Sir Penwood. In Sir Penwood's seat was Sir Walsh, and in Sir Walsh's seat was Sir Midford. The line simply continued until they had made it to the last seat, where sat a rather overwhelmed man by the name of Mister Mathew Westley.

Now, Westley was not yet as "Sir", as he was not yet an official member of the royal order of protestant knights. It was only natural for him to feel unnerved by being surrounded by a crowd of unfamiliar, yet very important people. They were strange, and he had no idea how to behave.

Some sat dignified and properly, while others, like Sir Walsh, simply lounged in his seat and spoke with his colleagues casually before the meeting began. Some idly played with pens in front of them, while some smoke cigars and cigarettes to pass the time. Some talked about work, some talked about family. Sir Islands and his health was a popular subject as well, but so was Integra and her new position as council chairman, neither of which Mister Westley knew that well, if at all. He had heard of Sir Islands, but he knew nothing of Sir Integra. He paid careful mind not to stare, but he couldn't help but wonder why the woman was called "Sir" and not "Dame".

It was an extremely contradicting environment. Just how was he supposed to fit in? His confusion only grew, however, as two teenaged boys walked into the room. It was then, that the meeting began.

"Welcome, _'Sir Phantomhive'_." Integra said with a hint of amusement in her voice.

"I only came when called, like the guard-dog that I am, ' _Sir Hellsing'_." Spoke one of the boys, and odd lad with an eyepatch and blueish-black hair. His face looked as though it was stuck in a scowl, while the contrasting blonde boy with him wore a smirk. "Or would you prefer _'chairman'?"_

"You're sarcastic when saying either, so there is no point in my preference." The woman replied.

She turned to look down the table, and to mister Westley's surprise, they were all now giving their full attention, from the most laid-back of the members, to the most serious. Mister Westley had no choice, but to follow their lead. Stranger still, however, the lads who had just entered still stood. There were no more seats, and they were not offered one. They simply stood, giving Sir Hellsing their attention.

"Let's get straight to business", the woman began, as she called the meeting to order. "As you are all aware, Sir Hugh Islands has left the council, leaving me as chairman in his place. Seeing as though we are the 'Convention of Twelve', we must fill the hole that has been left. Therefore, we had debated one who would do so. Due to a certain incident, however, solved by Phantomhive, the council has decided that Mister Mathew J. Westley will be the twelfth member."

There was a pause as a few members of the council applauded. Mister Westley was congratulated this way, as well with a fraternal punch to the shoulder by Sir Walsh, to the man's confusion. Still, the Westley had to be courteous.

"Thank you. Truly, it is an honour and a privilege." He said with a smile. It soon faded, however, as Sir Hellsing once again took a spotlight.

"Now, with that out of the way, we must get on to the real order of business." She said, her tone suddenly serious. "As you know, Mister Westley, this council has been operating in the shadows of the British government for centuries. We are the Royal Order of Protestant Knights who guard the countries darkest of secrets." Sweat started to accumulate at the man's brow as he prepared himself for what was to come. Is efforts were in vain, however, as nothing could prepare him for what was to happen next.

"As such, I do believe some introductions are in order." Integra continued. "Mister Westley, may I present to you one of England's greatest secrets, Sir Ciel Phantomhive, and Jim Macken?"

Everyone could tell by the look on the man's face that he was confused, and all of them found it amusing. Ciel had seen many people enter the council in his lifetime, however, none had a different response. How could a teen be a "governmental dark secret?" It made no logical sense! Mister Westley tilted his head as the two boys stared back at him, one still while the blonde next to him smiled and waved in a friendly sort of manner. It was then that the man turned his gaze back to Integra, hoping for an explanation.

"I will illuminate." She said. "My organization, H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. has protected the crown from beings like them for over a century. It is our duty to maintain public ignorance to the existence of such beings, including ignorance within our own government. It has taken a century, but we have erased the truth almost completely, leaving nothing but legends as memories. Sometimes, we employ these beings for this very purpose, as they are one of the most effective weapons against their kind." She paused, allowing this to sink in for a moment before continuing.

"Sir Phantomhive has served the crown for over one-hundred years, and while his assistant, Mister Macken, has served for only a few, they both share the same irreversible 'condition'. They we once human, however, they have both descended into what humans can only refer to as 'demonity'." She said. "To be blunt, they aren't humans, they are demons, in a one-hundred-percent literal sense."

"Sorry?" the man said, confused, but before anyone could formulate a way to convince the man, the blonde menace was at his side.

"It's exactly as she said." Alois stated. "We're demons. Y'know, the _'comes-from-hell, sell-your-soul-in-exchange-for-wishes'_ kind." His grin morphed into a smirk as the man laughed.

"Alright, that's really funny." He said. "What's the _actual_ secret?"

Suddenly, he felt a tapping on his shoulder. He turned his head to see a tail with blonde fur, resembling a monkey, before then turning to the blonde. He looked at the tale, then at the blonde, and again, and again. Finally, however, Alois walked away, taking a few steps behind the man's chair.

"Ciel! Think fast!" he called before tensing his leg muscles and leaping into the air, over Mister Westley's head, and over the massive table in front of him.

Much to his displeasure, the bluenette across from them discovered that the blonde was headed straight for him. Without even trying, he caught the other boy as if he was as weightless as a feather. He held the Alois bridal style, as that were the easiest way to catch him without hurting him, but it only made a few members of the council flash him doting looks. Sir Midford only chuckled as the Phantomhive demon glared at him.

While the bluenette fretted over his beau's display, Alois seemed more than pleased with himself, especially at the flabbergasted expression on the Westley's face. That blonde lad had just jumped high into the air, over his head and the heads of a few others, and now, he realized, that the blonde did in fact have a tail, as it instinctively curled around the bluenette's waist. While Ciel had been concerned about what Integra thought of his current, silly appearance as his beau had so unceremoniously stripped him of his serious atmosphere, the woman couldn't be bothered. In fact, she was more relieved that she didn't have to formulate a further explanation, than she was amused by the bluenette's position.

"There you have it." She said. "Two demons, both working for the Round Table. Any questions?"

"And yes, they have a thing for each other." Spoke Sir Midford, prompting mister Westley's attention. Two real, bona fide demons right in front of his very eyes, and they were romantically involved? What madness was this?

" _When do I wake up?"_ the man asked. "I've got to be dreaming…"

"Sorry, mate. You ain't sleeping." Alois said, refusing to budge as the other lad made an attempt to set him down.

"I know it's a difficult concept to wrap your head around, mister Westley…" Ciel began, trying to pry a clingy blonde off of himself. "…do try to not let it overwhelm you. It's just another job, really."

"Have you ever had another job?" the man asked.

"I'm the CEO of a toy company; FUNTOM Toys."

"' _Funtom'_ …" Mister Westley echoed. "That sounds familiar. What was your name again?"

"Sir Ciel Phantomhive. I won't tell you again." The bluenette replied, somehow managing to get the other demon to finally let go of him. The man paused for the longest time, thinking.

"Do you… you know… go to school or anything?" he asked.

"We both do!" butted in Alois. "Warwick Academy."

The eyes of mister Westley widened in horror. He remembered now. He knew where he had heard the name "Ciel Phantomhive". The colour drained from his face as it dawned on him that this was the name of a boy who his own son went to school with. One of his friends.

Naturally, the man was concerned. More than "concerned". He was terrified! His son had talked enthusiastically about his friends from school, and the man began to think that if he had actually listened, maybe there were signs. His son was friends with two demons from hell, and it made the man wonder about his child's other homosexual friend, Kristopherson. It made him question many things, including what was real and what was not. Sir Hellsing had said that the two demons had been human once, and it made him wonder what if they had gotten to his boy.

"You!" said mister Westley, slamming his hands on the table. "Stay away from my kid!"

"We can't. He won't stay away from _us_." The blonde said. "Just look at last night. We were in the middle of a date and he comes along, getting kidnapped!"

A blood vessel nearly popped in the man's forehead at that. Daniel had stayed over at "a friend's house" the previous evening. He hadn't seen the boy since.

"Where is he?" he demanded. "Where's Daniel!?"

"Mister Westley, I will have to warn you to calm down." Integra said, butting in. Her tone was strict and it made the man stop dead in his tracks. "Your son is alright. According to Phantomhive and Macken, he is currently staying at a mutual friend's residence. They are not your enemy."

"Sir Phantomhive and Mister Macken have been subject to experimentation to further humanize them, and the results are better than we could ever hope." She continued. "Your son is not in harm's way."

" _Not unless he interrupts my date again."_ Alois muttered so quietly, that only his beau next to him was able to hear him. The result was the menace earning a jab to the rib with the bluenette's elbow.

"We apologise for not telling you, but we can't let just anyone know of our 'condition'." Spoke the Phantomhive boy.

"I don't want my kid to be around you…"

"But if that's not what he wants, then would you enforce that?" asked the blonde.

"Of course!"

"Then the experiment could be jeopardized." Interrupted Integra. "Part of the process of 'humanization' is to form healthy relationships with humans. To artificially alter them against the wishes of those involved could prove to end badly, Mister Westley."

"But Sir Hellsing, Daniel's my son…"

"We've already made that clear." Said Sir Midford. "If your son wishes to remain friends with a demon, then so be it. Sir Phantomhive is a distant relative of mine. Are you suggesting that I'm kin to a beast?"

"No, I…" began Mister Westley, searching for words. "What if he finds out?"

"He already has, and he's alright with it." Said the bluenette.

Mister Westley's eyes widened. His fists clenched before unclenching again. He leaned back in his chair and spoke in a soft voice.

"Very well." He said, defeated. "I'll cooperate."

"I know that this may be shocking, but in actuality, we're really just people with superpowers and a bit of mental illness." Alois said in a half-hearted attempt to completely persuade the man.

"Really, _Dan's_ the one who gets us into weird and potentially dangerous situations. We just get everyone _out._ " added the bluenette. "Now, is that everything?"

"I believe so." Answered Sir Hellsing. "You don't need to be around for the full explanation. You just needed to be introduced. If there's nothing more you wish to add, then you're dismissed."

"Very well, then." Said Ciel. "It certainly was good to see you all again."

"Laters~!" Alois added. "Oh, and Dan's dad? Don't be ticked off at Dan. He doesn't deserve it!"

With that, the door closed, and the council was left to meet in private. The demonic duo made their way down the hallway and to the exit. What a wasted venture. They were hardly there for five minutes. Even worse, they feared that their friend may face severe consequences for being fairly accepting of their demonic persuasion. Their trip came to a halt, however, when they were stopped by a familiar face.

He was a boy slightly taller than the pair with his brown hair pulled back in a ponytail. He wore many gaudy rings and his ears were pierced in several places. He looked concerned, holding a stack of old, leather-bound books, and jumped when he saw the demons. His name was Dafydd Blake, and was a fellow student at Warwick Academy. The sorcerer tried to avoid being spotted by the pair, but alas, he was not stealthy enough.

"Oi! Daffy! Where's the fire?" called Alois, waving at the lad. Poor Dafydd nearly tripped over his own feet.

"It's nothing!" the sorcerer replied. "I'm just looking for Miss Victoria. I need her to pass on a message to Sir Integra right now!"

"Oh, well we were just in a meeting with Integra. You want us to do it?"

"No! I mean- _no, thanks_." Dafydd said. "It really isn't something that you need to know about. It's official H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. business."

"Is it about Black Annis?" asked Ciel his face making a slight grimace.

"What?" asked the sorcerer. "No. It's nothing to do with that. _We don't really know anything about that_." The moment he said that was the moment that he realized that he shouldn't have. The temperature in the room dropped when the bluenette's brow furrowed, his fists clenching, and his teeth becoming bared.

" _What?"_ Ciel demanded.

"No! We know what it's made of, what it does and why, but we have no idea where it came from!" Dafydd clarified, only digging himself into a deeper hole. "We have no idea where somebody can get that many dead demons, or how they can just disappear without a trace!"

The poor boy flinched when the now irate demon took a step toward him. He was lucky, however, that the Phantomhive was stopped by a hand on his shoulder. Ah, once again, the blonde beauty of Warwick Academy was like a guardian angel.

" _Not here."_ Alois said. "You know we're at H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. _Let it go until later."_

 _Perhaps not_ , actually. Nevertheless, the blonde's unusual act of maturity and restraint quelled the bluenette's fury, somewhat. Dafydd lived to see another day as the bluenette cyclops turned to walk away once more.

"Fine. I will get to the bottom of this, though." The Phantomhive said. "If H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. is too incompetent to hunt them down, then maybe _I_ will."

While Alois disagreed with him, somewhat, he knew talking about it at this point was useless. Once Ciel Phantomhive vows to do something, it takes serious persuasion to believe otherwise. Alois should know. He was a victim of his wrath, once.

Ciel's pride was getting the better of him in this case. He had been humiliated, and used as someone else's puppet. It was more than that, however. Those behind Black Annis were also responsible for his temporary lapse in humanity. The poison of the "fourth demon" turned him into a monster that could not be stopped.

He remembered the feeling of the blonde's bones cracking against his fists, and the smell of his blood in the air. As he fumed, the yelps of pain that his beau had emitted replayed in his mind, and the taste of his blood haunted him. No, it was not just about Ciel Phantomhive, but it was about Jim Macken.

The Phantomhive boy was sadistic, cruel, and generally insensitive, but not to Jim Macken. No, Jim Macken had a very special place in his heart, pulling it's strings and bringing out the best in the bluenette. Ciel was careful of his feelings, and cared about his comforts. There was a gentleness with Alois that he did not have with others, as if he were afraid he might break. With the blonde's past, he needed it and Ciel was more than happy to oblige. The fact that he had struck the blonde and laughed gnawed at Ciel's psyche like nothing else had in the past one-hundred years.

At the time, he felt childish glee, but now he felt nothing but shame, guilt, and horror. The "fourth demon" and those behind _Black Annis_ would pay for this. Not just with their lives, either. No, Ciel wanted to humiliate them, and make them suffer. They would know the full might of Ciel Phantomhive. It will be etched into their very souls.

Wrath. Anyone who caused harm to his beau would face his wrath. That included _himself_.

He was terrified of touching Alois for weeks after the rosemary wore off. He had come to his senses, and he was horrified as to what he had done. He had promised the boy his protection, and yet it was his hand that had hurt him. He could only imagine the kind of pain the other boy had experienced, not just physically, but emotionally. Alois had already been betrayed once, killed by the one he trusted most and who had promised to stay by his side. He didn't need a second Judas. He needed someone to repair his broken and battered heart, and who better to do so than someone who was nearly just as broken as he?

It wasn't meant to be. Life was too wild and unpredictable. It could never be just smooth sailing, thus, the boys would be built up and then torn down repeatedly into eternity. Ciel knew this. He had known since he was only ten years old. Perhaps his old, wretched self was right, and he should have kept his walls of ice from the beginning.

"Ciel?" called a voice, snapping the bluenette back to attention. He discovered that he was now outside, poised to grab the handle of the passenger side car door. "Are you going to get in?"

Embarrassed, Ciel swung open the door and plopped himself in the seat while his beau buckled his seatbelt and turned the ignition key. He snuck a few passing glances at the grouchy bluenette as the boy silently fumed with crossed arms. Finally, the menace got sick of the unbearable silence between the two and spoke.

"You alright?" he asked, finally looking at the Phantomhive. "You know… the thing with Black Annis? It wasn't your fault…"

"It doesn't matter." Ciel replied. "What matters is that they made me hurt you. That is something that I can't simply let go."

"But I'm fine…" the Macken boy answered. "I healed really quickly. I'm not helpless…" He raised his eyebrows in surprise when the bluenette simply grabbed his hand, gripping it tightly.

"You… gave me your trust…" said the boy, looking away. "I was supposed to be the one who would never hurt you, but I _did_ … Someone who does something like that I far too cruel to be even called a monster…"

" _Ciel_ …" Alois said in a hushed tone, listening to the heavy sound of the bluenette's guilt-ridden voice.

He did trust the bluenette. He trusted him with all of his heart. In that moment, however, he wasn't afraid for himself or his own life. He was afraid for _Ciel's._

It was hard to trust again after Claude, especially his former nemesis. The first few months at Phantomhive manor were nerve-wrecking, because he knew he could have been killed at any moment. Time proved that this wasn't the case, however. While it was known that Ciel had a wall of ice around his heart, so did Alois. It fell into it's cracks and expanded them. As he lingered on the pain, everything seemed so much more grim and unbearable. It was only when he began to know the bluenette better that this began to change.

Ciel was kind, far kinder than he appeared to be. He was gentler than he was harsh, and as the two began to become closer, it became even more apparent. Ciel was was just like him, searching for purpose in a world where their revenge had been completed.

The Phantomhive made sincere efforts to be less intimidating, and the blonde tried his best to respect the other's space. Ciel paid mind to what discomforted the blonde, and Alois did for the bluenette, especially when it came to the aspect of the relationship that had made them both uneasy. Ciel had trouble with being stoic, and Alois had difficulty objecting to violence. Yet, they still moved forward, trusting in each other on all sorts of new levels and extremes.

"I do trust you…" said Alois. "Even if you hurt me, I knew it wasn't ' _you'_ who was doing it."

"How can you be so okay with this?!" his beau asked, finally showing his face. "I attacked you! Why aren't you angry?! Why aren't you afraid?!" Ciel hung his head. "How… can you even look at me after that?"

A single, sapphire eye widened when the cheek of it's owner was cupped, forcing the bluenette's head up again. It was met with two icy blue eyes that see right through him, making him shudder. Ciel's eye snapped shut as the other boy moved and he braced for the worst, but to his surprise, all he felt was a pair of soft, warm lips on his forehead.

" _Because you told me you were afraid."_ Alois said, causing the other boy to be taken aback with surprise.

"How can I not believe in you after that?" the blonde asked. "More than anything, I was afraid for _you_. You trusted me with that… With the real you."

Alois' palm became sweaty from the heat from the bluenette's face in that moment. The Phantomhive's face was completely red. He remembered that part. He begged. Ciel Phantomhive _begged_. Now, he was simply sheepish at the thought that he had done so. Immediately, his eye searched for something other than the blonde's face to stare at.

" _W-well… I…"_ he said, searching for a response. "… _I…. uh… I…"_

"Don't even bother." Spoke the blonde. "I heard you. Let's face it. Whether you like it or not, you've got a human's heart, so like a human, you can feel fear. Suck it up." He smirked at the groan that escaped the bluenette's lips as he tried to think of a way to escape the conversation. To his surprise, they were kissed by the blonde.

"Okay?" the boy asked, tilting his head. "I trust you. It should be obvious by now."

" _I'll say…"_ the bluenette said at last, still blushing like mad. _"You're so clingy_ …"

 


	359. Like A Kite

_Hellsing Manor_ , where lies one of Britain's most secretive of organizations, the H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. organization. The Hellsing's have defended the crown from supernatural attacks since a Dutchman by the name of Abraham arrived upon the nations' shore, with him, a diabolical treasure he had come across over the course of his many travels, all the way from Transylvania. One-hundred years later, the house still stands after facing destruction many times, however changed by the course of time.

It was now part Victorian estate, part state of the art facility. Firing ranges, laboratories, and test chambers were but a few of the things on the property, where the H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. research team tested the latest and greatest of anti-freak weaponry. Today, it was their hope to test their most recent creation, however, the methods they were able to use served problematic.

You see, on typical weapons, they would use ghouls as subjects, as they were easy to come by, and simple to dispose of. Vampires were the same. The weapon that needed testing, however, is ineffective against both creatures, as it has a very specific target in mind. Thus explained what the demonic duo were doing at the estate for the second time that week.

Naturally, the weapon wasn't at all _dangerous_. Oh no, they would never allow such precious subjects like the demonic duo to test it, had it been. It was to simply stun the demonic subject. Based on the findings of the "Black Annis incident", the research department had created a "Rosemary bomb". The goal was to artificially make a demon docile enough to take down without much of a fight. The bluenette scoffed at the idea, determined that it wouldn't work.

"How on earth are you going to get rosemary into a gas form?" Ciel asked as the team set up for the experiment.

"Oh, it's rosemary extract combined with other things." Answered a certain intern, a human by the name of Miranda Ackerman. She nudged her glasses back onto the edge of her nose. "Dafydd and I made them. Grandma helped, though."

"I would've helped, but I'm still not too familiar with this supernatural stuff." Said a familiar face, a woman by the name of Elena Lovejoy.

As one may recall, Lovejoy was a geneticist employed by _Baines Pharmaceuticals_. Due to a certain incident, however, she humbly resigned, seeking employment elsewhere. With her eyes now open to a new frontier, Lovejoy applied for research at H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. and combining her knowledge with the knowledge of the others, the team was able to learn all kinds of things. Unfortunately, she wasn't at all familiar with the supernatural aspects of the job. She knew how demons worked physically, but as for the "magic", she was completely stumped.

"What are you talking about, Elena? You helped us out a lot!" said Dafydd. "I would've never have thought to combine rosemary and holy water with _puffer-fish poison_."

"What in blazes is that for?!" demanded Alois.

"To weaken the subject while it's regenerative abilities are slightly compromised." Answered the sorcerer. "Don't worry. You won't die or anything. You'll just be really, really stoned."

_"Sweet."_

_"Not 'sweet'."_ The Phantomhive boy insisted. "I don't need to deal with a stoned blonde demon. I've already dealt with him while he was under the influence of a love potion, thanks to _someone."_ The sorcerer shrank at the memory.

"Hey! That was then. This is now!" he said, tweaking some of the knobs on the test chamber control panel. "It won't be like last time. I have my _own_ cute blond boyfriend."

"Took Kristopherson's seconds, didn't ya?" asked Alois, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively.

"No way!" spoke the sorcerer. "Cameron said they didn't even kiss!"

"How do _you_ know that?" the blonde inquired. "Got any proof?"

"Boys, please. The experiment?" Miranda interrupted, placing her hands on her hips with a frown. "Can this wait until after we're done?"

"Yes, 'mom'!" Dafydd replied mockingly before turning back to the demonic duo. "So, which one of you _Devilish dumbells_ is gonna step into my test chamber?"

"Given the options, I suppose I will." Said Ciel.

"Why?" asked his beau. "Don't think I can handle it?"

" _No,_ but in the chance that you _can't_ , then _yes."_ The bluenette said. "I doubt it'll actually do anything. At most, it might blow up or start smoking. Besides, there's something that I want to try out, and this looks like as good of an opportunity as any."

"Just be careful not to break the chamber, Sir." Said Miranda. "We tried to reinforce it the best that we could, but the system is still new, so we have no idea how effective it is."

"So, are we prepared at all for this?" Doctor Lovejoy asked.

"Sure we are!" answered the sorcerer boy. "I backed it up with all kinds of spells! There's no way he's breaking it until I release him." He opened the door to the chamber and motioned for the bluenette to step inside. "Right this way, Sir Grumpypants."

Ciel scoffed before turning to the blonde, who appeared to look unsure about all of this. He remembered the last time that Ciel had been under the influence of rosemary, and it was an odd experience for everyone. Poor Doctor Ackerman had thought she had walked into something obscene, when the reality of it was that the Phantomhive boy had developed some severe clinginess in efforts to apologise for what he had done under the influence of yet another substance, _demonic venom._

Yes, Alois was uneasy about this. He didn't want the bluenette to get hurt or permanently damaged by mistake. After all, they were testing an anti-demon weapon! The way they talked about the rosemary made it seem like some sort of narcotic, so the blonde also feared that his beau may develop some god awful addiction to the herb. It was unlikely, but he had seen "unlikely" things happen before. Ciel offered the boy a small smile of reassurance before turning away to walk into the test chamber. He was determined to not let the menace down.

The room was large and empty, with nothing but an automatic pitcher used for baseball practice, and a few closed off vents on the ceiling. The Phantomhive looked over at the two-way mirror, seeing only his reflection and knowing that the others on the opposite side could see him clearly. His eyes glowed red, and he was able to "see" them as well with his mind's eye. The blonde was still uneasy.

"Alright, Ciel. We're going to start." Said Miranda over the intercom. "Are you ready?"

"As ready as I'll ever be." The bluenette stated with little enthusiasm.

Still, even with minimal care, he tilted his head just in time to dodge when the pitching machine fired a ball at him, striking the wall instead. The bluenette wasn't at all surprised. He was sure it was Dafydd minding the trigger, but he couldn't be bothered to say anything. It wasn't as though the lad could actually harm him. Still, the bluenette had to admit, he did feel a bit uneasy at the hissing sound of gas escaping the bomb shell behind him. As soon as the smell of rosemary hit his nostrils, the bluenette decided it was time to use his "trick", and not a moment too soon! The air in the room was starting to get foggy from the gas.

_"Caelum in nube, et toto corde summi viri, virtutem, obsecro; Sana animam meam, ut vastares hostem velocius otium. Raptim regenerationis!"_

The eyes of the sorcerer behind the glass widened in shock and terror. For a demon to be able to use that spell would mean catastrophe. The bluenette's body caught fire, being surrounded with blackness, preventing the other from seeing just what was happening. Dadydd knew. He knew that spell, but it was a spell that not even he could use! The power required to activate it was inhuman. No sorcerer could do it without first becoming a monster. Ciel was healing himself at a constant rate. "Rapid regeneration". With this, he might just be able to become immune to the effects of the rosemary gas. That is of course, if he could keep this pace.

Ciel was quite pleased with himself, as gas was burned away by his black fire and his body remained unaffected by stupor. One minute, two minutes, five minutes, _ten…_ Time passed and he remained. The gas, however, was starting to dissipate. Thusly, the sorcerer fired a second shot, only causing the bluenette demon to smirk. He would not be suppressed so easily! With this spell, the Phantomhive was invincible!

Unfortunately, however, he could not see what his beau could. The blonde's eyes glowed as he watched the traces of energy wafting from the bluenette's figure. They were strong, overwhelming, and didn't shirk in the slightest at first, but as time passed, the power began to weaken. Ciel himself didn't notice until the fire began to go out, his left arm becoming exposed. More time passed, and more and more of his skin showed, allowing the rosemary to finally begin to work it's way into the boy's system, and thus blocking the remaining power behind the spell.

Soon, Ciel was completely exposed to the gas within the room, and it was a higher concentration than before. It took mere moments before his head started to become foggy, his only pressing thought being that he had to escape somehow. His legs moved toward the door, but upon touching it, it glowed, revealing various symbols and incantations on it's surface. That's right. Dafydd had reinforced it with magic, just as he had said. Without thinking, the bluenette cocked back his arm and struck it with full force, causing the entire wall to glow, the sound of the impact booing in the ears of those outside.

That was a mistake. Getting worked up only allowed the gas to enter the boy's system faster. Ceasing respiratory functions did nothing, as it took even a small amount of contact with the skin in order for rosemary to have an effect on a demon. It took only a matter of moments before the Phantomhive was starting to lose his balance, and sway before quickly trying to correct himself.

What an indignant situation to be in. H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. certainly needed a better method of performing these tests without the use of an operative. Knowledge on demons was just so limited, that even locating one was difficult. Ah, that must be the reason for the poor progress on the Black Annis case.

Ciel looked to the glass wall, trying to see what was happening on the other side. He was certain that he was being laughed at, but his senses were becoming foggy. He could only sense Miranda and Lovejoy weakly, but Dafydd a little better. Alois was the strongest, as a fellow demon with a high amount of magical energy. There was someone else in the room, but he couldn't quite place their identity. They had only entered recently. It was a familiar soul-signature, but the bluenette's vision was blurred.

Soon, it gave out completely and all he could see was his own reflection in the two-way mirror. The surprise cause him to jump, subsequently to lose his balance and fall to the floor, only managing to break the fall with his knees. He wanted to be angry about the pitiful position he was forced into, but he simply couldn't find it in him. He couldn't even find the motivation to make another attempt to move his limbs. Ciel was just far too lethargic from the gas to care.

There was a small buzzing in the back of his mind, but it only made him want to chuckle, which he did his best to hold in. After all, he was still conscious of his actions, but that seemed to be slipping away as well. He was still wide awake, but he wasn't quite all "there".

Soon, the readings of his vitals and neuro-activity indicated some slowing down and thus it was decided to end the experiment. Miranda pushed a button on the panel outside the room that activated the vents, but even as the gas was sucked out of the room, the Phantomhive remained still. It was a cause for concern for the research team.

"Alright, Sir, the experiment is over. We're opening the doors." The girl said over the intercom, but the bluenette was unresponsive.

"He gonna be alright?" asked Dafydd.

"Yeah. It's just that the experiment was a success." The Ackerman girl stated. "It'll wear off in a few hours, at most, but he's going to be feeling it until then. Open the door and let him out."

"Alright." The sorcerer replied, stepping up to the chamber door. He placed both hands on it's surface.

" _Scientia de anima!"_ he shouted, a gust of wind escaping the external seals. With that, the door was able to be opened. Miranda pushed the button that unlocked it, and it swung open, exposing the bluenette to the outside. Yet, he made no effort at all to get up.

At most, he simply sluggishly moved his head in order to investigate the noise, but after realizing it wasn't an immediate threat, the small amount of concern he did have waned. He simply didn't feel the need to get up. He was still too far under the influence of the buzzing to be bothered.

"What are you doing?" asked the sorcerer. "Get up. The test is over. Go home and let the drugs wear off."

"He can't specifically because of the ' _drugs'."_ Said Sir Integra, who had arrived during the test in order to check on process. Indeed, she was quite amused to observe the demon in such a state, but her demeanor seemed to indicate that there were more pressing matters weighing on her mind. The researchers gave the woman a salute, while the blonde menace looked at her with concern.

"Is he okay?!" the lad demanded, worried about seeing the bluenette in such a state.

"He'll be fine." The woman answered. "He's just in a state of lethargic euphoria. Get him out of there. He'll move if you force him."

While the Hellsing woman was actually giving instruction to her workers, it was the blonde who made his way into the room first, nearly knocking over Dafydd in the process. The scent of rosemary still lingered in the air of the chamber, giving the Macken boy a slight buzz. It was nothing significant, however, and he was able to make his way over to the dazed blunette with a clear mind.

Ciel heard the sound of his footsteps, and tilted his head yet again to investigate. He turned to face the blonde completely after registering who it was. A smile crept across his face. It was goofy, almost drunken, but completely unlike the bluenette all the same. Still, was happy to see the other boy, even if the blonde's expression was worried and his gestures urgent as he dashed over to the Phantomhive in order to assist him. Ciel's grin only seemed to widen as the blonde cupped his cheeks in his hands in order to get a better look. The bluenette leaned into the other boy's hands, enjoying the contact even though it was hardly an appropriate time.

"Ciel! Are you okay? How do you feel?" Alois asked, trying to get the other boy to pay attention.

" _Weird."_ The bluenette said bluntly. "I feel funny. You?"

"You're the one who was just gassed, not me." Said his beau as he struggled to get the bluenette to stand. "C'mon. Get up. Let's get you out of here before things get weird."

"I don't wanna…" Ciel groaned.

"Too bad." Replied Alois. "If you don't stand up on your own, I will carry you in front of Sir Integra."

"Integra?"

"Yeah. She's outside. She wanted to see how things were going."

" _She stinks like cigars_ …"

"And _you_ stink like _rosemary."_ Alois stated, the Phantomhive's arm another tug. "Now get off your ass!"

With another groan, Ciel childishly made at least a small attempt to humour the boy. He forced himself to stand up, stumbling a tad at first, but it was when he tried to walk that things went really awry. The Phantomhive couldn't walk in a straight line, and nearly fell on more than one occasion. At last, his weight distribution made him fall, having nothing but the blonde menace to catch him. Alois was more than happy to do so, given the situation, and actually started to find the lad's inability to maintain his usual, dignified stature amusing. Seeing the noble Ciel Phantomhive cling to him like a small child did wonders for his ego. They made their way out of the chamber with the bluenette desperately hanging onto the blonde for support, and the blonde trying not to laugh at the bluenette. Oh, how upset Ciel was going to be once he became sober!

"Well, that surely is a pathetic sight." The Hellsing woman said as her workers did their best to hold in their snickering. Ordinarily, Ciel would have jumped on their actions and have intimidated them into silencing themselves, yet it was as though the lad couldn't even hear them. He was far too busy focusing on his ability to remain standing and on his beau who helped him to do it.

Alois held onto the poor lad by his underarms, allowing the boy to wrap his arms around his shoulders and use him as a crutch. The only flaw in this plan was that Ciel's legs refuse to obey any and all commands made by their owner, thus leaving all of the lad's weight to be carried by the menace. Truly, Ciel was a "pathetic" sight.

"The majority of his major senses have been dulled, Ma'am." Said Miranda. "His balance is completely off."

"Gee, I haven't noticed!" Alois butted in, shifting as the bluenette started to slip so he wouldn't fall. "So when's this stuff wear off?"

"A few hours, probably."

"What am I supposed to do with him until then?!" demanded the blonde boy. "I can't take him home like this! The others will never let him live this down!"

"Neither will we- _oof!_ " The Ackerman girl elbowed Dafydd in the gut for his words. Still, even with all joking aside, there was an inebriated demon in front of them. Sir Integra sighed.

"Keep him in the infirmary until he sobers up." The woman said with a sigh, rubbing her temples. "Save him the indignity. I doubt he would be able to handle it. There's usually a wheelchair in that closet over there. Tests sometimes get messy. You can use that to get him there."

 _"Thanks."_ Alois said with a small nod. With the help of Miranda, the lad was able to get Ciel so sit upright in the wheelchair without slumping too much.

The bluenette smiled at various points, releasing a small chuckle or two. It seemed as though he found the situation humourous. Still, those present knew that this would not last for long. He was simply too far gone to realize just how silly he looked. His gaze fell to Integra, who patiently watched, refraining from lighting a cigar. Admittedly, the woman appeared to be a tad understanding with the slightest bit of worry. She, however, grew tired of the bluenette's curiosity-driven observing, and decided to take her leave.

" _I have a meeting with Sir Midford in a few moments."_ She finally said, turning to walk toward the door. "Stay out of trouble if you know what's good for you, _demons."_

While the woman's behaviour toward the boys wasn't at all new, Alois couldn't help but feel like something was wrong. The way she looked at the bluenette was "odd", and her choice of words was different. Not once could the Macken lad recall the other blonde referring to he and his beau as "demons", outside of a classification of species. Part of her appeared angry, while another worried. Usually, she seemed indifferent, or at most, patronizing. Alois couldn't remember a time when he had seen the woman genuinely angry, but judging by her demeanor and tales of her exploits, he highly doubted that he really wanted to. As much as he wanted to converse with the bluenette on the topic, seeing as the boy had known Integra since she was a mere child, the likelihood of obtaining any useful information out of the boy in his condition seemed even less than "slim".

"What's going on?" Ciel asked as the blonde pushed him in his chair down the hallway. The lad hadn't been paying all that much attention to what was being said.

"I'm taking you to the infirmary so you don't embarrass yourself while the rosemary wears off." Replied his beau.

"Well, I do feel kinda funny." The bluenette said. "What was Integra talking about?"

"She said she had a meeting with Midford, and that you looked pathetic." Answered the Macken boy.

" _Bitch."_ Alois laughed at the bluenette's statement.

"Now, now, Poochie, that's not really nice." Cooed Alois, smiling at the bluenette's crudeness. "She could've just said ' _suck it up and get outta my house'_."

"I guess so…" the Phantomhive said with a laugh. "I really don't get her sometimes."

"Probably because she's as arrogant, prideful, and thick-headed as you are." Replied the other demon.

"Am I that bad?"

"Yep. Sometimes worse."

A long pause hung in the air as Ciel took a moment to let that sink in. His thinking capacity was impaired, so he was somewhat sluggish. Eventually, he nodded.

"I guess…" he said. "…She's not as awful as me, though. She's annoying, but _she's alright_." Alois nearly jumped at the words that the other lad just spoke.

"Wow, you really _are_ high." He said, stopping his movement in order to rub the bluenette's head, trying to contain himself when the boy leaned into his hand and closed his eyes. "You okay?"

"Why?"

"I thought you ' _hated'_ Sir Integra?"

"Not really." Ciel said. "I don't _hate_ her. She's a pretty good person."

"Yep, it's time to get you to the infirmary." Alois declared as he started walking at a faster pace than he had at the start. " _You're high. As._ _ **Balls**_ _."_

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I now have a rough idea of about how many chapters there are left on this fic. It's quite a bit, but will go by like it's nothin'. It'll be over before you know it. When we get closer to the end, I'll talk more about additional content. I actually should be writing on that today... I'm trying to figure out what to do for this chapter and I haven't suite decided. Can you imagine? 
> 
> It's basically an issue of figuring out what order to put things in. I know what happens. Have all the essential parts worked out, but assembling them? Aye, there's the rub...
> 
> Writing is hard, kids.
> 
> Until the next chapter, my duckies~!


	360. Here There Be Dragons

Deathly quiet was the room that the demonic duo sat in, with it's familiar blank, boring walls and comfortable-yet-not beds. The only sound that could be heard was the _ticking_ of the clock mounted on the wall, and the sound of breathing. In his current state, or any other, for that matter, the Phantomhive was not much for conversation, yet he did have a few commands. A craving of his built up inside of him and grew stronger with each passing second. Soon, it became far too much for the poor bluenette, and he spoke up, being as careful as he could to articulate his wants.

" _Jim?"_ he said, summoning the attention of the blonde menace. Alois sat on the other side of the room in a chair propped up against the wall. His arms were crossed, and he was bored out of his mind.

"Yeah?" he answered, perking up a bit at the much appreciated sound of shattered silence.

"Can you come here?" Ciel asked, his tone odd. It wasn't sure, and it wasn't dignified in the slightest. It was almost childlike in nature.

"Why?" asked the menace.

"Because."

"Because why?"

" _Reasons."_

Unable to argue with that sort of unlogic, the blonde stood up with a roll of his eyes. Now he was starting to understand what it was like for his beau to put up with himself! Alois walked over to the side of the rickety infirmary bed, placing his hands on it's surface and leaning forward.

"Okay? What is it?" he asked, arching an eyebrow.

" _You were too far away_." The Phantomhive lad replied with a small, almost unnoticeable pout. He raised his eyebrows when the blonde took a seat on the edge of the bed. The grin on the boy's face was almost Cheshire-like.

"You call _me_ the ' _clingy'_ one?" the blonde mused as the other boy began to play with his fingers. He giggled. "You're so cute…"

" _Am not."_ Protested Ciel. "I just don't like it when you're far away…"

"Like I said, 'clingy', but cute." His beau replied. "Is it because you're high _, or…?"_ Ciel only shrugged in response.

"You're so weird…" Alois said, reaching over to the boy with his free hand, and stroking his bluenette locks. The Macken boy tried his best to hold in his giggles, but the way the other boy leaned into his hand and closed his eyes struck him as "cute". He imagined that if the other demon's tail was out, it would be wagging like a dog's.

" _Mm-hm_ …" Ciel answered, obviously not even listening. His beau shifted so that he was seated facing the boy with his legs crossed on the bed. To his surprise, the bluenette grabbed the hand that he was playing with and drew it close.

He laughed at the Phantomhive's unusual actions and asked: "How are you feeling?"

"Wonky." The bluenette replied. "It feels like my head is empty. I don't like it."

"You should feel _lucky._ People pay big money to get that sort of feeling~!"

"People are stupid."

"And you're the one stoned out of his mind in a military base infirmary, cuddling my arm." Alois commented, causing the other lad to furrow his brow.

"Well, I wouldn't have to if you'd just lay down with me…" replied the Phantomhive. The fair-haired demon shook his head with a smile intact.

"Nope! We don't need anyone who happens to walk through that door believing they've caught us _in flagante delicto_." He said, taking great enjoyment from the one-eyed immortal's displeased expression.

"I don't wanna have sex. I just wanna hold you." Ciel stated.

"My, you're awfully affectionate today, aren't you?"

"I'd like to be all the time, but I dunno why I don't."

"Because your pride is shoved too far up your ass?" the blonde jokingly inquired.

"You and I both know that's not true. _You made sure just the other day."_

The blonde's face heated up and he clasped his hand over his mouth. This boy was going to be the death of him. Alois tried his very best to not burst into laughter, only letting it slip out in strangled barks between his fingers by accident. He tried so hard, but the bluenette's words in his current state were far too much for him to bear. Even worse was the confused expression the boy made as he looked up at the other boy. Apparently, he wasn't joking, which only made the blonde laugh harder.

"Whut?" Ciel asked, unsure of what had just happened. Alois did his best to compose himself again in order to form an answer, but it took time.

"That was _dirty_ …" the blonde almost whimpered through his laughter, his face completely red.

" _Okay?"_ his beau replied, arching an eyebrow. A wave of surprise washed over the lad's visage as it finally dawned on him. "Oh… You're laughing because I bottomed?"

"No! It's not just that!" Alois said, gasping for air. "Do you seriously know that's what you said?"

"Well, yeah, I said it, didn't I?" the bluenette answered. "It's not a big deal. You do it all the time."

"But I'm not Ciel Phantomhive." The Macken boy stated. "If it's 'no big deal', then why don't you do it more often?"

"You never ask…"

The blush on Alois' face darkened at those words. His laughter was gone. Embarrassment came over the boy as images of the sort of things he could do with the boy crept into his mind. Somehow, he found shame in it, especially given the other lad's current state.

"Oh, so if I did, you're saying _… you'd just let me?"_ he bashfully asked.

"Yeah." Ciel replied.

"Don't you like it better on top?"

" _Yeah."_ The bluenette answered, bruising his boyfriend's ego a bit. "I dunno why I like it that way better. I just do. Doesn't mean I don't like it on bottom. It's good, too. Besides, you're a man, too. Expecting you to bottom all the time is just inconsiderate."

"Oh god, how can you be saying this stuff..?" Alois rhetorically asked, covering his face with his free hand.

"You oughtta know."

"Okay, but remember, don't get mad at _me_ when you're sober. _This is all you_."

"Don't care." Ciel stated.

"You _will_ , though."

" _Don't care_."

That was the end of the conversation. As the bluenette continued playing with Alois' fingers, the blonde demon couldn't help but smile at the other boy's behaviour. To Ciel's surprise, the blonde interrupted his idle playing by gripping his hand with his own, intertwining their fingers. Then it was the Macken lad's turn, when Ciel smiled at him.

"Ugh, you're so cute that it causes me physical pain!" the blonde declared with a whine. "Quit it. You're making me wanna cuddle the shit outta you."

"I want to, though…" replied the Phantomhive.

"Why?"

"You're warm and soft…" the bluenette began. "I like it. It's nice."

"Hmm, but what if Sir Integra walked in and saw us?" asked his beau.

" _Fuck Integra…"_

" _I am not okay with that idea."_ Alois stated.

"You know what I mean…"

"'Disregard the authority?'"

"Exactly. Now c'mere." Ciel instructed, tugging on the other boy's arm.

"Do we _always_ have to cuddle in the infirmary when you're high?" the blonde asked.

"That's not important." Replied the Phantomhive, sitting up with a pout. "Are you going to or not?"

"Hmmm…?" hummed Alois, thinking for a moment. "What happens if I say _'no'_ just to spite you?"

He was answered by the bluenette leaning forward and wrapping his arms around his waist from his seat on the bed, his forehead touching the blonde's abdomen. Ciel turned his head so that he could nuzzled the boy instead, but that didn't help the blonde at all. In an effort to maintain some form of decency, the blonde moved the boy up his torso, which was quite difficult, with the bluenette's newfound death grip. With the boy's head now on his chest, Alois felt less uneasy, and wrapped his arms around his beau in return.

"What's gotten into you? You're being even sillier than usual." He said.

"Everything else in here is so boring…" the bluenette replied.

"What does that have to do with it?"

"It makes me wanna dote on you some." He continued. "I don't get to, normally."

"Yes you do, you just don't." the blonde said. "You're usually just too embarrassed and cautious."

"Well, I don't wanna weird you out, or anything." Ciel answered. "I just feel like it's an okay time…"

"In an infirmary, in your arch-rival's house. Yep, _great_ timing." The Macken boy laughed. "Your logic is flawed."

"So is your character."

" _I love you too, muffin."_ Alois said. "Now, lay back down, and go to sleep. When you wake up, you'll be sober."

"Do I get to cuddle you?"

"No."

" _You cuddle-nazi."_ Ciel said accusingly, furrowing his brow as the other boy made an attempt to pry him off.

"You experienced Nazis first-hand. How the hell do I compare to that?" asked the Macken, causing his beau to pause.

"Well, _you do have blonde hair and blue eyes."_

"I hardly think that qualifies associating my concern over your image and massive ego to _genocide_ , Ciel."

"Did you know that ' _Alois'_ was the name of _Hitler's father?"_

" _Go the fuck to sleep, dumbass."_ Instructed the blonde, pushing the other boy on his back and forcing him to relinquish his grip on the seventeen-year-old.

"I am a war veteran! I deserve _rights!"_ protested the Phantomhive.

"You deserve the right _to shut your baked-ass mouth_ before you say something you're gonna regret later!" Alois declared.

"You're not the boss of me! I take orders from no one!"

"You take orders from the round table!"

"I used to _be_ the Round Table! What happened to the ' _Evil Noblemen'?!"_

"I dunno! _I was dead at the time!"_

 _"Oh my god! Just fuck!"_ shouted a familiar, small but sharp voice, startling both boys. Their demeanor was turned sheepish by none other than a wolf with an accent. Slowly, the demonic duo turned their heads to find Amelie standing there in the doorway, vampire in tow. Charlotte stood behind the girl, apologizing like nothing else for the shorter girl's outburst, but the werewolf appeared to be waiting for a show.

"No way! _Especially_ not with you there!" barked the blonde menace, a blush present on his cheeks.

" _Tch!"_ Amelie clicked her tongue in annoyance. " _Damn tease_."

"Is Mister Phantomhive alright?" asked Charlotte, trying to steer the conversation. "We heard something happened to him, and then we heard yelling.

"Yeah, he's fine. He's just high and being a clingy idiot." The menace replied. "So, how've you ladies been?"

" _Gay."_ Amelie swiftly replied before her vampiric friend could even put a single word in.

"You don't say? So have we!" the blonde said jokingly as the bluenette sat up again. " _Ciel, no. Bad. Lay down."_ With a snort, the Phantomhive begrudgingly complied, laying down and turning to face the wall with his arms crossed.

 _"Cyclops now your woman?!"_ the wolf-girl asked in an unnecessarily loud voice, prompting Charlotte to cover her mouth with her hand.

"Amelie! Can you _not?!"_ interrupted the vampire. "That's really not an appropriate questio- _did you just lick my hand?!"_ she demanded, already knowing the answer as she removed her hand from the wolf-girl's mouth.

"Nope. Neither of us are. We both have dicks." Alois said with a laugh as Charlotte wiped her hand on her pants with a disgusted face. "You?"

"Charlotte is my _husband,_ sometimes." Amelie replied, putting her hands on her cheeks, smiling with a swoonful sigh. Her companion's face simply turned red.

" _Amelie!"_ she shouted, but her every protest only made the shorter girl's devious grin wider.

It faded, however, as a certain bluenette let out a cough. Alois looked over at the boy, and could tell that he was noticeably grouchier. He shook his head with a sigh.

"I think we should talk later." He said. "Ciel's not feelin' too good."

"Alright. Sorry for bothering you. We were just worried." Said the vampire, follow by a sneer from the wolf-girl.

" _Baby."_ Amelie said before being scooted out the door by the taller girl.

After the door closed, one could hear the vampire scolding her companion in her usual, serious, but easily persuaded manner. Alois looked back over to the bluenette, only to see the boy sneaking a glance at him before quickly turning away. With another sigh, the Macken boy leaned back until he fell onto the bed, precisely how the other boy had wanted him to before.

"Hey." He greeted with a grin. "How ya doin'?"

" _I still feel weird_ …" Ciel replied.

"Do you still think you need cuddles?" asked Alois, only for the other boy to turn around to face him, wrapping his arms around his waist in reply. The bluenette buried his face in the Macken boy's chest, letting out a husky groan as he got comfortable. Hesitantly, his beau held him in return, blushing at both the action and the noise. Oh, how this boy would be the death of him. He just knew it.

" _Yessss…"_ Ciel answered finally, as he seemed to relax again. He was completely motionless, almost to the point where his pulse stopped. _"It feels good…"_

"Just don't get any weird ideas…" the blonde said, his blush darkening at the lad's comment. "I am _not_ gonna fool around with you while you're high as a kite, _especially_ at H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. HQ."

" _Fiiiiiinnnneeee_ …" the other demon said childishly, immensely enjoying the blonde's contact combined with the odd, numb, tingling sensation he was experiencing.

Part of him wanted to heed the blonde's advice and sleep until it wore off, but part of him wanted to keep it. While he didn't appreciate the lack of activity in his head, he did like the relaxed state he was in. There was only one other time when the boy felt a similar feeling, but unfortunately, the blonde had already said _"no_ ". Ciel was perfectly fine with and respected that wholeheartedly, but still felt somewhat guilty that the blonde had to remain sober.

"Am I still a ' _cuddle-nazi'?"_ the blonde asked finally, smiling at the feeling of the bluenette chuckling into his chest.

"No. Congratulations, you are now an ally." Ciel replied.

"I wasn't, already?" Alois jested. "Then why would you want to hold me?"

"You're cute, and holding you just feels right." The bluenette answered.

"Desiring to fraternize with the enemy…" the blonde said, shaking his head. "I'm pretty sure that's _treason_."

"But it would be _fun_ treason."

"How do you know? Have you ever committed treason?"

" _Well, I did kill Queen Victoria. Howzzat?"_ Answered Ciel with a smile.

"You killed the queen?!" demanded the other boy, eyes widening.

"It was a long time ago, before I met you. It's fine. They had a replacement and nobody found out." His beau stated bluntly.

"Wait, so everyone after that was 'fake royalty'?!" Alois asked. "You made history a lie!"

"History already is a bunch of lies. A few more won't hurt it."

"Yeah, but I still think I ought to have known that."

"You didn't ask." Ciel laughed as his boyfriend's face shifted into a pout as he tightened his grip around the blonde's waist to pull him closer.

"Is there anything _else_ that I ought to know?" inquired the blonde with an arched eyebrow and a displeased expression.

"Probably." The bluenette replied. "I dunno what all is important information, though. A lot of stuff happened. Did you know I'm banned from Italy?"

"Really? Why?"

"Apparently, the pope doesn't like the idea of a demon entering their borders."

"Why, those racist bigots!" Alois declared, earning another laugh from the bluenette. "Not even the new pope?"

"I'm not sure. I probably should ask." Ciel said. "Let's see… What else? I lived in Germany for a bit before the First World War, but then Sebastian and I moved to France when war broke out. Bad idea. Got stuck in the middle of a battle. That was my first run-in with a machine gun, and the first time I was shot in the head. It took me forever to regenerate. I'm just glad Sebastian didn't think I was dead."

"Did it hurt?"

" _Does Sir Kirkland have a stick up his ass?"_

"Well, _no,_ actually. I'm pretty sure that's why he always seems so _frustrated_." The blonde answered, grinning from ear to ear at the bluenette's laughter. It wasn't often at all that he got to see the bluenette laugh this much. Ordinarily, the boy kept it to a small chuckle.

" _We should go to Paris sometime."_ The Phantomhive said, his speech still a bit slurred.

"Sounds fun!" Alois said with a giggle. "Tell me when I need to pack my bags."

"I've only been there once or twice since I've lived there. It changed a lot. Then again, it was weird to see London again for the first time in… what was it? Fifty years or something?"

"I think I heard Kirkland complaining that Paris smelled like piss, once, though."

"Kirkland's just mad about that French diplomat he hangs out with, for some reason. There's another one from America, but the French one really gets under his skin." Ciel said. "The American is just a 'dumbass', while the French one is a whole slew of expletives."

"But _does_ Paris smell like piss?" asked the blonde

"Only in _some places,_ but it's only about as bad as _New York City."_ His beau answered.

"Then why go?"

" _Their bakeries are amazing_ …" the bluenette said with absolute seriousness.

"Oh, so your motive is sweets, then?" mused the Macken boy, knowing the ways of Phantomhive well.

" _Duh."_ Ciel said. "There are other countries with better, but I can't speak their languages and talking via Sebastian is annoying."

"You sound weird when you speak French." Alois stated, only to become confused moments later.

" _Vous savez que vous l'aimez."_ Answered Ciel, fairly pleased with himself due to the blonde's reaction.

"Sorry?"

" _Vous êtes mignons quand vous êtes confus."_

"Stop it." Alois said with a frown.

" _Es tut mir leid. Möchten Sie lieber Deutsch?"_

"That doesn't even _sound_ French!"

" _It's not."_ The bluenette said, chuckling. "I just like bothering you, _Jimmy."_

"I will leave you in this bed by yourself." Threatened the fair-haired demon.

"No you won't. I won't let you." His beau replied. "You're already in my clutches, and there's no escape."

"You sound like you're some old-timey villain." Alois said. "Maybe a dragon."

"Yes, and I must keep hold of my precious golden treasure." Teased the bluenette, causing a blush to form on the other boy's cheeks. He scooted upward on the bed so that he was face-to-face with the Macken. "Or maybe 'princess'? 'Prince' suits you better, but I've never seen one of those get captured by a dragon."

"Well, I'm no ordinary Prince." Said the other demon. "And I wasn't captured. I just like it here."

"So you're just a _moocher_ , then?"

"Pretty much. I don't have a kingdom to go back to and you're a nice dragon who seems to really like my being here. It's not a problem, is it?"

"It's the opposite." Ciel answered, moving one of his hands up the boy's back so that he could play with his blonde hair. "Just remember that if any knights try to take you away from me, they _will_ die."

"Oh, yes. I'm perfectly aware of just how possessive you dragons can be." Alois replied. "Knights must obey the commands of a prince, and if they don't obey my wishes, they'll be beheaded, anyway. If they don't respect that I wish to stay with my dragon, then they aren't even worthy of my presence." He smiled at the bluenette's almost sinister-sounding chuckle.

" _God_ , _I love it when you say stuff like that."_ The Phantomhive said. "Can I kiss you?"

" _Hmmm…"_ the blonde hummed, pondering for a moment. As much as he wanted to, he wasn't sure if it was really "okay" in this sort of situation. His beau was certainly not in his right mind. Would he be upset if he found out about it later? Probably not. A small kiss was just a small kiss to those who have kissed thousands of time before. Alois couldn't see the harm in it, thus, he allowed it.

"Alright." He said. "Just one."

A smile formed on the bluenette's face as he and the other boy shifted on the bed for comfort. Their eyes fluttered closed as their faces inched closer. Ciel's lips ghosted over those of the other boy before finally making contact, his movements somewhat sluggish. While Alois had a short kiss in mind, the Phantomhive boy seemed to disagree. He kissed the blonde slowly, running his hands through the boy's hair in a soothing manner and causing him to forget the clashing of their interests on the matter. He shuddered when the bluenette's tongue ran across his bottom lip; his small, surprised gasp allowing the other boy further access to his mouth.

Yes, Alois was starting to forget the real dilemma the situation brought about, that is, until the other boy let out a small moan into the kiss. At once, the blonde's eyes opened, and he pushed on the Phantomhive's shoulders to separate them. His face was completely flushed, as was that of the other boy's, whose eyes were wide in surprise and confusion.

" _No tongue."_ Alois said, trying to catch his breath. "I said you could have a kiss. I didn't say we could snog."

"Sorry. You seemed into it, though." Ciel replied.

"Of course I did. I wanna make out with you. I just can't when you're high off our rocker." The other boy said. "I want to make out, touch your butt, and make love until the sun comes up, because that's what I always wanna do, but I'm not gonna when you're not able to completely be okay with it."

"I _am_ okay with it…." Whined the bluenette.

"Not when you're high, you're not." Alois said. "Remember that time when I was on Dafydd's love potion, and basically wanted to have sex with everything that moved?"

"Yeah…" replied Ciel. "You almost succeeded with me… but I didn't let you…"

"…Because in an influenced state, I can't consent to that, right? Well, that's why." The other demon stated, playing with the bluenette's hair. "In my head at the time, it seemed like a pretty good idea, but I wasn't myself. You stopped me because you knew I'd regret it, and that it was not an appropriate time, place, and thing to do. You being high in the H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. infirmary isn't any different."

"Got it." The bluenette said. "I wasn't gonna keep going if you said 'no', though. I'd never do that to you… I don't like it when you're upset, and I'd probably die if I were the one that hurt you…"

"I know, we talked about this." Alois said. "The ' _Black Annis'_ case, remember? You're too big of a _sweetheart_ to want to hurt me."

"I love you."

"I love you too, muffin. Now go to sleep and sober up."

" _Burma!"_ the bluenette shouted. His beau jumped at the sound, only to furrow his brow at the boy in confusion.

" _Why'd ya shout 'Burma'_?" he asked.

" _I panicked."_

" _ **GO THE FUCK TO SLEEP."**_

* * *

 


	361. Another Secret

Ciel hoped that he wouldn't be making a habit of waking up in unfamiliar beds. Fortunately, the blonde menace was there, nestled up next to him, so he knew that it couldn't be all bad. That said, he couldn't shake this gross feeling he was experiencing from head to toe, and as he began to process events, he realized why it was there.

An audible groan bubbled up in his throat as he clenched his eyes shut in response to the sickly feeling, and a blush formed on his cheeks as he recalled just how much of a fool he had made of himself over the past few hours. Judging by the lighting in the room, it was afternoon. He didn't have to turn around and look out the window to see it, nor did he really want to. He had given the boy in his arms quite the difficult time, so it was the least he could do to let him sleep. Naturally, he would have to issue an apology later.

Right now, dread began to well up inside of him as he fretted as to whether or not the blonde was angry with him, or if someone had walked in and observed them while they were asleep. Gracious, if Sir Hellsing saw them, he had no idea what he would do. He could, however, imagine receiving a massive scolding from the woman. His memory indicated that they had done nothing inherently scandalous, but then again, he wasn't entirely sure. His senses were dull, and his mind hazy, at the time. Terror struck the Phantomhive as he laid there, wondering just what he did during his time under the influence of rosemary. What he could remember, he was not at all proud of.

The poor lad jumped in surprise as he felt sudden pressure on his nose. A hand had pinched it, blocking off the lad's supply of air. Now, while breathing was a luxury, it still didn't feel right to suddenly be denied it. Ciel looked over to his right as he heard the sound of giggling. His eyes focused to see Alois, taking his hand away from the bluenette's face before resting it on the boy's chest.

Alois' giggles sounded pleasant to the groggy Phantomhive's ears. The boy was tired of the anxiety-ridden silence that filled the room before, and was relieved to find that the other boy didn't appear to be upset with him in the slightest. In fact, it was quite pleasant to wake up with such a boy nuzzled so close to the bluenette. Flaxen hair framed a pale face with icy, cat-like eyes peering through it's locks at the Phantomhive; an ever-so-slight blush dusting the cheeks of their owner as the boy curled his parted lips into a smile.

Those lips; Ciel's face reddened at the memory of his clumsy indulgence of them, and the annoyance of the blonde when his impaired mind felt it was necessary to push past them. Still, the blonde laughed, increasing in heartiness as the Phantomhive's face changed. He ran his fingers up the bluenette's chest, tickling the boy's neck before tangling them in his hair. The small shudder his coaxed out of the boy only added to the Macken's amusement.

" _You looked so serious."_ Alois said with a grin, commenting on the other lad's concerned behaviour. "Good morning~!"

"It's _afternoon…"_ his beau answered.

" _Minor details_ …" the blonde stated. "How're you feelin'?"

"Disgusting." Ciel replied. "I feel groggy, and I don't think it's possible that I may ever be taking seriously again."

"Oh, please, it's not like you did anything weird…" the blonde said. He paused for a moment to think. "Scratch that… You did, but it was all chemically induced."

"Christ, what did I do?" Ciel asked, putting his arm that wasn't commandeered by the blonde menace over his eyes.

" _Killed a hooker, stole a car, and bought drugs in Mexico with money you got from a bank robbery."_

" _Jim..."_ The bluenette interrupted in an impatient tone.

"Alright, _alright,_ you were just really touchy-feely, and were fixated on getting me to cuddle." Alois answered. "You said some flirty stuff, and wanted to kiss me."

"Yes, I remember that bit…" replied the Phantomhive, a blush on his cheeks. " _I'm sorry_ , by the way… I just… don't know what I was thinking…"

"You _weren't,_ really. It was nice _. I learned a lot."_ Teased his fair-haired companion, giggling as the other boy moved his arm to sneak a glance at him. "You were really disoriented, and couldn't stand on your own. That's the part that _Integra_ saw."

" _Bugger…"_ Ciel muttered, not at all looking forward to seeing the woman after that. "I really don't need this…"

"Nothing we can do now, though. It's kinda late for that. Think you can walk now, though?"

In response, the bluenette sat up, forcing the other boy to do the same. He still felt sluggish, but he was a lot better than before. At this rate, he will have the rosemary out of his system in no time.

"Probably." He said, sliding his legs over the edge of the bed. "Think we should get going?"

" _Probably."_ The blonde replied. "What time is it?"

Ciel stood up, stretching his legs for a bit, before walking over to the chair on the other side of the room. On it sat his coat, and the lad rummaged through it's pockets for his cellphone to check the time. _"Three-thirty."_

"That it?" Alois asked. "Feels like it's morning."

"That's because you fell asleep."

"Well, what was I supposed to do while I waited for you to wake up? Take pictures of your sleeping face and post them on the internet?"

"Please don't…"

"There are some who would appreciate it." The blonde stated, standing up as well. "Still, I don't really think I wanna share. That said, wanna go home and talk about the hijinks of your stoner-self?"

"Can't we just let it go?"

"Fine, but instead, _do you want to build a snowman?_ "

The Phantomhive boy introduced the palm of his hand to his forehead. "I'm so _sick_ of that song. It's not even _winter_."

" _Doesn't have to be a snowman…"_ the blonde said with a shrug, glancing at the other lad out of the corner of his eye with a grin. He was quite proud of himself, and at the fact that he was able to provoke a response from the bluenette. Ciel sighed, putting on his coat before tossing the blonde's at the other demon.

"Whatever." He said. "Let's go tell Integra that we're leaving, and go home. I feel gross."

"' _Integra'?"_ echoed the menace. "I thought she was ' _That cigar-chewing beast-woman',_ or something?" Immediately, the bluenette stopped in his tracks.

"Well… Naturally, a name like that gets old." He said in an attempt to cover himself. "I'm just not in the right frame of mind to come up with something new…"

"Really, because when you were stoned, you said that she ' _isn't a bad person'."_ Alois said to remind the lad.

"I was stoned. I had no idea what I was saying…"

"Oh, so you were lying about all of that sweet stuff you said to me?" spoke the blonde with dejection. "How cruel!"

"That wasn't a lie!" Ciel said with a blush, freezing as he processed his own words. "I-I mean… Well… Uh…"

"Don't deny it. You're a sweetheart, and you don't really hate Sir Integra." His beau stated, walking over to him and pecking him on the cheek. "Think of all of the things you would accomplish, if you just admitted it~!"

"There's nothing to admit…" protested the bluenette. "The stuff I said about you was true… but… because by then the rosemary was just starting to wear off!"

"Whatever comforts your ego, darling." With a huff, the Phantomhive followed his boyfriend into the hallway, as the two made their plight to seek out the Hellsing woman to utter their "thanks" and "goodbyes".

Linoleum tiles spanned the floor as they exited the medical wing through a steel door. There, was the main lobby of the base portion of the estate where Revy was gunned down. It still gave the lads chills to look at that front desk, now replaced with a new one following the damage of being riddled with bullets. The base split up into different sectors, but the lads knew that Integra would be in her own residency, which was in a separate building. Naturally, the woman didn't want too many loud soldiers around, but she still somehow felt the need to keep supernatural creatures living just below her living quarters. It was a contradiction that the bluenette simply couldn't understand.

After switching buildings, the atmosphere had completely changed. Victorian-era decorations adorned the manor, or rather, replications of. The originals had been destroyed decades earlier, thus was the curse of the Hellsing and Phantomhive houses. They simply didn't last long before remodeling was absolutely nessecary. The restoration of Hellsing house, however, was far more expensive to replace. It was much larger, a fact that peeved Ciel greatly, having a full other floor that the Phantomhive house simply lacked.

That was where Integra was sure to be. On the third floor was one of the many rooms that the Round Table met in, as well as her office, which was sure to be her location. Sure enough, as the two ventured closer, they began to fresh cigar smoke. Even Ciel, whose senses were still a bit off, did. From the quantity, the lad assumed that the woman was under a bit of stress, and was trying to quell the feeling with nicotine. Part of him found it funny, but then part of him knew that whatever it was, it was most certainly going to affect him later. It always did. A new mystery, a new mission; it always meant the same thing.

Ciel braced himself as he walked up to the door, blonde in tow. He raised his hand to knock, but froze. He heard voices; the voices of the Hellsing woman and Sir Rupert Midford. The two did not seem happy. Sir Midford had a bit of worry in his voice, but the Hellsing woman sounded angry, but with a touch of melancholy. While she was not shouting, her voice was not calm. She was annoyed, and as the lad listened, he began to discover why.

"Integra, this isn't right…." Said Rupert. "We have to tell him. He has every right to know…"

"And just what would that do?" the woman asked. "I promised my father that I would not look at the contents of that trunk, and I don't intend to break any more by allowing Phantomhive to do so, either. I am not going to show him, and that's final."

"That's cruel." The Midford replied. "Lying to him isn't going to solve anything. He's going to discover the truth sooner or later. Once he does, he may never forgive you."

"It doesn't matter." Hellsing said. "I am already detested. A little more will do no harm."

"Integra, that's not true." The man stated. _"I highly doubt Ciel 'detests' you_. The man's always been prideful, just like you. It's only natural that you clash from time to time."

"You will not persuade me." Integra answered. "My father told me to never allow Phantomhive to see the contents of that trunk, and I intend to keep my word."

"You do, but _I don't."_

" _You will do no such thing…"_

"I'm a grown man, and I haven't made any promises." Rupert said. "To you, it is right to keep your word, and I believe so as well. A promise is a promise. That said, it's wrong to keep him in the dark! Ciel must know the truth. He must know what happened to _Elizabeth."_

With that, the door swung open, startling the two humans. There, stood a shocked Ciel Phantomhive, eye wide, and mouth slightly open. All froze, never breathing eye-contact as the boy spoke.

" _What happened to Lizzie?"_

 


	362. Odd Relations

_"What happened to Lizzie?"_

Neither human knew how to answer the bluenette's question. They knew the answer, but not how to explain it. Thus, the two simply glanced at each other before continuing to stare at the Phantomhive. Finally, while Integra didn't reply, she put a cigar up to her lips and lit it with a flick of her lighter. The woman was immensely uneasy, and Ciel knew it.

 _"Put that out right now and tell me."_ He said in a commanding voice, staring down the two Round Table members with a single, furious, sapphire eye. It made Integra visibly falter, but it was Rupert who spoke.

"Ciel…" he said, putting a hand up to prove that he meant no harm. "Calm down. Nothing bad happened to our cousin…"

"She's dead." The Phantomhive stated. "You call that 'nothing bad'? Out with it. What are you so desperate to hide from me, Integra?" he asked, looking over to the Hellsing woman. With a twitch of her eyebrow, she opened her mouth to speak.

"I know you're upset. _I'm_ upset. I only found out about this _today."_ She said in a vain attempt to gain equal footing.

"I don't the slightest care about your _feelings_ , at the moment." The demon spat. "Tell me what you're so keen on keeping from me about her. _Now."_

"Very well, then." The woman said, maintaining a calm visage to mask her discomfort with the situation. "I'll start from the beginning…"

"A few weeks ago, while attempting to restore some old, anti-freak weaponry, Dafydd Blake came across a sword, and while reading the documents found with it, he discovered that it belonged to an _'Elizabeth'_ , which he found odd, because from a historical standpoint, H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. did not employ female soldiers at the time of it's creation." She began, never daring to show a sign of any hesitation in her explanation. "I brought this up to Sir Midford, and showed it to him, given his family's history with sword-wielding women. It was then that he told me that he saw a similar sword in a photograph of his great aunt, _Elizabeth."_

"It was a remarkable find." The man added. "We had no idea about any of this beforehand, you see. Ciel, I'm not entirely sure how to put this, but, after some digging, we discovered that after you 'disappeared', your fiancée, Elizabeth… _well_ …" He paused, looking back to Integra, who only nodded. The man looked back to the Phantomhive boy with a determined look in his eye.

"…She married into a _different_ family…" he continued. "… _The Hellsings."_

Ciel furrowed his brow, confused. He wasn't entirely sure if he processed that correctly. Surely, he must still be until the effects of rosemary. With a baffled, and more than "irritated" expression on his face, he looked up at the humans.

 _"Sorry?"_ he asked.

"It's true." Said the Midford. "Elizabeth Ethel-Cordelina Midford. She married, and became ' _Elizabeth Ethel-Cordelina Hellsing'_. From the documents on this table, it's confirmed." He pointed to the coffee-table between himself and the Hellsing woman. The man gestured for the bluenette to look at them, and that, the boy did.

The Phantomhive, mind blank and almost unresponsive, slowly walked over to the table and picked up a few papers. As the gears in his head started turning, the more unsettled he became. Papers crinkled in his hands as they unconsciously began to clench. His breath became shallow as he forced himself to comprehend such information. There were legal documents, a marriage certificate, and a death certificate. It was unarguable, but what really got to the bluenette were photographs. Yes, it was seeing it with his own eyes that struck him in ways that he shouldn't have been.

There was a happy young woman; blonde, by the shade of the monochrome photograph, with big eyes and a warm smile. She was older, now, but it was every bit of the Midford girl that the bluenette remembered. He never got to see that. He never got to see just how beautiful she became, nor did he see the happiness that life had given her.

In other photos, she stood with a man, who was definitely a Hellsing, judging by the looks of him. According to the writing on the back, his name was Isaac, and he seemed every bit as happy as happy as the woman with him did. There were many photos of them together, and they looked happy in every single one. It warmed the bluenette's heart, but at the same time, saddened him. He was sad because he never got to see it in person, and sad that he appears to have been forgotten. Still, from the pile, there was still much more to see.

There were photos of Elizabeth carrying a sword, most likely the one that Integra had described, sometimes sacrificing her skirt for a pair of trousers for better movement. Indeed, it was a completely new light for the girl, but Ciel was not at all displeased. He was simply thrilled that his relative was strong, and was more than capable of surviving on her own.

In another photo, she was there with the man from before in a wedding dress, positively beaming. As Ciel went through more of them, he found her with two young boys, who looked remarkably like Arthur and Richard Hellsing. Yes, they resembled the two men well, yet resembled the couple as well. The more Ciel stared at the image, the more it began to dawn on him.

Suddenly, the boy looked up at Integra, who simply looked away with feigned indifference. Ciel thought, and thought. He thought about math, and the number of years that have passed. He thought about genetics and the sort of traits that the family seemed to have, as he stared at the woman's features; long, wavy blonde hair, with natural genius of the sword, a naturally determined visage, and slightly pointed chin.

" _No…"_ he uttered softly in disbelief, prompting Rupert to lean back in his chair.

 _"Yes._ " The man said bluntly, folding his arms across his chest. "Sir Integra Fairbrook Wingates Hellsing: _Granddaughter_ of Dame Elizabeth Ethel-Cordelina _Hellsing."_

Both parties seemed to flinch at the words, while the onlooking blonde menace simply raised his eyebrows. That was a hard pill for him to swallow. He could only imagine what was going on in the head of the Phantomhive at that moment. For Ciel discover that his arch-rival is not only a blood relative, but also the granddaughter of the girl that he was supposed to marry, was an almost _cruel_ twist of fate, had it not been so oddly humourous to those not involved. The bluenette stared at the Hellsing woman as she in return, avoided eye-contact. Little did she know that the lad's expression not angry, but only shocked and confused. There was no way he could believe that. He could not accept it.

"Can you stop that?" Integra finally said, snapping the lad back to his senses. Ciel furrowed his brow.

"And you just intended to _keep_ this from me?" he said, his fury returning.

 _"Of course_." She said. "There was no way of predicting how you would react."

 _"That's_ your _justification?"_

"Yes. It's perfectly _rational,_ as well." Integra stated, finally meeting the Phantomhive's gaze. "I don't expect for a moment that this revelation will change anything. That's just being realistic. I could only imagine the sort of anger you would be feeling. It's perfectly reasonable to not wish to subject myself to such abuse."

Her eyelid twitched as the Phantomhive slammed his hand on the table, leaning forward to glare at her with bared teeth. He wasn't surprised in the slightest that Integra dared to matched his attempt of intimidation with a glare of equal intensity. Deadly, was the atmosphere in the room. It nearly suffocated Sir Midford and Mister Macken. Still, with this turn of events, something had to be done. Neither one of the eyepatch-wearing mongrels seemed to be showing any signs of retreat, so it was up to the very remaining pair to step in. It was Alois, who did, gently resting his hand on the bluenette's shoulder.

_"Ciel…"_

_**"What?!"**_ the Phantomhive barked, turning his head to face the source of the horrible, interrupting sound. Guilt immediately sank into the pit of his stomach as he saw the menace, the boys' eyebrows raised in a surprised expression. It didn't matter, however, as Alois immediately recovered.

"Everything you're doing right now is proving Integra's worries _right_." He said. " _Both_ of you need to calm down."

"But… She's… I…" the bluenette said, struggling to find his words. He rubbed his forehead, trying to soothe his troubled mind.

"Maybe you shouldn't think about this here." Suggested Alois. "It doesn't look like it'll do you any good. From what I know about you, taking a step back and analyzing the situation seems to work pretty well, right?" Integra leaned back in her chair, rubbing her brow.

"That sounds like a good idea." She said. The Phantomhive looked back to her, narrowing his eye before deciding to stand.

 _"This isn't over."_ He said.

 _"This isn't a battle."_ Integra replied. She looked over to a trunk placed on the floor in the room before pointing at it. "In the event that you were to discover the truth, father informed me that _that trunk is yours._ Granted, I did add _one thing_ to it. Take it with you."

The bluenette simply stared at the woman, prompting his associate to walk over to the chest in his stead. He rolled his icy blue eyes at the Phantomhive's indignant attempts to stare-down the woman after the conversation was obviously over, simply for getting in the last word. Thus, the blonde made sure that it was sufficiently fastened shut, and picked it up, the massive sixe being nothing to his demonic strength.

" _Thanks, Sir Integra."_ He said, nudging the bluenette with the box so he would get moving. "We'll be taking our leave, then."

 _"Any time."_ The Hellsing woman replied, folding her arms as the demons left. Her eye followed them, being met one last time by that of the Phantomhive before the door finally closed, signaling the end of the petty game they've played for over twenty years.

All was silent. Not only for the Hellsing, but for the Phantomhives, as well. All that could be heard were the sounds of footsteps echoing down the hallway along with the sound of weight shifting in the large trunk that was carried by the Macken boy. Yes, even he was silent. This wasn't his to reflect upon, after all. It was Ciel's. It was Ciel who had lost a rival, being forced into some form of unnatural relationship with the woman by blood.

Yes, after all of this time, all of these years; after venturing through petty squabbles and attempts to best the other for the sole purpose of reinforcing ego, the truth had emerged. Sir Integra Fairbrook Wingates Hellsing, one of Ciel's most loathed enemies, had by relation of Midford, carried Phantomhive blood through her veins. How fitting. Should the house of Phantomhive "disappear", those who remain must carry on it's legacy of dwelling in the shadows. Integra was no different.

In fact, she carried on much of the burden, if not more so. She, as with the rest of the Hellsings, were responsible for the eradication of all domestic supernatural threats, as well as potential ones that were foreign. The human murderers that Phantomhive house governed were nothing in comparison to the disaster that would befall should Hellsing cease to exist. Ciel knows this.

He knew that it was most likely best this way. While he was vastly experienced in the dealing of the supernatural, he was somewhat rash. Taking orders wasn't nearly as bad as he thought it would be, and instead, turned out to be a wonderful way to pass the time. It was like a game, and just like any other, rules made it exciting.

Still, this "game" had taken a surprising turn. The poor Phantomhive wasn't entirely sure how he felt about it, either. He was shocked, sad, angry, nostalgic, and even relieved all at once. A desire to know everything, however, persisted in in mind, which would most likely be cured by the contents of that trunk. He did his best to not look back toward the boot of the vehicle as he and the blonde menace made their way back home. Alois, however, pretended not to see. He knew that there was a lot going on in the other lad's head, so he simply felt it best to leave him to ponder it for a bit. Naturally, he would be there to help the boy along should he need it.

Alois wasn't entirely sure how to feel either. He knew it was really none of his business, but he couldn't help but feel a pang of jealousy at the mentioning of the bluenette's former fiancée. It did in fact occur to him that this fear was irrational, but his tendencies of craving attention were strong.

Ciel Phantomhive belonged to him, and for the lad to pay attention to a former love interest was more than "irritating". Yes, the blonde was aware that Elizabeth had been happily married to someone else. He had spoken to the very proof of that mere moments ago! His concern did not lie with Elizabeth, however, it lied with Ciel, and no matter how badly he wanted to discuss this, he knew now was not the time. The Macken boy had now built himself up enough to be able to securely wait, when he obviously needed to. Alois could see clearly, that his jealousy did not compare to the confusion and frustration that the bluenette was currently facing.

When they reached the manor, hopefully the trunk would shed some light on the situation and ease their minds.

 


	363. Tje Contents Of What Was Left

Without a word, Alois carried the trunk up the stairs and into the bluenette's office before setting it down. Admittedly, the Phantomhive felt a bit guilty for having the other lad do so for him, but was afraid that if he spoke, his voice would betray him, and come out harsh and scathing. He didn't want to subject the blonde to that. That isn't how Ciel felt toward him. His confusion, and anger at, however, caused his tone to sound far more hateful than intended. It took him a few moments to collect himself as his beau placed the trunk.

"Thank you." He said, still sounding a tad "off". He tried his best not to take everything out on Alois, which the blonde noted. He learned that the bluenette had difficulty communicating from his very first few weeks of living at Phantomhive house, so it was an easy conclusion to come to.

"You're welcome." Replied Alois, offering a friendly smile. "So, I guess I'll just leave you to it, then. Just call if you need anything."

"Alright…" Ciel answered, watching the boy as he made his way past the bluenette on his way to the door.

"And… Thanks… _Not just for carrying the trunk,_ I mean… _"_ He added, bashfully but sincerely. In response, the blonde smiled warmly before making his way back over to the Phantomhive and pecking him on the cheek.

"It's what I'm here for." The Macken boy stated before turning again to make his exit. "Laters~!"

The door closed. Ciel was left alone in the office with the trunk. It was silent, save for the sound of the lad's shoes slowly making their way across the floor to hang up his coat. The Bluenette paused to look at the trunk for a moment, hesitant to decide whether or not he actually wanted to open it yet.

It sat off to the side and out of the way from everything so it wouldn't be a hindrance. It was an odd way of placement, given the fact that the office was massive, but it did stand out less. The trunk was covered in heavily worn leather, and seemed as though it belonged in someone's attic, rather than on the polished hardwood floors of a CEO's home office. It was torn and patched up, again and again, as if it meant something to someone. With the finances of the Hellsing and Midford families, it would be no difficult feat to replace an old trunk.

All of this only made the boy less inclined to open it, almost afraid to see what was inside. For the longest time, Ciel simply sat on the couch and stared at it, preparing himself mentally for what he might see. There would most definitely be more documents and photographs like the ones from before, but how would he feel afterward? Would he feel guilty? Angry? Afraid? Perhaps he would feel relieved, but what if he felt depressed? The lad knew that whatever he felt, it would affect him for a while. Alois would most definitely have to put up with that for however long, as well as Sebastian, Luka, and Revy. Just what sort of things would he say to them in the mental state he would be in after observing the contents of that trunk?

Even with all of the doubt, Ciel needed to know. Even if it would affect his present, he needed to know of the past, the past that _he_ had caused. He abandoned Elizabeth, along with the others after becoming a demon. He knew that he couldn't stay, however. What would he have done? Everyone around him would grow older as he remained the same. He would watch them rot, and they would despair about leaving him alone. They would become angry that the lad had kept the true nature of Sebastian Michaelis a secret, as well as his own. It was all just too painful, so the bluenette did the easy thing for everyone, and "disappeared".

But did he make the right decision? The answer was in that trunk. The evidence of his success or failure was confined within its walls, just waiting for him to peer at it. Yet, the bluenette was afraid. He feared that he had failed everyone who he was close to, leaving them to mourn him, and leaving them bitter. The last thing he wanted was for his dear cousin, whom he had been close to since early childhood, to become blackened just as he had. That is a fate that is far too cruel, even for the one known as "Satan". Still, he had to know the truth. He had to know what he had done.

He was driven mad by the suspense of it all, and stood up before marching his way over to the trunk and crouching down in front of it. The boy undid the metal clasps on the straps, leaving the trunk vulnerable. His heart pounded in his ribcage as he hesitated for a moment. He summoned his courage, and quickly opened the trunk, the musty old stench of leather and paper hitting him straight in the face. As he opened his eye that he had forgotten he shut, the lad came upon what Sir Integra must have meant by "adding" something to its contents.

A sword, freshly restored and polished stared him in the face. Its intricate gaurd was made of silver, as was the edge of the blade. The rest of it was black like onyx, with inscriptions running up and down it written in tongues that not even the Phantomhive knew. He recognized the symbols, however. They were anti-freak insignias and scriptures, specifically designed to slay demons. This blade could very well kill the bluenette, but that didn't stop the lad from carefully picking it up, ignoring the fact that he could have done so with its sheath.

This was Elizabeth's sword. It was far more ominous than he had anticipated. It didn't suit the girl at all. Perhaps he could find an explanation hidden somewhere in the confines of the trunk? The lad now was certain, and did not hesitate in the slightest to search.

He found pages and pages of documents, all written in Elizabeth's handwriting. They dated back as far as 1899, entering the early 1900s, documenting her experience with the Hellsings. She spoke about the queer nature of the family, how interested the heir was in the occult. She soon believed it, and with good reason. She was almost killed by a coven of vampires!

Ciel furrowed his brow at this. The very thought of his former fiancée being in danger peeved him. He was pleased to find that she was unharmed, and that she, too, found interest in the supernatural as well, particularly, in anti-freak weaponry.

Apparently, after marrying, she dabbled in strengthening blades, using the knowledge available to her, and helped create some of the basis for H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G.'s technology. Along with her beloved husband, Isaac, the son of Abraham Van Hellsing, she rediscovered ancient artifacts like _The Hand of Akeldama_ and _The Shard of the Lævateinn,_ as well as helped set the restrictions on the powerful vampire known as " _Alucard"._ It filled Ciel with pride to read about the girl he knew building things and gaining power, even if it went against her "feminine" nature. He recalled the girl often worrying about this, and was absolutely thrilled that she found her calling. What he didn't expect, however, was some of her motivation.

Naturally, after learning more and more about the paranormal, she came to identify the attributes of some of the most notorious, and dangerous creatures known to humanity. One of which, being the demon. Ciel's smile turned into a sad frown as Elizabeth wrote of her woe at realizing the true nature of the bluenette's butler. She was angry, confused, and saddened. Ciel had died, not by any natural means, but by having his soul devoured by a monster.

 _He_ knew that this wasn't entirely the case, but Elizabeth did _not_. She despaired over the fact that the one she once loved never entered heaven, but instead wound up inside the belly of a beast. It was an unforgivable betrayal by the butler. The man had violated her trust, and took the boy that she was set on marrying for a good portion of her life from her. She would never know why Ciel signed the contract, and she would never see him again. The Phantomhive was gone, as was his immortal soul. It weighed heavily on the Phantomhive's heart to read of the pain that he had caused.

Elizabeth, however, did not wallow in it. Instead, she set her sights on providing humanity a defense against these vile creatures, so that none may fall prey to their wicked ways again. That was just the way Elizabeth is. Whether she be Midford or Hellsing, she is strong, and her heart shall never fall prey to despair. Yes, that was a trait the even Ciel Phantomhive sorely lacked.

The lad found pictures, some in sepia, others in black and white. There were some of her with her husband, and others with her sons, playing. In every single one, she was always smiling. It was infectious, as the bluenette subconsciously did the same. He was glad. The Phantomhive was genuinely glad that Elizabeth went on to live a long, happy, prosperous life, even if he was not in it. The only sadness he felt was because he was not there to witness it, and he felt guilty for not telling her the truth and making her suffer. Yet, Elizabeth was happy, so he was happy, growing more so with every article of information found within the trunk. It was then, however, that he found it; the one item that made his heart stop.

Moments later, the lad was seen scrambling down the stairs and into the entryway, struggling to put on his coat as he frantically attempted to fit his arm through the sleeve with a piece of paper in hand while carrying a sheathed sword in the other. With all of the noise, he was certain to draw attention. With a confused visage, it was none other than his butler who laid eyes upon him in this state.

"Master?" he called, watching the bluenette as he made his way to the door. "Is something wrong? Where are you going?"

" _Out."_ The bluenette said simply, his voice shaky. He wasn't entirely sure how he felt about seeing the man again after the things he had just read, but he had much more important things on his agenda. _"I'll be back later."_

"Do you require a car?" his butler asked.

"No, I'll just call a cab."

"With a sword?" Ciel paused and looked up at the man.

"I'll manage." He said, swinging the door open before ungracefully disappearing behind it.

He dashed across the large lawn, hastily putting the sword under his arm while switching the hand that held the paper in order to dial his phone. The envelope in his hand was treated with care, yet it was firmly grasped between his fingers. On it were words written in the handwriting of Elizabeth E.C. Hellsing.

" _To Ciel_

_From Lizzie, 1943"_

 


	364. A Letter And Apology

" _Dearest Ciel,"_

" _I've tried so many times to write this letter, and it most likely won't be the last. My heart will never be at rest, however, if you still are unaware of the message that I am about to attempt to convey. I am an old woman now, so my chances have begun to slip away._

" _I've lived a long and happy life, even in your absence. I met a wonderful man and fell in love. Together we had two children, both of which, I'm sure you've met. I'm ashamed to say, however, that I am afraid of meeting you again, for I fear my heart could not bear it. The photographs that Arthur has shown me caused me to weep in joy at seeing you alive and well._

" _I had thought for so long that you had died, your soul stolen by your butler. Yes, I am aware of Sebastian, and this mean old woman finds it amusing that instead of falling prey to his wiles, you tamed him. That said, it saddens me to see you as not the sweet boy I once knew, but as one of the very creatures that I have dedicated the remainder of m fragile, human life to eliminating. My heart grew heavier still, finally discovering the truth of what happened to you in those two months long ago from Arthur, and of how you became what you are. I don't blame you for choosing this path, but regret not being able to support you as you walked it. I feel as though I could have done something, but considering the weak girl that I was back then, I doubt that would have been the case._

" _Goodness knows what you must have felt, and are feeling even now. It is perfectly understandable. All of it. I now understand why you became that way, and from what Arthur tells me of you, the way you are now. Your secrecy is justified, but goodness knows how it would have lasted had I married you!_

" _What it is that I'm trying to say is that I forgive you, Ciel. I forgive the secrets. I forgive the lies. I forgive you for leaving myself and your servants. I forgive you. It has taken me time, but I truly, and honestly do. You were always kind, even when you were cold toward us, but none of us would want you to feel guilty. Given the circumstance, what more could you have done? You were hurt and in pain, with a demon looming over you, and then you became one yourself. What alternative was there? Thus, I suppose it's somewhat selfish of me to feel even a tiny bit displeased with not knowing._

" _You have a long life ahead of you; far longer than mine. It is my sincerest wish that you not spend it in agony. You were never alone, so I don't want you to become that way. Your revenge has been achieved, so please do not linger on hatred, I beg of you. Even if you are a demon, you work with humans. From what I hear, you are no monster, so please remain that way._

" _While it might sound trife to you, you are deserving of happiness, and I truly hope that you find it. Your life is long, and your power is great, so don't use it to bring more suffering. The world already has enough. You've seen it firsthand. Use your might for pursuing happiness! It is the basic right of every living thing._

" _I wasn't the one you would love in the end, but may you find that person someday. Once you do, protect them with all of your strength, and never let them go. May you receive happiness from theirs, and take a step out of the shadows for a change. By now, you must have explored it almost completely, while the light remains untouched! While you may scoff at the ramblings of an old woman, it is my sincerest wish._

" _I told Arthur never to tell you of our relation. I never wanted you to try and contact me, for I was afraid. I was afraid of bursting into tears at the sight of you, and retreat in shame of my appearance. Please forgive me._

" _Love, Lizzie"_

Darkness fell over the sky as the Phantomhive reached his destination, the cool autumn air brushing against his cheeks and blew through ion gates. With a loud _creak,_ they opened, allowing the bluenette inside. From there, he dashed about, frantically trying to find what he was looking for.

Stone after stone held the incorrect inscription, and the paths seemed to lead him nowhere. There was none he could call for assistance, as he was the only on there. He was the only one that was _moving._

 _The Hellsing Private Cemetery._ It was easy for the bluenette to gain access, as his status on the base was that of legend. His role with the Round Table allowing him to do what most could not. Even with that, he still had difficulty finding the marker that he was looking for! His senses did not work in this case, still too dulled by rosemary to be of any use. The only thing he could rely on was his ability to see in the dark.

It felt like ages, but at last, he found it. The gravestone was far better well-kept than the one at the other cemetery, most likely due to the location, and because of who it belonged to. Ciel's throat ran dry, and his stomach sank as he read the inscription on its face.

" _Elizabeth Ethel-Cordelina Hellsing_

_1874-1952"_

A shaky breath exited the bluenette's lungs as he clenched the letter in one hand, and the sword of the woman buried at his feet in the other. Ciel swallowed as he tried to maintain his composure, but his mask was breaking. He felt weak, but it didn't register. Finally, his legs gave out as he fell to his knees, reading the words on the stone over, and over again while recalling the message of Elizabeth.

This was the reality of living forever. Those who you care about _will_ die. It is an indisputable fact. True as this was, however, why on earth did it _hurt_ so much? At long last, he had been reunited with his former fiancée, but it was far past "too late".

It was not happy. It was not joyful. It was painful, as the bluenette's chest ached and his throat constricted. There was so much that he could have said to Elizabeth, and so much he _should_ have said. The girl was nothing but kind to him from the start, and even in death, her kindness pierced his heart.

Ciel laid the sword down in front of him, moving the letter back into his field of vision. He sat there and read it almost ten full times before setting it down with the weapon, his mind falling deep into thought. That letter was one of the most important items that he now owned, but he would never get to reply to it. Elizabeth would never hear or see just how grateful he was, or how happy he was to know that she had been alright. She would never know how much her forgiveness eased his mind. Finally, he took a deep breath, and swallowed hard once more, preparing himself for what he was about to do.

" _Dear, Lizzie…"_ he said, his words soft and his voice strained.

"You will never know just how much I needed those words. I've lived over one-hundred years with a heavy conscience..." Ciel paused, trying to think of what else to say. He wasn't at all good at this sort of thing, and he did feel a tad silly saying it. Still, he felt the need to put it out there, somehow, even if no one was to hear it.

"I'm so happy that you lived life to the fullest, and am sad that I didn't get to see it." He continued. He looked down, clenching his fists.

"And I'm sorry…" Ciel added. Blood was starting to seep from his palm as his fingernails dug into his flesh. " _I'm so, so, sorry_ … I regret what I did. I've regretted it every day. I'm sorry for dying, and leaving you do discover the truth on your own! The grief I must have caused you is unforgivable, and I have no idea how you could even begin to try! You're too kind. I'm not worthy of it. If you were ashamed of your appearance in the event of meeting me again, then tell you, I would much rather grovel at your feet than see you _here!"_

His voice broke on the last word. Crimson droplets adorned the earth as the bluenette felt a stinging in his eyes. It wasn't from the pain in his hands, but rather, the pain in his heart. At long last, he had met again with Elizabeth, but it was in a cemetery. The old demon could hardly stand it.

"I am not worthy of your forgiveness, but it sets my mind at ease, just knowing that you would say so." He said, taking a deep breath in order to calm himself. "I am not worthy of _happiness_ , either, yet I will pursue it to the end; not just for you, and _certainly_ not for me, but also for the one I love."

"It's laughable, isn't it? A _demon_ in _love?"_ Ciel chuckled weakly. "What's even more laughable, is that this formerly noble old watchdog is in love with _another man,_ and the one who I once vowed to kill. You met him once, but I highly doubt you'd remember. He's a demon as well, now, and is the person who made me one as well. It's scandalous, but even still, I'm at my happiest when he's at my side."

"You don't need to worry. If my blackened heart can know that, then perhaps there is still hope for me yet. The past will never change, but maybe…" he trailed of, pausing, before he continued.

" _Maybe you were right all along, and that there's still hope for writing a happy ending to this estranged legacy_." Ciel stood, picking up the letter and the sword. He reached behind his head with his free hand, undoing the knot that bound his eyepatch to his head. Limply, his arm feel to his side, revealing the eye that Elizabeth never had the chance to see. Ciel had revealed his true face, but it was far too late.

"I've been acting cowardly, but no more. Thank you, Lizzie, for having strength that I did not and for your kind heart, that was willing to offer me forgiveness for my fear. It is my hope that you'd be willing to forgive me for being absurdly ignorant for all of these years. My arrogance and pride was the death of me." The Phantomhive extended his arm so that it hovered just above the tombstone, before unclenching his fingers and releasing the grasp on the eyepatch.

" _Love, Ciel."_

The boy turned to walk down the stone path once again, but this time, with his head high. A massive weight that he had been carrying for over one-hundred years had finally been lifted from his shoulders. It was not a perfect "farewell", but it would have to suffice. Elizabeth would not have minded, and that's all that really mattered. At last, Ciel felt some form of closure. Once, he had said:

_"Pain tends to heal as time passes, but personally I don't want time to heal my wounds. You may think you can escape the pain and forgotten it, but that's nothing more than stagnation. You can't move forward without the pain."_

Part of it was true, but part of it was downright ignorance. Ciel would never fully heal from past wounds. A deep scar would always remain. He will never simply "forget" the pain and suffering that he has endured, but he will not cling to them and complain. The past would never be changed, and that's precisely how the bluenette wished to keep it. The trials he had endured only strengthened him, as he refused to be crushed beneath their imposing might.

In the past, Ciel had meant that he would never move on. He wouldn't let go of hatred and use his anger in order to destroy. He would wallow in his suffering like a pig in its own filth, but that is not the way he saw it. Back then it was "noble". It was "powerful". It was the "correct" way to gain power and exert dominance over a situation, laying waste to all foes who opposed him by use of trickery, and of other people as mere pawns.

But that is not what it means today. Now, exactly one-hundred and twenty-six years later, it held a new message. Battle scars would mark the Phantomhive's skin and psyche for the rest of eternity, molding him into the person that he would die as. He would not ever submit to sorrow, and instead crush it beneath his heel as he strides forward with dignity into conflict after conflict, gaining more experience, and perhaps more scars, but he would never fall because of them.

His anger had burnt itself out on the day of his supposed "death", leaving him with nothing. So he must take it upon himself to create something for himself with his own hands. No longer did he wish to suffer the pain, agony, and humiliation of his past, his hatred for an unknown enemy causing him to rot away at the seams. No, what he desired for his future was something that he had never dared to dream of as a human. Those who had loved him and perished wished it upon him as well, along with those who are alive and well today.

Dare he pursue _happiness_ , the fruit that he forbade himself from partaking of lest his fragile sense of pride shatter like stained glass? If not for his sake, he would as he dared to pursue the happiness of those in his care. He often likened himself as a king, even in his youth, but now, he wished for his kingdom to prosper, rather than decay. All opposing forces who dared to attack either himself or his people would face utter annihilation.

Emboldened by kinship, empowered by loyalty, and embraced by love, Ciel Phantomhive would never let go of his pain. His scars would never disappear, but he would never wince because of them. That was the very thing that made him who he was. That was the beginning of his legacy, and it most certainly won't be his end.

The boy walked away from the grave, feeling bolder than ever. Even as he approached a familiar figure on the stone path, he did not once look away. He did not glare at the woman either, for once.

Sir Integra didn't seem at all surprised to see him, but she didn't seem like she was keen on talking. She stepped to the side in order to let the other boy around, keeping her hands in the pockets of the oversized coat that rested on her shoulders. The Hellsing looked much like the pictures of her grandmother, as a young woman, but that is not why Ciel slowed down. No, he slowed down with the intention of addressing something that continued to bother him, even after his visit.

Both stopped, standing right to the side of each other. They would have been standing shoulder to shoulder, had it not been for the difference in height. The Phantomhive and Hellsing faced opposite directions, not giving the other even the slightest glance. Integra waited patiently as the bluenette paused, formulating just what it was he was going to say as he looked to the ground. He silence was deafening, but the anticipation was worse. Finally, at long last, he straightened himself, adjusting his posture and looking straight ahead before he spoke.

"Let me make one thing _absolutely clear_ …" he began, finding his words. "Our relation changes absolutely _nothing."_ Integra nodded, taking a step forward.

" _That said,"_ Ciel continued, stopping the woman from walking away. The woman froze, turning slightly to face the other family head. "Our missions are one in the same. It is far past time for us to end this petty feud. I no longer wish to work with you as a _rival,_ or someone who must be bested…." She saw him turn to face her as well.

"…But rather, as an _ally."_ He concluded. There was hesitation in his movement, as he was both slightly vexed by swallowing his pride, and unsure of the appropriateness of the gesture, but even still, he extended his hand to the Hellsing woman.

Integra's eye stared at the hand momentarily before flickering up to the Phantomhive. Truth be told, she was shocked by the declaration, and even more so by the action that the bluenette had presented. It was the first real time that Ciel had seen the woman hesitate in doing something, but in the end, her gloved hand ended up in his and she smiled as the shook. It was that same, haughty smile as always, but there was something else mixed in. The Phantomhive wasn't entirely sure what it was, but it seemed genuine.

"I'd like that." Integra chuckled before releasing the boy and placing her hand back in her pocket. "In that case, would you like your next order?"

"Very much so." The bluenette replied, the corner of his lips threatening to twist upward.

" _Search and destroy."_ The woman said, uttering her signature phrase when it came to dealing with supernatural pests. "Black Annis is still out there. We need your help to find its source and eradicate it. What say you?"

With that, the lad did smile. He turned to face the woman completely, putting his right hand over his heart. With a small bow, he softly uttered:

" _Yes, my lady."_

He righted himself, placing his hands in the pocket as the woman visibly tried not to laugh. For some reason, he didn't mind it. In fact, it felt… _nice_ to make the woman break character in this way. It certainly was much easier than trying to belittle her.

" _Good to hear it."_ Integra stated finally. She turned to walk away once more. "If that's all there is, then I suppose I'll be off. _There's someone waiting for you at the gates, by the way_."

"I see…" answered Ciel, looking off in the general direction of the exit. He then turned back to the woman before pointing his finger. " _Her grave is that way,_ in case you were wondering."

"Thank you." The woman said as she turned to walk away. Ciel did the same.

"' _We Are On A Mission From God'."_ He quoted. The boy swore he heard a chuckle as spoke the motto of the other family.

"' _Potentia Regere'."_ Replied Integra, marking the end of the conversation.

The same creaking iron gates from before still stood leading to the rest of the Hellsing property. Ominous shadows cascaded along the ground as headlights shined through them, the rumbling sound of an engine grew louder as Ciel approached, bringing a pleasant end to the silence from before. Just as he expected, there was a blonde boy leaning up against the vehicle, kicking loose pieces of gravel with his hands in his pockets. He didn't seem to pay any mind to the dust that now stuck to his black jeans, but Ciel knew his butler would the moment the other boy returned home.

Alois paused to his jacket, turning up the collar to shield his neck from the blustery autumn wind. It was then that he heard the sound of crunching gravel that was not caused by himself and looked up to see the Phantomhive standing there. A smile immediately spread across the blonde's face as he noticed a slightly smaller one on that of the bluenette. Apparently, Ciel's "field trip" had turned out more profitable than he had hoped.

"What are you doing here?" the Phantomhive asked, closing his "bad" eye to shield its unusual nakedness from the elements. His beau only shrugged.

"Thought you might need a ride." Alois answered, standing up from his leaning position. "Oh, and no need to say ' _hi_ ', or anything, by the w- _AY!?"_

He was startled as the other boy assaulted him with an embrace, picking him up off the ground by his waist. Alois held on for dear life as he tried to fathom why on earth the bluenette was acting so out of character. "Baffled" was an understatement as to how he felt in that moment as his feet finally touched the earth again.

"What the fuck? Ciel, are you still _high?!"_ He asked, furrowing his brow, almost scoldingly. The bluenette stared back at him for a moment until he recalled the events from earlier that day.

"No. I'm just happy to see you, is all." Ciel replied. "I've had a rough day."

"Yeah, yeah, get in the car, _Bob Marley."_ His beau answered, using annoyance as a mask for worry. He opened the passenger side door for the other lad and gestured for him to step inside "No more adventure until you sober up."

"I _am_ sober, Jim. Is it wrong for me to be affectionate?" the bluenette said, walking toward the other lad. "You yourself said I'm usually not because of pride. I'm just trying it out."

"Oh yeah? Then prove to me you're not stoned right now." Alois instructed. "If you can do that, then I'll believe you."

"And how exactly do I do that?"

"I don't know. If you weren't high, you'd be able to come up with somethi-"

Alois was interrupted as the escape route of his words was sealed off. He couldn't help but flutter his eyes closed and place a hand on his beau's cheek. As ashamed to admit as he was, the blonde was a bit disappointed when the bluenette pulled away.

" _Convinced?"_ Ciel teased, arching an eyebrow while moving a lock of blonde hair out of his lover's face.

"Fine." Groaned the other boy, rolling his eyes and trying to look tough. "Just get in."

With a chuckle, the bluenette got in and buckled his seatbelt before watching Alois walk around the front of the car and do the same. He stared at the blonde for quite some time, even as the boy checked his mirrors and went about his routine. Finally, Alois spotted him, and called him out on it.

"If you're hoping for some hanky-panky, then you're going to have to wait until we get home." He said, causing the bluenette to blush. His beau furrowed his brow, as it was not his turn to act indignant.

"That's not at all what I was thinking!" Ciel declared, causing a devious smirk to wash over the face of the menace in the driver's seat.

 _"Liar."_ He accused.

"I am not!" protested the Phantomhive. He crossed his arms in a huff. "Just what on earth is it today that leads you to believe that I always want sex?" His flush darkened when the blonde stuck out his tongue and licked his lips.

 _"I could taste it."_ The lad said, causing the bluenette to shudder. He laughed heartily as he twisted he shifted the car in gear.

"You're horrible…"

"Is it that you have a thing for blondes, though?" Alois asked. "Elizabeth, me…." He listed off before pausing. "… _Integra."_

 _"I will beat your arse!"_ Ciel threatened in vain. The blonde didn't so much as bat an eyelash as he turned out onto the road.

"No, thanks." He said. "You know I'm not into kink. I'd just like an ordinary romp, if you please."

_"Dammit, Jim!"_

Yes, this was the happiness that Ciel had found. He found difficulty in concealing his flustered state around this boy, and not-so-secretly took delight in his giggling. It wouldn't be a stretch to say that the Phantomhive would never even dream of trading it for the world.

 


	365. Persuasion From The Devil

Warwick Academy; a school of exceptional discipline and prestige that will provide the best education the price of tuition has to offer. Children are molded into the roles that they are destined to perform at Warwick. Businessmen, politicians, artists, and the like leave Warwick, but now, there are others who don't quite fit into this category. One of which was a mister Alois Trancy.

You see, mister Trancy has no place in the business world. He was not an artist, and he certainly would never go into politics. His destiny lied somewhere scattered about in the dark with a peculiar bunch of individuals who he would be subject to. Much is expected from him, so he must mold himself into the best weapon to be wielded by those who governed the United Kingdom as quickly as possible. Every time he saw his coworker, the boy was getting stronger, both mentally and physically every day. Alois would not be left in the dust, so with his determination, he thrust himself forward into his own future; not for power, but for _ego._

An intense atmosphere loomed over the demonic duo that day as soon as they entered the classroom. It shook the very bones of their classmates, who would never be able to fathom the excitement and drive that pumped through the boys' veins. Yes, it was Christmas to for the demonic duo as today marked the first day that they would be back on the _Black Annis_ case, and judging by how unsettled the other children are from their presence, they were intent on showing _no mercy._

Of course they were noticed by their less supernaturally-inclined friends, but it took them some time to bring themselves to ask. It was unusual for them to see such ominous glee from the duo, and from what they knew of the lads' history, they weren't sure if they wanted to know its cause. Still, they had to do something. The desks on the other side of the room were now full, and people coming into the classroom were starting to fear sitting near the pair.

" _Hey, can you two tone it down?"_ asked Audrey, setting his game aside for a moment. "You look like you're plotting a murder."

"You… _aren't_ plotting a murder, _are you?"_ inquired Preston, being one of those who was afraid for their safety. The Omid boy still was not entirely fond of the supernatural, and was wary of the other's "police activity", as it often involved breaking the law.

"Not yet." Said the blonde menace. "But that reminds me; what exactly are we going to do to them when we catch them, Ciel? We're not _just_ gonna kill them, are we? That's too easy…"

"Of course not." Said the Phantomhive. _"We're going to show them what hell looks like_."

An unusually large drop in temperature occurred as those words exited the bluenette's lips, chilling the students nearly to death with his icy fire. The duo's friends weren't entirely sure how to feel about this. While the demons seemed to be having a good time, the implication behind it all was simply too grisly for the tastes of an average human. It was one thing to see such things on film, but to know that such atrocities were committed in their own neighbourhood by friends was completely different. Not even for a moment was there a doubt in the boys' minds that the demons would go through with whatever it was they were plotting, and that they would take twisted delight in it.

"Oh, that reminds me, _Audrey?"_ Ciel called, causing the boy in the skull beanie to flinch.

"Y-yes?" replied the lad.

 _"Can you possibly compile the information you gathered on Black Annis and give it to me?"_ the bluenette asked. Audrey let out a sigh of relief.

"Sure." He said. "I'll get right on it."

Silence ensued, and while the demons were still riled up, they seemed to be less intimidating. In fact, they seemed to be in quite the pleasant mood, even Ciel, which was _extremely_ odd. None of the boys thought they had ever seen the lad smile so much, even if it was small. He didn't protest in the slightest as the blonde menace did his usual routine of doting on him. It was a disturbing scene.

The others did their best to look anywhere else, trying to find something to hold their gaze instead of the bizarre couple. After a few minutes of frantic scanning, it was Preston who found the most interesting item, and it was an item place on top of the blonde's desk, peeking out of a folder slightly. It looked like a brochure of some sort, but he couldn't tell what until he got closer for a better look.

"You're applying for the _University of London_ , Alois?" he asked, catching the interest of the menace. Alois detached himself from the bluenette momentarily to see just what it was that the Omid boy was talking about.

"Oh, that?" he asked before shrugging. "I kind of need to stay in London because of my job, so any of the London universities are my best bet."

"Can I look at these?" questioned Preston as the others walked over to observe as well.

"Sure, go ahead." Alois replied. "I dunno if they'll do you any good, though." As Preston opened the folder, he discovered why.

 _"Crimenology, criminal law, criminal justice, crime scene and forensic investigation…"_ listed of Bones. "These are all for crime degrees."

"Well, wha'd'ya expect?" the blonde asked, raising an eyebrow. "I sure ain't going into _floral design_ , or some shit."

"There's a degree for that?"

" _You'd be surprised…"_

"No offense, Alois, but these all seem like some pretty intense courses…" said Preston, looking over the requirements. The Macken boy simply scoffed.

"I have all the time in the world! And I'm not an idiot, so it'll be fine!" he said.

"Whatever keeps the tears away at night, Trancy." Said the reaper boy. "Hey Ciel, are you in on any of this?" The bluenette simply shook his head.

"I've already taken them." The Phantomhive answered bluntly, much to the surprise of the others. "I have a master's in countering organized crime and terrorism, in criminal science, and a doctorate in criminal law."

"Just how many times have you gone to college?!" demanded the reaper boy as the others just stared in shock.

" _A few."_ Ciel answered. "My full title is _'Senior Detective Constable Sir Doctor Ciel Phantomhive'._ I would still be an 'Earl', but that title fell out of fashion and isn't used anymore."

"So wait, are you going to college this time around?" asked Preston.

"I'm not sure. I haven't decided." The bluenette stated. "Jim is going for whatever reason, though, so if he needs me to go with him, I guess I will."

"I don't need any help!" Alois declared indignantly. "If you can get a degree without any help, then so can I!"

 _"Are you paying your tuition yourself, then?"_ his beau replied, causing him to freeze for a moment.

"I… uh…" the blonde began. "What's my bank balance again?"

"I don't know. Check it. You don't spend much of it, so you should be fine." Ciel said as the other boy pulled out his cellphone and checked his bank statement.

The blonde stood there, looking at his smart phone before reaching for some of the brochures and fumbling with them. He looked as though he was counting on his fingers for a moment, which made the bluenette struggle to hold in if amusement. Soon, however, a smug grin formed on the Macken's face as he looked the Phantomhive straight in the eye.

"Hell yeah, I can!" he said, causing the bluenette to chuckle.

"Did you count the tuition for two semesters per year for at least three-to-four years?" he asked.

"Yep."

"Living expenses?"

 _"Uh…"_ the blonde began, his smile drooping a bit. " _Isn't it easier if I just stay at home?"_

"Oh, but don't you want the full college experience?" Ciel teased, resting his chin in his palm while looking up at the other boy with a smirk.

" _No, I just want a damn diploma."_ Bluntly replied the blonde, causing a few snickers to escape a few of the others. "What's so funny?"

"Why do you need a degree? You've already got the job you're looking for, don't you?" asked Audrey, arching an eyebrow behind his bangs.

"Yeah, but I could be better at it." The Macken boy stated. "I can let myself get shown up by this little blue Cyclops forever!"

"Who are you calling ' _little'?"_ Ciel asked. _"We're the same height_."

"Shape-shifting doesn't count, _pipsqueak."_

"If you're going to call me names, then maybe you _should_ live in a dorm?" the bluenette jested, only to have the blonde placing his hands on his shoulders and staring at him. His icy blue eyes stared with an intensity that was far too inappropriately disproportionate to what it should have been.

"No." he said simply "I'll die. _I'm like a rabbit. I need attention, or I'll die."_

" _TMI, Trancy."_ Called Audrey.

"That's not what I meant! It's not _'that'_ comparison to rabbits!" Alois barked back, turning to face the others while maintaining his grip on the Phantomhive. " _Travis!_ You know what I mean, right?"

"While it's true that rabbits need a lot of attention, the lack of alone won't cause death." The Sullivan boy said softly. "Truth be told, you're more like a golden retriever."

"Further proof that Alois is Satan's _bitch."_ Remarked the reaper-boy with a snort. His commentary only made the blonde in question frown.

"I am not!" the boy protested, a slight pink tint dusting his cheeks. "What's with you today? You're acting like Dan!"

"Dan's not here today, so I'm taking his place." Audrey replied with a small shrug.

"Dan _is_ here." Suddenly spoke Kristopherson, surprising everyone. The lad had been so quiet, that thy actually forgot he was there!

The faux-blonde turned his head, coaxing the others to follow his eyes, only to find the politician's son seated on the opposite side of the room on his own. Daniel sat quietly, talking to no one. He simply played with a pencil on the face of his desk as if he was bored out of his mind. The other lad's paused to look at one another, confused as to what the boy could be up to.

"Is he not sitting over here today?" asked Travis, prompting a shrug from the boy in the pink tie.

"I dunno." He said flatly. "I haven't talked to him in a few days."

" _You haven't?"_ asked the blonde menace arching an eyebrow. "That's not right."

He and the bluenette looked to one another, both taking a pretty decent guess as to what was happening. According to Kristopherson, he had not heard from the politician's son since the morning he left the faux-blonde's house after the kidnapping incident. Thus, it was certain, and it had to be resolved.

 _"Will you or shall I?"_ the blonde asked, gesturing to his beau before himself. He smiled when the bluenette got up out of his seat in order to do what needed to be done.

Ciel made his way toward the other side of the room, taking a tiny bit of delight in the fact that some of the students that he and the blonde had frightened with their presence before would flinch as he walked past. Even Daniel, an average human, could sense his diabolical presence looming behind him. He was extremely hesitant to turn and face the other boy in hopes of avoiding him altogether. A girlish noise came out of his throat as the demon put a hand on his shoulder instead.

"What are you doing?" the bluenette asked as the other boy clasped his hands over his mouth in an effort to take back some masculinity. "Isn't your desk over there?"

Daniel paused. "Well… yeah, but… I thought I'd try something new today."

"I see." Ciel replied. "So, _what did your father say to you?"_ The Westley boy nearly choked on his own spit.

"Wha-whaaa?" the boy answered. "I don't know what you mean."

"Your father was initiated into the Round Table conference, and during that meeting, he was introduced to Jim and I. He was also informed of our 'true selves', and was very argumentative on the matter, particularly when it came to the fact that we are friends with you." The Phantomhive boy explained. "Now, _what did he say?"_

The son of a politician was flabbergasted. How on earth did Ciel correctly relate his explanation to what was going on now? With a sigh, Daniel leaned back in his chair.

"He's pissed off." He said finally. "He's mad that I didn't tell him about you-know-what, and that I still chose to hang out with you after learning about it!"

"He has already been informed that you're an important part of H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G.'s experimentation with demons. He has no choice but to comply."

"Wait, I am?"

"Indirectly, yes. It really doesn't affect you." The bluenette replied. "Is that why you aren't sitting with us and have been ignoring Kristopherson?"

"Yeah…" Daniel answered, looking down at the floor. "I'm not allowed to hang out with you guys anymore."

"You also weren't allowed to _vandalize a centaur statue,_ but did that stop you?" retorted Ciel, making the other boy laugh a bit.

"I guess not." The other boy said. "My mum is also freaking out about you and Alois being an item. I think she's convinced homosexuality is contagious!"

"Does your mother know about ' _you-know-what'?"_ asked the bluenette, using the same terminology the Westley did for convenience.

"I don't think so." Daniel answered. "I'm pretty sure that if she did, she'd force us all to move to Canada."

"Impossible. Your father knows Round Table secrets." Ciel said, a smirk forming on his face. "I would have to follow him and make sure he _'forgets'."_

_"Don't murder my dad!"_

_"Don't let your dad do something to get murdered."_ Quipped the Phantomhive. "Don't let your parents do something that you don't want to do."

"But they're my parents…" said the Westley lad. "I can't just ignore them…"

 _"I_ defied _my_ parents' wishes…"

 _"You became Satan!"_ Daniel retorted.

"Exactly. I became successful anyway." The other boy said. "Your parents don't always know best. They _try,_ but that doesn't mean it's right for _you_." He turned to walk back toward his seat.

"Do as you wish." He added before making his way back to his group. "I will be having a word with your father about interfering with H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. protocol, however."

Daniel watched after the other boy for a moment before staring at the face of his desk. True, his parents cared about him. They loved him, Daniel knew. While he saw their judgement, and understood where they were coming from, that was not what he wanted for himself. Daniel looked back up before grabbing his bag and making his way back over to his usual seat.

" _Hey, wait for me!"_

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's actually one exchange in here that I forgot about that's really kind of chilling, now... Shit happens.
> 
> That's not why I'm leaving an author's note this time, though. It's actually because I read your comments. I don't talk to y'all on AO3 as much as I did on FF, so I forgot to tell you something important! Someone on here said that I should write a fanfic of Dan and Kris, and those actually exist! I didn't write them, though, and I only know of ONE on AO3. There's some on FF, though. 
> 
> I coined a word. It's "Fanficception." It just means "a fanfic of a fanfic" and I threw it out there for fun, but a few people were like "Wait, we can actually DO that?" and actually wrote fanfictions of DLTD! (Devils Like To Dance. Have I used that acronym on here yet? I can't remember...) Most people write them about Daniel and Kristopherson, actually. If you google "Devils Like To Dance Fanficception" then you might just find something.
> 
> Just thought you'd all like to know that. Actually, I think there's an incomplete list on the Devils Like To Dance Wiki... 
> 
> Until the next chapter, my duckies~!


	366. Hell's Sabre Dance

_CLANG!_

Metal struck metal as two figures clashed in the dance hall of the residential wing of the Hellsing estate. Sparks flew as their weapons collided, increasing the element of danger to the absurdly realistic mock-duel. Both figures donned protective gear, but both were also dealing with real swords. The tallest of the pair preferred it that way. She claimed that the danger honed her focus and helped practice restraint. Her partner was less than keen on the idea.

There were spectators, three demons. One tall and clad in black, one medium-sized and dressed similarly, and a small bruenette wearing a large hoodie to conceal their horns. They watched with amusement, the smallest with worry at the unnecessary realism. The tallest chuckled while the other remaining demon giggled at the difficulty that the other participant of the duel was experiencing. The more fair-haired of the gentlemen hooted and hollered, only adding to the frustration of his target.

Of course, there were others, two vampires and a werewolf, all female; Seras Victoria, Charlotte, and Amelie. They could never pass up the opportunity to see this duel. It was the duel that many waited for, some for decades. Thus, it was nearly a full house as a battle between human and demon occurred.

With that, the shorter dueler swung again, trying to keep himself from being backed into a corner, but his female opponent was not having it. She kept bombarding him with attack after attack; it was surprising she hadn't run out of steam by now, her every strike being either dodged or blocked. At the same time, her opponent wasn't landing any hits either. After a while, the taller seemed to back off momentarily, possibly to catch her breath, leaving the other the perfect opportunity to strike. Ciel swung his blade, determined that this was the end.

" _Too wide!"_ shouted Integra, taking a step forward and tapping the tip of her blade to the demon's chest. In his shock, the Phantomhive froze, leaving himself open to yet another attack. His opponent spun around to his flank before kicking the back of his kneecap, sending him to the ground.

" _Oof!"_ the lad grunted, realizing what just happened. He frowned, sitting up on his knees and removing his facemask.

 _"That's cheating!"_ he declared as the Hellsing woman undid the latch on the back of her own protective cover.

"No it isn't." Integra replied. "The match was already over. I struck a ' _hit'_ remember?" The Phantomhive scowled, hearing laughter emitting from the spectators to the event.

"Was kicking me really necessary?"

"You're a demon. You should be better on your toes." The woman answered. "To be honest, I'm surprised at your swordsmanship. Your swing is too wide and your advance is weak."

"Well then why don't we switch out to faux swords?" inquired the bluenette. "I can't fight you seriously when I'm at risk of actually stabbing you!"

"I've had worse." Integra answered. "I'm not _delicate._ You should come at me with all you have. Besides, you'll never hit me with swings like that."

"What's wrong with them?"

"You swing too wide. That's why I was able to get a hit. If your swings are too wide, then you leave yourself completely open to attack." Spoke the woman. "You'll never be able to wield that blade my grandmother left you like that."

"Do you know how long it's been since I've used a sword?" Ciel asked. "I was _thirteen_."

 _"You fought badly then, too!"_ shouted Alois from across the room. He pointed to his abdomen. "The only reason you got me was because I stopped to gloat!"

"And did you learn your _lesson,_ Macken?" inquired the Hellsing woman.

 _"Hell_ yeah, I did!" the other blonde answered, to the amusement of the others.

"See? _He_ doesn't make _excuses_." Integra said to Ciel. "He identified the problem and corrected it." She didn't even flinch as the shorter individual raised his blade at her.

"Then let me try again." He said, more determined than ever. He was not at all pleased with the response.

"As fun as that sounds, don't you have a meeting, soon?" asked the woman with a small smirk of a smile.

" _So do you."_ Ciel stated. "I'm sure he'll be patient enough to wait for a few moments."

"As you wish, then." Integra replied. " _Engarde!"_

Hellsing lunged, positioning her sword so it would strike the Phantomhive's heart. Seconds passed, and it seemed as though the lad wasn't going to strike back. Integra was proven wrong, however, when her eyepatch fell out of place. She stopped, only to find that the string had been cut, her opponent being the cause.

"How was _that,_ Integra?" the boy asked with a haughty smirk.

" _Too close."_ The Hellsing woman replied calmly as blood ran down her cheek. Her white gloves were dyed crimson as she touched her wound, lightly brushing the cut with her fingers. To her confusion, her opponent's smirk faded.

"Are you alright?!" Ciel asked, a tad shaken. "I didn't mean to cut you! I was aiming for _the string!"_

" _Precisely_ why you need more _practice._ " His foe stated as her vampiric assistant walked up and offered her a handkerchief. "You're a demon. You should be much better than this."

"And exactly on what grounds can you say tha-?" the boy was cut off as the woman swung her blade again, slicing his eyepatch off of his face just as he had done to her. It fell to the floor and Ciel touched his cheek, only to find that there wasn't even the slightest scrape. He was too stunned to even register the muffled laughter of the other in the room.

" _Those_ grounds." The woman stated, rubbing her cheek with cloth. She smirked. "If a human like me can do it, surely it's within your power to do so as well." Ciel furrowed his brow.

"Are you insane?" he asked. "What do you want me to do? Keep cutting? A woman of your stature doesn't need cuts on her fa- _Can you stop swinging that thing at me?!"_

"A woman of my stature it not delicate, and is well honed in battle." Integra said, putting away her blade. "I deserve to be treated as such." Her coworker simply sighed.

"Indeed you do." He said. "No disrespect was intended."

"I am aware. According to mister Macken, you can be _very unknowledgeable, when it comes to people."_

" _Jim!"_ the bluenette called, sparking laughter from the blonde menace. The lad put his hands up as the annoyed Phantomhive marched over to him.

"Hah! Calm down, now, poochie! You know I love you!" Alois said with a smile. "We all have to give updates as to how things are going! To be fair, I wasn't the _only_ one to rat you out."

"You're all horrible. How do I even put up with you?" the Phantomhive asked.

"Because you love us!" declared the younger of the Macken boys, Luka, causing a slight blush to appear on the bluenette's face. He sighed, ignoring the Cheshire-like grin on the face of the blonde menace.

"That I do…" the Phantomhive said, patting the younger boy on the head, earning a giggle. "I guess I'm stuck with you lot then."

Naturally, the action came off as surprising to both the Phantomhive and the Hellsing groups. Even Sir Integra, as stoic as she was, was confused. Luka was extremely happy with it, however. While it wasn't the first time that the head of the household acknowledged Luka in such a manner, it certainly was the first time he had done so in public. Needless to say, there was something amiss.

"It's the rise of _Uber-Ciel!"_ declared Alois, putting his hands up high into the air.

"Just what in god's name does _that_ mean?" the bluenette asked, annoyed by the blonde's pestering.

"Uh, let's see, you're not hating on Integra, you're joking around, and you're petting children." The blonde answered, listing off the items on his fingers. He put a hand on the other boy's forehead. "Ciel, are you feeling okay?"

"I was _fine_ until you started carrying on…"

Alois opened his mouth to retort, but the doors to the hall suddenly opened. There, escorted by a pair of H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. soldiers, were Mister Mathew Westley, and his son, Daniel. After taking a few steps into the room, the soldiers exited, leaving the pair alone with the two houses. They shut the doors, closing off the Westleys' only chance of escape, the sound causing them to flinch.

Both men were frightened of where they were. Daniel, however, was the more so of the two. He knew more about H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. than his father, so he had every reason to be. There were monsters and experiments all around the base, which often gets attacked by even _worse_ monsters. His father had no clue, but the man believed he did. Anything his son said to him would be negated, as he was only a mere child. After all, a child couldn't possibly know more about an institution that only he himself had only discovered days prior.

This was the sort of relationship the Westley children had with their parents. The two were hardly home, and when that was the case, the children did as they pleased. However, when mister and missus Westley returned, the atmosphere was awkward, at best, overbearing, at most. Neither party knew the other well at all and the more powerful of the two was capable of imposing all kinds of rules. Daniel was not allowed to be at the Miles house alone with Kristopherson and the Miles boy was not allowed to set foot in the Westley home at all. The Westley's must dress in an "acceptable" manner, with nothing eye-catching in the slightest and they mustn't associate with any "shady" characters; that is, unless the parents do it. Daniel's father and mother were in politics, after all. In fact, the man seemed guilty upon arrival.

"Does something appear to be the matter?" he asked, wondering why he had been summoned. "And why did you want to see my son?"

"Because experiment 66-B has come across an unnecessary obstacle." Said Sir Integra. "That being _you,_ Mister Westley."

"What?!" the man asked, chocked and confused. "How? What _66-B?"_

"Experiment 66-B was created for the specific purpose of attempting to ' _humanize'_ two of our most dangerous operatives." The woman replied. "For the experiment to be successful, key players must be set in place, one of which is your son, _Mister Daniel Lennon Westley_."

The Westley lad's stomach dropped as the woman said his name. He had never met Sir Integra before, so he was frightened by the fact that the woman knew his full name. His father, too, was not at all pleased.

"How do you know his name?" Mister Westley asked.

"H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. keeps files on all participants, whether they're knowing or not." The woman answered. "Other involved parties include Mister _Kristopherson Thomas Miles, Audrey Gareth Baines, Travis Marion Sullivan, Preston Soma Omid,_ and so on. It's an important project, one that has extended into experiment _66-C,_ which focuses on humanizing the rest of the Phantomhive household."

"And… how did I interfere?"

" _By not allowing your son to interact with the test group."_ The woman said bluntly, pointing at the demonic duo. Ciel wore a serious expression as the other boy simply offered a friendly wave. The colour drained from the man's face as it dawned on him that they were aware of his involvement.

"I just… I don't think it's alright to allow my son to be around these… _monsters_." The man said, glancing at the demons out of the corner of his eye.

"How _rude!"_ said Alois. "We're people too, you _racist git!"_

"I can understand your concern, Mister Westley." Stated the bluenette, interrupting his beau before he could carry on any further. "After all, we aren't like you, both physically and mentally. However, I do believe it should be up to _Daniel_ just who he wants to have as friends, not _you_."

The human boy in question raised his eyebrows and looked to his father. He wasn't entirely sure why; whether he was expecting "permission" to do so or not. The man looked down at him warningly, causing Sir Integra to intervene.

"Mister Westley, your son has been given the responsibility to help mold these two demons into better operatives. Whether or not you like it has nothing to do with it." She said, lighting a cigar. "So far, the plan has been working, and both demons have shown greater progress than we could have ever hoped just within a few years. Your son has aided this cause greatly."

"You are not allowed to interfere." The Hellsing woman added. "Hindering this process could very well result in being booted from the council, and if that were to happen…" she paused, looking toward her own associates. "There is nowhere you can hide. Knowing Council secrets comes with a price. Are we understood?"

The man swallowed nervously. "Y-yes ma'am…"

"Good." Integra replied. "As for you, Daniel, _keep up the good work."_

"Yes, ma'am!" the politician's son answered with a smile and a salute. This, he was happy with. Seeing his father being intimidated was very entertaining. Not only that, he was praised by the same woman! Now this was an exciting day.

"Please report any hindrances to either Ciel, Alois, or myself." The woman said. "Failure to maintain contact for vast amounts of time will be noticed, and we will most likely have this conversation again before action will be taken. _Dismissed."_

Much to the Phantomhive's amusement, he could tell that Integra was enjoying her new position as head of the council. Both he and the blonde menace watched as the Westley's took their leave, the younger of the two stopping to make faces in the demon's direction to which the Macken brothers did the same in reply. All Ciel did was shake his head at the immature behaviour of the other boys.

" _Bye, Dan!"_ Luka called finally. He waved at the son of a politician, and was quite happy with the wave he got back.

"Bye, Luka! Don't let Ciel poop on everyone's parade!" Daniel replied, much to the irritation of the bluenette.

" _Ciel doesn't poop! Older demons just don't poop!"_ the Macken boy shouted, causing laughter to erupt throughout the room, which persisted even when the laughing Westley was out the door.

Ciel looked over at the Hellsings to see that both vampires were laughing and the werewolf was literally howling. Even their leader, the mighty Sir Integra, was struggling to remain serious as she covered her mouth with her hand. His own crew wasn't better off, with the blonde menace holding his stomach while the man clad in black laughed with his hand to his face. Even Revy was having trouble holding in his amusement. He had never seen the head of the household look so flustered before, after all.

With a huff, the bluenette straightened his attire and postured to hopefully maintain at least some dignity. In the midst of laughter, however, there was an odd sound; the sound of ringing. After a few moments, the Hellsing woman realized that it was her, and pulled out her cell phone.

" _Hellsing."_ She answered, not even sparing a polite 'hello'. The woman paused, listening to whatever it was that the other person had to say.

"Any clues as to what could have done it?" she asked, pausing again. "I see… Put Charlotte and Amelie on the handling, and Blake and Ackerman on it as well. We need to figure out what did this right now. Just what is it that do you see?"

Integra paused yet again, the only words she spoke being "yes" and "go on" for the longest time. Finally she looked toward the demonic duo. She looked like she knew something.

"Add Phantomhive and Macken to that team." She said, sparking the lads' attention. "Their expertise may come in handy. And if this is what I think it is, they're going to be involved anyway." And with that, she hung up.

" _Charlotte, Amelie, Phantomhive, Macken!"_ she said, rounding up everyone's attention. "There's been a freak attack at King's Cross metro station on 33 Euston boulevard. Go check it out."

"Yes ma'am!" said Charlotte, followed by an enthusiastic "Ouais" from Amelie.

"Alright, kids! Back to work!" Alois, excitedly clasping his hands together. "I love these kinds of missions. They're my favourite~!" All three individuals headed for the door, followed by Ciel. Before he stepped outside, he paused to turn to the Hellsing woman.

"You should really cut back on the cigars." He said. "Humans lives are too short as it is." The surprised woman stared at him for a moment before chuckling.

"They're bad for the health of demons, as well." She replied. " _Usually when they tell me that I shouldn't smoke them."_

* * *

 


	367. Do Not Cross The Yellow Line

Police had already arrived on the scene, roping off the area until H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. operatives arrived. The crew today consisted of Dafydd Blake, Miranda Ackerman, Charlotte Bellamy, Amelie, Ciel Phantomhive and Alois "Jim Macken" Trancy. As they made their way to King's Cross Metro Station, the Trancy lad found himself immensely thrilled to be riding in one of H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G.'s special trucks.

It was designed to look like a low-tech S.W.A.T. vehicle, only it brandished the H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. insignia on the front, back, and sides. The blonde had never ridden in such an odd car before, and looked around as he sat with the others, all but Charlotte, who was driving. The truck had no windows, but the lad could feel that they were moving. He was somewhat nervous because of this, and the fact that there weren't any seatbelts to be found. It was breaking the rules of what he knew such modes of transportation were to be like, and it positively blew his mind.

"What happens if we crash, though?" he asked the bluenette seated next to him. "Do we start flying?"

"This truck is enormous and armour-plated." The Phantomhive replied. "I'm pretty sure that the damage is going to be sent to whatever it is we hit, rather than us."

"Would you say that if we crashed into the side of a building?" Alois inquired as a follow-up question.

"No, then I would have to question Charlotte's driving abilities." His beau answered.

"Usually there's more people crammed in here, so we don't have nearly as much to shield the impact." Said Dafydd. "But then again, those people usually have guns on them, too, so this might actually be better."

"What the hell, Dafydd?" his associate asked. Miranda sat next to him, trying to keep their tool kit organized with the moving of the vehicle. "So, what's the plan?"

"We identify what did this and kill it." The Phantomhive boy bluntly stated. "I don't really see what you need us for, however. Isn't Charlotte and Amelie enough?" The small bark from the front passenger seat seemed to agree.

"Because the victim supposedly has strange black growths growing from her injuries similar to the ones on the user's of black Annis before they died." Miranda answered. "You're the main detectives on the case now. You've got to see the evidence."

Ciel folded his arms and leaned back. "Fair enough."

The vehicle lulled to a less-than-gentle stop at the scene and the agents piled out. The entrance was roped off with blue police tape, but that didn't stop them. All they had to do was flash a badge or two, all but Charlotte and Amelie, whose uniforms spoke for them instead. The police even had the courtesy to lift the tape for them, but they didn't dare get too close. The average policeman didn't know what H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. does, but they certainly knew that it wasn't good. After all, they were the ones to show up at scenes like these.

Ciel lead the team down the stairs and onto the platform, where a body was laying underneath a tarp, soaked in blood. Detective Bailey Junior covered his mouth with a handkerchief with a pale face. Meanwhile, other officers on the scene took photos for evidence.

"We're going to have to ask you to give us those cameras." Stated Charlotte. "This is H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. jurisdiction. Protocol calls for no evidence to be held on police records."

" _Fork it over, pigs!"_ added Amelie, swipping a camera from a man twice her size. The officer looked on in confusion as she took the memory card from it and placed it in her pocket before checking the files on the camera itself.

Dafydd and Miranda removed the tarp from the body, much to the dismay of the detective. Michael tried his best not to get sick at the sight, and wished the two would have simply raised the tarp rather than to completely discard it. The demonic duo narrowed their eyes at the sight while the two researchers dawned gloves and face masks.

"All humans please clear the area." Dafydd said. "'Cept you, Miranda. You're needed."

"Thanks." The girl replied, opening her kit as the officers fled.

The woman was approximately in her mid-thirties, with lacerations on her arms and legs, particularly the forearms, which she most likely used to shield herself. Her eyes were wide open, but completely blank as blood from a head injury leaked onto it's surface. Large chunks of flesh were torn from her neck and biceps by large teeth while her organs peeked out of the ripped stomach of her dress, dying what used to be blue with floral print, crimson. As the two began to take samples, they were joined by the bluenette as he crouched down to examine the body as well. The others stood by just in case whatever did this came back.

It wasn't hard to find what had really irked Bailey Junior. It was the black growths that appeared on the wounds. It was like some sort of fungus, but was solid as stone. The dull-coloured growths lined the edges of the wounds, and even protruded from them in a conspicuous manner. They looked like horns.

Ciel then got an idea. To confirm his suspicions, he had to transform. He didn't even bother to step back from either the body, or the other teens before he was entrenched in black flame. Miranda and Dafydd jumped back in surprise, but the bluenette knew that the flame would not harm them unless he permitted it too. His eye glowed red and his ears became pointed. His attire changed to the military-style coat that covered his demonic form. The Phantomhive tucked away his tail, shielding it from the blonde menace, whom he could feel eyeing it with a mischievous grin. Alois did have a habit of wanting to pull it whenever he saw it.

The Phantomhive reached upward, feeling the horns that protruded from his head. He then reached down to the woman's injuries, touching the black substance that grew there. The researchers looked horrified.

"Don't touch that!" Dafydd said. "We don't know what that is! If it's Black Annis, then it's _deadly!_ It's very contagious! Several workers died from handling it! We have to be careful!"

"You do." Ciel replied. "But I don't. As a demon, I have certain immunities."

"But… but… why'd you transform?" asked a stunned Miranda, almost spellbound by the demon's shape. She had never seen a creature that looked so human, but also not at the same time. A chill ran down her spine as the demon turned to look at her.

"To compare." He stated. "This substance right here feels a lot like demon horn. There's just once difference…" He pinched the growth on the body until it shattered, startling the researchers more.

"…This material is softer." He added. "Much like a 'new' demon's horns."

"Like Luka's?" asked the Macken boy.

"Exactly."

Alois lazily looked around the platform, looking for this, that, and the other. Nothing was especially remarkable. There was trash and dirt, but other than that, nothing out of the ordinary. The blonde walked over to the end of the platform, looking down at the yellow line and the warning not to cross it written in paint.

He looked to his left, and then he looked to his right, pausing to listen. He was picking up something, but it was too loud to figure out what. Thus, he drowned out all of the noise, sharpening his sixth sense. It was odd, using it again in such a long while, but still, he enjoyed the calm. It was like floating beneath water, his eyes seeing everything and nothing at the same time. Suddenly, anxiety struck him toward the right, and thus, he came to.

"We should run a few more tests to be sure…" the Ackerman girl stated, picking up some of the fragments of blackness with a large pair of tweezers. "We might be able to pin point what exactly this thing is."

" _Or…"_ the blonde said, turning to the other again. "We can find out _right now!_ "

With that, he walked past the dreaded yellow line, and leaped onto the tracks. The alarm his associates felt was too much. He took delight in the fact that he caused such a response, but still, he couldn't go alone.

"Hey, you commin'?" he called.

"Alois you dingbat! Get off the tracks!" called the sorcerer boy. "If you get hit by a bloody train-" he didn't get to complete his thought as the bluenette stood up and followed the other demon. "Wait, where are you going?!"

"Sixth sense is picking something up that way." The Phantomhive stated. "Charlotte, Amelie, stand by just in case."

"Wouldn't we be more helpful if you went with you?" asked the vampire.

"No. If we're wrong, and whatever this is comes back this way, we need you two to keep the others safe." Ciel replied. "Your uniforms are also the best deterrent for any curious humans that might be stupid enough to cross the rope."

"And trains hit humans who are stupid enough to cross the yellow line!" said Dafydd.

"Good thing we're not human, then."

"But Dadydd's right." Said Miranda. "What if your sixth sense is just picking up a train?"

"This is not a train." Answered the blonde menace. "It's breathing."

With that, the demonic duo ignored the shouts and protests of the others and set off down the tunnels. It certainly brought a few memories to mind, primarily the "Simon Says" case, as well as other things. The darkness was especially familiar, and it wasn't pleasant. Still, the marched on, as it would most definitely not be the last time they would face an unyielding darkness, cold, wet, and disturbing.

"Watch out for the rail." The bluenette warned, breaking the silence. "It's electrified. It probably won't kill you, but it will definitely hurt."

"Don't worry about it." Alois replied. "As long as I watch where I'm going, I'll be fi _ **IIHNIIINNENEENN!"**_

The blonde's body contorted and spasmed as the crackling of electricity resounded throughout the tunnel. His hair stood on end and his eyes were wide, his face twitching uncontrollably. The smell of burnt leather and fabric filled the air as the lad's clothes started to catch fire. Finally, the boy managed to take a few steps back before falling to the ground. Imediately, the other demon rushed over to him.

" _Jim!"_ he called, crouching next to the startled lad. He pat out the small scortched areas of the boy's suit that threated to turn into an open flame. "Are you okay? I told you not to touch the rail!" It took the blonde a few moments to reply.

"I-I-I d-didn't!" he said, stuttering horribly. He twitched before pointing to his shoes, which fell apart at the seams. "I-I st-stepped in a p-p-puddle!"

The poor lad's toes were completely exposed, and the sole of his shoes threatened to come off completely. There were holes in his suit where fabric had burned away, and his coat didn't fare much better. The puddle in question intercepted the rail, conducting the same amount of electricity as its metal neighbour. Alois twitched against the bluenette's fingers and his hair was full of static. He was lucky he was a demon. If he weren't, he would be dead.

His beau sighed, and helped the other boy get up, griping him from his underarms. He could tell his partner was embarrassed, especially after every time he opened his mouth to speak. Ciel offered the lad a small smile.

"The stuttering will wear off." He said, griping the blonde's hand. "You got some nerve damage, so that's going to happen."

"And th-the twi-i-itching?" the blonde said as his eyelid did just that.

"That, too. It's perfectly normal." The Phantomhive replied. "It happened to me once, too. It's nothing to worry about."

"Do y-you think that sp-sp-spell would work?" Alois inquired.

"Which one?"

"R-rapid regenerati-tion"

"You could try it, but if you can't do the incantation, then I doubt it'll work." The bluenette answered.

" _Shit."_ Replied his beau, earning a chuckle. Ciel then eyed over the lad's appearance.

"You should probably transform." He said. "Unless you plan on walking in _those_ shoes."

"Sh-shut up." The blonde snapped. A smile then appeared on his face. "Y-you just like that form, d-d-don't you?" His ego immediately shattered to pieces when the other boy snorted, trying to hold back a laugh.

" _What's-s-s-so funny?!"_ demanded Alois as the other boy covered his mouth with his hand.

"You trying to be seductive while talking like that." Ciel answered after taking a moment to compose himself. "You don't have to take that form if you don't want to."

He wasn't surprised at all when the blonde transformed, even as he walked away. The sound of footsteps bounced off the walls as Alois caught up with the other boy. It took him longer than it should have, but the boy's legs weren't quite right. Ciel chuckled as the boy defiantly took the lead, walking several paces in front. Yes, Alois had grown to be quite competitive over the years with the Phantomhive boy.

Their initial status as rivals didn't do them any favours, but after the blonde's resurrection, there was an obvious difference in power. After all, he was at the mercy of his former enemy. He could have been killed at any moment! Yet instead, they became friends, which placed them on slightly more equal footing.

Ciel was born rich, he was always powerful. He didn't have to lie and cheat and steal if he didn't want to. Alois was different. Alois was born with nothing, which is why he always felt like he himself was nothing at the side of the great and powerful Ciel Phantomhive. This, however, changed. When the Phantomhive boy acknowledged him as an equal, it was as though a switch went off.

Now, he wasn't intimidated by the lad's status, he was determined to earn it for himself. Even if it was something small, the Macken boy had to win. He must win to prove once and for all that he is worth something, and every defeat was a small blow to his growing ego. It seemed childish, but it was immensely important to Jim Macken. Even if the bluenette had a one-hundred year head-start, Jim would catch up to him.

Ciel acknowledged this game that his beau was playing, and he liked it. He liked the power behind the Macken boy's drive, and was more than willing to feed this aspect. The Phantomhive boy held a fondness for power, and even though he wanted to protect the blonde, the lad's determination to become the protector and not the protectee was, to be frank, attractive to him. It was for this reason that Ciel allowed him to step things up, even if it meant looking weaker. He now knew that he was still strong for this, and that it would not hurt him to show caring for his man. Even when the lad had been electrocuted, and was having trouble walking, he still has to prove himself. And just who was Ciel to stop him.

Both boys came to a stop as they sensed something nearby. It wasn't… _"alive",_ per se, but it was breathing, and gnashing it's teeth. With the smell of blood filling the air, the lads knew that what they were looking for was just up ahead.

" _K-Kaspar."_ The blonde whispered, taking care to fully articulate his words so that his gun may appear at his side.

" _Ethel."_ Ciel called, the blade that his cousin left to him appearing as well. The blonde arched an eyebrow.

"E-ethel?" he echoed questioningly, cursing his speech. Before the Phantomhive could answer, the gnashing stopped.

All was silent as the two stared at the intersection that split up the tunnels. Slowly, but surely, a vague image appeared. It was black, so it blended in well, even with the demons' enhanced sight. It was only when it peeked out further, did the boy's see what it was. _A monster._

Blood dripped from it's white, exposed teeth and through the gaps of the armour-like plates that covered it's body. It had no skin that could be seen and it stared at the duo with no eyes, but instead with empty sockets where eyes should be. The skeletal face of the beast was unnerving, as was it's proportion. The monster stood on four legs, the back pair longer than the front, but didn't resemble any animal that either boy could think of. It seemed like a walking stone carving.

Alois looked to his beau for a moment, hoping that the boy would know something about it, but alas, Ciel was just as shocked as he. The Phantomhive boy had never seen such a creature before, nor did he really want to. He clutched his blade, baring his teeth as the monster let out a mighty roar.

"Get ready." He instructed, " _And be careful."_


	368. Faces

_"Get ready. And be careful."_

The demonic duo readied themselves for battle as they came face to face with an unknown monstrosity. Blood dripped between the cracks of it's armour, showing that it did indeed have some sort of weakness. The creature released a mighty roar as it prepared to strike. It reared up on it's disproportionately lard hind legs, revealing that it could take an almost humanoid-type shape before crashing down on all fours again.

"D-don't have to t-t-tell me twice." Alois answered to the bluenette, aiming his gun at the creature. He was right in doing so, because once he did, the creature charged.

Teeth were bared at the blonde menace and claws extended forward. Alois fired rapidly, only to have the bullets bounce off of the beast's armour. Its claws narrowly missing the Macken boy as he dodged. Thank goodness that his nerves weren't completely unresponsive. His eyes widened when the monster rammed its head into the wall of the tunnel instead, cracking the concrete.

When it tried to recover, the bluenette took it as a chance to attack, swinging his sword. To his dismay, it only bounced back when it struck the creature's back. It roared, turning around to swipe at the boy with its claws, only to be hit with another barrage of bullets. The demonic duo took no time to take turns. As soon as one of them was out of the other's line of fire, they struck.

_Again, and again, and again…_

Their efforts seemed to be in vain. Yet, upon further examination, the beast's armour started to gain small cracks, primarily in its forehead. It was then that Ciel hatched an idea.

"Focus your fire on it's forehead!" he said to his partner, who momentarily held his fire.

"G-got it." Alois answered with a small twitch.

It was difficult to shoot as straight as he normally would, because his muscles would sometimes spasm against his command. His aim was not true, and it worried him throughout the battle. Ciel had chosen a short-range weapon, after all and would have to get in close to the creature. With this, and the fact that the bullets continuously ricocheted off of the monster's black armour combined made for a very uneasy blonde menace. He was frightened that he might hit the other boy, but continued to stay calm. As long as Ciel wasn't hit in the head or the heart, he would regenerate. It would be slow, as the gun is loaded with anti-freak bullets, but he would still live.

Alois focused his fire on the center of the black beast's forehead, and watched as it began to crack. He backed off to reload his weapon, allowing the Phantomhive boy a chance to strike. The Phantomhive was a blur as he chiseled away at the creature's defenses. At last, the crack opened.

The beast wailed as it reared back, thrashing its claws. The bluenette was sure that it would bleed, as blood seeped through the gaps in its armour, but it did not. Instead, there was a sliver of pale skin underneath. As Ciel watched it, however, he forgot about the beast's talons.

A gutsy grunt escaped the Phantomhive's lungs as he was thrown to the side, his skin being torn into before he hit the wall of the tunnel. He coughed as he propped himself back up, only to have the beast right on top of him again, it's ugly teeth bared as it opened it's mouth wide and inched closer. Ciel's eye widened and he tried to swing his sword, only to have it knocked out of his hands by the creature before it attacked him once more. The bluenette braced himself for impact, only to be startled when the beast howled in pain. Behind it, stood the blonde menace.

 _"Gotcha."_ The lad said with a prideful smirk. He had managed to hit the beast between the gaps in its defenses. However, when he aimed once more, the weapon clicked after having run out of bullets. Much to his dismay, the monster took notice, and turned its back on the Phantomhive in favour of the vulnerable blonde.

 _"Bugger_ …" Alois cursed under his breath.

He stared straight into the terrible face of the ominous creature, his eyes focusing on the crack on it's forehead. The lad snapped back to attention when the monster uttered yet another roar and charged at him. Despite every nerve in his body telling him to move, he did no such thing, thus causing his beau to fear for him.

"Jim, move!" the bluenette shouted, standing up to rush over to the lad as the beast lunged.

"No, _you_ move!" Alois called back, taking a strong stance and clenching his fist.

He cocked his arm back, and waited for the beast to get closer, it's jaws wide and ready to tear into pale flesh. The Macken boy released his fist, smashing it directly into the creature's forehead hard enough to send it rearing backwards. His bluenette boy had no choice but to head his order, or risk getting stepped on.

Once more he was at the blonde's side. He paused to take a moment and comprehend what the boy had just done. Alois had struck the beast dead center, but cut open his hand in the process. Blood dripped onto the tunnel floor before his wounds closed, yet he paid it no mind. Alois was too busy staring at the beast and Ciel would soon do the same. Both lads were horrified as the armour on it's head crumbled, revealing it's contents.

Pale, almost ghostly skin dyed crimson around the mouth with the blood of the beast's victims covered the face, while dark circles hung around empty eyes that saw nothing and never will again. White hair sat on top of her head; yes, the beast was female, but not just any female. The two boys recognized her, but there was a problem with this. After all, the girl was announced _dead_ approximately a month ago.

Isabelle Bowen was one of the victims who died while taking the drug " _Black Annis"._ Grotesque shards of a mysterious black substance covered her legs, the last time the pair saw her. They went through great lengths to contact the girl while she was alive, sneaking their way into her apartment building, but she died shortly after. H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. confirmed it, yet here she was.

The girl's face was melancholic, yet empty, almost as if she were saddened and confused, but the two demons knew the likelihood of that. Isabelle was gone, and this monster was somehow all that remained. It shook momentarily before roaring again, the pained voice of a girl mixed in with it's vile howl. Alois readied himself again while the bluenette picked up his blade, pointing it at the beast.

"So, what's the plan?" Alois asked questioningly, relieved to be talking normally again.

" _Working on it."_ The Phantomhive boy replied, unsure of where to go next. Alois was out of bullets, and he was left with a blade that he was hardly accustomed to wielding. The situation was less than satisfactory.

Suddenly, the monster leaped toward the boys, the gnashing the teeth of the deceased girl and bearing it's claws. Much to the surprise of the demons, however, it did not get far. Out of the darkness sprang forth a peculiar choice of weapon, lodging itself within the creature's forehead. It was a pair of long-reach garden shears, extending to what seemed to be an absurd degree. Regardless of the somewhat absurdity, however, the creature fell with a mighty _thud_. From it's forehead came forth luminescent strips of film, flowing and swaying in the air. As the shears retracted, the film strips followed it, lighting up the tunnels as they went, as did the eyes of the demons.

" _Isabelle Bowen_." Called a voice. _"Time of death: September 28_ _th_ _at 6:47 p.m. Cause of Death: Substance abuse."_

Ciel and Alois felt conflicted to see a man standing with a leather book in his hands, jotting things down. He was tall, and wore a black suit that matched his black hair, combed neatly to the right. Rectangular, thick-rimmed glasses sat on his face in front of a pair of peculiar eyes with yellow and green irises. He closed his book.

"Judgment complete." He said nudging his glasses before glaring at the boys. "Demons." He said. "Why am I not surprised?"

" _William T. Spears."_ Ciel began. "So _good_ to see you again. Since you're here, I'm assuming that these creatures are causing difficulty in soul collection."

" _Disclosure of such information is against protocol."_ The grim reaper replied. He gave a small bow before turning to leave. "If you'll excuse me…"

"It's _October._ You said she died in _September_ …" Ciel said. "So they do have souls _. Interesting._ Is that how they're still able to move? _"_

"If you even _think_ about cultivating them, I will not hesitate to dispose of you, demon." Mister Spears abruptly stated.

"No, I was merely making an observation." The bluenette replied, placing a hand on his hip. "My goal is not to devour them, but to exterminate them. From the looks of things, we share a common goal for once."

" _Collection_ is not _extermination."_

"But you do need to find the source of these _pests_." Ciel stated. "You just examined her life's story. You saw what killed her, didn't you? It's called ' _Black Annis'_. I can tell you a bit about it, if you'd like…"

"A demon's word never comes without a price." William replied. "I'm guessing in exchange, you want information as well?"

"That would be nice, yes." The Phantomhive answered as the man nudged his glasses again.

"I don't bargain with _vermin."_ The reaper stated, continuing his walk down the tunnel.

There was hardly any use in pursuing him. If they did, just what would the duo "persuade" him with? Just as quickly as their lead appeared, it vanished, leaving the boys with minimal amounts of new information. Still, it was quite a generous amount, considering the previous attempts of tracking down possible answers.

" _Dick."_ Snorted the blonde menace as soon as the man was out of range. "'Vermin'?! _Us?!_ What a snob!" His bluenette beau sighed and rubbed his temples.

"Pehaps so…" he replied. "Still, we did learn something new about Black Annis…" He paused to look over at the body of the poor girl.

"We may be seeing more of these soon." He added. "The dead simply won't stay that way."

"Do you think we'll be seeing more of him?" Alois asked. "Don't answer that. _I already know."_

" _Unfortunately."_ The bluenette stated. "The probability exists. How's your fist?"

"Not too bad. That armour seems to be made out of the same stuff that was growing on the body from earlier. It's not nearly as hard as demon horn."

"I see…" Ciel paused to think. "Let's head back as quickly as possible. We need to pass this on to H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. as soon as possible."

"What about _that?"_ his beau asked, pointing to the beast. "Think they'll want a ' _specimen'?"_

"Most likely. Help me pick it up."

"Sure you don't want me to carry it for you?" Alois asked, batting his eyelashes as he grabbed one of the legs of the creature. "After all, I wouldn't want you to get cornered again."

"Oh, lay off it." The Phantomhive answered, picking up the opposite end of the monster. "It took me by surprise, is all. It won't happen again."

" _Sure,_ and _maybe H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. will stop collecting weird-ass demon-shit_."

"That's _impossible,_ and you know it."

"Yeah, you're right…." The blonde menace stated. "I should've figured when they asked us for a sperm sample that one time." He paused, taking a moment to think about that.

" _What did they even do with that, anyway?"_ he added questioningly.

"I don't know." Answered Ciel. "I really, _really,_ _**really**_ don't _want_ to, either…."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just noticed that I accidentally posted two chapters in one... I don't check before posting, so I might've done that a few times. It messes with my count on how many chapters there are to go, so if you see it, please tell me so I can fix it... How embarrassing...
> 
> Until the next chapter, my duckies...


	369. What Are They Called?

" _Scientia de anima! Et iuberet spiritum carcerem!"_

The sorcerer chanted his incantation down within the depths of the H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. laboratory, causing shards of light to materialize within the air before hurling downward toward the supposedly deceased beast. They pierced its being without harming it, for the scientists were issued the stressful task on researching this monstrosity and any further damage to its physique may impede their progress. While the black, armoured beast was dead, the girl that it once appeared to be had died once, and they weren't entirely sure if it would stay that way. Once the seals were in place, Dafydd radioed the head of the organization.

"The beast is secure, ma'am." He stated. "Commence operations?"

"Go on." The woman answered, pushing the button on the radio as she sat at her desk. "Take extreme caution. Is the victim secure as well?"

"Yes, ma'am." The sorcerer replied.

"Good. I want you to tell me everything you can about both of them as soon as you possibly can."

"Yes, Sir Integra." And with that, the call ended. The woman placed her elbows on the desk in front of her with a sigh. The two demons seated in the chairs across from her simply looked on as stress began to sink into the woman's mind one more time in many. Her eyebrow twitched in annoyance when she looked up to see the Phantomhive lad on his smartphone.

"This is hardly the time for you to be _socializing_ , Ciel." She stated as she rubbed her temples. In response, the lad met her gaze.

"You know I _don't_ 'socialize'." The lad answered. "I'm checking my e-mails. A friend of mine should have sent me some information about Black Annis."

"What kind of 'friend'?"

"A friend and _informant._ " Ciel stated.

 _"Bones?"_ his beau asked, earning a nod from the other boy. "Did he find anything?"

"Just the same old stuff, mostly." The bluenette replied, scrolling down on the small device.

"That isn't helpful…" spoke the Hellsing woman. "We're up against something completely new. We don't know what these things are _or_ about their weaknesses."

"But we do know that the cause is Black Annis." Spoke the blonde menace. "Do you have the record of victims it killed? From what we do know, is that they are somehow inside of these things, so maybe we should check out where their bodies are located?"

"On it." Integra replied, reaching for the phone on her desk. As she dialed, the blonde menace couldn't help but glance from her, to the bluenette, who was busily scrolling through his mobile. The parallels between the two family heads never ceased to amuse Alois. He giggled, earning a confused expression from his beau.

Before the Phantomhive could speak, however, his phone vibrated, capturing his attention once more. His eye widened and he stood, closing the distance between himself and the desk of the Hellsing woman. He nearly shoved the phone in her face.

"There. According to Audrey, the gravesites of these people were disturbed." He stated. "All of them belonged to victims of Black Annis."

"There's five of these things?" Integra asked rhetorically. "I'm mobilizing forces right now."

"Send your best. These things have armour that can't be pierced by just any anti-freak weapon." Ciel replied. "It took a ridiculous amount of wear and tear to even crack it. That combined with Jim's _fist_ , we were able to expose it's head. In the end, we still didn't kill it. It was a grim reaper."

"If the reapers are involved, and hunting these things too, then does that mean they still have their souls?" inquired the Macken boy from his seat. "They're trapped somehow?"

""It would seem that way." The bluenette answered, turning to face the other boy. "Somehow, Black Annis is keeping them within their body after death, and turning the corpses into _these…_ " he stumbled, trying to find a word. "… _Things?_ "

"They certainly don't match anything I've heard of…" Said Integra. "I have no idea what these things could possibly be…"

" _'Annies'?"_ asked Alois, prompting the others' attention. He was met by confused expressions. "Well, we gotta call them _something!"_ he protested. Ciel shook his head.

As amusing as the blonde's suggestions were, this was a most unpleasant situation. There were unknown monstrosities roaming the city and killing unwitting human beings. Swift action must be taken if the general populace is to remain ignorant to the reality that is the supernatural.

These monstrosities would feed on the citizens of London, and what's worse they are hard to kill. Goodness knows where they will hide, or who their next victims will be. Ciel looked to his cell phone once more, hoping to find more information. Instead, however, he saw the date. _October 25_ _th_ _, 2014._

The bluenette's eye widened as he concocted a most unpleasant scenario. On October 31st was Halloween, meaning that these beasts might be interpreted as part of some event. They would be able to walk around in plain sight, killing as they pleased. The Phantomhive boy thought, and decided that if he were the mastermind behind Black Annis, if his goal was to cause mayhem, that night would be the optimum time to do so.

"Jim." He called, prompting the other lad's attention.

"Yeah?"

"When is the Warwick Halloween festival?" he asked.

"The thirtieth, thirty-first, and the first of November." The Macken boy replied. "Why?"

Alois knew, however, when the bluenette's expression darkened. The Phantomhive recalled what had been said to him by the only demon that they knew of to be somehow connected with Black Annis, the "fourth demon". The demon seemed to have at least some kind of authority in the operations, given how he spoke of the lesser demon that was with him. He acted as though the Jonnathan Beatie lookalike was some kind of flunkie or underling. With the reappearance of the deceased victims of Black Annis, the bluenette was concerned as to whether or not the lesser being was actually an imposter or not.

" _I like you."_ The demon's apparent superior has said _. "I want to play with you sometime."_ The bluenette's scowl only worsened as the words replayed themselves in his head.

" _Another day."_ The fourth demon continued. _"I'll 'play' with you another day. 'Ciel Phantomhive', was it? Ooh, you're an interesting one. I'll definitely remember you."_

Anger built up inside of the bluenette as he remembered. He remembered the sickeningly playful tone of the demon as the enemy of humanity took great delight in the bluenette's helplessness. Ciel had his power taken from his grasp, and wielded against one of the people whom he was most determined to protect. His might was for that very purpose, now, and he would not let this monster or his compatriots harm anyone else.

This was not a matter of pride, but a matter of maintaining the happiness that had been so ungracefully intrusive of his blackened heart. It has been so long since he has allowed himself to grasp at the feeling and now he will cling to it until the bitter end. Ciel, admittedly, is afraid of this. He is afraid of how vulnerable he is left with these feelings, but even more so of loss. He would not lose this family that has found it's way into his home, and he would not lose the friendships that he had reluctantly made, but now value wholeheartedly. The masterminds behind Black Annis would not play with this fear a second time.

No more fear. No more pride. No more wasted energy on defending things that aren't important while overlooking those that are. This power that Ciel had gained will be focused entirely on the complete and utter destruction of this threat. He looked to the Macken lad, reaffirming why.

" _That's their target."_ He stated _. "I'm sure of it_."

"Do you have a plan yet?" asked the blonde. Reading the expression on his beau's face, he smiled. "We're going to destroy them, aren't we?"

"With all certainty." Ciel answered with an arrogant half-smile. He looked to the Hellsing woman, who had finished her call.

"Integra," he began, "I have reason to believe that the perpetrators behind this might attack at the annual Halloween festival of Warwick Academy. Might you be inclined to spare a few agents?"

"Granted." The woman answered. "I trust in your assumption. Protect the civilians and bring these freaks down."

" _Yes, my lady."_

 


	370. Before The Storm

Warwick Academy; one of the finest institutes of learning in the United Kingdom aside from what is known as "higher education". In addition to this, however, it is also the unfortunate playground for various supernatural beings, even if the majority of the students and staff were unaware of this fact. Thus, they commenced with the preparations for the 78th annual Warwick Halloween Festival.

Every year, classes were cancelled for an entire week, as students were required to participate in organizing the event. If anyone's name wasn't on a sign-up sheet of any sort, then they got a failing grade on the entire project. There were specific projects that needed many members, while others needed few, but all of them had to put in an effort. While the rest of the seven debated on just what they wanted to participate in, the demonic duo knew exactly what they needed to sign for. They were going to be on the security team, along with H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. agents disguised as volunteers. Agents wore a special badge on the armband of their security uniforms and as the Phantomhive lad received his, he frowned.

"To think I have to wear a Hellsing badge…" he said, holding the folded uniform in his hands. They were designed by the school's own Kristopherson Miles, who, to be frank, wasn't entirely pleased with the addition, but saw the reason for it.

Ciel, on the other hand, saw the reason, but still felt indignant. For the head of the Phantomhive family to wear another family's crest? How insulting! He comes from a long line of nobility, unlike the Hellsings, and is a former Earl; he couldn't help be feel demoted. His beau, however, found amusement in his displeasure, uttering a small giggle.

"Well, we're under Integra's orders, aren't we?" he asked as they walked down the empty hallway to change into said uniforms. "At least you're not wearing a shirt with her face on it."

"Don't even go there…" the bluenette replied, shuddering.

"Oh? I think I've figured out what to give you for your birthday~!" Alois jested.

"You're horrible…"Ciel sighed, glancing over at the other lad's Cheshire-like grin.

"You love me, though."

"I know, so I guess I'm stuck with you." Joked the Phantomhive boy, earning a nudge from his beau. He smiled, but it soon faded as he remembered their task.

"Hopefully Integra sends some decent help." He said.

"She's probably going to send Charlotte and Amelie." Alois replied. "Maybe _Heiny_ , too."

"We're going to _need_ them, with the amount of people who show up at this thing…"

"Relax, poochie. Everything will be _fine_." The blonde said reassuringly. "We're the Watchdog and Spider! We've got this."

"We had difficulty in the tube, though…" Ciel replied.

"That's because we didn't know what that thing was, or how to kill it! We've learned since then!" his blonde insisted. " _Knowing is half the battle!"_

"Then what is the actual battle?"

"The other half. _Duh,_ Ciel."

"I'm still not convinced…" The Phantomhive said. He paused, stopping to look out the window at the students below. Somewhere among them were their friends, unknowing of the danger that they were currently in.

There was doubt in his mind, something that that Ciel did not appreciate. He was weak against the fourth demon, and the "Annie", as Alois called them, proved difficult as well. There were more than twenty of the creatures out there, and that was the smallest estimate. If they attacked the festival all at once, would he be able to stop them? Would he be able to protect everyone?

This was a dilemma that the lad was not at all accustomed to. Ordinarily, he paid no mind to whoever lived or died, but now, things were different. He had to protect Alois and the sensational seven. He had to protect Warwick, too. Now, he understood just how much strength was required to have a heart, but wondered whether or not he truly possessed the might necessary to do what he must. The uncertainty in his mind brought his usual self down, and made him hesitate in his pursuit of vengeance.

It was obvious from the look on his face, how minute the expression may be. There was worry, and there was doubt, both of which were not standard "Ciel Phantomhive" behaviour; along with the almost trance-like stare he performed out the window as he thought. He was brought back to reality by the feeling of a hand placed in the small of his back. The boy turned to the side to see the blonde menace standing there, his pale blue eyes filled with concern.

"Everything is going to be okay." Alois said softly. "We're strong, and so is H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. If anyone should be worried, it's those Black Annis freaks!"

"I hope you're right…" Ciel replied.

"Oh, I'm definitely right." The blonde stated. "I've been looking up how to go up against people with armour, and it should work here, too. You know how the thing had gaps in it's armour where their joints were?"

"You're suggesting we attack there?" asked the bluenette.

"Exactly!" Alois answered. "With your sword, you can get really close and stab them in the cracks, just like you would if you were up against a knight. You can probably get some leverage and pry some of it off, too."

"Good idea." The Phantomhive said with a small smile, infecting the blonde with a bit of happiness, himself. "What ever would I do without you?"

" _Probably be a heartless old hermit, most likely."_ The Macken bluntly spoke with a shrug.

"Oh yeah, I forgot about that." His beau mused, glancing at the other boy. "What will you do during the attack, though? You don't have a sword…"

"I've got my gun," the blonde said. "I also asked for a small favour from Dafydd. Don't be too jealous, now."

"Like I would be jealous of some nosy Hogwarts wannabe…"

"You _were,_ though."

" _Whatever."_ Ciel huffed, much to the other boy's amusement. He paused, crossing his arms with the uniform in his hands placed against his chest.

"Just be careful…" he added, turning his gaze back out the window. His partner was taken aback by the gesture for a moment, but soon smiled softly. He took the Phantomhive's chin in his hand, forcing the boy to face him once more.

"Don't worry about me." He said. "I'm not going anywhere. We're going to kick these guys' asses, and then we'll move onto the next case, just like always."

" _But what if that demon comes back?"_ Ciel asked, his concerns surfacing.

"You kill him; murder him into oblivion. _Erase his existence from the face of the earth_." The blonde replied. "You're not going to let him hurt anyone, because you're _Ciel goddamn Phantomhive,_ and Ciel Phantomhive _always_ uses his power and his wits to win. You may have lost the battle, but now that you know what that thing is capable of, you'll win the war. Afterwards, we'll met up again, I'll swoon over you, we'll perform some damage control, go home, and probably snog a bit; _or at least I'm just hopeful for that last part."_

As peculiar as the blonde's choice of phrasing was, he still somehow managed to ease Ciel's mind just a tad. The fear of loss still loomed over him, but if history serves, the odds of victory are in his favour. A smile graced the Phantomhive's face once again as he shifted to hold his security uniform in one hand, and to hold the cheek of the Macken boy in the palm of the other.

"Promise?" he asked softly, nuzzling their noses together.

" _Yes, my lord."_ Alois replied before closing the gap between them and resting his hand on the other boy's chest.

Both of them sighed into the kiss; while it was simple, never straying into the realm of "inappropriateness", the pair felt as though they needed every bit of it. So much tension was relieved from one small gesture, but it was cut short. The lads almost clicked their teeth together on accident when they heard the booming voice of a certain teacher.

" _Knock it off! Save it for after school!"_ Mister Irons ordered in a loud voice, startling the demonic duo and forcing them to separate. "The school's policy on P.D.A. still applies to you. I don't care if you _are_ working security."

Ciel and Alois stared wide-eyed and guilty at the stern-looking man, a blush staining each of their faces. The only people who had ever caught them kissing were the other members of Phantomhive house, and the rest of the sensational seven. Never before had they been caught by someone who held even the slightest hint of authority over them, so it certainly was a surprise. The boys looked to each other, and then back to their instructor.

"Heheh… Sorry, sir…" Alois said, offering a nervous smile.

"Don't get distracted, both of you!" the man continued. "We've got a lot to do, and if we're going to make sure people don't die over the course of this, we need to stay vigilant."

"Wait, you're in on this, too, Irons?" the blonde asked, arching an eyebrow with a tilt of his head.

"I _have_ to be." Mister Irons replied. "It's my job to protect the students. Now, hurry it up! You two are in charge of this whole mission!"

"You're right. My apologies." Ciel stated. "Have any H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. operatives arrived yet?"

"If they have, they're in plain clothes." The man answered. "I haven't seen any of their uniforms. I'll tell you if I see any, though."

"Thank you. We'll continue with our preparations." The bluenette said, offering a nod before turning to walk away, followed by the Macken boy. Somehow, their hands ended up intertwined, as if it were almost instinctual. Mister Irons snorted at the gesture.

" _Kids."_

* * *

 


	371. Haunted House

_"Uniform is stupid."_ Complained a certain wolf-girl as she trudged around in her updated security uniform. While the uniforms hadn't changed much, Amelie had to wear an extra baggy coat to conceal her weapons.

"Well, you can't just carry around a shotgun in plain sight, now can you?" Charlotte replied, adjusting her tie. "You're at a school. That won't fly."

"I'm too cool for school." Her petite companion replied with a snort.

"Then aren't you glad you work with H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. instead?"

 _"Oui."_ Amelie said distractedly while eyeing some of the concession stands. "But I can't eat the snacks."

"I'm sure you _can,_ but we need your nose to sniff out the targets." The vampire replied, offering a smile to the other girl, only to be answered with a pout.

After a long week of set-up, the first night of the Warwick Halloween festival commenced. The sun was setting, allowing Charlotte to move freely, the only restriction she possessed now being the responsibility of keeping her lycanthrope coworker under control. It was a hard task with all of the excitement about. The food vendors in particular, caught Amelie's attention, causing her to drool a bit as she sniffed the air.

Suddenly, however, she perked up before staring off into a certain direction. Her companion noticed, following the shorter girl's eyes but seeing nothing but fairground. Charlotte was about to ask what she had sensed, but it was too late. Amelie had taken off in pursuit without her, much to the vampire's dismay. The taller girl struggled to keep up with the speed of a werewolf while maintaining the illusion of being "human" at the same time.

Unfortunately, the wolf-girl had stopped just as spontaneously as she began running, causing the poor vampire to accidentally crash right into her, their heads now spinning. Propping herself up on her hands and knees, Charlotte made an attempt to right herself, only to find that she wasn't the only one to have suffered from the collision. It was her companion, Amelie, who bore the full brunt of the impact, having broken the taller girl's fall as well. A slight pink hue dusted the vampire's cheeks as she quickly separated herself from the werewolf.

"S-sorry!" she said, almost in a bark. Charlotte stood, dusting herself off before offering the other girl her hand. "I didn't mean to hit you, but what were you chasing?" she asked. Amelie stood up as well, turning around before pointing.

" _There."_ The girl answered, pointing to a boy with a familiar face. Even though he was in costume, the wolf-girl recognized the reaper-boy as Audrey Baines, having spent a month with the boy during training at the H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. camp. While Amelie's face remained almost expressionless, her associate could tell that the girl was happy to see him.

"Oh, it's Bones…" Charlotte said aloud. She raised her had up and waved. "Hey, Audrey! Over here!" she shouted, causing the boy to look up.

The Baines lad raised his eyebrows at the appearance of the pair, as well as the uniforms that they were wearing. Connecting the dots, he recalled the Phantomhive boy discussing that there would be some H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. surveillance in the area in regards to Black Annis. Politely, he waved back with a smile. For some reason, he didn't feel threatened by the two girls at all. It was human girls who really bothered him. Regardless, he had to work with them.

He was greeting guests to the haunted house again this year, slipping into a character just as he did the year before. That said, the station wasn't supposed to be opened just yet, as he and the rest of the students signed up for it were still busily readying the exhibit for tonight's guests. The poor boy was almost worn out before the night began, having to turn away guests who showed up too early, and informing them the estimated time of when the attraction opens. For someone like Audrey, it was quite the task. Daniel was perhaps better suited for the job, but goodness knows where he went.

The Westley boy was somewhere within the house itself, searching for yet another lad by the name of "Miles". His friend was constantly overworked during this time of year from making costume after costume for the various events. As always, the pink-loving lad had lost many nights of sleep, causing dark circles to appear around his eyes, and for the lad to lose consciousness at seemingly random intervals. As far as Daniel knew, the boy was asleep somewhere, and seeing as though it was almost time for them to start performing, the lad must be found.

Daniel lurked in the dark hallways, littered with grotesque scenes and booby traps in search of his friend. As always, the students of Warwick had assembled an astonishingly high-quality attraction for a bunch of students. After all, it was the Warwick way! Unfortunately, however, it was too effective, even on someone who aided in it's construction.

Even with the suit of "cursed" costume armour he wore, he felt naked underneath some unseen force that lurked the halls. Surely, it was just another student hiding within the walls to play a joke on him, but alas, the politician's son was not amused. The hair on the back of his neck stood on end as he braced himself for an imminent jumpscare. Finally, it dawned on him. He smirked.

"Very funny, Kris!" he said loudly with an arrogant huff. "I know you're trying to scare me, but it's not gonna work! Just come out. We need to get ready."

Nothing. There was absolute silence. He was certain that he felt someone watching him. Kristopherson must be playing innocent, like he's not there at all!

"C'mon, Kris! We've gotta go!" he called again, this time a bit louder. Was it just him, or did the room get colder all of a sudden? It must be one of the effects of the room he was in. Daniel furrowed his brow and prepared to call out again, but this time, he stopped.

He froze in place with the temperature, feeling a pair of eyes watching him. He felt a disturbing presence at his flank. It was surprising, seeing as a human's senses are not nearly as sharp as a demons'. After pausing to think for a moment, he relaxed and smiled.

"Very funny, Kris. I know it's you-…" he trailed off as he turned around, finding nothing. All that was there was both himself, and an empty hallway. His nerves must be getting the better of him. Thus, he shrugged it off and continued his search.

Daniel traveled further down the empty hallway, coming to an empty room. He squinted as he got closer, spotting a figure lying in the floor. Upon realizing who it was, Daniel started to jog toward it, pleased to see his friend again.

Kristopherson was lying in the center of the room in an odd position. His body was placed thoughtlessly, as if he just randomly fell over. It certainly didn't look comfortable for sleeping.

"Hey, get up, Kris." Daniel said, tapping the boy's shoulder with his foot, furrowing his brow when the faux-blonde did not respond.

"C'mon, mate. Wakey-wakey, eggs 'n bakey!" he called again, this time crouching down to shake his friend's shoulder. When that didn't work, he began tugging on the lad's arm. "What the fuck, Kris? How late did you stay up last night?!"

Kristopherson did not budge. At this point, Daniel convinced himself that the pink-loving lad was faking it, and let go of his arm. To his surprise, it fell limply to the floor. Now Daniel was worried.

" _Kris?"_ he called, most than a hint of unease in his voice. He crouched down again to shake the boy one last time before poking and prodding at his face. Relief washed over the Westley as he realized that Kristopherson's face was still warm, and he was still breathing. A sigh escaped Daniel's lips as he stood up again. He scratched his head wondering how on earth he was going to wake the other boy. The attraction was going to open soon, and he certainly wasn't going to be able to carry him on his own.

The temperature in the room dropped again and Daniel felt that same presence he had felt in the hallway behind him once more. It clicked for Daniel at that moment, and he realized why Kristopherson was so unresponsive. That wasn't an ordinary sleep. Whatever this was had made him unconscious. With all of the paranormal activity near Warwick, this certainly wasn't illogical. Daniel, however, wished it was.

His muscles locked up as he stood, frozen, terrified to even imagine what was behind him. He hoped to God that someone, anyone, would save him from whatever it was that was about to happen to him. Perhaps if he pretended not to notice, it would go away?

This theory was shattered to pieces as he felt a hand on his shoulder, violently turning him around to face his attacker. He wanted to scream or shout out for help, but another hand clamped over his mouth. His green eyes widened in terror, unable to look away from the crimson orbs before him. They were mesmerizing, being both beautiful and terrible at the same time, igniting an almost primal fear from the very bowels of his heart. Soon, his eyes became half-lidded and his body relaxed. His attacker removed their hand from his mouth and called to him.

 _"Now,"_ it said in a soft, sweet voice. " _…I want you to tell me everything you know about a certain 'Ciel Phantomhive'."_

 


	372. Iron Gauntlets

_"How did this happen?"_

The demonic duo asked themselves this question over and over again as they stood in the Warwick Academy infirmary where their two friends now lie unconscious. Daniel and Kristopherson were found in an empty room of the haunted house, lying in heaps on the floor by a few students, who contacted security. Thus, Charlotte and Amelie, being the closest ones to the scene, brought them here, shamefully regretting not doing anything to stop the attack.

There was no doubt in the demons' minds that the perpetrator had to be behind Black Annis, but how? The creature from before would have devoured them, not struck them unconscious. Odd thing was, there were no signs of physical injury on either lad.

"That's it. I'm stumped." Alois declared finally, folding his arms. "Why the hell did this happen?"

" _If I knew, I would definitely tell you."_ His bluenette beau replied was he tried to examine his friends who were now also sadly victims in a case. The Phantomhive pried open the eyelids of the Westley lad, causing the human's pupils to dilate from the light. There was no other response.

Ciel did notice, however, the slight red tint of the boy's irises. That was not a common trait, and it certainly wasn't one that Daniel possessed previously. Something about it made the Phantomhive uneasy, like his sixth sense was trying to tell him something. He actually recognized this symptom from somewhere. The question is, however, _where?_

It was obviously the cause of something of a supernatural persuasion. There was no doubt in the bluenette's mind. Taking a step back, he furrowed his brow, pausing to make an attempt to recall the nasty sorts of things he's seen within the past hundred years. It slowly began to dawn on him, yet he did not want to believe it.

" _He's here."_ He muttered, his face forming a small snarl.

"Who's here?" asked Charlotte.

"The 'fourth demon'." The bluenette clarified. "He's the one who made me attack Alois. _Now, he's used the demonic 'bewitching' on Daniel and Kristopherson."_

"So they're under the influence of the _sex beam?"_ Alois asked. "Any ideas as to _why?"_

" _Information,_ most likely." His beau answered. "School layout, event schedules…"

"… _You_." Interrupted the blonde. "They could have targeted Dan and Kris specifically to get to you. I mean, out of all of the people who could have known those things within reach, why would they go to the trouble of breaking into the haunted house and attacking only those two?" Ciel was silent after that.

After all, there wasn't much to be said. Alois' theory did sound convincing. He was interfering with whatever it was the enemy wanted to accomplish with Black Annis. Furthermore, the fourth demon _did_ say that he wished to meet again with the Phantomhive. Ciel clenched his fists as guilt began to weigh down on him. This attack was _his_ fault.

The temperature in the room dropped as the lad grit his teeth and scowled, causing the two H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. operatives to slightly cower. It seemed as though the boy was willing to punch the next person who spoke. This wasn't at all the case, however. No, the only people he was angry at were himself, and the fourth demon. How dare he continue to strike against the Phantomhive posse?! That demon would pay dearly for this.

"Are they gonna be okay?" Alois finally asked, causing the bluenette to relax a bit almost immediately. The blonde arched an eyebrow as the Phantomhive spoke.

"Most likely." The boy stated. "They'll wake up eventually, but most likely won't remember what happened to them."

"So, how are we going to deal with this?" Ciel paused to think of an answer to his beau's question. Soon, his face darkened.

" _We let them come."_ He said. "If he wants to face me so badly, let him. I'll be _ready_ this time." A chill ran down the spines of the other inhabitants in the room, all but Alois. Instead, a wicked grin appeared on the blonde's face.

"Now _that's_ the Ciel Phantomhive I know." Alois said, quite pleased by the return of the fire in the Phantomhive's eye. The edges of his lips twitched toward a frown when a knock came at the door.

"Enter." The bluenette instructed, and from behind it came a certain sorcerer boy. The blonde's grin returned with a more pleasant atmosphere when he saw that the lad was carrying a metal box. Immediately, the blonde menace stood from his seat and pranced over to the lad like a child at Christmas.

"Are they done?" he asked giddily, causing Dafydd to snort.

"Well 'hello' to you too, Alois." The sorcerer said sarcastically. His tone changed to a more pleasant one, however, when he glanced past the blonde to see a rather displeased expression on the face of the demon's boyfriend. "Yes, they're done. Take 'em. _They're heavy as hell."_

The blonde effortlessly took the box from the H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. researcher, prompting Dafydd to let out a breath of relief. While he had difficulty carrying the item, Alois had no trouble holding the box with one hand, and opening it with the other. Upon seeing its contents, Alois' face lit up.

" _Wicked!"_ he declared, picking one of the two objects in the box up. It was a gauntlet, inscribed with many strange letters and writing. Alois set the box down and put on the large metal glove, clenching and unclenching his fist.

"I call them _'Jarnglofar'_." Dafydd said. "They should keep your fists from busting open from punching those… what did you call them?"

"'Annies'." The blonde replied.

"Riiiight…." The sorcerer continued. "We tested them on scraps of the specimen you cave us. It cracked nicely. You should also be able to hold your gun with them on."

" _Awesome_." Alois said with a grin, cracking his knuckles. He was very pleased with this. His boyfriend, however, was somewhat confused.

"Wait," the bluenette began. "Why do you have gauntlets?"

"To punch the shit out of Annies. Duh, Ciel." Alois replied. "Remember that 'favor' I asked for? You get a cool sword thing, so I should get a cool weapon too, right? Besides, punching worked pretty good, last time, didn't it?"

"Fair enough." The Phantomhive said. "How did you get H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. to make them, though?"

"I made them." Dafydd stated. "One of my jobs at HQ is to create new anti-freak weapons. I'm just testing the technology."

"These things better not fall apart or eat my hands or some shit." Interrupted the blonde menace. "I kinda need those."

" _I bet."_ Replied the researcher. "They're perfectly safe to use. Just try to give 'em a break every once and a while."

"Yes, _mother_." Alois jested. "I won't break my new toy."

 


	373. A Name To A Face

The following day, the two human boys awoke well-rested, without any peculiar abnormalities. The glow from their eyes vanished and all was ordinary, aside from the fact that neither boy could recall what had happened to them, or how they winded up in the infirmary. They both resumed working on their projects, but not without being under the watchful eye of H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G.

As darkness fell over the second night of the festival, security tightened it's grasp on the Warwick grounds. It was October 31st, after all, the supposed night where demons and other wicked spirits like to come out to frolic in the night at their leisure. Charlotte and Amelie were on patrol, as well as Heinrich and a few others. They were the first line of defense against the threat that loomed over the school. Seras Victoria was on radio, ready to send reinforcements from headquarters if necessary.

The demonic duo dawned their security uniforms as well, blending in with the general populace while simultaneously standing out. There were other soldiers mixed in with the crowd as well, ready to help evacuate civilians should a brawl erupt. It was stressful, for if they were up against actual demons as well, they could be anyone, from old women to young children. The demons' shape shifting ability was their greatest tool, after all.

Alois was just worried for his little brother, Luka. He, too, was in the crowd somewhere, along with Sebastian. The butler was instructed to remove the boy from the premises as soon as violence broke out. While the man could save their lives, the blonde menace was more worried about the defenseless "baby" demon instead. His beau simply respected this and gave the order.

"This is driving me mental…" Alois said. "There's so many people! How are we to know where they're going to strike?!"

"We stay vigilant, and sniff them out." The bluenette replied.

"Worst Halloween ever." The blonde stated. "Assholes gotta fuck everything up for everybody."

"Hopefully we can stop them before they can cause too much damage."

The words that Ciel spoke were not at all optimistic, but his tone and facial expression were determined. Alois couldn't remember the last time he had seen the boy do such a thing. Well, before he died, that is. Ciel Phantomhive had regained his fire, and it was all because of the blonde menace, their friends, and the little odd family that they had formed over the past five years.

Even though his anger was burning and he was set on destruction, the bluenette's heart was in the right place and he felt good about it. For the first time in one-hundred years, he felt as though he had purpose. This time, it wasn't for petty, selfish revenge, even though admittedly, there was some of that toward the fourth demon. This time, it was instead to maintain order, and keep the ones he cared about safe, even if they too were on the front lines with him.

Hours passed and all seemed ordinary. Children played, teenagers socialized, and all was running smoothly. Yet, there was a disturbing unrest in the air that maintained the lad's attention the entire time. Something was wrong. _Very_ wrong. There were no visible signs of this, however. There was only the sixth sense of things. Suddenly, the radio on the lad's shoulder made a crackling noise before the sound of Charlotte's voice spoke out.

"There's a dodgey character by one of the stalls." She said. "I can't tell if he's supernatural, sick, or drunk."

"Go check it out anyway." Alois replied. "We're security gaurds, so even if it's nothing, we're doing our 'job'."

"Be cautious." Added the Phantomhive. "We still don't fully understand the nature of these creatures. Is Amelie with you?"

"Yeah, but her reaction to him doesn't look too good." The vampire replied. "Something's up."

"Apprehend the suspect before things get out of hand." Ciel said, watching his partner as something seemed to catch the blonde's eye. "Keep us posted."

With that, he turned his attention to the other boy, who glanced at him before shifting his gaze away, pointing with his eyes. Ciel followed his line of sight to see a small girl staring straight at them with a mischievous, child-like smile on her face. Her hair was in braids, fixed into two pigtails, and her doll-like eyes held a glint of something ominous. With that, she turned to run away, leaving the two boys dumbfounded.

"That was weird." Alois stated. "So, _what's the plan, man?"_

"We do our job." His beau answered. "Follow her."

"And if it's a trap?"

"We spring it." Ciel stated before taking off in pursuit.

The girl began to run faster, her movements not distressed or frantic, but rather, playful. Occasionally she'd look back at the boys to make sure they're still following, and even stop altogether to make sure they could keep up. Both boys looked at each other, wordlessly agreeing that this was indeed, a trap of some sort. Things continued this way for quite a while before it all came to a very abrupt halt. Alois looked to his left before grabbing the bluenette and shoving him foreward, only to be struck by an unknown force.

From one of the stalls burst forth a creature, sending splinters and shrapnel everywhere. It completely blindsided the lads. It head-butted the blonde menace, separating him from the bluenette briefly. Ciel drew his sword, preparing for battle, but to his surprise, this creature was not like the last.

While it had the same skeletal face, black armour, and bleed profusely, it stood on two legs, not four, and resembled a grotesque humanoid shape. There was no doubt in Ciel's mind that this was in fact an "annie", but he wasn't sure how to respond. The creature turned to the bluenette before turning it's attention back to Alois, who stood up again while festival goers scrambled to get away.

"I'm alright!" the Macken boy called, waving to the bluenette. "Don't worry! I've got this! Keep following mystery-chick!"

"Are you sure?" the bluenette shouted back as the other boy donned his new weapon.

"Oh, yes." Alois answered, clenching and unclenching his fists, made stronger by the gauntlets he now wore. "I'm good. You go! Look! She's waiting on you!"

Ciel looked to see that the girl was patiently waiting on the Phantomhive, smile on her face. The bluenette furrowed his brow at this before turning his attention back to his beau. He said: "Alright! Just be careful!"

"I'd be more worried about yourself! This is obviously a trap!" the menace answered. " _Come back to me safe and sound, you hear?"_ With a soft smile, the bluenette called back:

" _Yes, your highness."_

With that, the blonde grinned. He let out a roar and charged the beast, dodging it's long, ghastly claws. The boy cocked back his fist and struck the beast with full force, causing it's armour to shatter to pieces instantly.

"Good." Ciel said quietly to himself, now reassured that the blonde could manage.

The bluenette turned his attention back to the girl and advanced, only to be chasing her yet again. They passed abandoned stalls as people began to evacuate, leaving them the only ones in the area. The chase continued for a while until the boy was lead to a narrow alley. He stopped at the entrance, knowing that the girl's intention was to trap him there.

"Is this where you've been leading me?" the boy asked. "There's a trap there. Did you think I was going to fall for it?" The girl only giggled, placing her hands behind her head and leaning against the wall.

"Aw, looks like ya caught me!" she said in a small, yet mocking voice. "Guess you're too smart for me to beat!" Ciel narrowed his eye. He didn't like this at all.

"Are you behind Black Annis as well?" he asked. "You and that demon with the bowl-cut?" The girl giggled.

"You mean _Metus?"_ she asked. "Yeah, me and that guy both. There's others, but I'm sure _you'll figure that out."_

Ciel snarled. " _Metus?"_ What a fitting name to attach to that face. Still, the bluenette had other things to worry about at the moment. There was this girl, and this obvious trap, and the fact that she didn't feel at all threatened. More than that, she said that there were more of them. It was then that the bluenette's eye widened.

"… _Like right now."_ She continued, right as the Phantomhive was shoved from behind. He took several steps forward to steady himself, only to find himself in the alleyway. He looked down to see markings etched into the earth, only to discover that it was hard to move.

The one who had pushed him calmly walked forward into his field of vision, looking down on him almost arrogantly. It was another girl, one who appeared to be around the age he took the appearance of. She had fair skin and long hair, braided around into the front over her chest in a peculiar way. Her demeanor was quite serious as she joined her compatriot, obviously more attached to the mission at hand than the other. The girl girl giggled again.

"That was brilliant!" she declared. "You should have seen your face! Right, _Lil?"_ She elbowed her companion who smiled in an arrogant fashion.

"Indeed." The taller girl said, her voice more calm, and less shrill than that of the other. "Though I must say, I'm somewhat disappointed. I expected much more of a _challenge._ He isn't at all what _Metus_ made him out to be. _"_

Ciel furrowed his brow and made an effort to move, but to no avail. He was stuck. Still, he wasn't going to give up just yet.

"I'm sorry to disappoint." The Phantomhive stated. "I take it you're already familiar with me?"

"Of course. We know all about you from your friends." The smaller girl said. " _'Ciel'?_ What a silly name for a demon! Unless, of course, you're going for irony."

"And what, pray tell, is _your_ name?" the boy asked, his patience wearing thin.

"I'm _Morgan_." The girl answered. She gestured to the girl next to her. "This is _Lilith_."

"And those are _so_ much better…" the bluenette mused, only to be struck in the face by the one known as "Morgan".

" _Shut yer hole!"_ the petite girl snapped. "Or we'll make this a lot worse for ya!" she turned to her compatriot, her smile returning. "Right, _Lil?"_

" _Not worth the effort."_ Said Lilith smugly. "Let's just get what we came here for and be done with it, shall we?"

"Fine…"

The taller girl stepped into the circle, obviously unaffected by it, and reached out her hand. Ciel tried to clench his eye shut, but the girl held it open. Every time he made an attempt to avert his gaze, she would tilt his head, until finally, their eyes locked and glowed crimson.

Panic began to sink in as the boy understood what this girl was doing. Somehow, she was powerful enough to affect him a tad, making him unable to look away. Thus, with his will as his last line of defense, he fought the bewitching technique with all of his might. His attacker, however, only smiled.

"Don't resist." She cooed softly. " _You'll tell me everything I need to know eventually."_

* * *

 


	374. Fists And Claws

" _Where did they all come from?!"_ asked Charlotte as she and her lycanthrope companion fought of the advancing black creatures.

After pursuing the sickly-looking individual, they found the man keeled over, black growths growing on their skin. They put him down quickly, but soon more "annies" began to appear. The girls were soon joined by other soldiers, including a certain Heinrich Strumer, who didn't seem at all pleased with the turn of events.

"How the fuck am I supposed to know?!" he called back before slicing into the gaps of black armour. "I thought you freaks had super-senses or something!"

"Don't call us ' _freaks'!_ That's _racist!"_ Amelie shouted, firing off her gun.

_"What?!"_

_"'Freaks'_ is a slur against supernaturals." Charlotte clarified. "Why do you think soldiers call us that all the time?"

"How was I supposed to know that either?!" the German called.

"Heiny's a dumbass!" declared the wolf-girl. "He makes Jesus cry!"

"Now is not the time for this Scheiße!" Heinrich yelled in exasperation. "Stay focused! We're under heavy attack! These things aren't going down easy!"

The man was right. In fact, both he and the majority of the soldiers were starting to get weary. When your best offense is to get close to the creatures, that is definitely not a good thing to happen. Several operatives fell to the jaws of the beast in a flash, and morale was starting to drop. Even Charlotte and Amelie were having difficulty, regardless of their superior strength, speed, and agility.

They held their front well, protecting the majority of the soldiers and smiting most of the beasts. Amelie cycled between forms like lightning, slashing through the gaps in the annies' armour while Charlotte wedged the barrel of her gun between them and pulled the trigger. Her fists hurt from having to punch away their gnashing jaws from reaching her; knuckles bleeding and skin peeling away. She paused momentarily to catch her breath. They were doing well. At this rate, it wouldn't take much longer when the support of the two demons arrives.

Charlotte prepared herself to go back into the fray, but as she took her first step forward, she felt a sharp pain at her back. She had been cut, by what, she didn't know, but it burned and stung like the devil. The vampire took a few steps forward and turned, only to see a demon before her.

He stood clad in black, with claws where his middle and index fingers as well as his thumb. Horn of a similar hue twisted outward from both sides of his head, and the tail of a scorpion extended from his flank. An amused but twisted smile adorned his face as he peered through the bangs of his bowl-cut with glowing red eyes. Charlotte's blood dripped from his claws as he righted himself, standing up straighter.

" _Howdy."_ He said, his tone playfully sarcastic. It echoed in Charlotte's ears as the world started to spin. The girl tried to reach for her gun, but dropped it as her legs fell from underneath her.

A feeling began to well up inside the vampire. It was familiar, but not at all pleasant. It was irrational but not at the same time. No longer, could she hear the laughter of the demon before her or the sounds of combat. Familiar but angry voices took their place. No longer, could she even see either of these things. Instead, when she looked up, her eyes widened, tears streaming down her cheeks as her body tensed up. She began to hyperventilate, much to the demon's amusement.

" _N-no…"_ she said weakly, her voice cracking. " _I don't… I'm not… Please_ …"

"Mmn, not as a remarkable reaction as I'd like…" the demon said, scratching his chin. "Guess I'll have to try someone else…" Violently, he grabbed the girl by the ponytail behind her head and picked her up, causing her to squeak.

" _But what should I do with you?"_ he asked, knowing by the glazed look in the girl's eyes that she wouldn't be able to answer. He cocked his arm back, using his hand as talons. With one swift movement, he swung his arm, missing the girl to his surprise. Instead, he slashed a rather serious-looking German man.

Heinrich had cut the girl down with the knife-like bayonet on the barrel of his gun, leaving the demon with only a handful of her hair as her ponytail was detached from her person. The man winched at the pain in his arm as blood trickled down from the claw marks in it, but he had a duty to perform. The soldier grabbed his fellow operative, picking her up despite her frantic protests and moved her away from the demon.

"Ow!" the German shouted as he was accidentally hit in the face by a flailing arm. "This is the thanks I get for saving your ass?!" he asked. "Be grateful! I could've… could've…"

His legs gave out beneath him as he ran, sending both he and Charlotte hurdling toward the earth. The girl landed before curling herself up into a fetal position, oblivious to the mayhem around her, while Heinrich desperately tried to get up to no avail. The collision was noticed by Amelie. Terror struck the wolf-girl as she saw her companion on the ground, bleeding.

" _ **Charlotte!"**_ she called, her voice pained. Immediately, she dropped everything and dashed over to the other girl.

She crouched down and checked her wound. It wasn't that bad. It was only a scratch. Thus, Amelie moved the girl so that she was holding her in her lap. One hand at the vampire's side and the other behind her head, feeling the freshly shortened hair on her head. Even though the injury wasn't great, Charlotte's behaviour was a definite cause for concern.

"N-no… Please don't hurt me…" the vampire whimpered, clenching her eyes shut as her companion studied her face in an attempt to understand.

"I'm here, Charlotte!" Amelie said. "You're okay! What's wrong?!" The wolf-girl's attention shifted to Heinrich, the one who had saved the vampire. Her brow furrowed in confusion at the man's behaviour as well.

He sat on his knees with his hands over his eyes. The utterances of small sobs could be heard in his direction as he shook. The poor man was an utter mess as he cried.

" _Mama…. Papa…"_ he sobbed pitifully in a trance. _"Bitte beenden Sie... Sie zu verletzen... Sie werden sterben..."_

Amelie arched an eyebrow at this, unable to understand what the man was on about. She stared at him for a while longer in hopes of better understanding what was happening, but turned her attention back to Charlotte upon hearing the girl's voice. The Vampire gripped at her shirt weakly and sobbed.

" _Mum_ …" she said in desperate tone. "… _don't hate me_ …" It was then that the wolf-girl knew what the girl was experiencing.

"Charlotte! Listen to me!" she called, her own voice cracking as she gripped the taller girl tighter. "It's me! Amelie! You're alright! No one hates you! _Charlotte!"_

" _How sweet~!"_ called a playful voice from behind the werewolf. Amelie reflexively tried to get away, carrying Charlotte with her, only for her own back to be cut by the demons' claws. She turned around and snarled at the smiling "fourth" demon as the boy licked the blood from his claws.

"You lot are more interesting than I thought~!" he said as the werewolf gently placed her friend on the ground. "A word of advice, by the way: _Fear is inescapable_."

With that Amelie began to charge, aiming her gun at the boy. Soon, her legs began to feel weak, however, no matter how much she pushed onward. She, too, fell into the dirt and grime, unable to stand back up. The demon's laughter faded out as she stared at the ground, trying to right herself again. She furrowed her brow and looked up, growling in hopes of intimidating the boy even a smidge, but her eyes soon widened, her tough façade dropping, and shattering to pieces.

She was no longer at Warwick Academy. The demon was no longer there. There was no Halloween festival, but instead, she was in a small, familiar cottage in Southern France. She did not feel nostalgic in the slightest, however, but fearful. Her entire body tensed as she heard a voice; a voice that she had not heard since the 16th century, and never wanted to hear again.

" _Jeanne?"_ it called, as a figure materialized before her. She had not heard that name in ages. The man's face was exactly the same as it was the final day she saw him, and his tone was just as angry. _"Jeanne, où avez-vous été? Je vous ai dit de ne jamais quitter!"_

" _No..."_ she said has she shook with fear. " _Ce n'est pas réel... Vous n'êtes pas réel!"_

" _Qu'est-ce que tu racontes, femme stupide?!"_ the man shouted angrily. _"Dois-je vous montrer votre place de nouveau?! Vous êtes à me servir! Obtenez ici!"_

When the girl didn't move, she felt his rough hands grip her arm. Her face twisted into that of absolute horror as she remembered what always came next…

" _ **WAAAAAAAAAAGH!"**_ she screamed, curling up and shielding herself. Tears streamed down her face as she remembered the pain she often experienced while she was mortal. Laughter bubbled up from the throat of the demon before her as he stood in reality, watching as the girl clawed at the dirt and tried to escape the pain and fear he brought to her within the confines of her own mind.

"Now _that_ is a good reaction!" Metus said heartily, his smile fading into a scowl when one of the annies stepped forward to finish the girl off. Noticing it's mistake, the black creature backed away again.

"Don't spoil it, you stupid lummox!" the demon ordered. "Let me play!"

It was then that an unknown force smashed into the face of the annie, forcing it to the ground. With it's mask shattered, the attacker hit it again, crushing it's human face with iron hands. The annie was dead, and the boy who killed it stood up and faced the clawed demon.

Alois stood, his demonic form covered in the blood of the creatures he had slain, his eyes glaring at the other demon. The blonde immediately recognized the boy, even with the addition of horns and a tail. That was the demon who hurt his Ciel; the one who made the bluenette feel worry and doubt. The Macken boy didn't know how angry he would feel upon seeing the lad's face, but now, he understood what Ciel felt. For once in his life, Alois felt the desire to avenge the honour of someone. It was foreign, and he didn't necessarily like it.

The blonde looked to the side to see the H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. operatives, only to feel his anger rise, along with his dread. This person reduced hardened soldiers to tears and caused them to writhe in the dirt. They were his friends, and they needed justice as well. No, this wasn't for "justice". This was for their dignity and _pride._ Alois stepped down from on top of the corpse of the annie and walked to a few steps toward the demon, who only smiled.

"My, aren't you feisty!" the demon said. "You're with this bunch then, I presume."

"Yeah, you could say that." Alois replied, a defiant expression adorning his visage. "To be more accurate, though, I'm with Phantomhive house."

"Ah, so you're with eyepatch!" his foe said. "You do look familiar. Have we met?"

"I was there when you first encountered Ciel. I'm the one you made him attack."

"Oh, yes! Sorry, it's just so hard to remember _minor characters_."

Alois felt his eyebrow twitch at that. "It's alright. I didn't expect much of a memory from someone incapable of doing anything on their own. Poison? How indirect."

"Oh, it's _very_ direct." The demon said. "Here! Let me _show_ you!"

The demon's muscles tensed before he disappeared in a flash, only to materialize again behind the blonde menace, who swung his arm backwards to deflect. Sparks flew as the gauntlets defended against the black claws of the Macken's foe. Metus bared his teeth at the lad in a ghastly snarl, but the boy was unfazed, holding firm his position. His eyes flickered toward the demon's tail with it poisoned stinger as it swished from side to side. In an instant, it moved in an effort to strike the blonde, only to be caught in the boy's grip.

" _Heh."_ The other demon mocked, snarl becoming a grin. While both his tail and his hand were occupied, he still had one hand left, unlike Alois. Thus, he cocked back his arm and prepared to tear into the flesh of the blonde menace, but to his dismay the boy clamped down on his tail with his fist and with a twirl on his heel, threw the clawed demon into the air.

With a grunt, Metus landed, crashing into one of the stalls. As splinters flew into the air, Alois wiped his hand on his pants with a disgusted look, having touched the tail of a demon other than his beau. In a huff, the other demon sat up from the rubble, angrily shoving boards out of his way. Rage flamed in his eyes as he watched the blonde brace himself for another attack.

" _Rrraaagh!"_ the demon roared as he advanced, closing the large gap between them with exceptional speed. He flailed his arms and thrashed his tail with similar velocity, only to have his attacks blocked by Alois' gauntlets.

Even with this, however, the menace couldn't go on the offense, as most of his movements had to be directed at defense. The lad's eyes glowed and vines sprouted from the ground at his opponent. He clicked his tongue in displeasure when the other boy's claws sliced through them with ease. Things continued to progress in a similar manner, leaving both brawlers to agree that it would appear that they had reached an impasse. Finally, Metus ceased his actions momentarily.

" _What's your name?"_ he asked, furrowing his brow. The Macken boy adjusted his posture so that his shoulders were back and he stood tall.

"Alois Trancy." He answered. "You?"

" _Metus."_ The other demon said. "Just ' _Metus'."_

"Well, 'Metus'," the blonde began. "You might have those wicked claws, but I have a _green thumb."_

With a snap of his fingers, vines sprouted from the ground and curled around the demon with the bowl-cut. Thorns dug into his flesh just as his claws tore into that of Alois' comrades before. The more he struggled, the further in they bore themselves in, leaving him nothing to do but to glare at the Macken boy with a snarl.

" _Bastard…"_ he swore, unable to use his claws to free himself. The menace, however, was unfazed as he began to walk forward.

Alois' pace quickened with the more distance he traveled. His walk soon became a jog, which in turn became a run. He gave a mighty roar himself as he clenched his fist and took a swing upon meeting Metus.

Vines tore and skin was cut as the impact from the menaces strike sent the other demon soaring backwards. Alois struck his opponent with the same amount of force he used on the annies, if not more so for personal reasons. As the dust cleared, he saw a limp figure amongst a pile of rubble before him.

The other demon's face was disfigured on the side that he was punched, as it swelled and reddened. Blood trickled down from Metus' nose and lip as he blankly stared forward, meeting the blonde's gaze. The lad held onto his sides and coughed, spitting up blood, as well as a few teeth. Weakly, Metus made an attempt to stand, however, he was met by an unpleasant surprise.

" _Kaspar!"_ The blonde called, summoning his gun. Black fire spiraled in his palm before it formed the shape of a gun. It's barrel was then aimed directly at the venomous demon, the blonde's finger resting firmly on the trigger.

"Well... _augh_ …" Metus winced before coughing. " _Now that's not fair at all_."

"Am I bovvered?" the blonde asked, his eyes never straying from the demon before him. By the looks of him, he still had a few tricks up his sleeves. Sirens sounded off in the distance as H.E.L.L.S.L.N.G. came in with reinforcements. It would appear that the Black Annis "gang" had lost. However, it was then that Alois heard yet another sound. The giggling of a young girl.

"Metus, you dumbass!" called the girl. "You got cocky and got yourself beat up! You're a mess!"

"Shut up, _Morgan."_ The demon hissed, almost falling from lack of balance. Soon, the girl appeared at his side, and seemingly helped him right himself. "Aren't you supposed to be with Lilith?"

"Yeah, but she doesn't need my help." The girl stated. "She can handle it. Besides, it'd be annoying if you wound up and got yourself killed."

"I could've won…"

"But you didn't." Morgan said. "Besides, it's time to go. It looks like you've completed your part of the mission. _Krampus_ says we can go."

"Fuck _Krampus_."

"Shh! Don't say stuff like that! He'll hear yo-"

BANG!

The sound of a gun going off echoed throughout the field as Alois fired his shot. To his surprise, the girl dodged it, and didn't seem too bothered by it. She simply turned to face him momentarily before turning back to her associate.

"Let's go. Lilith's almost done with Phancyhive." The girl said, helping the boy along.

Alois narrowed his eyes at the mentioning of his beau. As more operative poured in, the pair before him vanished before he could even say anything. Medics were on the scene treating the wounded, but Alois still couldn't shake his new worry.

"Ciel…" he said absent-mindedly. He wasn't sure what happened to his beau, so he took off in search of the boy. "…Please be okay…"

 


	375. The Watchdog's Interrogation

_"You'll tell me everything I need to know eventually."_

That is what the girl before Ciel had said as they both stood locked in mental combat. "Lilith" was her name. She had captured the Phantomhive in a devil's snare, and sought to forcibly retrieve some kind of information from his mind, using the bewitching stare of a demon.

While the lad was a demon, himself, he still found it difficult to fight back. He was paralyzed where he was, and could no longer avert his gaze. Ciel grit his teeth as he fought with every single bit of his human-like will against his foe. After all, it was that same will which gave him power over other demons in the first place. This one, however, was _the same._

His foe pushed against him, exerting her will against his own. It wasn't at all typical demon behaviour, but Lilith, and the others associated with Black Annis, obviously weren't "typical" demons. Each had their own strength and power. Each one behaved differently. Yes, these demons, like those of Phantomhive house, were self-aware, as Ciel discovered. His mind became foggy, but he still persisted, refusing to sink into the trance-like state that the girl wanted him to. Her accomplice, however, wandered off into the night long before either of them made any progress.

The world began to spin as the bluenette stood there, his body frozen by the force of the demonic circle beneath him. It was as though he were fighting off sleep, a sensation he had forgotten over a century ago. His life, and the lives of others might just depend on whether or not he caves in, however. As his vision was starting to blur, he saw the girl walk toward him. The bluenette furrowed his brow as he felt her hand on his abdomen, and let out a pained grunt when he felt sharp pain.

Her fingers were like talons as they clawed into his belly as though they were seeking out his internal organs. Ciel's lower lip bled as he bit down on it in a vain attempt to fight off the pain as well. It soon vanished, however, as he lost consciousness. With his eye becoming lidded and his body relaxing, Lilith took a step back, releasing the boy while maintaining eye contact.

" _Impressive will."_ She mused, one of the corners of her lip turning up just slightly. "It's useless, though. You're not on my level."

Lilith extended her hand again and held up the bluenette's chin. "Now," she said. "Can you hear me?"

" _Yes…"_ Ciel answered, his voice weak. He wasn't strong enough to fight both the battle against the girl, and against pain at once, thus sealing his fate.

"Good." The demoness replied. "Now, you're going to answer a few questions… First; do you own any _ancient enchanted items?"_

"Yes…"

"What are they?"

" _The book of Akeldama, the Hand of Akeldama,_ and a _shard of the Lævateinn_." The Phantomhive listed, causing the girl to perk up in surprise.

 _"You have it?"_ She further inquired, grabbing the collar of the boy's shirt. _"Where?_ Where is it?! _Tell me!"_

"Beneath Phantomhive Manor, below the memorabilia room…."

"And what's guarding it?"

"A level six Artorus barrier with eight Razak fields about the tunnel." The boy said. This caused the girl to rub her chin.

"The Razak barriers aren't a problem, but…" she mumbled before turning her attention back to Ciel. "How do you remove the Artorus barrier?"

" _A sample of my blood against the wall, along with an incantation_."

"What's the incantation?"

 _"' Deus serve mihi. Tutela meus viscus ex vulnero, tutela meus animus ex malum. Contego mihi ex hostium.'"_ The bluenette recited. Once the girl felt that she had it memorized, she released the collar of his shirt.

"Excellent." She said, excitement in her voice. She raised a hand to the boy. "Now _, all that's left to do is take some of your blood._ "

Shots fired, whizzing past her head. Lilith jumped backwards, only to dodge more bullets. With her focus gone, Ciel fell to the ground, his body limp, and his mind fogged. The only thing he could understand clearly was the sound of his name.

 _"Ciel!"_ called a familiar voice, reverberating against his eardrums. The boy shook his head as he felt a hand on his shoulder, his eyes trying to focus on a face known well to him.

"Jim?" he asked in a daze as the blonde menace tried to help him stand. "Where-? What? _Ugh…"_ The poor Phantomhive lad rubbed his forehead, fighting off the pain in his cranium.

"Ciel, what happened?! Are you okay?!" Alois pleaded frantically. He was worried sick about the boy, and his current condition wasn't helping any.

"Yeah… I'm… fine…" the bluenette said, furrowing his brow. "What happened?"

"That bitch was gonna _ace_ you, that's what!" the menace answered.

"Oh…" Ciel replied, not knowing how to respond. His mind was foggy, at best, and he couldn't quite recall what had just occurred. He looked up and his eyes widened, however, as the girl in question stood behind Alois.

 _"Get out of my way."_ She said in a grave tone, prompting the attention of the menace.

"No way, slag! I kicked the shit out of your buddy, so I can definitely take you!" Alois stood with a turn on the last word, sending his fist toward the demoness. To his horror, the girl effortlessly caught it in her hand, squeezing his fist until his gauntlet cracked. Alois looked on in disbelief as it shattered to pieces.

"Is that so?" she asked, arching an eyebrow. "You'd best _hurry_ , then…"

 


	376. Krampus

Both Phantomhive and Trancy stared in disbelief as the blonde's right gauntlet shattered into pieces beneath the grip of the girl before them. _Jarnglofar_ was designed to withstand the force of up to two tons, and shatter armour that bullets could not. Yet, the weapon was destroyed effortlessly by their foe as she stood smirking at the pair. Alois didn't register the stinging of his hand from the many cuts left from broken metal until the girl squeezed his fist.

 _"Gah!"_ he unintentionally cried out before trying to wrestle his hand away from Lilith. As if on a whim, she released the poor boy, causing him to reel backwards clutching his hand. The blonde's hand twitched and burned as shards of blessed silver pierced his skin. He immediately began to pick them out, only to be scoffed at by the girl before he and his beau.

"Is that all?" she asked, arching an eyebrow. "Don't waste any more of my time. Get out of my way." Commanded Lilith as she took a step forward toward the shaken boy and the dazed bluenette. The Phantomhive put an arm around the blonde protectively, even if he wasn't entirely sure what was happening.

"You know, you could always just cooperate and _give_ me what I want." The girl continued as the blonde let out a shaky breath, having removed what felt like the last of the shrapnel from his flesh. Blood dripped down his hand, but he still opted to wiggle out of the bluenette's grasp in order to get in between the boy and the demoness.

" _Caelum in nube, et toto summi viri, virtuetum, obsecro; Sana animam meam, ut vastares hostum velocius otum."_ Muttered the blonde menace as flames encased his wounded appendage. _"Rapitim regenerationis!"_

Lilith hummed a flat note at the boy's antics. "Oh, so you know that spell?" asked she, surprised that such a predictable, weak-looking lad could heal a wound inflicted by anti-freak weaponry so quickly.

" _Don't_ underestimate me." The Macken boy warned, provoking great fascination from the Phantomhive lad. All the bluenette could do was look on as his head tried to catch up with him. He was forgetting something of great importance, but couldn't figure out what.

He had no time for that, however, as his lover charged his foe. The blonde was like lightning, as fast as he moved, trying to land a hit on the demoness. The girls, however, was unfazed, blocking his every blow at a similar speed. While Alois was giving it his all, Lilith only seemed _annoyed_.

" _Stop wasting my time."_ She said, blocking one last punch. She grabbed the boy's wrist, and with a swift pull, she threw him head first into a nearby wall, smashing through brick and concrete as if it were paper. Stone fell on top of the blonde as he laid there, his body aching from the impact. Blood trickled down his forehead as he motionlessly tried to recover.

" _Jim!"_ called Ciel, standing up to rush to the boy's side. The concern in his voice went unnoticed as the demoness turned her immediate attention to him. " _Ack!"_

Choking was heard as Lilith grabbed his throat, clenching his trachea with brutal force and hoisting him up into the air. Ciel pried at her fingers with his own as he tried to free himself. Yet, his efforts were in vain. The boy made an attempt to kick the girl, only to have his leg caught by her free hand. His eyes widened as she bent his appendage.

_SNAP!_

If Ciel could breathe, he would have made a small, pained yelp as his leg was broken by the girl. She let go of it, allowing it to fall, limply dangling from the rest of the Phantomhive's body. There was no indication of anger on Lilith's face, nor of joy. There was only irritation at the bluenette's actions.

"This wouldn't happen if you'd just cooperate." She stated. "I have no interest in ending lives, _I just want the artifact."_

" _What_ artifact?!" Ciel choked out, having no recollection of the conversation from earlier. With a roll of her eyes, the girl opened her mouth to reply. Before she could, however, she looked up, her eyes widening.

On the roof stood a man; a demon, adorned in precious metals and luxurious fabrics. He stared down at the scene below with his one good eye, the other clawed out, as evident by the scars on half of his face. One of his black horns were broken, and his pointed tail flicked from side to side. Upon seeing the man, the girl immediately dropped the boy, sending him to the ground with a painful _thud_.

" _Krampus…"_ she said, turning to face the man's direction and offering a small bow. The Phantomhive looked up in confusion, only to furrow his brow in anger as he was being looked down on. The demon on high extended an arm.

"Enough." He said, his voice commanding. " _Lilith, to me."_

With one last look to the bluenette, the girl reluctantly obeyed, scaling the tall building and joining her apparent superior. Once at his side, the demon known as " _Krampus_ " put an arm around her. Her scowl shifted to a pleasant smile, one that was obviously false to the bluenette, who was a master of feigning innocence.

"Ciel Phantomhive." The demon above began, looking down at the boy. "Hear me! You will no longer interfere in my plans. Your meddling has been a thorn in my side, and your arrogance is unsightly! Either submit, or die!"

Wincing, the boy snapped his leg into place and sat up, giving the demon a haughty expression. "And just who are _you_ , to order _me?_ As I recall, London has been my territory for over a century."

 _"Not anymore."_ Krampus replied. "I'm claiming it as mine. It is no daunting task, giving your lack strength."

Ciel couldn't help but feel his eyebrow twitch. Ignoring the pain in his leg, he stood defiantly. "Oh? And you judge this based on what, exactly?"

"Your pathetic display from moments ago, obviously." The other demon stated. "Stay out of my way, and I _might_ spare your life."

"And you say my arrogance is _'unsightly'_ …"

"You will soon understand." Said Krampus. "Eventually, you'll have no choice. For now, however, I think it's only fair that you linger on your defeat, and give it some thought."

"And just what is it that I'll ' _understand'?"_ asked the bluenette, his stomach turning at the wicked smile that crept across the other male's face.

"Your _place,_ of course." The demon said with a sneer. "There can only be one 'demon-master'; one 'Devil' to rule them all. I intend to take that power for myself, and if you continue to be a thorn in my side, I will have to show you the full extent of it."

"So you're some _madman on a power-trip_ , are you?"

"' _Mad'?"_ the man echoed. "No. If I'm 'mad' for pursuing power that is rightfully mine, then what does that make _you,_ Ciel Phantomhive?" The former Earl wrinkled his nose in disgust at the other demon, unable to formulate a direct answer. Krampus only scoffed.

"Until next time, 'Earl'." The man said as he turned to walk away. "Hopefully, it won't be the last."

With that, Krampus and Lilith made their escape, presumably to rejoin their allies. The words spoken to the Phantomhive swirled around in his already aching head. This was bad. Really bad. While the boy doubted the strength of Krampus, he still kicked himself for being overwhelmed by his accomplice. Remembering his defeat at the hands of the girl, however, caused his eyes to widen.

" _Jim!"_ he called out, turning to the hole in the wall. He moved quickly, wincing at the pain in his leg, but making good progress nonetheless.

Ciel crouched down, moving brick after brick out of the way so he could get to the blonde menace. When he did, however, he found the boy marked with bruises. He grabbed Alois' shoulder and gently shook it. When that didn't work, he flipped the boy over on his own.

" _Nngh…"_ Alois groaned, furrowing his bloodied brow. The lad reached a hand up to rub it, only to flinch at the stinging sensation of brick stuck in his skin. His beau swiped blonde locks out of his face before making an attempt to pick out the uncomfortable fragments. With that, the menace opened his eyes, not at all pleased with the state he was in.

"You alright?" Ciel asked, capturing his lover's attention. "How are you feeling?"

" _Terrible."_ The Macken boy answered with a sigh. "I got my ass kicked."

" _I can relate…"_ replied the bluenette, informing his assistant of the current state of affairs.

"Did she get away?"

"Yeah… her and her boss, too."

"You saw the boss?"

" _Yeah…"_ Ciel uttered distractedly. His mind was fogged, and his thoughts clouded with thoughts of his defeat, and thoughts of Krampus. The demon was arrogant, with powerful allies. As much as it pained him to think, the demon reminded Ciel of his former self, somewhat.

For the first time in ages, however, Ciel felt completely, and utterly defeated. His ego was crushed by his failed combat with Lilith, only to be ground into the dirt by the taunting of her apparent superior. Moreover, there was a patch of his memory that felt nonexistent; it felt important, _very_ important, but it was _gone._ He knew the girl had done _something_ to him, and not knowing caused the Phantomhive massive unrest. Finally, there was the blonde's condition as well.

Alois fought bravely, even after realizing that he was way over his head. As soon as the girl caught his first the first time, one could see it on his face. Still, he was determined to protect the Phantomhive, something that the bluenette in question didn't quite think he was worthy of at the moment. Ciel stared into the icy blue eyes of the blonde for a moment, noting his concerned features. Soon, the guilt became too much to bare and he turned away, looking down at his hands.

" _I'm sorry…"_ he muttered softly. His eye widened in surprise when the other boy grabbed his chin, moving his face back up so that their eyes met again.

"It's not your fault." Alois replied. "We had no idea what we were up against. _It happens."_

"Not to _me_ , it doesn't..." the bluenette said. "A hundred years, I've lived, and for what? I can't even protect _myself_ , let alone the people I…" he trailed off, his eye darting to the side. His beau simply stared at him for a moment longer before pressing his lips against the Phantomhive's cheek.

"It's okay." The blonde said, moving a lock of hair out of the other boy's face. "The fact that you could go a hundred years without something like this happening is amazing. Sometimes, you have to lose before the real battle can begin. You and I both know that…"

"I don't want it to ever happen again." Ciel replied. " _I don't want to lose anymore_. I was _right here._ I could have helped you, but in the end, I was frozen and couldn't do anything at all… _Jim_ …" He paused, placing his hands on both sides of the blonde's head.

" _These people…_ They… I _…"_ The bluenette struggled to find his words, looking in the other boy's eyes in hopes of finding them.

" _I don't want history to repeat itself_ …" he said finally. "Not again… _I don't want to lose anymore, Jim_ … These people… _They can do it_ … I can _feel_ it…"

The blonde menace was utterly shocked at his lover's words. It hurt his heart to see the fear and concern in the Phantomhive's eye, and hear the desperation in his voice. This was Ciel. There was not an ounce of conservation of pride in the boy's demeanor as he made effort to convey his fears to the blonde to the very best of his ability. Part of Alois wanted it to be a joke, yet he knew it wasn't.

Before he knew it, he had pulled the boy into his arms, holding him tightly. The blonde rocked the boy from side to side while running his hand through his bluenette locks in a soothing fashion. He kissed Ciel's temple as the other boy held onto him for dear life.

" _Then I will never leave your side."_ He said to the bluenette.

"Promise?" asked the bluenette, almost childishly.

" _Yes, my lord."_

 


	377. Take You Might Off Things

In the weeks following the attack on Warwick, H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. agents were at the academy doing standard damage control. The injured were now being treated, however, the teeth and claws of the annies caused black grows to sprout from the wound, killing few and crippling many. Heinrich, Charlotte, and Amelie were expected to make a full recovery, however, will be required to attend therapy for their mental distress. Our favourite lycanthrope was quite taken to her vampiric friend's new short haircut, courtesy of Heinrich, but was less than thrilled that she had to now be registered as an agent by her real name, _Jeanne Favreau_ , an annoyance that a certain " _Jim Macken_ " could identify with.

Speaking of the menace, it was only a few days after the even that he turned eighteen, an occasion that was celebrated at the Phantomhive estate by both it's residents, their friends, and their coworkers. Even Sir Integra made an appearance. It had been hardly a week since the almost traumatic events of Halloween, but the partygoers were eager to forget. Thus, they gorged themselves on food, and hearty discussion on this, that, and the other while music played in the background. Still, even with the festivities going on, Ciel still couldn't shake the somber feeling in his stomach.

The boy sat off to the side, crossing his arms with a sour expression on his face. He hadn't had an appropriate amount of time to recover emotionally from his defeat, and unlike Charlotte, Amelie, or Heinrich, lingered on it as the weight of responsibility began to crush him. His ego was ripped to shreds as he continued to reflect on his crippling defeat.

He simply couldn't help it. It had been so long since he had been powerless against an opposing force, and he wasn't entirely keen on the idea the previous time either. This façade of "The powerful Ciel Phantomhive; king of demons" had been broken. Now, he was once again unsure of what to do with himself, as he now felt the uncommon hesitation about heading back out into the fray. Surely, he would suffer another defeat if he dared. These demons were simply too strong for him.

Still, the Phantomhive had his responsibilities to attend to. As her majesty's guard-dog, it was his duty to protect the country against threats both foreign and domestic; natural and supernatural. While part of the weight rested on the shoulders of H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G; this was personal. It had been so long since the lad felt this kind of unrest and uncertainty; this fear and doubt. As he looked around the room, he saw the faces of people who he wouldn't want to disappear.

There was Amelie as she forced Charlotte to dance with her, the sensational seven, conversing and cracking rude jokes, the staff of H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G doing something similar, and finally there were the residents of Phantomhive house, Luka, Revy, and even Sebastian. Ciel's eye traveled, however, to the man of the hour, himself, Alois Trancy, who was currently in the middle of telling some obscene joke to his friends. As the other boys laughed, the bluenette simply sat contently and watched them, as if it may be the last time he might be able to.

How is it that someone he had once despised with his entire being could become so very important to him? Ciel asked himself this many times, as the thought would creep into his head occasionally. How could someone so vile, pathetic, and unsightly become the most beautiful boy the Phantomhive ever had the luxury of being near? Somehow, the blonde menace weaseled his way into the gaps of the bluenette's heart, and refuses to leave; not that Ciel minds in the slightest.

It was incredibly refreshing to have someone who had suffered similarly to himself to converse with. Without the hindrance of hatred, the pair found that they could be quite honest with one another. There was solace in their mutual pain, sparking an odd kinship between the two. It felt as though they had found someone at long last who could truly understand how they ticked. Perhaps this is why the bluenette found romantic interest in the blonde, and the blonde in the bluenette.

As much joy the blonde brought him, the boy admittedly made Ciel somewhat anxious. He was vulnerable with Alois, and with his attachment came the fear of loss. Thus, his completely rational fear of the Black Annis demons. The Phantomhive was extremely fearful that the day might come where the blonde would be taken from him, stripped of immortality and sent back to Limbo.

" _Hey, sourpuss, not having fun?"_ Ciel flinched in surprise as he heard the voice, but immediately relaxed as he felt a pair of arms wrap around his neck from behind his chair. Somehow, Alois had managed to sneak up on him. Was the Phantomhive really this out of it?

"Sorry," the bluenette replied. "You know how I am with parties…"

"I hear ya." Alois said. "Still, these are all people you know. You deal with them every day, so why is this different?"

"I can't escape from them if I get tired of them because they're in my house?" his beau asked.

" _Good point."_ The blonde answered with a giggle. "We didn't have to invite this many people, though. I'd be fine with just me, you, Luka, Sebastian, and Revy staying home and playing monopoly, or something."

" _You_ like parties, though, and it's _your_ birthday, not mine." Ciel stated with his lips threatening to hint at a small smile. "We can play monopoly on my birthday."

"You always win, anyway, Scrooge." Mused the menace.

"It's called ' _Capitalism'."_

"It's called _'you're-a-fucking-crook'_." Alois said, causing a small chuckle to bubble from his lover's throat.

"Really? Me? I don't see it…" Ciel said with feigned innocence. A grin formed on the blonde's face as he opened his mouth again to speak.

"You are. You have Swiss bank accounts to avoid taxes, manipulate stocks, and embezzle money left and right. Your greed would be quite impressive, if it weren't so _vile."_

"Now you're just trying to _flatter_ me." The bluenette replied, reaching a hand back to cup the menace's cheek.

"You really like this whole ' _being bad'_ thing, don't you?"

"You do, too."

"True dat." Alois stated. "I'm sorry, are we going to sit around and talk about _economics_ all night, or what?"

"You started it." His beau answered. "Do you have any suggestions, 'your highness'?"

"Well, I could always force you to dance with me." The boy chuckled when the Phantomhive simply groaned in response before kissing the top of his head.

"I don't think I'll do that, though. You're obviously not feeling that well." Alois continued.

"Is it that noticeable?" Asked the bluenette.

"It _always_ is."

"Sorry." Ciel stated with an apologetic shrug. He sighed. "I've just got a lot on my mind…"

"I know. I do, too. It's not every day you meet homicidal demons plotting world domination." The blonde replied. "I mean _, other than when you look in a mirror."_

The Phantomhive sighed again as he reached up and played with the other boy's fingers as the arms attached to them affectionately held onto the bluenette. He wasn't at all in the mood for such playful jabs, as his ego was already in tatters. He did _not_ want to be like _them_. They were bona fide monsters. While Ciel had always been a bit sadistic and otherwise "distant", he was at least capable of some small amount of empathy. These people preyed on anyone, even those who weren't a hindrance to them. The Phantomhive boy at least had the decency to focus his cruelty only toward those who were "problematic" to him, either personally, financially, or for "professional" reasons.

He was a failure who was bested in combat and failed his mission. Moreover, he allowed the people he cared about to get hurt. The scars on Alois' hand where the shattered gauntlet was embedded in his flesh were still healing. Ciel could see them on the boy's fingers as he fiddled with the appendages while he thought. The same fingers tore him from his daze as they released him; their owner walking around from behind the lad to face him. Soon, they found themselves entwined with the bluenette's once more when their owner tugged at the boy's arm.

"That's it, come on." Beckoned the blonde menace. "I'm going to have to force you into that dance, after all, I'm afraid."

"Do I _have_ to?" asked Ciel, half-heartedly resisting his beau's antics.

"You're a gentleman, aren't you?"

"Being a 'gentleman' went out of fashion ages ago, and besides, you're no lady."

"If you recall, I could always _change_ that." Alois teased, his eyes flashing as red as the slight flush that appeared on the bluenette's cheeks. Suddenly, it would appear that Ciel gained the motivation to comply. The Phantomhive hastily stood up, taking the blonde's hand.

" _That won't be necessary_." He insisted, much to the amusement of the menace. The last thing he needed was for the blonde to gain the attention of the rest of the sensational seven in such a manner. Ciel glanced off to the side, noticing that a few of the boys were snickering at them, only stopping once they received a menacing glare.

With a giggle, the blonde led his beau over to the centre of the room, taking one of the bluenette's hands and placing it on his waist. The action received a few hoots and hollers from their obnoxious friends, primarily Daniel, but Alois paid no mind. He only laughed when his bluenette companion offered the other boys a grimace in an effort to silence them.

"Is it weird that I find it attractive when you do that?" the blonde asked as he placed his hand on Ciel's shoulder.

"Do what?" the Phantomhive asked, turning his attention back to his boyfriend.

"Act all _evil_ and stuff." Playfully answered Alois.

"It's not surprising." Ciel replied. "You're just as 'evil' as me."

"Am I?" the blonde giggled. "You're so sweet."

"First I'm 'evil', and now I'm 'sweet'?"

" _Yes."_ Alois stated as he started moving, coaxing his partner to dance as well. "You can be both at the same time."

"Can I? That seems very contradictory." The bluenette mused before making an attempt to take control of the duo's movements.

"Ah, but the world isn't black and white, is it?" asked the menace. "You and I both know this better than anyone. Good and evil aren't mutually exclusive."

"True." Ciel said before pausing. "But then _… What of Black Anni_ -"

" _Shhh..."_ shushed the blonde, placing a finger to the other boy's lips before resting his hand back on the lad's shoulder. Ciel raised his brows in confusion, only to lower them and close his eyes when the other boy brushed his lips against his own.

" _Not now. You'll spoil it."_ Alois said when they parted, prompting a smile from his partner. The Phantomhive chuckled before spinning them both.

"My apologies." He said to the blonde's grinning face. It was his wish to keep it that way, after all. This was a birthday party, not a war meeting. Somehow, though, the Phantomhive seemed to feel more comfortable at the latter.

The two danced and twirled, adopting a more "traditional" technique, as opposed to the more modern one instructed by the staff of Warwick Academy. It seemed nostalgic, somehow, even if one of them was using the opposite move-sets from which they were taught. Eventually, Ciel began to pay no mind to the fact that there were other people in the room watching them. The boy that he used to be would indefinitely turn his nose up at the fact that he was genuinely beginning to enjoy himself. It was obvious from the expression on his face, making it known to the rest of the party's guests as well.

"They're so cute together." Kristopherson commentated. " _Well, for a couple of sociopathic demons, anyway."_

"Yeah, but doesn't it make it a bit _more_ 'cute'?" asked his friend, a certain Daniel Westley. "I mean, who knew demons could do that? They act like awkward puppies who don't know what to do, half the time."

"Like you and Anna?" the faux-blonde teased, earning a punch to the shoulder. "What? I'm joking. You don't act like them at all. You're not as smooth."

"How am I not 'smooth'?!"

"Have you looked in a mirror lately?"

"How are _they_ smooth?!" the Westley boy demanded.

"Look closely at them." Kristopherson replied, pointing at the demonic duo. His friend followed his finger and squinted his eyes, only for his face to turn red when it dawned on him.

"They're gonna get it on, later, aren't they?" he asked.

"Probably. It's so awkward how easy it is to tell…"

"Wait, they do that often?"

"Yeah. You should see them. Right in the middle of class, just having some _seriously hardcore eye-sex_."

Daniel shifted uncomfortably. "Please don't make me picture that…"

"I'm not. You're the one picturing it." The Miles bot stated. A smirk graced his face as he looked at the other boy. "Two guys, naked, panting, and sweaty; _their mattress throwing a fit…"_

" _Oh my god, Kris shut up!"_ Daniel barked, putting his hands over his face in embarrassment. "You're such a prick…"

" _At least I'm not Ciel's or Alois'."_ Kristopherson said, laughing at the groan from the other lad. Daniel averted his gaze, only to find it falling on another member of their group, Audrey Baines.

The reaper boy stood alone by the snack table, simply grazing on it's contents. What struck Daniel's interest, however, was how unwittingly close in proximity he was to another guest to the party. A smirk appeared on the Westley lad's face as he saw a promising piece of entertainment in the works.

"Hey, Kris, check it out." He said, tapping the Miles lad's shoulder to summon his attention. _"This is going to be good_."

"Oh my god..." the faux blonde uttered, rolling his eyes. "You really get a kick out of stuff like this, don't you?"

"Hell yeah. It's funny!" Daniel replied. "Just wait 'til Bones has to talk to a girl! Who's she, again?"

"She works with H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G., doesn't she?"

"Oh, yeah, 'Marissa", or somethin' like that." Said the Westley.

As his memory serves, the Baines lad had much difficulty when it came to conversing with the opposite sex, which created great entertainment for onlookers. Audrey was calm, cool, and very down to earth, but this all changed. Daniel and Kristopherson stared as he and the anti-freak researcher unconsciously got closer as they sampled the snacks, and both boys nearly lost it when the pair reached for the same dish.

Audrey looked up confusedly, to see the H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. researcher dressed in plain clothes. Almost immediately, a blush spread over his cheeks as it registered that it was a girl his age. Even worse, someone who he had never met. As if on cue, the boy completely lost his cool.

"Oh, sorry!" he awkwardly said. "I didn't see you!" Fortunately, the girl behaved in a similar fashion.

Miranda had never been the best with boys. In fact, she seldom conversed with boys her own age, other than Dafydd, of course. The Ackerman girl, you see, did not go to a secondary school. Instead, she had dropped out to focus on H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. business. After all, she was more than "bright", and her career was already set in stone. Her knowledge of the paranormal came from being educated about it almost her entire life. She knew how the body worked, and was more than competent in a laboratory. All she had to do was apply.

Subsequently, however, she wasn't very "social". Her circle of friends came from H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. and the majority of them were much, much older. Some of them were in their hundreds, after all! Thus, her experience with dealing with new people was somewhat limited, making it difficult to converse freely with new people. Audrey, of course, was no exception.

" _Oh, no, you're fine!"_ she said, retracting her hand. Both stood silently, trying to either think of something else to say, or to find a possible way to escape the situation entirely. It was Miranda, taking a somewhat professional approach, who actually found something.

"I'm Miranda." She said simply, hoping that introducing herself would do something.

" _Audrey."_ The boy replied, fidgeting. He averted his gaze, which was hidden beneath his bangs, as with a good portion of his face.

"Audrey… Baines?" the girl asked.

"Yeah?" the reaper-boy replied. "How'd you know?"

"Oh! Well, I'm a researcher at H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G; and we have to keep track of everyone Ciel and Alois closely associates with, and whose in on their 'secret'." Miranda nervously said before pausing. "But, y'know, not in a _stalker-ish_ way, or anything."

"That makes sense…" Bones stated. "So… Uh… What else do you know?"

"Lots of things. It would take all night to list them all." The girl stated, mentally slapping herself. "…I know that you're half-reaper, if that's what you mean…"

"Y-you do?" the lad asked.

"Well, yeah. At least, that's what Ciel told us. We've been meaning to contact you, but the department is swamped from the whole 'Black Annis' thing…"

"Why? So you can study me?"

"Yeah, but not like you're some kind of lab-monkey, or something. You'll get treated about the same as Ciel and Alois, but a little differently, because you're not an employee." The Ackerman girl replied. "You'll be more like a 'patient', I guess? Sorry, the concept of having 'live subjects' is still vary new."

"So, what? Do you study _dead bodies_ a lot, or something?"

"Yep. That's my job."

" _Cool."_ Audrey said with a small smile. He turned to face the girl, finally. "I've been thinking about joining H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. for a while, actually. Know how I might go about doing that?"

"Well, since you already know people who're pretty high up, it shouldn't be that hard. You'll need to narrow down what department you want to be in, though."

"Like the research department and the military force?"

"Uh-huh. There's also the HR department, the legal department, and handful of other desk jobs, but those probably aren't what you had in mind…"

As the two pleasantly conversed about H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. and various paranormal phenomena, they were closely observed by Daniel and Kristopherson. They looked on in confusion as their awkward friend spoke passionately to a girl who was equally passionate about all of the strange things he's interested in. It was so bizarre, that it was almost unnatural.

" _What the hell?"_ asked the Westley boy.

"Oh, looks like they're hitting it off, quite well." Stated the Miles. "Sorry about your 'show', Dan."

" _They're geeks!"_ Daniel declared, gesturing to the other pair. "They're massive geeks! Are they flirting? How do geeks even flirt?"

"Has it ever occurred to you that a boy and a girl can talk normally about things they're interested in without things being sexual?" Kristopherson asked.

"Well, yeah, but _geeks?_ "

"Geeks are people, too, Dan." The faux-blonde pointed out. "Why are you so obsessed about this stuff? You're like the 'best gal-pal' in a chick-flick, or something…"

"Oh, fuck you." Daniel said.

"I'm sorry, _you're in a relationship, and I don't think it's fair that you cheat on my sister_."

" _ **That's not what I meant!"**_

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm about 90% sure this title is a typo, but it makes me smile for some reason so I kept it. 
> 
> Goodness gracious, I'm tired... Y'know that kind of tired where you're not tired enough to go to bed, but you're tired enough to not be able to do much else? That's me right now. 
> 
> Should I upload more chapters tonight? I dunno. I'd like to try finding a good stopping point, but what actually happens is I keep uploading them until I forget for the evening. It feels like we're much closer to the end than we actually are. Y'all excited?
> 
> Until the next chapter, my duckies~!


	378. Nobility and Sincerity

The night only continued, even as the demonic duo's dance came to a close. Both lads playfully offered the other a small bow as they parted, only for their hands to end up intertwined again as they vacated the dance floor. It was as though they simply forgot their guests were even there as the two boys laughed and conversed freely without fear of judgment. Even Ciel, who was constantly guarded, had forgotten in the blonde's presence.

He sat with the other boy on a sofa off to the side, his arm around Alois' shoulders, and Alois' person leaning against his own. Spectators would note that they looked like any ordinary couple, and had they not known better, they would believe it, given their currently pleasant atmosphere. The blonde menace was admittedly a bit surprised, given the Phantomhive lad's reluctance to be affectionate in public. Alois rested his head in the crook of the bluenette's neck, simply taking a moment to enjoy the closeness while it lasted.

"You sure know how to make a girl feel special, don't you, Phantomhive?" he jested, smiling at the vibrations from the other boy's chuckling.

"Really? I thought you were a boy. Perhaps I need to revisit biology." Ciel replied jokingly.

"You know what I meant." His beau stated. "If you keep spoiling me like this, I might not be able to let you go."

"Good. That's my intention." Spoke the bluenette. "I'm going to keep you in my clutches forever, and there's nothing you can do to stop me."

"My, you are quite the villain, aren't you?"

"I'm a ' _dragon',_ remember?"

"Oh my god, you still remember that?" inquired Alois as he parted from the other boy to look at his face. A laugh bubbled from his throat as he saw the Phantomhive's expression.

" _Unfortunately."_ The bluenette answered. "Why did I go through with that again?"

"Because you're arrogant, and thought you could surpass the effects of demon-nip with shear will-power." The blonde replied.

Ciel's smile fell, somewhat, at the blonde's words. Immediately, the words of the leader of the Black Annis demons rang in his ears. He was arrogant, and thought he could defeat an opponent much stronger than him if he simply willed it. Obviously, this was not the case.

"Yeah…" he said, looking away somewhat. _"I get that a lot…"_

"Hey…" Alois called, taking the other boy's chin in hand and forcing him to meet his own gaze. "I didn't mean it like that…"

"I know, it's just… a bit hard to accept…" spoke the Phantomhive boy. "I didn't know I was that weak…"

"You're not weak. That lot just has a bunch of weird abilities that we didn't expect, and that we really don't quite understand." The blonde replied. "It happens."

"You say that as though suffering defeat might not come with _consequence_." Ciel said. "Look at Charlotte, Amelie, and Heinrich. They all have to go through therapy for old wounds." He grabbed his beau's wrist, holding the boy's hand up to eye-level.

"Look at your hand!" he continued, eyeing the wounded appendage. The marks from the shards of _Jarnglofar_ were healing up nicely, but slowly, in comparison to an injury that isn't caused by anti-freak technology.

"' _Tis but a scratch."_ The blonde replied. "I fucked up. Now that I know she can do that, I'll be more careful. Ciel, it's really not that big of a deal-"

"… _It is to me."_ Interrupted the bluenette, letting go of the menace's wrist. The boy looked at the side, shrinking at the feeling of the Macken's surprised gaze upon him. He only became surprised himself, at the feeling of the lips of his beau against his cheek, and Alois' forehead against his temple.

"I understand…" the blonde said softly. His words were hushed, almost in a whisper. "It's okay to be afraid… It just means that you have a human's heart. That's why you'll win. Do you know what the Hellsing's say?" Ciel turned to face the other boy, recalling those words, yet it was not at all comforting compared to when the blonde menace spoke them.

"' _It takes a man to kill a monster.'_ " Alois said, his gaze stern and serious. It softened, somewhat, as he reached to swipe a stray lock of hair out of the other's face.

"What if I'm not a man, though?" asked the Phantomhive. "What if I'm a monster? I'm a demon, not a human."

"A monster wouldn't be so concerned." His boyfriend replied. "If you were a monster, then why would you be so upset? Why would you concern yourself with others; with _me?"_ Alois paused, looking into the bluenette's sapphire orb in hopes of seeing an answer.

"Monsters can't _give_. They can only _take_." The blonde said. "You've given me so much; a home, a new chance at life, _happiness_ … You've returned to me everything I've ever lost, and given me everything I've never had. If God exists, not even he could have been able to do that, Ciel."

All Ciel could do was to sit there, mouth slightly agape as he took in the blonde's words. Did he really do all of that? It didn't feel like it. In fact, if felt like nothing. To Alois, however, it was everything, and it was now plainly obvious to Ciel.

" _Jim…"_ the bluenette uttered softly, the name simply falling out. It was the only word that came to mind as he scrambled for something to say in response.

"Aw, you two are so sweet!" spoke a voice, startling the Phantomhive and snapping him back to attention. Both boys looked up to see a certain Draculina standing before them, miss Seras Victoria.

"Oh! I'm sorry! I didn't mean to interrupt you!" she said apologetically, waving her hands in front of her. "Don't mind me! I'll just be going, then…"

"Seras!" the Macken boy called, standing up to see the H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. soldier. Both he and Miss Victoria got along swimmingly, while they seldom spoke. They felt an odd kinship, regardless, as they often talked about their respective, and fairly stubborn, eyepatch-wearing superiors.

"How are you? I haven't seen you in ages!" the menace continued before they each exchanged a kiss on the cheek as greeting.

"I've been just fine. I think Integra's getting a bit… well…" the Draculina trailed off.

"…Tired of partying?" Alois said.

"Yeah, you could say that." The woman replied with a giggle.

"Ciel gets the same way." The Macken boy stated, glancing over to the bluenette, who offered only a stern expression in an effort to save face. All it did, however, was make Alois chuckle. "He's always been like that, as far as I can tell. It's funny, though."

"I see. Oh! And happy birthday, by the way! I almost forgot!"

"That's alright, I've got plenty more of them to come!" jested Alois. He held out a hand to the woman. "It matters not. _Wouldst thou care for a dance, m'lady?"_

"On two conditions." Spoke Seras. "One: _Don't ever talk like that again,_ and two: only if it's okay with your boyfriend."

"Well, darling?" asked the blonde menace, peeking over his shoulder. His beau snapped to attention and recomposed himself.

"I will allow it." He said. "Just remember I have my eye on you."

"Yes, Ciel!" the Macken boy dramatically said before turning back to Seras. "Because my motive all along was to add her to my harem!"

"I'll dance with you, but I'll be joining no harems." The Draculina replied with a laugh.

"Oh well, at least I've still got mister grumpygills to shower in affection." Alois joked as he and the woman headed to the dance floor. He looked back with a smile, knowing that the Phantomhive boy could use some time to think.

It was much appreciated, as the bluenette had much to ponder. As he watched the two blondes twirl around in a silly manner, he couldn't help but wonder about what Alois had said. The boy was so sincere, and almost seemed hurt by the bluenette's self-inflicted put-downs. As Ciel thought about it, calling himself weak made Alois feel weak. It was the blonde's birthday, yet he hadn't asked the Phantomhive for a single thing. When asked, he would claim that there was nothing left for the bluenette to give him.

In a way, he was right. It began to dawn on Ciel as he looked around the room. He stood up and wandered, finding fun decorations, more food than anyone could ever eat, and smiling faces left and right. The other residents of the household were there, too, however one of them was having trouble staying awake. Sebastian was busily trying to persuade a stubborn Luka to go to bed, as it was now far past time. Luka wanted nothing more but to play with everyone else, something that he would never have been able to do had it not been for his revival.

Alois owed the bluenette a debt that he would never, in his mind, be able to repay. The Phantomhive had done so much, not only for Alois, but for Luka as well. He had given second chances, and excellent care; something that no ordinary person could have done. Alois was right. Ciel was no monster. It was obvious from the way he looked at the blonde's smiling face from across the room.

This is what Ciel wanted to protect and was so terrified of losing. He wanted Alois to have a birthday every year, from now into eternity. For all of this to come to a halt would cause the Phantomhive's world to shatter and crumble around him. It would all come to an end for the second, and probably _last_ time.

Ciel did not know what he would do if that were to happen and he never wants to find out. That would be the end of "Ciel Phantomhive", as his soul spirals down into the pits of despair, and his will crushed beneath the heal of sorrow. If he did not cease to exist at that point in time, he would most certainly, and undoubtedly, become a monster. It was at this thought that he came across the Hellsing woman.

Integra stood alone in a manner that was not at all dissimilar to the way that the bluenette himself had. She was obviously discomforted, but then again, she was notorious for not going to many parties. The woman's nerves almost seemed to get the best of her, as she put a cigar between her teeth and flicked on her lighter.

" _Haven't I requested that you not smoke inside my house?"_ the Phantomhive asked snidely. With a pause, the woman put out her lighter and slipped the cigar back into its box before placing it in her pocket.

"I supposed you have." Replied Integra, not making much for conversation. She seemed a bit tired, but the bluenette understood, not being partial to social events, himself. "Has your spouse left you?"

"Yes, for a woman, I'm afraid." Answered Ciel, looking to the dance floor and prompting the woman to follow his eye. A small chuckle was heard from the woman's throat as she saw what the boy was referring to.

"I can tell it simply breaks your heart." The Hellsing jested.

"Quite. _She's a lot prettier than I am_." Ciel said with a smile playing at the corners of his mouth from the woman trying not to laugh. While it still felt odd to speak so casually with Sir Hellsing, it was still a lot better than constantly being on guard around her. "Are you not particularly enjoying the festivities, either?"

"To be honest, I'm not really interested in parties." Integra replied. "I never have been, and I doubt I ever will be."

"I suppose that makes two of us. I'd rather solve a good murder."

"Are you always so grim?"

"I'm afraid so." The bluenette stated. "I do believe the last time I wasn't was around… 1885, I think… I still never liked parties before that, though."

"It's really hard to imagine you being even slightly normal."

"Likewise, but I do believe that's for the best." Said Ciel. "Britain would fall without Sir Integra Fairbrook Wingates Hellsing."

"You're too kind." The woman replied.

" _Not really_ …" the Phantomhive trailed off, catching the blonde menace in his sights gesturing over to him along with Seras. He looked to the Hellsing woman, who only gestured for him to go on, but when he actually made an attempt to heed the pair's instructions, he was greeted by two words:

" _Integra too!"_ the two oddballs said, causing the bluenette to put two and two together. With a sigh, he rubbed his temples.

" _They want us to dance."_ He said, prompting Integra to furrow her brow.

"Then they are going to be sorely disappointed." She stated. "I don't dance."

"I didn't think so." Ciel replied. "I don't recall ever seeing you dance before."

This was true. In all the years Ciel had known Integra, not once could he recall her dancing at a party. As a matter of fact, he could hardly remember her doing anything at all at a party, even when she was in her teens. She, like Ciel, always preferred to stay off to the side and observe before getting sick of it and going home. Unlike the Phantomhive, however, she had no one who forced her to be social. Even Ciel remembered dancing with Elizabeth at various soirees, but never Integra. The woman was not at all like her grandmother, in this sense. A great leader? Yes. Dutiful? Yes. Just? Yes, again. She, however, was not at all outgoing when it came to the "little things" like making friends and such. Integra, like Ciel, was always somewhat of a wallflower, and it was for this reason that Ciel decided to hold out his hand.

" _What?"_ the woman asked.

"I've never seen you dance before." Said the Phantomhive. "A lady of your stature surely has danced before."

" _A lady of my stature_ has never had time for such frivolities." Insisted Integra.

"You have time right now. Surely it would be more entertaining than standing there wondering if you can smoke on the patio."

"In front of these people? Are you trying to make a mockery of me?"

" _These people_ are a bunch of teenagers and close coworkers. They wouldn't dare without knowing the consequences." Spoke the bluenette in reassurance. He watched the woman as she paused, warily weighing her options.

"You aren't going to let this go, are you?" the woman asked.

"Probably not." Ciel replied. "If I have to suffer, I might as well bring you down with me."

With that, Integra, however slowly, took the hand of the demon and was ushered to the dance floor. There, with a perplexed expression, she assumed the standard position with the bluenette, crushing the urge to slap the boy across the face for touching her waist. Ciel tried his best not to smirk at the brief, microscopic change in her expression at the action, only to notice that he was still quite a bit shorter than the woman. Even with his form altered to look like an older teen, Integra still had a few inches up on the lad, much to his displeasure.

Oddly, with their proximity, the boy noticed things about the woman that he hadn't before. He often complained that the woman reeked of cigars, however, the subtle scent of rosemary radiated from her clothes, which he found to be quite clever. To the Phantomhive's surprise, while Integra lacked in girlish charm, her features were still quite womanly, contrary to Ciel's prior insults. It was when they moved, however, that he really noticed that Integra, while she grew older, wiser, and more powerful, was still at heart, the odd girl he met over twenty years ago.

"Just follow my lead." He said. "Start on your right."

For the first time, Ciel saw Integra avert her eyes from him to the ground, even though it was only to keep track of the Phantomhive's feet. She was quite graceful in her footwork, even despite her intimidating presence. Her skills were most likely honed from her sublime swordsmanship. Not once did she accidentally step on her partner's feet, however, the irritation on her face became more obvious as time went on.

Ciel noticed that around the room, people were watching, including those who work beneath her. It was discomforting for the woman to even think about. She had spent the majority of her life working up her façade of strength and power, only unlike Ciel's, hers was genuine. The only problem was getting others to take it seriously.

It seemed that as more time passed, the Phantomhive lad began to see more and more of himself in the woman. Perhaps it was their shared blood. Even without that relation, however, the bluenette found that she is worthy of the respect she earned, and was more than entitled to. With this, Ciel was starting to wonder if he was going to start making friends with all of his most despised enemies.

" _Head high, Integra_." He said, gaining the attention of his dance partner. _"Show them the pride of Hellsing."_

Immediately, the woman straightened herself. She put her shoulders back and correctly aligned her spine. Her head was high and she looked down on Ciel; not from her superior political position, but only from her taller stature. _It was amazing how a few simple words could eliminate all doubt that one had once possessed._

That was the thought that the dance had ended on. The two nobles parted as calmly, but as quickly as possible. It was awkward, but neither party felt especially threatened.

"That wasn't nearly as difficult as people make it out to be." Integra said, placing her hands in her pockets. There was no doubt in Ciel's mind that she was gripping her cigar case.

"It would appear that you're a natural at this, as well." The Phantomhive mused. "In return for my pesterful behaviour, the terrace is open, should you need to sedate your nicotine fix."

"Oh? No snide commentary about how ' _these things will kill me?'_ " the woman asked.

" _No."_ Ciel answered. "You're too old to be treated like a child."

With a small, haughty smile, the Hellsing woman made a small sound of approval before offering a small nod. She coolly walked away, making a subtle beeline for the terrace. It seemed that there were no hard feelings, but Ciel often found himself uncertain of what goes on in his relative's mind.

He was uncertain of many things, for that matter. Even still, it seemed that if he opened his mind, the boy could understand them better. While his mind was open, his eye closed as a familiar hand covered it from behind.

"How bold of you; dancing with 'the enemy'." Called a voice.

" _Jim."_ Ciel said with a small smile, turning around to see the blonde menace.

"Is it just me, or does it seem as though you flirt with all of your former 'arch-nemeses'?" the Macken boy asked in a faux, scolding tone with a hand on his hip.

"However it _seems_ depends entirely on how jealous it makes you." The bluenette teased. "I thought you wanted me to dance with Integra?"

"Well, yeah, but I didn't think you'd actually do it." Alois replied. "You're supposed to just _know_ these things Ciel!"

"I'm sorry, but I can't read minds."

"And yet you always see right through me." Added the blonde, joining their hands together. His companion accepted the gesture, barely making any note of it as it was not at all unusual.

"You do the exact same thing to me, you know."

"Yes," Alois began, separating their hands and placing his own on the other boy's shoulders. "but _someone_ has to inform you when you're being an idiot."

"You're very brave for that, but then again, you really don't have anything to fear, do you?"

"Of course not. You're just a little poochie in need of some hugs and kisses."

"Fortunately, the supply appears to be high." Ciel jested, his hands instinctively wrapping around the other boy's waist.

"I do my best." Replied Alois. "Still, it's nothing compared to the grandiose stuff you do for me."

"It's not _that_ much…"

" _You brought a child back from the dead_."

"That was an _accident_." The bluenette stated.

" _You supplied an artificially-created human vessel!"_

"Alright, maybe not _that_ part…" Alois only laughed at the Phantomhive's lame attempt at justification. He closed his eyes and touched their foreheads together as they subconsciously swayed to the music.

"How am I ever going to repay you for all of this?" the blonde asked. "And you just keep doing more…"

"Just continue to stay by my side, and that's more than enough." Ciel answered. "Okay?"

"Mm-hm." Hummed Alois. "I wouldn't dream of leaving it; even with those pesky Annis freaks."

"Promise?"

" _Promise_."

That single word brought so much ease to the Phantomhive's mind, yet there was so much more anxiety and doubt that remained. Ciel paused, thinking long and hard about what he was going to say next. He had thought about it before, but he wasn't at all sure how the other demon would react. He wasn't sure how _anyone_ would react, really. Regardless, he swallowed his pride and insecurities in order to bring his thoughts out in the open.

" _Jim?"_ he called, summoning the other boy's attention.

"Mm-hm?" Alois answered, still enjoying the closeness of his beau.

"Well… hy… hypothetically speaking…" the Phantomhive began. "…how would you feel if… we… uhm…" Ciel hesitated in finding his words. With a deep breath, however, he tried to recompose himself.

"How would you feel if… _we signed a contract with each other?"_

Alois pulled back from the bluenette in order to meet his gaze. The blonde's eyes were wide in astonishment and disbelief while his cheeks were bashfully red. He stared at the bluenette in order to confirm that he heard the boy correctly. Judging from the awkward and embarrassed expression on the bluenette's face, he did, and the boy was completely sincere. Eventually, Alois relaxed and placed his hands on the back of his beau's neck.

" _How would I feel?"_ he asked, trying to find his own words. He paused in order to organize his thoughts for better articulation, but all that came to mind was:

" _Hell yeah."_

 


	379. Pactio

It was early morning when the party finally came to a close. The clock had stuck midnight hours ago, and at last, the demonic duo could be alone after an evening of bashful glances and silly grins. They now sat in the front room of the master bedroom, simply recharging after having to entertain guests make conversation.

Both of them had a thought weighing heavily on their minds. It shook their nerves, and made them hesitant to take any sort of action. Ciel and Alois fidgeted while thinking about the Phantomhive's proposition, debating on what the actual meaning of it was. A faustian contract is a mark that binds the very souls of both parties together for eternity, after all. As long as the soul remains intact, the contract will stay in place.

What if this wasn't meant to be? What if their love wouldn't last? Forever is a long time, after all. If the two were to fall out of love, their marks would remain as a scornful reminder of happiness lost. A marriage is a contract, but a contract is _not_ a marriage, however similar the situation may seem. After all, Sebastian was linked to Ciel for eternity, but their relationship has never been amorous, nor will it ever be.

This was different, however. These two loved each other in a romantic sense. Their trust was absurd, considering behaviour toward both previous and current associates. They would not be wed, but they would be linked in a manner that influenced the very frequency of their souls. A demon grows stronger with every contract they make, which varied on both the type of contract, the interest of the demon, and the strength of will possessed by the contract holder. Should the duo bond successfully, goodness knows what would happen.

Alois and Ciel sat in silence for the longest of time, simply wondering what to say next. They masked it over simple lethargy, but both lads knew full-well that this was a farce. Still, neither of them quite knew what to say. The bluenette, however, unintentionally sparked conversation when he leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees as he sat on the sofa across from the blonde, sighing as he ran a hand through his hair.

"Tired?" the blonde asked with a slightly nervous chuckle.

 _"Tired."_ Ciel answered, looking up at the other boy. He smiled, recalling that a similar conversation occurred almost every year on this date. "Did you at least have fun?"

"Sure did." Said the Macken boy. "I talked to people, got free stuff, forced you to dance; _more than once_ , I might add. So yeah, it was a pretty productive evening."

"I didn't get you anything, though…"

"I specifically tell you _not_ to every year, don't I?" Alois inquired, standing before taking a seat beside the Phantomhive lad. He paused for a moment before stroking the bluenette's cheek.

"Just love me, and that's good enough." He added. Ciel closed his eye, simply enjoying the affectionate touch, before leaning forward and touching his forehead to the blonde's.

" _Is that your wish?"_ the Phantomhive asked in a hushed tone.

"Yes." Alois answered, closing his eyes as well.

"I'm afraid that's a wish that can't be granted just by blowing out the candles." His beau jested, a chuckle emitting from his throat. "Shall I grant it for you?"

"You would do that?" the blonde mused. "But no wish is free. Whatever is the _catch?"_

"Yes. In return, you must grant _my_ wish."

"Oh, and what's that?" the blonde playfully questioned, causing the bluenette to smile.

" _That you'll always be here, by my side, and love me the same intensity in which I love you."_ The Phantomhive stated as the menace wrapped his arms around his neck.

" _So you have wished it, and so it shall be."_ Alois said, mutually closing the gap between them.

The kiss was slow and sensual; the two teens running their hands up and down each other's bodies and clinging to their partner for dear life. Lips moved with the kind of rhythm that could only be accomplished through practice, only to speed up as they shifted on the couch for better access. Alois ran his tongue along the bottom lip of his beau, only to be met halfway by the bluenette's own.

Breathing quickened as the two gripped each other tighter and their eyelids scrunched completely shut. Their brows furrowed as burning heat invaded their bodies and the room began to spin. A high-pitched ringing assaulted their eardrums. Ciel fell back on the couch, bringing the blonde menace down with him without parting. Their menstruations became rushed and uneven. Nails roughly dug into flesh as the pair tried to maintain their grip on their sanity. It wasn't much longer before the blonde tore himself from the bluenette, gasping and wheezing.

Alois sat, straddling the boy beneath him. His eyes were lidded with a red glow as he looked down at Ciel with a hand on both sides of the Phantomhive's head. His beau held a similar expression as sweat trickled down his brow. They both took a moment to regain their senses before bluenette made an effort to sit himself up, forcing the Macken boy to do the same. After a few moments, Ciel placed a hand on his lover's cheek.

" _Open your mouth."_ He said breathlessly; and with a small shudder, Alois heeded his request, parting his lips.

On his tongue was a small, black pentacle with five small circles between the gaps of the star's points. His mark was faded, but there. It didn't last for long, however, as it eventually disappeared altogether. Ciel uttered a heavy sigh, disappointment prominent on his face.

" _Nothing."_ He said. " _It didn't work_."

Ciel wrapped his arms around the other boy's waist and leaned back again. His head was pounding like a drum, and the blonde wasn't much better off. The other boy rested his aching cranium on the Phantomhive's chest, listening to the rapid beating of his blackened heart. Admittedly, he was disappointed as well, but was relieved that the feeling was mutual. After a few moment's rest, one of them spoke again.

 _"I'm sorry."_ The bluenette uttered, ashamed by his failure. Alois propped up his head, situation his chin to the other boy's chest so that he could observe his features.

"Don't be." He stated with a sigh of his own. "I guess demons just aren't _supposed_ to make contracts with other demons."

"I have a contract with Sebastian, don't I?"

"Yeah, but you were _human_ when you formed that." The blonde said.

 _"I could have sworn I read somewhere that it was possible, though_ …" Ciel muttered, looking off to the side. He knew he had let the blonde down, and felt guilty about it. But what more could he do? He shifted when he felt the blonde moving in order to see what the Macken boy was up to, only to be pecked on the lips by the other boy.

"It's alright." Alois said. "Even if there's no contract, I'll still grant that 'wish' of yours." A smile graced the Phantomhive's face before he leaned in to kiss the blonde again.

_"I love you."_

_"I love you too, muffin."_

* * *

 


	380. Planning Ahead

Over the next few months, Ciel and Alois tried to form a contract again and again; only to have similar results. It became sort of an odd game between the two, as they wondered " _will today be the day?"_ Once every few weeks, the subject would come up and they would try again, but alas, all that they ever gained from it was a headache.

That said, a certain butler was very concerned over the matter. The first time the lads attempted to sign a contract caused great alarm in the man, as he feared that someone was tampering with his own contract. Even though Sebastian knew that he would be freed should his diabolical signature disappear from the Phantomhive, the man felt a strange attachment to this life he was currently living. It was something that he didn't quite understand.

It took years to rid himself of the resentment toward his master after the boy first gained eternal life. Eventually, he simply began to accept it; that is until the boy suggested resurrecting a certain blonde menace. He couldn't understand the boy's desire to bring back an old foe as he is incapable of fathom Ciel's humanlike desires and behaviour. Whatever it was, Sebastian strongly opposed the idea, perhaps out of his own personal bias against the Trancy boy, but also because the Phantomhive had become of some importance to him.

Not only Ciel, but the others, as well, became important to him. Luka, Revy, and even Alois, who had doomed him to eternal servitude, were all important to him, in some way. It felt like attachment, but Sebastian wasn't sure. All he knew was that things had changed, and continue to do so, and it was all due to his master's selfish whim.

Sebastian had difficulty understanding his master, as of late. The boy's infatuation with the Macken boy wasn't "right" behaviour from the boy. "Love", he called it. Sebastian knew of the word, but nothing of its practice. The man only observed that it made the Phantomhive change in strange ways, as the boy became kinder, more open, and oddly, affectionate, to some. This wouldn't be at all negative, had he not also become somewhat "irrational" in Sebastian's eyes. Why on earth Ciel would want to make a contract with the blonde was completely beyond the butler's comprehension.

 _"A demon grows stronger with a contract, and right now, we need all of the strength we can get."_ The bluenette stated. "These Black Annis demons will kill us, if we let them."

"Is that truly the only reason?" inquired the boy's butler. "A contract with a demon lasts for eternity. Is this really wise, with such a short-term goal in mind?"

"It's not _that_ short-term." Ciel said. "There are practical benefits. This way, I can know Jim's location while on missions, and will make communications easier as well. Radios aren't that reliable, especially when others can tune in on one's frequencies."

"By linking your very _soul_ to his?"

"My soul is already connected to you, isn't it? What's one more link? If anything, it should give us all an increase of power." The boy argued. "I've already made my decision, Sebastian."

With a sigh, the butler admitted defeat to himself. He couldn't argue with his master. What kind of butler would he be if he did? Still, worry hung over him like a storm cloud.

"My apologies, master," he began, "but I'm still having difficulty understanding why you'd be so eager to link yourself to Alois for eternity…" As soon as that sentence was uttered, the corners of the man's mouth turned up in a playful smirk.

"What's so funny?" the Phantomhive asked, knowing full-well that the man's expression was no good.

"Forgive me, master." Said Sebastian. "The thought just occurred to me that the situation sounds a lot like a _marriage_."

Ciel choked on his morning tea at the suggestion. He set the cup down and coughed into his fist, tilting the chair at his desk away from Sebastian. A blush stained his cheeks as he tried to recompose himself, however, the damage was already done and the butler was highly amused.

"Don't be ridiculous!" the boy managed to bark, finally. "We're still in secondary school!"

"But a faustian contract _isn't_ out of the question?" his butler asked in response.

" _Tch_." Ciel clicked his tongue in annoyance to shield embarrassment. "It's not the same thing…"

"Perhaps." Sebastian teased. "Are you saying you _wouldn't_ marry Alois?" His master opened his mouth to speak, but instead paused.

 _"Why do you always insist on toying with me like this_?" asked the Phantomhive, changing the subject. He furrowed his brow in an attempt to puff himself up and appear angry, but it only seemed to further the older demon's amusement.

"Forgive me, my lord." The man said. "I was merely attempting to evaluate the status of your relationship together."

"And why would you want to do that?"

" _Curiosity,_ I suppose." Sebastian admitted. "Your human-like nature is just as fascinating as ever, sir." The boy before him leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms in a huff. Then, a smile appeared on his face.

" _Curiosity killed the cat."_ Stated the Phantomhive, finding himself most pleased with the small twitch of the man's eyebrow at the phrase.

" _'…And satisfaction brought it back'."_ Said the butler, reciting the lesser known portion of the saying. "Is that everything, my lord?"

"Yes…" the lad uttered in an annoyed tone. "I'll call you if I need anything…" With a small bow, Sebastian turned and left, leaving the younger demon alone with his thoughts. Confusing thoughts they were, too, as the boy tried to fully grasp at the situation.

Ciel loves Alois with all of his heart, but they were still in school; the latter of the pair would advance to pursue higher education after the fact, as well. Moreover, the sanctity of marriage was between one man and one woman, wasn't it? Some beliefs die hard, unfortunately. It would appear that some of the Phantomhive's old values had yet to vanish, even though they were obviously swaying.

In addition, to be entirely frank, the idea that a couple of homosexual demons could be bound in holy matrimony before the eyes of God sounded like some bizarre joke. Unless the Satanic church offers marital services, the demonic duo was out of luck. Even then, the Phantomhive had already had his fill of devil-worshipping clubs, cults, and functions; enough to last at least one lifetime.

For all intents and purposes, a faustian contract would suffice. They needed the additional firepower, didn't they? The practical purposes were plentiful, but something else drove the bluenette's desires; something far more personal. What he really wanted was confirmation that Alois would be safe from harm throughout this ordeal, and for future adventures. Some peace of mind would be nice, as the bluenette found himself weighed down with the looming fear that all would be lost from him once again. These demons that they were facing were obviously powerful, and could very be the ones to make his fears a reality.

It was selfishness, really. All the bluenette wanted from this was to keep his beau safe with some sort of diabolic protection and keep the blonde by his side. As much as he would never admit to it, while the bluenette didn't entirely care for a ring, the idea of some sort of marking or indication of who the Macken boy belonged to did in fact excite him, somewhat. Alois was the same way, often leaving marks on the bluenette's neck when they got intimate. To his disappointment, however, they would always heal within a matter of seconds.

Something was nagging at the bluenette. The boy had sworn he read that signing contracts with other demons was possible somewhere. The question was, where? He had a hunch, but was he desperate enough to go through the trouble?

 _The Book of Akeldama_ was a relic dating back centuries, which resided beneath Phantomhive manor. It contained advanced spells penned by demon by the name of Akeldama, who was wise as he was mighty. He learned many truths in the countless years that he had lived, gaining power and knowledge, but one day, the demon simply died. All that remained was his left hand, which also resided beneath the manor. Perhaps the book that was written with that very hand would hold further insight into the feat that the boy was eager to accomplish? After all, it was the very same book that gave the bluenette the instructions necessary to revive the dead.

Somehow, recalling the book made Ciel uneasy, but he couldn't figure out why. It felt like that the longer he tried to think about it, the more fogged his mind became. The boy furrowed his brow and concentrated, but there was nothing. All that he felt from it was anxiety _; like he was forgetting something of grave importance._

Ciel ran his hands through his hair in an attempt to stir some thought, inevitably realizing the pointlessness of the gesture. With a sigh, he stood up from his desk, finding that he can no longer sit still with this feeling. Thus, the Phantomhive found himself wandering aimlessly throughout the manor with no goal or purpose in mind.

Everything was ordinary. The house was tidy with little commotion, aside from the fact that Luka had hidden Revy's sunglasses, forcing the undead lad to chase the younger demon around the house. Yes, even this was a normal occurrence; one that happened almost every other week. Sebastian tending to various affairs around the house, undoubtedly pausing to feed the stray cat that would occasionally appear on the grounds. Did the man honestly think that Ciel did not know of the animal's presence?

Finally, there was Alois, who was found lounging on the couch in front of the television set in the entertainment room. The blonde had his head propped up in his palm, resting his elbow on the armrest of the couch as he completely zoned out. Shockingly, the lad wasn't watching any sort of sketch-comedy, like usual. He was actually watching the news, of all things.

"Well, well…" the bluenette said, snapping the other boy from his trance. "I didn't know you watched the news when I don't make you."

"You don't _make_ me." The blonde replied, lifting his legs while the other boy walked around the couch to take a seat. He then lowered his appendages in the Phantomhive's lap rather than actually sitting up to make room. "I just tune out the boring bits."

"Such as?"

"Celebrity gossip, and shit."

"Ah, I do that, too."

"I know, right?" the Macken boy asked. "Why the hell should I care who's pregnant and who's screwing who? Why is _that_ news?"

"Because the news is starting to turn into ' _entertainment'_." Ciel stated.

"It's not very entertaining." Uttered the bored blonde, turning his attention back to the screen. "Oh, here we go." He said. "What's with all of these bloody rape cases at universities that don't even go to court? I swear, that's like, the fifteenth one this week, and it's only Thursday!"

"Universities don't think they're ' _credible',_ for whatever reason." The bluenette stated. "Never mind DNA evidence and surveillance tapes."

" _Humans are so stupid."_ Alois huffed, taking the situation to heart.

" _We_ were human once, too, remember?"

" _And we were stupid."_

The Phantomhive could hardly argue with that. They both did make some horrible decisions, as mortals, but fortunately, they seem to have matured since then. Odd, how therapeutic interacting with one's previous sworn enemy could be if there was no longer any need for actual spite. Part of Ciel's very reasoning for reviving the other boy was "stupid", in that sense, as the boy simply wanted something to turn his focuses on. After his hatred had burned itself out, the lad lost his purpose in life, after all. Part of Ciel wanted someone to relate to, and part of Ciel wanted his raging fire back again.

"That's true." The bluenette said, somehow finding the Macken boy's haughtiness and passion over the matter positively alluring. His attention was on the blonde's face, rather than the television set, watching as the lad's brow furrowed in annoyance and his eyes spoke of murder. It wasn't long until Alois noticed, however, and his expression changed.

"Oh, Ciel, whatever are you going to do when _I_ go to uni?" the blonde asked, his tone somewhat playful.

 _Senior Detective Sir Doctor Ciel Phantomhive_ was not going to pursue higher education with the blonde menace, seeing as the boy already had a doctorate and several master's degrees. It wasn't at all unusual for the boy to not go to college before repeating the cycle of going back to secondary school again. He didn't have to, but then again, he didn't have to repeat his schooling at all. Part of his reasoning for doing so was simply do to his negligence to grow up. After all, the boy couldn't stand adults, even if he tried to act like one from a young age. He was afraid of taking that step, and leaving behind what was left of his childhood; and what was left of his humanity.

He had become more comfortable with the idea, in recent years, as his perceptions on the very idea of "change" had advanced. Still, he wasn't too keen on pursuing higher education once more. He had already obtained most of the degrees that would be useful to his field. He didn't need another.

Still, Alois was excited, feeling as though he would be able to advance his own abilities and intelligence. He felt the need to either catch up with, or simply one-up the Phantomhive boy, and this was no different. To his disappointment, however, his grades at Warwick weren't on par with Ciel's, given the lad's disinterest in subjects that he deemed "boring". Somehow, he just knew that university would be different, as he would be studying how to become a detective, which he already was. It was a job that he loved doing, and now he would finally be able to say that he's "qualified" to do it.

"Oh, I don't know." The bluenette began. "While you're at school, I'll probably just stay home and work."

"Aw, does that mean you won't miss me?" Alois teased, poking the other boy's cheek.

"It would only be a few hours a day…" Ciel said. "I can handle myself. What about you?"

"Of course I can. _There's murder afoot, Ciel_."

"Not in the classroom, there isn't. You do realize that most of it is theory, and you'll have to take classes on the core subjects as well, right?"

"Fine. It'll be just like Warwick, then."

"No, it won't. University is more difficult." The Phantomhive stated. "I imagine I'll be helping you quite a bit with your homework…"

"You're so mean…" Alois said.

"I thought you _liked_ it?" his beau reminded as the blonde sat up. He leaned forward and wrapped his arms around Ciel's waist, nuzzling his face into the boy's chest.

"Yeah, but not when you're being mean to _me_." He said. "I can't wait until the day you barge into my classroom, saying: ' _Come on, Jim, there's a serial killer using colouring books as his M.O_.'" The blonde mimicked his lover's tone to the best of his ability, laughing to himself at the way he sounded.

"I don't sound like that…" the bluenette replied, instinctively wrapping his arms around the other lad's shoulders. "And why would anyone use a colouring book as a modus operandi?"

"I don't know. That's why it's a _mystery_." Alois answered. "We wondered the same thing about Sudoku, and here we are…"

"Cuddling on the couch and ignoring the news?"

" _Precisely."_ The blonde stated, shifting so that all of he could see the other boy's face. "Childish games can cause all sorts of trouble, can't they?"

"Indeed." Ciel said. "They apparently make deranged blonde boys into detectives."

"I'm not a ' _boy'_ , I a ' _man',_ thank you very much." His beau said, putting all of his weight on the bluenette, forcing the Phantomhive backward. "I'm eighteen, inn't?"

"You're still in secondary school, aren't you?" the bluenette asked with a smirk. "Shouldn't you be _studying?"_

" _Probably."_ Alois answered, letting go of Ciel and propping himself up with his palms on the couch, positioned on both sides of the other boy's waist. "I could use a little help in... _biology_." He added with a smirk of his own.

"Is that supposed to be some sort of come-on?" Ciel asked, placing a hand on the back of the blonde's head. "How lame…"

"You _love_ it." Retorted the menace.

" _I know_." The Phantomhive said, pulling his partner in for a kiss. Their lips were mere millimeters apart when they heard a voice.

" _What are you doing?"_

The demonic duo immediately separated, sitting up and straightening themselves at the sound of a familiar voice. It was the blonde's own, only higher; _younger._ Ciel and Alois awkwardly cleared their throats as Revy stood before them, an annoyed and somewhat disturbed expression on his face, oddly devoid of a pair of sunglasses.

"I respect that you're, like, gay for each other, but please, _not in front of the children…"_

 


	381. Return Of The Griffins

Warwick Academy; the crème de la crème of British academia. Here, the social elite gain the skills and knowledge necessary for competing and prospering in their respective fields, and gain the finest education money can buy. The blue and gold banner waves high as the year's end draws near for the griffins, marking the end of a stage, but the beginning of a new one as the twelfth-year students prepare to advance into a new phase of life. Most will pursue higher education, while some already have their careers set into place. Regardless, it is a most exciting, yet sad time for our favourite students, the sensational seven.

Each boy had their own plans for life beyond Warwick, and some of those plans would mean that they might not cross paths as often. That said, they all solemnly swore that they would stay in touch, and meet with each other on a semi-regular basis. Some of them would be, regardless, but others would be harder to contact.

"You're going to work at H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G?" asked Kristopherson to the reaper boy upon hearing the lad's plans.

"Yeah." Audrey replied. "Just as a flunkie. I don't think being a CEO is really for me, and I can't just give up on the supernatural world, y'know?"

"Does it at least make good money?" inquired Preston.

"Not as much as running the family business, but it pays about as good as being a doctor." Bone stated. "I'll be well-off."

 _"Sure it's not for that Miranda chick from Alois' birthday party?"_ teasingly asked Daniel, earning a punch to the arm.

"It's not like that! We haven't even talked since then."

"You didn't get her number?" the Westley asked.

"I didn't know how to ask for it…" answered the Baines lad, rubbing the back of his neck. "What about you guys?"

"Oh, I'm going to uni." Said Daniel. "Dunno what I'm going to major in, though. Politics, I guess."

"You shouldn't go into things so half-assed…" scolded a certain boy wearing a pink tie.

"Oh yeah? What are you going to do, princess?" Kristopherson scoffed at the Westley's favourite name to call him.

"Fashion design, with a minor in studio art." The faux-blonde said. "Right now, I'm working on finding an apartment closer to the school."

 _"You're going to get your own place?"_ asked Preston, sharing the curiosity of his friends at the lad's words.

"Yeah. My parents will be paying, but it's a start."

"Be sure to get someplace cool." Said Daniel. "You don't want to bring boys home to a dump."

"Like your room, Dan?" quipped the boy in the pink tie. He looked toward Preston and Travis. "What about you two? Any plans?"

"I'm going to study business." Said Preston. "That's mostly what anyone ever needs to know in order to run a company. It doesn't matter what they sell."

" _English."_ Spoke Travis, giving his input. It could be assumed that he had his own motivations for his choice, but it didn't seem as though he was interested in discussing them. Then again, his mother, in addition to being a diamond tycoon, also was supposedly a very popular author in the romance genre. Perhaps he was going to follow in her footsteps in that aspect?

"Cool." Audrey replied. "Well, we all know what Ciel and Alois will be doing…"

"What's that?" asked Preston.

" _Plotting world domination."_

 _"You know too much, Bones."_ Chimed in the blonde menace from his own seat. "If you become a threat to our plans, you might need to be ' _taken care of'."_ he jested.

"Would you?" asked the reaper boy, causing a chuckle to escape the demon's throat.

"Who knows? I'm a demon. I'm evil and stuff." Alois replied without a single strand of seriousness. "College first, then world domination. That is, unless Ciel goes for it; then it's college, assistance in world domination on the side, then become the emperor of darkness' concubine."

"Why not the boyfriend of the emperor of darkness?" his beau asked.

"I like that better, but does that sound really intimidating?" the blonde inquired. " _'Hello, I am Satan, the lord of all darkness, and this is my boyfriend, Jim'."_

"But if I'm the ruler of the world, would anyone dare question it?" the Phantomhive asked, causing the other boy to pause and think.

"I guess not." Alois said with a laugh. "You don't really make fun of the man who rules all that is unholy for having a boyfriend, do you?"

"Question." Interrupted the Westley boy, raising his hand as if he were attending a lesson. The two demons looked at him with arched eyebrows.

"What?" asked the blonde. Daniel put his hand down again before speaking.

"I've noticed this for a while, now, but I never really thought to ask…" the son of a politician began. "Why does Ciel call you _'Jim'?"_

A small blush appeared on the menace's cheeks as the bluenette formed a smile. Ciel was proud of being one of the few people to be able to call the blonde by his true name, and abused this power often. The blonde actually quite liked being called "Jim" by his beau, even if the name was quite embarrassing. It didn't hold the same regality or power of "Alois", after all.

"Jim" was common, boring, and weak-sounding, therefore the fair-haired demon preferred his false name instead. Even if it was given to him by a revolting old man, "Alois" still sounded better than "Jim". Somehow, the name was like a thread that connected the boy to the scared child that he once was. It made him feel vulnerable and weak, not just by the sound, but by the weight of the word.

The Phantomhive boy, however, was one of the only exceptions to his forbiddance of calling his actual name. The only others were Luka and the round table, but Ciel was _different_. Ciel was the only one who Alois specifically, and willingly gave permission to speak it. The others weren't a matter of choice. Luka had always called him "Jim", and his bosses insisted on using the official name he was christened with at birth. It was Ciel, and Ciel only, who earned the right to use the word which linked to the most innocent parts of the blonde's heart, not by previous connections or authority, but by the blonde's own trust and will.

After all, a name never fully disappears from one's psyche. It is burned into the soul and can never be removed, even if the sound used to call out to the individual is changed. The weight of a true name is still realised upon every utterance that reaches the ears of the individual. "Jim", he will hear, and look up, as that is the name that has been branded into his mind.

That seemed too deep to use as an answer to a group of teenagers in an off-handed question, however. Alois paused, wondering just how to answer that, as he knew that the Westley boy would undoubtedly request to use his name, or at least bother him with it. Eventually, he decided to give an abridged version.

"Because it's my name." He said flatly. "I hate it, but Ciel gets special privileges. If any of you plonkers get any ideas of using it, I'll bash your heads in."

"Does he ever call you 'Jimmy'?" Daniel teased, unknowing of the impact that the topic had.

"Daniel, _I will break one finger for every time you say it_." The blonde warned. "So shut up."

"Is it really that bad?" asked Preston.

"Do I _look_ like a _'Jim'_ to you?" asked the menace, pointing to his own face. "I can't think of a name that suits me less!"

"' _Bob'."_ Said Audrey, as the others tried their best to hold in a laugh.

Judging by the way the demon narrowed his eyes, the smallest peep could cause calamity. The blonde's face shifted, however, from spite to curiosity as he felt a hand on his head. It shifted again when he saw that it was simply his beau patting him on the head. The Phantomhive boy saved everyone from the wrath of the blonde menace once again, as he was the sole individual who held complete mastery of calming the beast.

"Get off it." He instructed. "If he doesn't like it, leave him alone; especially when you don't completely understand what it means to him."

"What's it mean, then?" asked Kristopherson.

"Oh, you know; tragic backstories and demons and whatnot." The bluenette replied, causing the faux-blonde to nod.

" _Oh, I get it_." The boy in the pink tie said, as most of the others became both increasingly interested in, but terrified to ask for details on the matter. The only one who was unconditionally understanding was Travis, as it was his nature to do so.

"You guys and your demon stuff…" began Preston. _"I don't know if I'll miss that."_

"Who says we're going to let you escape that easily?" asked the blonde menace. "You're totally going to hell for even associating with us!"

" _Huh!?"_ the other lad asked, visibly shaken.

"Relax, Pres, he's just messing with ya." Daniel said reassuringly. He paused before adding: _"Probably_."

"You don't even know!" the boy of Indian descent accused. "I don't want to go to hell!"

"Relax, it's not that bad." Said the Macken boy. "In fact, life as a demon is a lot better than it was when I was human. The same rules don't apply and it's fantastic!"

"So what's being dead like?" asked Audrey, genuinely curious.

"Well, I can't really remember much about it." The menace replied. "One minute, I'm possessing Ciel's body, fulfilling a contract, and the next _, I'm naked in Ciel's basement in the twenty-first century_."

He paused before adding: "That didn't sound good. It was a _satanic ritual_ , not anything _sleazy."_

"Well, thank goodness for that!" inputted the Miles boy.

"Oh, yeah, you possessed Ciel, didn't you? I forgot…" said the reaper boy. "Was it weird?"

"Well, yeah. _Everything was closer to the ground_." The blonde replied, earning an elbow to the ribs. "And he _dressed_ weird." Another elbow. " _Wearing another person's body just feels weird all around, really_."

The boy had to stop when the Phantomhive pinched his cheek. "Thank you, _Jimmy_." The boy said, recalling the incident.

It was an awkward scenario, having one's soul forcibly blended with another person's, only to have that person take over one's body and wear one's flesh as a costume. Still, both parties held a bizarre but mutual understanding of one another from the episode; like they didn't full need to use words to understand one another. They just _did_.

They knew exactly what happened to each other, what they felt, and what it did to them. The understood why the other does what they do, no matter how trivial it may seem. They know that to the other, it _is_ important, and why. It was inhuman and unnatural, but with the circumstance, not at all _unreasonable._ This bond was an unusual one, but it brought them solace, knowing that no matter what, at least someone understood them. That alone meant the world to them as a pair of estranged individuals who could no longer fully function in mundane society on their own.

Unfortunately, they did not have such a link to the others, and as graduation drew near, the demonic duo feared being left behind by their normal, human companions.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was reading the original author's notes on FF and in the note for this chapter, I complained that it was a really long chapter and took a long time to write. It's around 2,000 words, and I'm just like: "You wimp. You fool. I'm doing 2,700-4,000 word chapters each time now. This is nothing." That said, they come out much slower. With the length, it's gone from writing a chapter a day to a chapter a week. Still faster than a lot of people. It makes writing essays for school easier. 
> 
> "1,000 words? This is nothing!" It's also gotten me in the habit of waiting until like, two hours before I should be sleeping to get it done. Like, "due the next morning at 8 a.m." kind of shit. I am a terrible role model and none of you should ever try to adopt my terrible habits, okay? Do your homework before the night before, kids. You will suffer less if you do...
> 
> Until the next chapter, my duckies~!


	382. Warwick Academy

_"Where is the book, Ciel?"_ called a voice. It was the voice of a woman, and while it sounded smooth and sweet, it reverberated against the Phantomhive's cranium like thunder against sky.

 _"Give me the book."_ It demanded, sparking confusion in the boy.

 _"The book of Akeldama…"_ it clarified.

_"_ _**It will be mine** _ _."_

Ciel's eyes snapped open only to find himself in his own bed. A layer of sweat coated his skin as he stared up at the ceiling, uncertain of what to make of the dream. He couldn't quite remember what the voice sounded like, but knew it was female and knew that they wanted the book of Akeldama. Whatever for, he wasn't certain, but thoughts of the book have been causing a great deal of unrest in the boy as of late. The worst part about it was that he couldn't figure out why.

He looked to the clock on the nightstand to his right and internally groaned at the realization that he could have slept for a few more minutes. The blonde snuggled up to his left side had the right idea; snoozing soundly and devoid of confusing dreams. There was no use trying to disturb him, as the alarm would do that for the bluenette in a matter of minutes. Shame; the bluenette quite liked the other boy's peaceful, sleeping face.

The alarm went off, causing the Macken boy to gain consciousness, much to his obvious displeasure. The boy clenched his eyes shut tighter and whined as he tried to burrow his face further into the bluenette's chest. His boyfriend chuckled at the action and reached over to switch off the horrible device and rid them of that incessant beeping. He looked down at the blonde, who was busily trying to regain his slumbering state while using the bluenette as a pillow, and gently shook his shoulder.

" _Jim, wake up_." Ciel instructed, only to find himself gripped tighter by the menace. He rolled his eyes and shook the boy again. "Come on, we have to get ready _. Today's the day."_

Upon hearing that last sentence, the blonde shot up. " _Huh?!"_ he demanded, still partially recovering from the grogginess of sleep. "Really?!"

"Of course." The bluenette replied. "Haven't you been paying attention to the date?"

"Psh, no. I've got better things to do." Alois stated. " _Like sit in bed and complain_."

"Well, _you_ can do that, but _I'm_ going to _rid myself of Warwick_." His beau replied, getting up and walking toward the dressing room. He felt the blonde's eyes immediately look him up and down, but grew to not care whether he did or not anymore. It hardly mattered, regardless, as he did have on sleepwear.

"Oh?" the blonde called, arching an eyebrow. "Won't you miss good 'ol Warwick?"

"I'll probably miss it just the same way as I did Powderham, Amberley, Coroghon, Weston, and Tamworth." The bluenette answered.

"You went to Tamworth?"

"Yes, very briefly." Ciel said. "It was _rubbish._ "

 _"I bet."_ Alois mused, trying to imagine the boy at the notorious delinquents' school as he watched him disappear into the dressing area.

The demonic duo dawned their uniforms for the last time, and admittedly, were starting to miss them already. The Navy and Gold crest would be gone, at least for a decade or so, as the two carried on with their academic plans, pursuing higher education before repeating the process again at some other school. Still, they wouldn't be able to replace the people they met here. There was only one Daniel Westley, Kristopherson Miles, Audrey Baines, Preston Omid, and Travis Sullivan. There was only one sensational seven.

They walked the span of the campus, past the recently cleaned Griffin statue in the center of the academy, and to the auditorium, where they met up again with their compatriots. It wasn't at all surprising that the majority of them shared the same sort of enthusiasm as the blonde menace which Ciel did not. After all, the Phantomhive had graduated secondary school far too many times to count! Regardless, he trudged through yet another graduation assembly, not paying too much mind to any of it.

Mister Irons came out and said a few words. It was the same, boring speech that Ciel had heard before, the only difference was that it made the man somehow appear much softer than usual. After that, they all took a walk down memory lane at all the trips and functions that the class had attended, conveniently leaving out the time that a Tamworth boy's dismembered foot was found at one of said functions, much to the Phantomhive's disappointment. That was the most interesting part, in his opinion. His beau would agree, but was concerned as he couldn't remember if they ever properly disposed of the foot, or if they accidentally left it in the small refrigerator in cabin thirteen.

It was quite something, all the things that were left out. There was the school shooting and the bomb that killed many at a rugby game on their grounds. There was the duel against Heinrich and the death of his associate on the roof during the Christmas dance that one year, although that was admittedly hidden from the students and staff. As much as Ciel didn't want to admit, there were all sorts of memorable events that occurred at Warwick. Perhaps he would miss the school after all.

Eventually the assembly ended and the students were left to socialize, but when the time came, none of the seven could really think of anything to say. It was all over just so quickly. They all collectively felt as though they only went exploring in the "haunted" old, abandoned, Trancy Manor just yesterday, but now, it was the final day of the final year, and they were griffins no more.

In the end, all of them went home to prepare for the dance that would occur later that evening. It was a last gesture that Warwick did to commemorate the event, however attendance was always scarce. Still, it was a last-minute chance to converse with friends in this sort of setting, so it was perhaps worth making an appearance.

It wasn't. It was rather dull, the Phantomhive found, but the others seemed to be enjoying themselves. The bluenette simply wasn't partial to parties, and eventually, he found himself alone again, as the blonde menace had been called to converse with a few girls in their class. There, Alois seemed to be denying some sort of scandalous claim, judging by his gestures and expressions, and the bluenette just knew he was related, somehow. He didn't mind not being part of the discussion, however, and was content with watching the others mingle, as if he were watching fish in an aquarium. Yes, the day had been a bit surreal; starting from the moment he awoke. That didn't, however, prepare him for what happened next. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw _her_ , clear as day.

Lilith stood in the doorway, casually peering in at the students. Had the boy not recognized her or sensed her diabolical presence, he would have mistaken her for an ordinary student; he was glad that he didn't, however, but he was stick struck with anxiety over the girl's appearance. Seeing her face smiling at him from across the room really took a toll on his nerves.

Ciel couldn't remember the last time he had been so frightened. Recalling the last time he and the demoness crossed paths was overwhelmingly alarming. His breath was shallow and his legs felt weak as he remembered his crushing defeat.

What's worse, they were in a public place, making it so that the students were now unwitting hostages. Should the bluenette fail, it would not just be his own head in jeopardy. All the same, he was frozen as the girl stepped into the room, never once looking away. The Phantomhive was trapped like a deer in headlights as she glided, placing one foot in front of the other until she was suddenly right in front of him. Instinctively, he tried to puff himself up and seem menacing, but it proved useless, as Lilith saw right through him.

" _You look horrible."_ She said, pointing out how pale the boy looked. "Relax, I'm not here to _fight."_

"Then what _are_ you here for?" the boy asked, his voice not coming out nearly as authoritative as he desired. His mind was a mess as he felt powerless toward this girl. He was powerless against this girl. He knew it. He couldn't escape it. She was much stronger than him and he knew it.

"I'm just here to deliver a message, and I'll be on my way" the demoness answered. She paused for a moment, staring at the bluenette's face. She reached a hand up, ghosting her fingers toward the boy's eyepatch.

" _But_ _ **first**_ …" She trailed off, having set her sights on something of interest. Her wrist was snatched by the bluenette's hand before she could view what had captured her curiosity so. The boy narrowed his visible eye.

" _The message."_ He said. " _Then_ _ **leave**_ _."_ The Phantomhive released his grip and the girl took back her hand.

"Very well, then." She said. "My apologies, I was only curious."

" _Curiosity killed the cat."_

"… _And satisfaction brought it back_." Lilith concluded, noticing a small twitch of the boy's eyebrow at the utterance of those words. She then proceeded to present the boy with a red envelope.

"From my… _master_ , Krampus." There was hesitation in her words and a small twinge of disgust lingered over her superior's title. She smiled as the other demon took the paper, noting how he never took his eyes off of her.

"It's an _invitation."_ She explained. "Months from now, in the fall, there will be a party, and you simply must attend."

"And if I _refuse?"_ the Phantomhive asked.

"Then your friends will face the danger that _you_ were intended to face." The demoness said, glancing over at the sensational seven. Ciel furrowed his brow.

"If you cooperate, all will be well." Lilith continued. "I have no desire or intention of hurting either you, or your companions. I just need your _assistance_."

"What for?" the bluenette warily asked, his anxiety becoming overtaken by anger.

"That, I can't tell you." The girl said. " _Not yet_. In due time, however, all will become clear. Then you may carry on your merry way."

"What of Krampus?" Ciel demanded. "You expect me to just sit by as he does what he pleases? What does he mean, _'one devil to rule them all'?"_

" _It means what it means."_ The girl answered. "I can't say I _approve,_ per se, but I will do what I must. For that, I need _you_."

"Find another puppet. _I'm not playing_." The bluenette defiantly stated, regaining his vibrato along with his rage. How dare this woman request that he act as a pawn? Ciel Phantomhive is no pawn!

Lilith sighed. "You'll come around." She said. "Eventually, you'll be left with no choice. Will it be you…?" she trailed off, turning back to the boy's human compatriots.

"…Or will it be _them?"_ she asked before turning to the bluenette. "The choice is yours, for now. I hope you're not as _wasteful_ as Krampus."

With that, the girl left him, but he did not watch after her. He instead, stared ahead, listening to the clicking of her heels. It was the only sound that was left as the music seemed to fade. All distractions were drowned out as the boy watched the sensational seven interact and carry on.

 _Warwick Academy; the crème de la crème of academic excellence._ Here, the offspring of the elite learned the skills they needed to be successful, just as the sensational seven had. Today was their last day at Warwick, but the Phantomhive highly doubted that any of them learned the skills necessary to defend themselves against a demon that not even he could protect _himself_ from.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Goodbye, Warwick. I love you.
> 
> I was like, genuinely sad that they left Warwick and waited much longer than I usually would have to post this chapter, originally. By this point, I had been working on DLTD for a few years and it was the end of Warwick! I grew to love this school, you know! I have more school spirit for Warwick than my actual school pfff
> 
> Ah, I love these assholes.
> 
> Until the next chapter, my duckies~!


	383. Separation of the Family

Night quietly hung overhead causing darkness to creep into every nook and cranny that it possibly could if light wasn't present to keep it at bay. Similarly, there was an unsettling force slinking about. It silently made its way throughout the mansion without disturbing a soul until it made its way to the master bedroom.

The figure padded across the carpet and over to the bed, where it stared down at the sleeping master of the house and his lover with its red eyes that burned like fire. That was its only distinguishing feature, as it was almost entirely black and devoid of any detail. The only other thing was that it was humanoid in shape. With its left hand, the figure reached down to touch the Phantomhive boy, but the boy's eyes snapped open. In one swift motion, he sat up and swiped at the figure.

" _Ow! What the fuck!?"_ the blonde shouted, having been the victim of a poorly-planned attack. With that, Ciel awoke, only to find that he had elbowed the poor menace in the chest.

Looking around, the bluenette found that they were the only ones there. It was just Ciel, Alois, and a dark, empty room. He was sweating and his heart rate was erratic. _His nightmares were getting worse._ The Phantomhive turned to Alois, who was currently rubbing his chest and looking as though he were demanding an explanation.

"Sorry…" he said apologetically. "I didn't mean to. I think I might need to abstain from this whole ' _sleeping_ ' thing for a while…"

"Is the shadow-man back?" Alois asked.

"Yeah, and he keeps getting _closer."_

Alois knew of the dreams and he knew of the figure in them. It wasn't the first time his beau has had them. First the figure appeared at the entrance to the estate, and then in the foyer. Next, he was down the hall before he appeared before the door of the bedroom. He stood in the doorway several times before he appeared at the foot of their bed. Ciel didn't know what it was supposed to mean, but he found himself terrified of what would happen if the figure actually _touched_ him. Tonight was the first night that it even got close, and Ciel didn't want that to happen.

While Alois knew of all of this, he was still in the dark about much of the bluenette's behaviour recently. He had been acting very odd since graduation. The Phantomhive was fidgety, and reluctant to do much of anything. He was distant, somehow, like he was afraid of letting anyone back in. Somehow, Alois knew it had something to do with Black Annis. He wasn't sure how, but the entire case seemed to really get to the bluenette from the day he was defeated the first time by Metus, the clawed demon. When the boy sat up and made an attempt to get up out of bed, the blonde denied that to him when he held the boy from behind.

"Are you okay?" he asked, already knowing the answer.

"I'm fine…" Ciel replied. "I've just got a lot on my mind…"

"Would _venting_ help?" the blonde further inquired.

"I don't know…" his beau stated, his voice seeming kind of down. In all honesty, he wasn't that sure _how_ to vent to anyone, as he had done it only seldom. Letting people in on his thoughts was a new development, after all, and even with the blonde menace it would be safe to say that old habits die hard.

Even though he was unsatisfied with that answer, Alois had to let go of the matter for now. It was easier and more profitable than trying to force the stubborn Phantomhive into talking when he didn't feel like it. With a kiss to the bluenette's temple, Alois then rested his head on the boy's shoulder before speaking again.

"Y'know, I'm your partner in more ways than one." He said. "Knowing each other's strengths and weaknesses is a must if the unit is to function efficiently. As cheesy and unhelpful as it sounds, I'm here for you, and want to help you feel better." Admittedly, he was a bit saddened when the other boy pulled away, but the feeling didn't last long as he was presented with a small kiss on the lips.

"Thank you." Ciel replied with a smile. "I do want to tell you, and I _must_. It's an important matter that involves you as well, however, I'm a bit…" he paused to think, only to sigh in defeat.

"I'm having trouble organizing my thoughts… I'm sorry…" the Phantomhive continued, hanging his head. His beau proceeded to correct his posture by guiding his chin upward with his hand.

"I know." Alois stated, pecking the other boy on the lips. "And I understand that. I _do_ want to know what's up, but if you need to calm down a bit first, then by all means…"

"How do you know how to deal with me so well?" asked the bluenette with a chuckle.

"I was inside your head, remember?" the Macken lad reminded. "I know how you tick. Also, _I talk to Seras whenever you're busy with Integra_. She gives me a few tips on how to deal with grumpy, eyepatch-wearing nobles every now and then."

" _Consorting with the enemy, hmm?"_ teased Ciel wrapping his arms around the other boy. "That's _mutiny."_

"Oh, and what are you going to do?" the blonde inquired with a smirk. "Punish me? Oh, wait, that sounds kinda kinky…"

"It's a bit early in the morning for that, don't you think?"

"Depends. How early do you think is _too_ early?" The thought was cut short as the sound of the duo's alarm clock snapped them both from their flirtation.

"About _that_ early." The bluenette said, kissing the other boy on the cheek before releasing him to turn off the irritating device. He got up out of bed and stretched, with the blonde menace thinking a bit similarly.

"I guess you're right." Alois mused with a small giggle. "I hate it when it's time to get up. I'd rather stay in and cuddle under the cozy, cozy covers."

"'Cuddling'." The Phantomhive echoed teasingly. " _Sure you did…"_

"Cuddles, sex, I don't care." the menace said as the other boy got dressed. "As long as I get to be embarrassingly lovey-dovey with you~!"

"You're very good at being embarrassing."

"I know, I try." Alois said, laughing again. The other demon paused momentarily from picking out a shirt. He arched an eyebrow and peered back into the room at the blonde.

 _"Your laugh changed."_ The Phantomhive said.

"Huh? Did it?" asked his partner.

"Yes. It sounds more masculine." Ciel replied. " _I like it_." A grin formed on his face as a blush appeared on that of Alois'. It never stopped being entertaining, seeing how bashful the Macken boy would get about the strangest of things.

It wasn't long, however, until their discussion was cut short by a knocking at their bedroom door, not from Sebastian, but from a very excitable, but somewhat saddened Luka, reminding them that they all have things to do that day. You see, today was the day that one of the living conditions for a certain member of the house needed to be realised. Thus, everyone loaded up into the family car and headed out in order to accomplish their task, stopping in front of the gates of a certain camp that opened only in the summer.

It was Revy, who was attending. All supernatural agents of Britain must attend some form of training, but it was here, that the boy might be staying. When he first entered the Phantomhive household, it was stated that he would be surrendered to H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. custody as soon as he had been trained. It seemed like a fair proposition at the time, but now, as they all stood at the front gates, uncertainty began to sink in.

The Revenant nudged his sunglasses back up his nose before opening the car door and stepping out, only to be followed by the others. He swung his backpack over his shoulder as Sebastian helped him get the rest of his things out of the trunk of the vehicle, but as soon as it was time to actually step forward, he froze.

"I, uh… _guess this is it_ , then?" he said sheepishly, trying to keep up a tough face. He wasn't fooling anyone, even Luka, who was trying not to cry. He had grown fairly close to the revenant over the course of the year. He was the only other child, after all, who wasn't busy with murder cases or terrorist threats.

"Guess so." Said Alois, putting a hand on the shoulder of the younger Macken. "You'll be fine. Don't back-talk the instructors, and everything will go well. If someone messes with you, who them your eyes and scare the piss out of 'em."

"Thanks…" the boy wearing sunglasses said, rubbing the back of his neck. "Oh, and… uh… I… uh…" His cheeks reddened a tad.

" _I'm really gonna miss you guys_..." Revy said finally, embarrassed by the small confession.

What he didn't expect was to have the wind knocked out of him when he was nearly tackled to the ground by Luka. The boy squeezed is strange, undead "brother" in a hug that could possibly strangle a full-grown cow and refused to let go. Revy looked up at the eldest of the three, silently asking for help. Alas, this was willfully ignored as a smile spread across Alois' face and he wrapped his arms around both of the younger Mackens.

" _Group hug!"_ He declared, picking the others up off the ground in his embrace. Revy groaned and Luka laughed while the remaining two members of the Phantomhive household simply looked on. Soon, Alois placed his captives back on their feet and looked to the other demons.

"I said 'group hug'! That means you too!" the menace declared in a faux-scolding tone of voice.

"Yeah, get with the program, you guys!" chimmed in Luka, feeling slightly better. The bluenette scoffed.

"I don't _do_ group hugs." Ciel stated defiantly, placing his hands in his pockets and looking away. His beau simply narrowed his eyes and gave a horrible threat.

"If you don't come over here, I'll come over there and _make_ you." Alois said, somehow sparking some kind of response from the Phantomhive. He laughed as the bluenette scowled in an effort to seem big shot a warning glare to his butler, who was just as amused as the blonde.

With a defeated sigh, the bluenette joined the others in a half-hearted group communion, along with Sebastian, who was simply curious as to what was the purpose of the gesture. Strange as it may seem, the revenant actually _smiled_ at the actions of his "family". That is, until he was caught by Alois. Then he quickly frowned and tried to act cool.

"I saw that~!" the menace declared in a sing-song voice. "You can't hide it from me~! You don't want to leave, do you?" Revy paused, hesitating in his answer.

"Not… _not really_ …" he admitted, looking at the ground. It was too late. His place at Phantomhive house was only temporary, so there wasn't much he could say or do to change this course that has been set. Suddenly, he felt a hand on his head, rubbing his short, blonde locks. He looked up expecting to see the blonde menace, but it was instead, Ciel, who performed the action. The revenant was bewildered, wondering what the reason for this was.

"You're welcome to come back whenever you'd like after your training is complete." The master stated.

"Can he come back and _live_ with us, though?" asked Luka, refusing to let go of poor Revy. To his delight, the bluenette nodded.

"If that's what he wishes." Ciel said, causing the youngest of the demons to finally release the revenant before latching onto him. The Phantomhive was unsure of how to respond to the gesture, but with an encouraging nod from the blonde menace, he smiled.

"R-really?" Revy asked, earning a nod from the one-eyed demon.

"I'm certain that I can arrange something with Integra." The bluenette stated. "You'll have to make yourself _useful,_ but I don't see any harm in having one extra mouth to feed." Revy smiled.

"I'm sorry to interrupt, my lord, but we're going to have to get going if you're going to make your flight on time." Spoke Sebastian, peering at his watch. The others snapped to attention, remembering the other item on their agenda for that day.

After saying their goodbyes, Revy was left behind at the camp while the rest of the group filed back into their car and drove off to their next location, London International Airport. You see, while the sensational seven were going on their traditional summer trip, things were going to be done a bit differently this time around. Since they had all graduated, the boys had planned to venture abroad. No adults, no supervision, just the sun, surf, and the sensational seven. There was one person, however, who was most definitely unhappy.

"First Revy goes, and now you're going too?!" Luka crossed his arms with a pout on his face in a huff to make sure his discontent was obvious. It only made the blonde seated next to him smile, however.

"Sorry, toodlepoot, it's big kids only." Alois said. "You don't have a passport, and the others are probably going to insist on acting out. Those morons are probably going to try and get _shitfaced drunk!"_

"Alois, _we do not use that sort of language in front of children_." Called a certain man in the front seat clad in all black.

" _But Sebaaaaaaaastiaaaaannnn, I'm a detectiiiiiivvvveeee!"_ the blonde whined. His argument was not convincing.

"It doesn't matter if you catch bloodthirsty murderers. You don't swear in front of children." scolded the butler.

"Yes _, mum."_ Alois replied, causing the younger boy next to him to giggle.

"Well, Jim, if you don't like it, you could always walk to the airport." The bluenette teased. A chuckle escaped his throat as the other boy kicked the back of his seat.

"Oh, _fuck you!"_

"Alois, what did I _just_ say?"

 


	384. A Theater Near You

" _Where the hell have you been?"_ asked a certain politician's son. He and the rest of the crew were standing with their tickets in hand, waiting on the demonic duo. "You're late."

"Well, pardon me for having to drop off my cute, undead and incredibly _handsome_ little brother at summer camp." Replied the blonde menace as he and his boyfriend casually strolled up to their friends.

"A likely story!" Daniel said. "Sure you and Cyclops weren't just getting frisky in the toilets over there?"

"Now Daniel," began the Macken boy, "if you keep making these assumptions about mine and Ciel's homosexual escapades, then we might have to start reevaluating your claims of heterosexuality."

He earned a laugh from the majority of the group, save for Daniel, the butt of the joke. A blush formed on the Westley lad's face and he furrowed his brow with a frown. Even the stern Phantomhive was forcing back a smile at the blonde's jab.

"Fuck off!" Daniel said. "Just come on, and don't fuck up us getting past security with your shadiness."

 _"And I leave the plan for that to Ciel."_ Alois replied, stepping aside and gesturing for the bluenette to lead the way. In that moment, horror struck the human boys as the Phantomhive placed his bag up on the conveyor belt of the security checkpoint.

"Shit! _Is there something in his bag?!"_ Kristopherson asked the menace, his fears being confirmed when the lad smiled.

"Don't worry about it. _Just watch_." Alois replied as he placed his own bag next to his beau's.

" _Excuse me."_ The Phantomhive said to the checkpoint officer, summoning the woman's attention. As soon as her eye's locked on his, she was frozen by the crimson orb. The boy then proceeded to turn his attention to her assistant, trapping him as well.

With that, Ciel casually picked up his bag and walked right through with complete and utter disregard through standard protocol. He had obviously done this many times, so the others couldn't protest. Instead, they watched as Ciel and his blonde companion made their way toward their flight.

"Well, come on." The bluenette said, snapping the boys back to attention. "Aren't you coming?"

"You want us to just… go through?" asked Audrey, hesitant, like the rest.

"Relax, you're not going to get in trouble." Reassuringly said the Macken boy. "You're with _us_. It's not like some airport rent-a-cop is gonna book a couple of England's best agents."

The teens hesitated before stepping through the gates. One by one, they quickly paced past the two entranced security officers, feeling guilty the entire time. As soon as they were past, they dashed to catch up with the two demons. Once they were out of sight, Ciel snapped his fingers, thus releasing the two guards who were none the wiser.

Quickly, they boarded their plane and relaxed a bit, reclining in their comfortable first-class seats. The businessmen around them were rather confused at the presence of the group of teenagers, but couldn't protest. The boys had been let on in the same manner that they had. Obviously, they were able to afford a ticket, and judging by the looks of them, their families had some money. Even with their name-brand clothes, however, they still spoke in the same manner as any other irritating youth.

"What the fuck do you have in your bags?" Kristopherson finally asked in a hushed tone. HE didn't want any of the other passengers to know just what sort of seedy business that the two demons were definitely up to. "Why couldn't you just go through security normally?"

"Relax, it's just _Kaspar_ and _Zamiel."_ Spoke the blonde menace, patting his bag.

" _Who?"_

"Our _anti-freak weapons_." Stated the Phantomhive boy as he leaned back in his seat. "We never leave home without them. Something _always_ happens."

"It's like we're _magnets for calamity."_ The Macken boy added. He looked to the faux-blonde with a grin. "And yes, _we did just board an aeroplane._ Still, I miss _Jarnglofar_ … Those were fun to use."

"Dafydd said he had a new an improved version in the works." Said Ciel. "He's still working out the kinks, apparently."

"Sweet!"

"No offense, but wasn't the point of this holiday to get _away_ from all of the weird, supernatural stuff?" asked Preston. "Can't we ever just have fun together like normal people?"

"I dunno. How do normal people have fun on holiday?" curiously inquired the fair-haired demon. He'd never been on holiday abroad before. Before the Omid lad could answer him, however, Daniel had already opened his mouth.

"We're gonna party like big boys from now on!" the Westley lad declared. "We can hit the beach like usual, but we're also gonna hit the clubs and get fucked up."

"That doesn't sound all that fun." Alois replied. "So what's that? You're gonna do drugs or some shit?"

"I was talking about getting pissed, but if I happen to smoke a joint or two, then so be it."

"Ooh, look out, everbody. We've got ourselves a badass." Kristopherson snidely commented. "Marijuana isn't a party drug, stupid."

"Oh yeah, and you know about that, huh?" asked the politician's son.

"I've been to parties after fashion shows, before." The faux blonde began. "They aren't like little birthday parties you throw with your friends. People do messed of stuff."

"That's a fashion show, though, not _Rio de Jeneiro_." Daniel said. "This isn't some posh get together. It's the real deal."

"That's what I _just said._ I don't mind getting drunk, but do you have any idea what you're suggesting we get ourselves into?"

" _Kristopherson's right,_ Daniel." Spoke up the Phantomhive boy. "Rio De Jeneiro is a dangerous place, especially its nightlife. If you're expecting to go wild and not face any consequences, you're an idiot who could wind up getting yourself killed."

"Come on, it's not _that_ bad…" said the politician's son.

"You're going to argue with the guy who's been in close ties with the criminal underworld since he was _twelve?"_ asked Audrey, causing the Westley boy to think for a moment.

"Well, if him and Alois are with us, we're fine, right?" Daniel asked.

"We can help you with the ' _not getting murdered'_ part, but only to an extent." Alois answered, resting his elbow on the arm of his seat and his chin in his palm. "We can't save you at all from the effects of drugs, though."

"Yes, if you take something weird, you're on your own." The bluenette said. "If you're hallucinating while frothing at the mouth, the most we can do is call you an ambulance and hope for the best."

"You guys are no fun at all, are you?" inquired the Westley lad.

"Ah, well, chasing down some drug lords might be pretty fun." The blonde menace said with a grin. "Don'tcha think, Ciel?"

"A good case sounds pretty _relaxing_ , actually." The Phantomhive replied wearing a small smile of his own.

"So in other words, neither of you two have any idea whatsoever on how to be 'normal'…" Kristopherson said with a sigh.

"They're _criminals,_ what do you expect?" asked Audrey while opening a bag of peanuts.

"Hey! Excuse you, _I_ am not a ' _criminal_ '." Argued the Macken demon. He paused for a moment before adding. "... _anymore_."

"A _'delinquent',_ then." Bones said, correcting his apparent mistake. To that, the blonde had to ponder for a moment.

"Okay, I can accept that."

"Right, so we have a nerd, a gentle giant, an idiot, a Grim reaper, a demonic delinquent, and Satan, who is also apparently the crime lord of Victorian England who's somehow turned his life around." Kristopherson listed off, pointing to each boy as he did. "Great. We have the means for the world's shittiest romantic comedy."

"Yeah, ' _and they all go on a journey to discover themselves in the city of Rio de Jeneiro'_." Joked Audrey, earning a laugh as he imitated the movie-preview voiceover voice to the best of his ability.

 _"'Will they band together, or let the city consume them?_ '" added Alois. " _'Join us this summer as they discover the true meaning of friendship_ '."

"Spoiler alert: _Daniel dies_." Kristopherson said suddenly, causing the others to burst out into laughter and bother the other people on the flight.

 


	385. Choose Your Words Carefully

_"Jesus wants a hug!"_ shouted Alois, pointing out the window of the plane as they began to touchdown in Rio de Jeneiro. A massive smile was on his face and he was practically giddy with excitement.

"We have to get a picture of Ciel and Alois the Jesus statue." Daniel said, watching as the ground became closer.

"Yes, just milk the whole ' _demon_ ' thing, why don't you?" said Ciel, feigning disinterest. He was met with a blank stare from the Westley boy.

"I'm not milking _any_ demon _'things'_ , thank you very much." The boy said, prompting the Phantomhive to introduce the palm of his hand to his forehead.

The sun had already set on the city, yet it was alive with blinding light, not at all unlike London. Needless to say, Daniel's plans of clubbing that evening were in complete ruin by the time they made it to the resort. The building was tall; bigger than both the Phantomhive and Hellsing mansions combined; and it was a divine blessing to the boys that there were multiple elevators. All of them but the demons were completely, and utterly exhausted, even though all they did was sit in a plane and talk for eleven hours. A few of them were lucky enough to get some sleep on the flight, yet when they made it to their rooms, all of them completely collapsed.

Ironically, it was Daniel who was the most tired; to the point where he simply kicked his shoes off and went to sleep. He claimed that he would unpack and shower in the morning, but a few of the others questioned the actual legitimacy of that statement. The humans bidded each other farewell until morning before trudging through their own individual nightly routines. They each had their own separate rooms, all but the two demons, as Alois insisted that he share with Ciel. The bluenette didn't mind, as he wanted the blonde to stay with him as well. As they finally closed the door and began to unpack, Alois addressed something that had been bothering him ever since they arrived.

"Alright, spill it." He said, causing his partner to stare back at him with confusion. _"What's with you?"_

"What do you mean?" asked Ciel, arching an eyebrow. To that, the blonde smiled.

"You've been all _smilely_ ever since we arrived at the hotel." Alois answered. "What's got you in such a good mood?" Reflexively, the other boy covered his mouth in an attempt to stop his silly expression, before finally turning back to his suitcase and resuming unpacking.

"It's nothing." He said. "It's _weird_."

"How's it 'weird'?" the blonde asked, walking over and putting his hands around the other lad's waist from behind. "Is it _murder-related?"_

" _Maybe_." Ciel stated. "See? Normal people don't smile about things like that."

"So? You're _not_ a normal person." His beau replied. "You're Senior Detective Constable Sir Doctor Ciel Phantomhive; the Queen's Guarddog; defender of the crown! You're weird. It's part of your charm. Get used to it." The blonde smiled wider as he heard chuckling coming from his companion.

"I suppose I must." The Phantomhive mused. "If you must know, there was a certain incident here at this hotel involving H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. They had a hell of a time suppressing the media. It still ended up on the news."

"Ooooh~! What happened?" Alois inquired, releasing the other boy before kicking off his shoes and taking a seat on the bed.

"Has this turned into 'story time' or something?" asked Ciel as he watched the other boy cross his legs in a childish way.

" _Damn straight, homie_."

"Don't talk like that." The bluenette said, trying not to laugh at the Macken's silly antics. He paused for a moment in order to figure out where to begin.

"You remember _Alucard,_ right?" he asked, and was answered with a nod.

"I've heard of him." Alois replied. "H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G.'s ultimate weapon, the origin of all vampires, the one who turned Seras, and ' _Dracula'_ with his name spelled backwards?"

"That's him." Ciel said, taking a seat on the bed as well. "He disappeared during the Millennium attack on London; the one where I found the Book of Akeldama when going through debris at it's end."

"And he was here in this hotel?" asked the blonde.

"Yes, and it was here on the roof of the hotel where Alucard discovered just who Millennium was." Ciel answered. "He and Seras stayed here while on a mission to find more information on Millennium. They were tipped off by _Iscariot,_ the leading anti-freak forces in most countries were Catholicism is popular…"

"… _And the reason why you're banned from going to Italy."_ Alois continued. "Anyway, what was the deal with Alucard? What's that mission have to do with murder?"

"There was a bloodbath at this hotel." The Phantomhive said, his face appearing as though he was just getting to the good part. "Millennium bribed the local police chiefs with promises of immortality, and so Alucard and Seras were accused of being suspected terrorists. So, when you're ' _Dracula'_ , and the local police sends in a few S.W.A.T. teams after you, what do you do?"

" _Kill them_ , of course."

"Ah, but that's too simple for Alucard." Ciel continued. "He slaughtered them. One of them was said to have killed himself out of the sheer terror inflicted by watching Alucard kill his teammates. He killed the first two teams that way. The last one was killed when he threw them up into the air and impaled them on the flagpoles outside as spectators watched."

" _You're joking_ …" chimmed in the blonde.

" _I'm not."_ His beau claimed. "It all happened. You can ask Seras or Integra, if you'd like."

" _Pass."_ Alois replied. "He sounds like a nasty person."

"He is. He's a _monster_." Ciel stated. "He's a bona fide monster, and to be entirely honest…" he paused for a moment.

"… _He terrifies me."_ The bluenette concluded, looking down at his hands as the folded and unfolded in his lap. "I've never seen someone like that before, and I haven't since."

It was true. While Alucard was a vampire, he could most likely best the demon in combat, and was itching to try. His disappearance sort of helped the bluenette feel more at ease around the Hellsing estate. It was the same sort of unrest that the Phantomhive felt now toward the Black Annis demons, only now, the boy truly acknowledged it was _fear_ that he was experiencing.

He thought back about the red envelope that he had been handed by Lilith. His face turned pale at the thought of having to go and confront the demons on their own turf. But what choice did he have? They threatened to do away with the sensational seven, after all. Worse, they implied that they would attempt and do away with the Phantomhive household entirely if he didn't go through with this. They could do it, too. He didn't know what kind of tricks they had, but he was certain that they would overwhelm Sebastian it came to the worst scenario. Ciel couldn't allow that to happen. He _wouldn't_ allow that to happen. Even so, after one-hundred and forty years of living, the thought of ceasing to exist did scare the boy.

" _Hey,"_ called a voice, startling the bluenette to attention. To his relief, it was only Alois, and not the figure that continuously haunted his dreams.

"Are you alright?" the blonde asked, placing a hand on the Phantomhive's cheek. Concern adorned his face as he read that of his beau. The bluenette glanced down for a moment before meeting the boy's gaze again.

"Yeah." Ciel said. " _I'm fine."_ Lo and behold, however, the blonde did not believe him.

"Is this about those dreams?" asked Alois, tucking dark locks behind the other boy's ear.

" _A bit."_ Replied the Phantomhive with a nod.

"Alright." Alois began. "I think you should talk about it."

"Jim, I already told you, I need more time to think about it." Ciel said. "I don't know how to explain it…"

"Then don't worry about _clarity_. Just present _content."_ The fair-haired demon replied. "Whatever this is, it's driving you _mental_. I can tell by the way you space out when you think about it with an ill look on your face."

"Do I really?"

"Yeah, _you kinda do_."

"I still don't see how that helps…" the bluenette protested.

"Well then, don't do it for your sake, do it for _mine_." Alois said. "I want to help you, but I don't know how unless you tell me the problem."

"How is that for ' _your'_ sake?" Ciel asked, his voice unintentionally raising itself.

"Because _I_ want to know!" his beau replied, meeting his volume.

"Jim, you don't understand-"

"I _want_ to understand!" Alois said. "Why won't you let me?"

Ciel furrowed his brow. He scanned the other boy's face in hopes of finding something to say, something to point out, some comeback; _anything_. But nothing was there. There was just Alois, the one whom he was so desperate to protect. There was nothing he could say to the boy to convince him. There was no argument, or philosophical words that could persuade the boy. Alois was _right,_ and Ciel knew it. The only problem was that Ciel didn't want to acknowledge that about himself. So what could he do? The boy stood up and straightened his clothes.

"I… I need to go sort this out." He mumbled as he began to walk toward the door.

"Ciel…" the blonde called after him. "Ciel, wait!"

Nothing. Ciel just kept walking, trying his best to ignore the other boy. The Macken's pleas hurt his heart, yet he could not turn back now. He couldn't face the boy now, just as much as he couldn't bear to face himself. To his surprise, however, he didn't have much choice.

The back of his shirt collar was grabbed and swiftly yanked by the blonde menace, causing the Phantomhive to stumble backward until he fell over the edge of the bed. Ciel tried to sit up, only to be pushed back down by his beau, as he straddled the boy, hovering above him on his hands and knees. That wasn't what shocked Ciel, however. It was the stern, angry, yet somehow worried expression on the other boy's face as he glared down at the bluenette. _That_ is what truly hurt Ciel. Even still, never could it compare to the pins and needles that expelled from the boy's mouth.

"Why are you running away?" Alois asked. "You _always_ run away when something's wrong."

"Let me go, Jim…" the Phantomhive said, lightly pushing on the blonde's shoulders. His protests only made things worse.

"No! Not until you listen to what I have to say!" the other demon barked. He was angry, Ciel could tell. Moreover, he was hurt, too, which was even worse. The bluenette relaxed his grip on the lad's shoulders, eye wide, and did as he was instructed. Alois furrowed his brow, gripping the boy's wrists and pinning them to the mattress with his own.

"You never want to listen when I want to help you. You won't let _anyone_ help you!" he accused, his voice upset. "You say you'll tell me what's wrong, but you _always_ run away from it! And I just _let_ you! I want to help you your way, but _your way_ _isn't working_ , Ciel!"

He paused, expecting some sort of argument, but there was nothing. The boy beneath him said _nothing_. All Ciel found himself able to do was to stare up at the menace and hang on to his every word. Regardless, the blonde continued, his voice getting softer.

"I don't understand." Alois said. "I know you're scared, and that's it's hard when you're scared, but… _why_ …" he trailed off. It was the first time up until that point in the discussion that his eyes dared to look away from his captive's.

"… _Why don't you trust me?"_ he asked softly. "You never trust me with these things… I trusted you… That's how… I was able to look at myself in the mirror again… That's how…" Alois' voice began to crack.

" _That's how you were able to fix me."_ He said. Ciel swore he felt his heart shatter at those words.

"Jim…" he whispered.

"I guess it's only a one-way street then…" Alois continued. "I trusted you, but you don't trust me… It should have been obvious, in'nt? You never trusted me on missions from the beginning. How could you trust me with your heart? I'm just too incompetent, aren't I?"

"Jim…"

"I'm an idiot, aren't I? It's really _funny,_ isn't it?" the blonde asked, his voice getting louder and startling the lad beneath him. Ciel started to push back, but his wrists were locked in place.

" _Jim."_ He called, hoping to snap the boy back to his senses. He wanted to touch him, soothe him, do anything to remind him that he loves him.

"I trusted you with everything, Ciel!" Alois shouted. "My heart, my feelings, my _name!_ You never trusted me with anything! I've already _been_ here, before, Ciel! It's just like _Claude!"_

" _Jim!"_ Ciel shouted back.

" _DON'T CALL ME '_ _ **JIM**_ _'!"_

With that, Ciel gave one last shove, freeing his wrists but sending the other boy backwards as he sat up. Alois knocked over the suitcase on the bed and stumbled into the floor along with it with a _thud_. He landed on his back, fortunately tensing his muscles enough to keep his head from hitting the floor.

Ciel was completely frozen. He stared at the blonde as he sat himself upright. The bluenette desperately wanted to say something; anything at all; but he couldn't find his voice. His throat was completely barren as he watched the other boy hobble upward to a standing position, the blonde's eyes never leaving the floor. With all of his courage, the Phantomhive reached out to him.

" _Jim-"_

" _Don't…"_ Alois interrupted, holding a hand up. " _Don't call me that_ …" he added softly. He then proceeded to walk over and unzip his suitcase before rummaging through it.

"What are you doing?" asked the bluenette.

"I'm going to take a shower." The blonde stated, quickly grabbing the essentials he needed, admittedly forgetting things like shampoo, but by the time he realised it, he didn't care. He just wanted to be by himself, for once.

Alois trudged over to the bathroom and shut the door behind him, never once looking back at the bluenette. He didn't want to. He didn't want to see the boy's face in case he accidentally forgave him. The blonde might have, too, as Ciel's face said everything that his voice could not. His mouth hung open in disbelief at his actions and his eye confessed the guilt he felt. The last thing he wanted was for the blonde to get hurt in anyway, and now it was none other than _himself_ who did it.

 


	386. I Want To Say I'm Sorry

The front door of the hotel opened and a strange man walked through them. He slowly padded through the lobby in his bare feet and strange attire, but no one seemed to notice. No one paid him any mind, and only looked through him, if they looked in his direction at all. It was strange, given that the man was obviously not human.

He was dressed in rags and black horns protruded from his head through long, wavy hair as black as night. Talon like, dark fingernails adorned his fingertips, and pointed ears listened to cheesy elevator music as he made his way to the higher levels of the hotel. His stub of a tail swished lightly as he paced through the hallways of the building, looking straight ahead as he walked.

The demon paused in front of a door and it swung open, allowing him inside. The room he was greeted with was an expensive-looking suite, but he ignored all of it, obviously having one goal in mind. Bare feet made their way across the carpet and further into the suite before stopping, having found what they were looking for.

A boy, looking to be in his late teens, sat in the floor with his back to the wall, seated outside of the bathroom. Ciel sat, hugging his legs with his forehead resting on top of his knees. The intruder looked down at the boy as he slumbered in this peculiar location, his presence obviously making the younger uncomfortable as he subconsciously made himself smaller. With that, the man opened his mouth to speak.

" _The book of Akeldama…"_ he said, his voice low, grainy, and airy. The sound clawed at the bluenette as he slept, but his unrest was only heightened as the older demon continued.

"… _ **My**_ book…" he said, extending a hand as he reached down to touch the bluenette's shoulder.

"… _Keep it_ _ **safe**_."

" _AUGH!"_ the bluenette screamed as he jolted awake, bashing the back of his head into the wall in the process. Much to his confusion, he woke up in the floor, in the same place as he was in his dream, near the bathroom.

Now he remembered. He fought with Alois the night before and the other boy escaped by taking a shower. The bluenette took to standing outside the door in order to wait for the menace to return, but standing turned into sitting as the blonde never did exit even long after the water was shut off again. Ciel knew the boy was still in there, as he sensed him, but Alois never came out. He wanted to apologise; he wanted to fix everything, but the blonde stayed locked inside the bathroom as he clearly didn't want to talk.

Minutes turned to hours, and the bluenette eventually became so lost in his own thoughts that he drifted into a state of unconsciousness, only to be haunted by the dreams he desperately wished to avoid; the same dreams that he was afraid to talk about with the blonde menace. The boy was plagued by how he didn't realize what was happening to Alois, and how he was acting somewhat distant from the blonde. He was so caught up in maintaining his own ego that he forgot about the blonde, even though he has sworn to himself that he would keep the boy out of harm's way.

What a clever lie that was, telling himself it was for Alois. How could it have been for Alois, if it involved forgetting about the blonde's needs? He had completely forgotten about the insecurities that haunted the poor boy and how Alois needed reassurance in order to escape them. Ciel continuously kicked himself for forgetting the fears that the other boy faced in relation to letting his own feelings out into the open.

Forget Ciel, what of _Alois?_ It was Alois who faced doubt from the beginning and still pushed against it. It was Alois who had experienced the worst form of loss of love and who dared to try and love again anyway. Alois faced everything that Ciel was facing now, and instead of wallowing in it alone, he opened himself up little by little, and with the help of the Phantomhive, carried on. Naturally, the blonde felt as though he owed the other boy for this. Thus he made it his primary concern to aid the Phantomhive when it was his turn to face adversity, yet Ciel rejected it. What kind of message does that tell him? Upon remembering all of this, the bluenette resumed beating himself up over it.

" _You alright, mate?"_ asked a voice. Ciel looked up to see two of his human friends standing there before him, Preston and Daniel.

"Whoa, what happened to you?" asked Daniel. "You look like _hell_."

The Phantomhive ignored the pun and ran a hand through his hair with a sigh. He looked to the bathroom door, only to find it open. Much to his surprise, he couldn't sense the blonde anymore, indicating that the boy had left while he was asleep. Ciel leaned his head against the wall and rubbed his temples.

"Where's Jim?" he asked, completely disregarding the Westley's question. "How did you even get in here?"

"The door was open." Said Preston. "Alois is at the pool with the others, but you never showed up…"

"What happened? Do you just leave the front door unlocked and sit the floor normally, or something?" Daniel asked jokingly in an effort to bring light into the situation. His efforts weren't at all appreciated by the bluenette.

"No." the Phantomhive said as he stood up. "I don't."

"Are you… feeling okay?" asked the Omid lad with a concerned expression on his face.

"Did you and Alois have a fight, or somethin'?" Daniel guessed, hitting the nail on the head in an unusual act of keen observation. He noticed as the demon winced slightly at the question, leading him to correctly assume he was right.

"You did, didn't you?" he asked. "Thought it was weird that blondie came out by himself with that sad look on his face."

"He… did?" the bluenette said, unsure himself as to whether or not the question was rhetorical or not.

"Listen, don't worry about it. It'll all work out!" the Westley said. "Just go have a chat with him, and get it sorted. You'll be _Romeo and Juliet_ again before you know it!"

" _Romeo and Juliet killed themselves at the end because of poor communication, Dan…"_ Preston pointed out.

"Shit." Spoke the politician's son. His unrest at the revelation only increased as he noticed the bluenette slump against the wall at it.

"That's not what I meant!" he quickly said. "Point is, you should take a shower and get changed so we can fix this."

"Are you still wearing your clothes from yesterday?" asked the Omid lad, pointing out the demon's attire. The Phantomhive hadn't done anything in regards to hygiene since arriving, much to his embarrassment. He looked down and tugged at the collar of his shirt without giving even the slightest bit of acknowledgement to the other boy.

" _That's it._ Take a shower, get dressed, and we're taking you with us." The Westley lad instructed, shoving the bluenette into the bathroom. "Jesus, who knew you could be so _mopey?_ We'll be waiting outside the room for you. Hurry up."

With that, the door was slammed behind Phantomhive and now _he_ was the one who was trapped inside the bathroom. Ciel was somewhat baffled as to how he ended up like this, but he couldn't argue. His mind was too much of a mess to really think straight. Everything was happening so quickly and he had no idea how to respond to any of it. For once in his life, he was left with nothing to do but follow orders; from a ditzy teenager, of all people. While Daniel wasn't at all convincing, Ciel still knew he was right. Somehow, he was going to have to face the blonde menace and come clean.

First he was to clean himself, however. Thus, one shower, a change of clothes, and some minding of personal hygiene later, Ciel was begrudgingly prepared to go out. Immediately upon opening the door, he was whisked away by the two human boys who had come to retrieve him to the hotel's pool. He didn't even realize the extent of how badly he was allowing himself to go along with it; that is, until he found himself thrown into the air and coming face-to-face with a massive amount of water mixed with chlorine.

_SPLASH!_

At last, the Phantomhive had come to his senses, but now he was quite peeved about his current predicament. Thank goodness he now knew how to swim, otherwise he would have sank to the very bottom of the pool and have had to discreetly make his way to more shallow waters. He hacked up foul-tasting water full of chemicals and god-knows-what immediately upon resurfacing. He then found himself glaring at a pair of laughing teenagers.

"What in blazes was that for?!" he angrily demanded.

"Sorry, Ciel, it was Dan's idea, not mine." Said Preston as he laughed with the politician's son.

"Oh, man, your face!" the Westley cackled. "You should've seen your face! You were so out of it and then… _pffft!_ It was priceless!"

"Good to see at least _someone's_ happy." The bluenette muttered, making his way toward the edge of the pool in order to hoist himself back out and possibly pummel the two offenders.

"Hey, Alois laughed too, okay?" said Daniel, pointing. "Look."

Ciel turned, following the other boy's finger to see the blonde menace, sitting alone in the shade on one of the hotel chairs. The boy was giggling, but immediately stopped and looked away as soon as he was caught by the Phantomhive. The bluenette tilted his head in confusion, taking a moment to take in the sight of the blonde before turning his attention back to getting out of the pool. He placed his palms on its concrete edge and hoisted himself up, and using his inhuman upper arm strength he managed to escape the water.

His brow furrowed at the circumstance. Alois was upset with him, he was soaking wet, and now there were small children laughing at him as well. It was only the first day of the trip and the demons already wanted to go back to London.

"Well, aren't you going to go talk to him?" asked Daniel. "He's over there by himself. Nobody's gonna bother you. Just go for it!"

"Even if I were to try to talk to him, it would just piss him off." The bluenette stated, taking a seat on the pool's edge. Daniel frowned.

"Well then, what are you gonna do?" he asked.

" _Like I know_ _the answer to that_ …" Ciel replied as the other boy took a seat next to him. "I don't know how to handle this in the slightest."

"Well, what were you fighting about?" the Westley lad asked, causing the bluenette to look away. "Start there."

Ciel paused before speaking. "He said I didn't trust him with anything..." He said softly.

"Why'd he say that?"

"Because I didn't want to talk to him about this thing that's been bothering me lately… It has to do with Black Annis, and… I don't know what to do about it…"

"Well, why didn't you just ask him for help? He's your partner, right?" Daniel asked. His demonic friend was silent for quite some time, trying to think of a way to reply without revealing too much. Unsatisfied with his lack of response, the human continued talking.

"Maybe he doesn't think you trust him because of your _shitty communication skills?"_ the boy asked, striking a nerve.

"I _told_ him that I needed more time to figure out how to explain it." The demon stubbornly replied.

"Yeah, but that still doesn't mean he's not worried about you in the meantime." Daniel said. "Think about it. If you knew Alois was upset, and you wanted to know what was wrong and he just kept saying _'I'll tell you later, I'll tell you later',_ and kept putting it off, how would _you_ feel?"

"I _know_." The bluenette said angrily through clenched teeth. He genuinely frightened the human boy for a moment.

"Hey, I'm just trying to help ya out here, mate." The Westley replied. Ciel was starting to notice a certain theme, here. "If you look at it that way, maybe you can figure out how to talk to him. Think about what _you_ would want to hear."

For once, Daniel had said something intelligent. If only the boy would heed his own advice from time to time, the world may become a better place. The demon paused to think about this for a moment, and decided that it was a good place to start.

"That's… actually a good idea, Daniel." He said. "Thanks…"

"No problem!" the other boy beamed. "That's what friends are for!"

Ciel chuckled. "Oh, _but there's one more thing_ …" he said, placing a hand on the human's back. With a swift push, he shoved the boy into the water, causing him to flail about like a confused pig trapped in the La Brea Tar Pits.

"You fucking traitor!" the boy shouted as the demon stood up.

"Why do you think they used to call me the ' _Evil Earl'_ back in the day?" Ciel asked, his confidence returning. With that, he simply abandoned the lad, leaving him to be assisted by Preston in getting out of the pool.

Now came the scary part. The demon froze for a moment, debating as to whether or not he actually wanted to go through with it. Ciel could still turn around and go back to the hotel room at any moment, couldn't he? No, the fact remained that he in fact _shared_ a room with the Macken lad, and would have to confront him eventually. With that, however, he could at least speak with the blonde in private. Ah, but Alois had already seen him, so if he left, that could cause the lad to fret about it, couldn't it? It seemed that the more Ciel thought about it, the more hopelessly trapped he appeared.

No. Ciel Phantomhive doesn't shirk in the face of adversity; at least he wasn't _supposed_ to. It seemed as though he had been doing quite a bit of cowering lately. It was especially ridiculous as there was nothing to be afraid of in this instance. He still loved the blonde and knew that the blonde wouldn't stop feeling toward him so easily. The odds were definitely in his favour.

Still, the bluenette found difficulty in propelling himself forward. Alois was only a short distance away, but his legs simply wouldn't move. It was infuriating how vulnerable the blonde made Ciel feel sometimes, and this was one of them. Yet, there were times when the same vulnerability toward the other boy made him happy. Ciel hoped for more moments like that in the future.

So, was Ciel Phantomhive a man, a dog, a monster, or a coward? He would soon find out as he found his resolve again. That infamous drive that the Phantomhive demon possessed came in handy for pushing his nerves aside; he just had trouble remembering he had it, sometimes.

He forcefully placed one foot in front of the other and made his way across the concrete poolside and over to where the blonde menace sat. Alois, being a demon, did not even have to look to know that the bluenette was approaching. He sensed the other's diabolic presence with ease, as it was certainly hard to miss.

The blonde kept his back to the other, not willing to give in just yet. He, too, could be quite stubborn, if not even more so than the bluenette, at times. He gave no mind to the other boy as he sat down in the chair beside him, and patiently waited for the other to say something. Alois wasn't entirely what, or even how he would reply, but he just wanted the other to say _something_ , even if it was some sort of useless small-talk.

" _Hey_..." The bluenette said, awkwardly granting his wish with a greeting.

" _Hey_." Alois replied without moving. He didn't give the bluenette any leniency or room to continue conversation. It was a childish, spiteful gesture, but it certainly made him feel a bit better. He was tempted to look back and see how the bluenette was responding, but he remained vigilant in his efforts. He heard a sigh escape the other lad's lips.

" _Listen…"_ the bluenette hesitantly began, "abou-"

"Why?" interrupted the blonde.

" _What?"_

" _Why_ should I ' _listen'?"_ The blonde clarified. After all, the Phantomhive boy had refused to give his input any consideration, so why should he have to hear what the other boy has to say? Ciel scratched the back of his neck, pausing to come up with a response.

"I don't have a justifiable answer to that…" he said.

"Then why are you talking to me?" Alois coldly asked, genuinely surprising the bluenette.

"I want to try and sort this out."

"Really? _You weren't too keen last night_." Finally, the blonde allowed himself to turn slightly and look at the boy from over his shoulder. "What's with the sudden change of heart?"

Ciel frowned. "I didn't know that what I was doing was upsetting you."

"I noticed. I was on the backburner in your thoughts; we've established that." Alois looked away again. Ciel turned in his chair so that his entire body was facing the other boy.

"That wasn't my intention." He said. "Just… let me explain…"

"I've already given you plenty of time for that. It's not _my_ fault you've squandered it."

"Will you please just listen?!"

"I don't _want_ to anymore!" the blonde said, raising his voice. He his legs against his chest in his seat. "If you say you're sorry and I forgive you, how will I know that you _mean_ it? I don't want to take that chance anymore!"

The Phantomhive paused. His resolve was now shaken. Alois had every right to be upset, and in all honesty, Ciel could relate well with his reasoning. Perhaps the blonde needed more time? No, leaving things and waiting for them to sort themselves out is how they ended up like this. Still, things were going nowhere, now.

"I understand." He said, surprised by how saddened his own voice sounded. Ciel continued regardless. "I was wrong and I hurt you. I prioritized myself and didn't place enough trust in you. It was foolish of me to think that if I didn't place enough trust in you, you would still somehow trust me. You have every right to feel betrayed." He stood up.

"And you're right. Apologies are hollow without action." The bluenette continued. "I… I want to prove myself worthy of your trust again."

"Why? So I'll be your little boy-toy again?" Alois snapped.

"No. Because I love you, _Ji-"_ Ciel stopped himself, recalling what the blonde had said.

"… _Alois_." The bluenette concluded, the word awkwardly rolling off of his tongue. The name sounded foreign in his own voice, both to himself and the blonde he was addressing. Alois turned his head slightly, stopping himself short of giving the Phantomhive any sort of indication that he was paying attention.

"I'll… _I'll see you later_ …" Ciel said finally, having been silently informed that his efforts were in vain. With that, he turned and made his exit. He didn't linger by the pool any longer, and instead, made his way back to their room by himself.

The Macken boy finally turned to look at the boy, finding that he had already started to make his exit. Alois opened his mouth to call out to the boy, but his voice died as he realised that it was useless. A sigh escaped his lips as he turned his attention to the ground.

" _I don't like it what you call me that_ …"

* * *

 


	387. Tequilla Mockingbird

Ciel hardly left the hotel room for the next few days. He would come out every so often and socialize, only to retreat shortly after. He didn't go with the group on any of their sight-seeing adventures, using the fact that he'd already seen them as an excuse. In reality, he just couldn't bear to be around Alois and not be able to talk to, or even acknowledge him at the risk of upsetting the boy again.

It was a cowardly thing to do, but the Phantomhive couldn't see any alternatives. He had spoken with the other boy briefly on a regular basis as they shared a room, but he was only answered in small sentences, if not only a singular word before the blonde resumed giving him the cold shoulder. It stung the bluenette like a blistering wind, but what was he to do? Alois had made it explicitly clear that a simple apology wasn't going to suffice.

Thus, the bluenette locked himself away for the full first week of the trip. It wasn't at all enjoyable, as he had run out of things to occupy himself within the first few days. He had read every news website on his smartphone, he had finished all of the work he could accomplish with just his laptop alone, and he had read the book he had brought along a full three times over the course of forty-eight hours. It was agonizing, as he was finally left with nothing else to do but think about all of the things that ailed him.

The bluenette hadn't been sleeping, either, giving him even more time to kill. He couldn't fathom sharing a bed with the Macken boy in their relationship's current condition, and he didn't want any more nightmares. If he woke up screaming again, who knows what Alois would do?

Haunted by the figure in his dreams, rejected by his love in reality, and feeling the weight of the looming threat of the _red envelope_ , Ciel was at a complete and utter loss as to what to do. He could no longer even ask for help, now, and it was entirely his own fault. A lot of his time, now, was spent cycling between pondering a solution and wallowing in depression. Sometimes, the bluenette wished that he could just stick to one solution to a problem and not overthink it like he's prone to do. He had ben blinded by emotion once _before_ , having not realised that "Alois" wasn't who he claimed to be, and that the math didn't add up on his parent's murder. He wanted to take extra care in these matters, now, as to not repeat his mistake.

"I'm going out." Said the blonde, snapping the other boy from his thoughts. Ciel lifted his arm from over his eyes in order to look at the other boy from his spot laying on the couch. "Daniel wants to do that stupid 'clubbing' thing. I'll probably be back soon, once he figures out he's an idiot."

"Alright." Ciel answered, putting his arm back in place.

"Not going?"

_"No."_

Alois paused to look at the bluenette for a moment. It did hurt him to see the bluenette in such a state, but the boy was not going to give in. He wasn't going to allow himself to become ensnared by another spider's web. Ciel had kept things from him, and when people keep things from him, it usually ends in tragedy. The blonde was scared of losing what little pride he had gained and of being crushed once more under the heel of someone whom he cared about, and whom he thought cared about him. He wasn't going to let himself become exposed like that again.

It made him feel small to be treated in such a manner by the bluenette; like he isn't of any use. It made him feel weak to be excluded from important matters. It gave him the impression that the Phantomhive had deemed him incapable of completing such a task; like he wasn't _worthy_ of the boy. Alois was not weak, he was not incompetent, and he was not worthless. Even Ciel had said so, deeming the blonde to me even more brilliant than even himself in some aspects. It never says between the boy's ears, however. Ciel could tell the blonde how brilliant he was and how much he loved him a million times, but as soon as Alois stopped receiving that reassurance he began to crumble, just as he always has.

"Alright." He said, finishing putting on his shoes. "I'm gone, then."

"Be safe." Ciel replied as the blonde was leaving.

"I'm perfectly capable of handling myself, Ciel." The Macken boy replied, annoyance prominent in his voice. His irritation faded, however, as soon as the bluenette spoke again.

"I know you can." His beau replied. " _Just be safe_."

Alois paused at the statement briefly before continuing toward the door. " _Whatever."_ he said in a huff before walking through its frame and closing it behind him. He then leaned against in on the other side, a heavy sigh escaping him.

" _What did Ciel mean by that?"_ he thought, trying to find some deeper meaning in the other boy's statement. After all, the Phantomhive's words cannot be trusted directly anymore. Alois' mind lingered on this, even after he left the room for good and went to meet up with the others.

The rest of the sensational seven was waiting out by the front of the hotel. Most of them appeared to be indifferent toward, or downright dreading the experience that was sure to follow. The only person who seemed actively excited about the adventure was Daniel, who still insisted even after the Phantomhive's warning.

Admittedly, Alois was a bit frightened as to whether or not he could protect all of them if something were to happen. If he couldn't, he would have to call the bluenette for help. His ego prevented him from ever wanting to do that. A plea for assistance would only confirm that he wasn't able to handle things on his own. He was not looking forward to this at all.

They made their way into the first place they found, led by the Westley lad. He was practically giddy over the thought of how "bad" he was being, walking into a club that took their I.D. before they were allowed to enter. Everyone else simply covered their ears as music boomed, shaking the very ground beneath their feet, as they desperately hoped their eyes would adjust soon to the lighting. The room was dimly lit with bright lights that would occasionally flash, illuminating a mob of people dancing; or rather, grinding on each other in an inappropriate fashion and simply _calling_ it "dancing".

To Daniel, he had arrived. The others had as well, but not in the same sense. To them, they had arrived in the underworld, rather than to a party. Then, there was Alois, whose senses were almost overwhelmed. There was so much debauchery in one place, and there was so much desperation, that Alois' instincts were screaming at him, pointing out all of the _easy prey_.

Icy blue eyes changed to garnet as the blonde remembered the last time he devoured a human soul. It was better than any drug ever could be; better than money, sex, or power. There was only one thing that could possibly beat it, and that was the happiness given to him by Ciel. Love had erased any indication that he had ever been dehumanized and lost everything at once, but love was not here. The longing that Alois had once had begun to slowly sink back into place, but now it had resurfaced in the form of hunger. A wicked grin appeared on his face as he eyed the crowd, looking for a likely candidate who could distract him from his problems. It faded, however, as he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"You alright, Alois?" asked Kristopherson with a concerned expression, pulling the demon back into sanity. The Macken boy blinked and rubbed his eyes, returning them to their usual blue.

"Yeah." He lied. "It's just a bit _overwhelming_."

"Yeah, places like this are always kind of that way." Said the faux-blonde. "I think Daniel wants us to follow him to the bar. He's looking over here like he's wondering what the hell we're up to."

"Fine. Lead the way~!" Alois said, hoping the Westley hadn't noticed his little moment of weakness before following the Miles boy.

He was ashamed to say that he was actually more than "somewhat" tempted to snatch up a soul while they were there. He and the bluenette had both sworn that they would eat only when necessary, having decided that partaking of souls was a monstrous thing, and that they were above such savage behaviour. That was his dear old Ciel, always clinging to humanity like the silly excuse for a demon he is.

Alois did understand this to an extent, as he, himself, was frightened of the ramifications of devouring a person's very essence, the thing that they _exist_ by. A soul is a valuable thing to a person. The blonde would know. He had existed as nothing but a soul trapped in a ring at one point. The _thought_ of devouring one's soul irked the boy, making him question as to whether or not he truly was a "monster" or not. The _act_ of devouring one's soul, however, brought about _no complaints whatsoever_.

A rush of euphoria that lasts weeks overcomes the senses, leading the demon to believe that the ends justified the means. But then, after it was gone, the boy returned to his senses and realised what he had done. It was a byproduct of the duo's shared "human-like" behaviour. An ordinary demon would have no problems with this in the slightest, but Ciel and Alois were _different_. They, unlike "ordinary" demons, could feel guilt just as well as they could feel love; both things that demons _cannot_ do.

Alois scared himself, wondering if he ever became a true demon, could he ever be able to feel love again; the one thing that was better than devouring a soul? Demons consume because they are empty. They are a walking void that needs to be filled, and they fill it with the essence of others. They do this by forming contracts, if they don't simply "run wild". The reason is simply to compensate for something that they sorely lack; a sense of "self". So, under this philosophy that was presented to him by none other than Ciel Phantomhive and the researchers of H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G; would he lose himself if he were to give into that desire to dull his current pains?

Another sigh escaped the Macken's lips as he made it to the bar with Kristopherson. The other were already waiting for them with drinks, to which the blonde narrowed his eyes in confusion. It simply looked as though they were drinking tiny glasses ridiculously expensive water. Daniel smiled and handed one of the small glasses to Alois.

"Cheers, mate." He said before downing his own shot. He cringed, his face warping into a painful expression just like the others did when they followed his lead. Alois wrinkled his nose.

"What the hell was that?" the blonde asked.

"A shot of Tequilla." The Westley said with a cough. "Go on, it's not that bad."

Alois furrowed his brow and eyed the drink suspiciously. Even if there was something in it, it wouldn't have any effect on him. Thus, he figured he could give it a try. It was a big mistake, he soon decided as he cringed just like the others.

"What the fuck was that?!" he demanded after forcing it down and nearly slamming the glass on the table. The other boys simply laughed.

"I already told you. It's a shot of tequila." Daniel answered.

"It _tastes_ like how piss _smells!_ " the demon snapped back, wiping his mouth.

"Yeah, that's kind of what hard liquor is like." Said Kristopherson.

"Oh, no. _That's_ not liquor." The blonde stated. " _That_ , is straight-up _rubbing alcohol_ , and you're _disgusting_."

"I didn't know demons could be so sensitive to booze." Jabbed Audrey, chuckling as the fair-haired menace snorted.

"Sensitive? No, we're not 'sensitive' to it. We can't even get _drunk_. That's not being sensitive, that's pointing out that that has got to be the single most worst-tasting beverage that I have ever had the misfortune of sampling." Alois so eloquently replied. "Thank you for the free sample. _I won't ever be drinking anything you guys give me again_."

"Yeah, it does taste pretty bad." Said Preston. "I think I'll pass on round two."

"Same." Said Audrey as Travis nodded.

"Wimps!" Daniel accused. "Fine, I'll just finish all of yours for you! And they weren't 'free samples', they were shots!"

"So you pay a lot of money for not a lot of liquor?" the blonde asked.

"Alois, it's heavy stuff. I don't think you'd need more than a few of them." Said Kristopherson. "I'll keep drinking with you, Dan, but I'm not drinking anymore of those things."

"Fine, even with your girly drinks, you're still a lot more fun than these guys!" said the Westley lad. Alois crossed his arms and huffed.

"What do you even do at places like this?" inquired the Macken boy. "Y'know, _other_ than drink gross non-piss and dry hump strangers in public?"

"Welcome to the party-life, my friend. That's basically it." The Miles lad replied before turning around and ordering his own drink.

"I should have just stayed in the room…" Alois sighed, running a hand through his hair. To that, a certain reaper boy smiled.

"But if you did that, you'd have to stay with Ciel all by yourself." He teased. His jest, however, did not amuse the demon in the slightest. The menace furrowed his brow with a frown prominent on his face.

"I'm going to explore, then." He said flatly before turning and walking away.

"Wait, didn't Ciel say it was dangerous?" called Preston. "Hey! Alois!"

It was too late. The demon had already vanished into the crowd without a single trace. That was a mistake on his part, as he now had no one to keep him away from his own monstrous thoughts.

* * *

 


	388. What Happened With The Humans

"Okay, okay, so, do you even know what language they speak here?" asked a certain, oddly giggly Kristopherson.

" _Spanish?"_ answered Daniel, who was only feeling a bit buzzed.

"Pffft, no." he friend said.

_"Brazilian?"_

"Wrong~!" Kristopherson replied with a laugh. "It's Portuguese! You fail! Get back on the plane and go home, dumbass!"

The Westley lad was grinning from ear to ear at the faux-blonde's changed demeanor; his slurred speech, flushed face, and silly gestures. He knew that his friend was a complete lightweight when it came to drinks, but it never stopped being entertaining. Kristopherson was usually so responsible, so it was a pleasant change to see him act the fool for once. It wasn't as though it hindered his judgment; only his processing and motor skills. In addition, he also laughed more when intoxicated.

"So what if I didn't know that? It's not like you speak Portuguese or anything!" Daniel stated, watching as the other boy chuckled.

"Well, It's… usually a pretty good idea to do some research before going to a new place, which _I_ did and youuuu didn't!" the Miles boy replied, taking another drink while the other boy glanced to the dance floor.

"Where did everybody else go?" he asked, arching an eyebrow and scanning the crowd. Kristopherson, however, didn't seem concerned in the slightest.

"Dunno. Text 'em." The faux-blonde said.

"Wait, I think I see 'em." Daniel replied, pointing across the room. "Over there, against the wall."

"What are they up to?"

"Nothing, they look bored." The lad said, noticing how the others just stood against the wall in an awkward manner, chatting. "I can't see Alois at all, though."

"Bet he ran off." Spoke Kristopherson. "He looked pretty out of it, earlier."

"I've got a bad feeling about this…" the Westley muttered. He turned back to his friend. "Wait here, I'm gonna go check with them real quick to see if they know anything." He added before standing up. Kristopherson playfully raised his glass.

" _Will do, sergeant dipshit."_ The boy said with a laugh, prompting the brunette to roll his eyes at the lad's strange commentary.

With that, Daniel was off. He slowly made his way to the other side of the room, doing his best to avoid the dance floor. The boy wasn't too keen on getting involved in that. It took some strategic maneuvering, but somehow, he managed to reach his destination. To his surprise, the crew didn't seem all that excited.

"What goes on?" he asked, jogging up to Preston, Travis, and Audrey. All three of them looked bored out of their minds, but none of them made any real effort to leave.

"Nothing." Replied Audrey, earning a nod from the others.

"Not having fun?"

"Nope." The reaper said. "We're just sitting here, waiting for you to get pissed to the point where we can leave."

"What, so you were just gonna leave me?" Asked Daniel.

"No, we would drag you back to the hotel." Bones answered. "We're not digging for your room key, though, so you might be left in the hallway."

"You're _such_ great friends." The Westley stated, pausing to remember why he ventured over to the group of party-poopers. "Oh yeah, have you seen Alois?" Audrey shook his head.

"We haven't seen him since he wandered off on his own." Preston said.

"I bet he's outside, being all angsty and emo and stuff." Added Bones. "Why? Do you need 'im?"

"Nah, I was just wanting to know where everybody was." Daniel answered. "'guess me and Kris are the only ones having a good time, huh?"

"Nope." Said Travis, lifting a hand and pointing to the other side of the room. " _Not anymore_." Confusedly, the brunette turned, following the taller lad's finger to see Kristopherson at the bar with someone that none of them knew.

The man was older, but not by much; probably in his early twenties. He was muscular, which was intimidating. It was no surprise that the faux-blonde was postured somewhat defensively. What really scared the boys was how the stranger was sitting, however; leaned in close to Kristopherson and touching his forearm. They seemed to be making polite conversation, but something didn't sit well with Daniel or the others.

 _"C'mon_." the Westley said, gesturing for the lads to follow him. Without question, they heeded the lad's instructions, this time fully agreeing with the intuition of the politician's son.

As they got closer, it became more and more apparent that the situation wasn't at all good. The Miles boy looked around nervously, searching for his friend. Daniel's eyes widened as he saw the man slip something in the boy's drink while Kristopherson was distracted. The brunette's pace increased, and he somehow managed to slink his way through the crowd much faster than the rest of the boys, leaving him to handle this himself.

Thinking fast was not Daniel's strongest suit, but he had to anyway. Now he was only a few feet from his target, and had nothing to say. Worst case scenario, the brawny man beats him senseless. The best case scenario, Daniel miraculously thinks of a way to rescue the blonde. Upon closing in, Daniel had no choice but to improvise.

" _Hey, baby~!"_ he cheerfully said, slowing down his pace as he came up behind the faux-blonde. A false smile adorned his visage as he approached, ignoring the puzzled look from the man.

"Are you okay?" Daniel asked, placing a hand in the small of Kristopherson's back, helping the boy stand. "Oh, look at you, you're a mess! I told you not to get carried away!"

" _Is he with you?"_ asked the mysterious man in a strange accent. American. _Typical._ Still, the Westley kept up his act until the other lads got closer.

"Yeah, he's with me." He lied, trying not to lose his composure under pressure. He thought that maybe if the other male thought he and the Miles boy were an "item", then perhaps he would be discouraged. As much as he resented it, he gave it a shot. "He wasn't bothering you, was he?"

"No, not at all." The man said. "So what brings you two to Rio?"

"Oh, y'know, we're just on a trip with a few friends." Daniel answered, looking to the side.

"Oh, speaking of which, _here they are now_." He added, as the others walked up. They weren't sure as to why the boy was being so friendly, but they played along, regardless. "Well, it was nice to meet you, but _we've gotta go."_

Quickly, the Westley lad dragged Kristopherson over to the others before Travis offered to help carry him. This ruined the charade, but Daniel decided that it was safe to do so, now. The boys hastily turned to make their exit.

" _Oh, and feel free to finish off his drink."_ The brunette added before almost running out of the club with his friends.

They left the man very confused, but it didn't matter. They had their excuse to leave, and Kristopherson was safe, but they still ran down the street like a bunch of madmen. Quickly, they hailed a cab and made their way back to the hotel, as if they were being chased by some spectre.

By the time they actually made it to the hotel, they were laughing about the whole endeavor, all but poor Kristopherson, who simply groaned in agony. The lad was incredibly sick, as he was somehow the most intoxicated of all of them. Somehow, he managed to walk with assistance, most of the way, right until he passed out in the elevator on the way up to their floor.

"Shit." Said Audrey. "Is he out?"

Daniel poked the faux-blonde's face, slapping it a few times before pinching the boy's nose. Then he stated: "Looks like it."

Now it was the others' turn to groan as the elevator doors opened. They somehow managed to drag the lad into the hallway, but there was one problem: the door to his room was locked.

"I am not digging for his keys." Bones stated, causing the others to nod and mutter their agreances.

"Just take him to my room, he can sleep on the couch." The Westley boy said, causing the reaper to snort.

"Sure you just aren't hoping to get lucky?" he asked with a grin. "What did you call him? ' _Hey, baby~!'"_ he teased, imitating Daniel's voice to the best of his abilities.

"Fuck off! I'm not gay!" the politician's son said. "I did that so that gorilla of a village-person would have less reason to kick my ass!"

" _You'd like it though."_ Muttered Preston, earning a punch to the shoulder. "Ow!"

"Shut up, Indian-dinner, and hold pinkie!" Daniel said, forcing the faux-blonde onto the Omid lad while he dug for his keys. It took the boy several minutes, but he eventually found them, only do drop them again moments later. He was startled by the sound of a slamming door, but was even more terrified of what stepped out from behind it.

It was _Alois,_ who had been missing for the majority of the evening, which struck fear into the hearts of the mortal teens. The boy was seething. He was practically irate! He stormed toward the group, causing them to each to take a step back.

"Uhm… h-hey, Alois?" said Daniel, nervously. "Where've you been."

" _Out."_ The demon said, closing the distance between them, only to pass them moments later. A rush of relief fell over the lads as they discovered that they weren't the target of his fury.

"What's wrong?" inquired Audrey.

He didn't receive a response. Alois just kept walking. The blonde charged forward while ignoring the concern of his friends. _A red envelope was clenched in his fist_.

 


	389. What Happened To The Demon

Earlier, the blonde hadn't been feeling well in the slightest. What happened in the club only added onto his current worries and frustrations, as he now found himself met with an odd desire to consume a human soul. It had only just started after the boy set foot in the club with the rest of the seven, and it persisted until he made his leave.

 _"I'm going to explore, then_." The blonde had said before leaving the others and disappearing into the crowd. He faintly heard Preston calling after him, but didn't care. He allowed the boy to be drowned out by the sound of booming music.

Anything to not have to hear about Ciel and how if he were not with the other boys, he would be with the Phantomhive. He didn't want to hear about Ciel. He didn't want to think about Ciel. He didn't want anything to do with Ciel in that moment. All he wanted was to somehow _escape_.

That "escape" completely surrounded him as he delved deeper and deeper into the crowd. There were troubled souls left and right, and they all looked so promising. It was a strain to remember who he was and how it simply wasn't worth the cost. It wasn't worth risking his sense of self, or even his very _life_ as he remembered _where_ he was. Ciel has said it before, hadn't he?

_"…_ _**Iscariot** _ _, the leading anti-freak forces in countries where Catholicism is popular."_

He was in a bad location to suddenly desire to act as a demon. Rio de Jeneiro is in Brazil, and as Brazil's most popular religion happens to be Roman Catholicism, it was a safe bet that Iscariot's reach extended here. It hadn't sunk in, just how terrible of a position that the blonde menace was in until now. He was English, a demon, didn't believe in God, and was an agent of H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G; who has a long-standing, and very bitter rivalry with the other organization. If Alois were to slip in his judgment _, he would be stuffed as a trophy._

That said, he was finding it more and more difficult to resist. He had no one to anchor him to reality, and show him things for what they were. There was no one there to distract him from these thoughts, or prevent them entirely. Yes, Alois could feed off of the Phantomhive boy, who helped him fill his own void, yet it was also the Phantomhive boy who tore it back open again. Alois was weakened by Ciel's betrayal of trust, and the blonde found it difficult to regain his footing.

The demon needed some fresh air. He stumbled outside of the club, and breathed in air as fresh as a densely populated city would allow. It cleared his mind, somewhat, but now the problem of what on earth he was going to do now arrived. Obviously, he couldn't reenter the club, but what alternative did he have? His only other option was to go back to the hotel and interact with the Phantomhive boy. As much as he didn't want to, it was better than dying a second time. Thus, he cut his losses and decided that the best course of action was to retreat to the Phantomhive-infested hotel.

Alois loves Ciel. He loves him with all of his heart, but the fact is that the blonde doesn't feel as if the feeling is mutual. He wears his heart on his sleeve, yet the bluenette reveals nothing to him. Even if Ciel utters sweet " _I love you's"_ to the Macken boy, Alois has learned that words are hollow. They're just a series of odd sounds. It's actions that reflect true intention, but to Alois' eyes, his beau wasn't sincere in this aspect. He was constantly told that all will be revealed, but nothing happened. The promise was never upheld.

It made his blood boil. It also hurt him dearly, but the lad wasn't entirely sure which feeling was more prominent. Alois knew that he wanted to be with the bluenette. He wanted to love and be loved by the boy. Yet, he did not want to suffer the misfortune that had befallen him in the past. He did not want to suffer through the betrayal of his former butler once more in the form of another. Alois wasn't entirely sure of what living with the boy was going to be like if this wasn't somehow corrected; if he was not made to feel at ease again and was safe from pain inflicted to his heart, but it was certainly not going to be either pleasant or easy.

With a long, heavy sigh, he somehow made it back to the hotel. Upward, he ascended via the elevator and down the hall he ventured in pursuit of his room. He unlocked the door and stepped inside, bracing himself for the sight of Ciel's face, yet the boy was not there. Alois half-expected to see the lad laying on the couch precisely where he left him, but he wasn't. He then looked around the suite, looking through the bedroom and the bathroom, only to find that the place was completely empty.

Somehow, he managed to be both relieved and disappointed at the exact same time. He had very mixed feelings about having to interact with the lad and tried to avoid it if at all possible. A massive wall had been built by the two demons, and construction has been in progress on both sides. Alois does love Ciel. He loves him, and wants to be with him, but Ciel could no longer be trusted with his heart.

Unfortunately, the boy had absolutely nothing better to do, so he decided to take a shower and go to sleep. The warm water helped alleviate some of his tensions, but it was only temporary. He then proceeded to get himself dressed in his sleepwear and finally brush away the disgusting taste of tequila from his mouth before walking over to the bed. It wasn't as though Ciel would be joining him. The Phantomhive had slept on the couch of the suite since their quarrel on the first night of the trip.

That's when he was met with something most peculiar. He was surprised that he missed it on his way in. There was a red envelope on the bed, and next to it was a note. Alois grumbled to himself, knowing full-well who it was from, but he picked up the note and read it anyway.

" _Alois,"_ it began, scrawled out in the bluenette's handwriting. _"I'm unable to accurately convey all of the troubles that I am faced with, to you. You were right. It's better to worry more about content than clarity._

_"But that's not the entire truth of it. In reality, I was simply acting cowardly and avoiding having to negotiate the issue with you. I knew it would upset you, but had I known of the wedge that compromising your trust and feelings would drive between us, I never would have kept a thing from you. For that, no apology could ever act as compensation._

_"So instead of using such hollow gestures, I will show you the item that had caused me such distress. The red envelope that I have left for you to find along with this note is an invitation that was delivered to me during the night of our graduation. It was from Lilith. She said that if I failed to attend, she and her accomplices would kill everyone that I hold dear. That includes our friends, Sebastian, Luka, and especially you, Alois._

_"Those demons terrify me. I know that they can kill me, and so do you. I was afraid that if I told you, you would somehow get hurt, or much, much worse. After a century and a half of living, death scares me, but not as much as the thought of losing you._

_"I will accept any punishment for my actions that you deem fit when we next meet. Even if that means ending our relationship, I won't argue, so long as you are happy. Even if I'm dense, insensitive, and cold, I know without a shred of doubt that I love you._

_"Love, Ciel"_

The blonde's fingers harshly gripped the note left behind by the Phantomhive. His brow was furrowed; his teeth were grit and bared as he stood there, shaking furiously in their suite. The note was held close to his face as he hid his visage within it's text. He stayed like this for quite some time, shallowly breathing through his teeth.

In a flash, he removed the paper from his face and snatched up the envelope, almost tearing it open in order to view its contents. He then proceeded to read the invitation approximately nine times, his frustration increasing with each full reading. Alois then stared at it for several moments before swallowing and taking a deep breath. The invitation was then carefully placed back into it's crimson casing and the boy let it hang in his hand at his side. It was uncertain as to what the blonde _should_ do in this situation, however, he was entirely sure as to what he _wanted_ to do.

Calmly, the boy set the envelope and the note back down on the bed before turning around and rummaging through his clothes. He then dressed himself and sat down on the bed to put on his shoes. When he was done, he turned his head and looked down at the papers seated next to him. Suddenly, his hands twitched and his brow furrowed. In an instant, he snatched the items back up again, clenching them in his fist as he stood up and began walking toward the door.

He hadn't intended to slam the wooden barrier with such force, but he was a tad preoccupied at the moment. Alois didn't notice that the rest of the sensational seven were in the hallway until they spoke. Even then, he had no idea as to how badly he frightened them.

" _Uhm…"_ he heard a voice, but kept walking. He vaguely recognized it as Daniel's, but didn't really care. "H-hey, Alois… Where've you been?"

 _"Out."_ He said, uninterested in talking.

"What's wrong?" Audrey asked, but Alois didn't hear him.

The blonde had other things on his mind. He didn't have time to waste on the others. The only thing preoccupying him in that moment was the red envelope clenched in his fist, and finding Ciel Phantomhive.

 


	390. Don't Say That

Ciel was not in the hotel room. He wasn't even inside the hotel; rather, he was on top of it, seated on the roof of the building. He hoped that maybe some of the warm night air would clear his head a bit, but the bluenette couldn't get over what he had just done. He had left everything out in the open for Alois to see, and he wasn't sure at all as to how the blonde would react.

One thing was certain, however, it wasn't going to be good. Ciel actually debated going back down to the room and hiding the envelope again before the other boy returned, but he was uncertain as to when the blonde would be returning. All that the Phantomhive could do was brace himself for the worst, whatever that may be.

He was frightened of returning to the room, but the alternative was to stay on the roof for the entire evening. What if the other boy was waiting on him? But what if he wasn't. What if he was so upset with the bluenette that he never wanted to see him again? Ciel _did_ say in his note that he was prepared to take that consequence without complaint, should the blonde so wished for it. Yet, at the same time, the boy wasn't sure if he could bear it.

A hand ran through bluenette locks as the boy sighed. He then placed his forehead in his palm, trying to soothe some of his worry. Ciel was starting to think that he could use a soul around now to take off his edge.

The ghastly thought escaped him as he sensed a familiar, but sinister presence. The Phantomhive stood up, taking a few steps toward the door leading to the roof. Everything was disturbingly quiet, with nothing but the sound of wind whispering against the boy's ears. Ciel's body tensed up as he prepared for all of the possible things that could have happened. Even though a small fraction of him had anticipated it, the boy was still surprised when he saw a pale figure with hair to match.

" _Jim…"_ he inadvertently whispered.

The bluenette's eye was wide in surprise and he couldn't help but admire the other boy's form under the light of the moon and surrounded by the lights of the city around them. All of the nervousness that Ciel had felt prior was forgotten as he watched the other boy step closer. It was as if the Phantomhive had been bewitched.

Alois' steps soon became faster and more spread out to the point that he was now running toward the other teen. In his fist was the envelope that the Phantomhive had left for him to find, and Ciel wasn't sure as to whether or not he should open his arms to the boy or brace for impact. Eventually, he decided on the latter as the blonde stopped right in front of him with grit teeth and cocked his arm back.

_CRACK!_

The blonde struck the other demon's face with brutal force, almost certainly breaking the boy's nose. Blood stuck to Alois' fist as it impacted with the bluenette, causing the lad to reel backward somewhat. Ciel's face was leaking crimson as his attacker then grabbed the collar of his shirt before he could fall, roughly yanking on it and pulling the Phantomhive in for a headbutt. Now his nose _and_ his forehead was bleeding.

With a shove, the blonde finally released the target of his aggression, forcing him to fall to the ground with a _thud_. Ciel landed flat on his rear, now being thoroughly made a fool of. After a moment of rubbing his aching cranium, he was somehow able to process what had just happened, even with his brain rattled.

When Ciel looked up, he saw Alois standing over him, eyes wide, and brow furrowed. In an effort to hopefully calm down, he was panting, trying to swallow as many deep breaths as he could. His fists were shaking while he squeezed the red envelope as if they weren't quite finished, but Ciel was unafraid. In fact, he sat up and closed his eyes.

" _I deserved that."_ He said. His voice sounded sad. He took a deep breath and braced himself for more. "Keep going, if that's what you want…"

" _Fuck you!"_ Alois shouted, his voice rattling with rage. "Just… _Just fuck you!_ "

Somehow, the outburst shook up Ciel far worse than any of the blonde's blows. Alois wasn't just angry with him. He was _furious_. He was enraged and upset, and it was all Ciel's fault. The pain in the bluenette's face was completely forgotten as he found himself unable to look away from the blonde.

His lips quivered and his eyes were red. Alois looked a complete mess, and that was from the perspective of the boy whose face was bruised and covered in blood. It looked as though it was taking all of the blonde's willpower to ensure that not a single tear fell. When one did, the boy looked away, making sure his bangs covered his eyes. Ciel stood up.

" _Jim…"_ he said softly, reaching out to touch the other boy. To his surprise, Alois flinched when he got too close. Hesitantly, the Phantomhive made an attempt to comfort the blonde.

" _Jim, please_ …" he called. " _Don't cry…"_

"I'm _not_ crying!" Alois sniffed.

" _I'm sorry_ …" Ciel replied; slowly, gently reaching out again to guide the Macken boy into an embrace. Even though the blonde was upset with him, even though the blonde was furious with him, the boy complied, allowing himself to be wrapped within the confines of the bluenette's arms.

"I… _want_ to _believe_ that…" the menace said, burying his face in the other demon's shoulder. His voice was breaking. _"…But_ … _but_ …"

"I know." Spoke the bluenette. "I betrayed your trust. I don't blame you in the slightest for not wanting to believe me."

"But… but…" the Macken stammered, gripping onto the front of the other boy's shirt as he attempted to not openly sob. " _But why did you do it?"_

There was hesitation on the Phantomhive's part, which did nothing for the blonde's nerves. Why _did_ Ciel refuse to tell the blonde anything? Why did he keep the boy in the dark for so long? This is what the eyepatch-wearing demon had been asking himself for the past week, trying to get to the bottom of his own foolish actions.

" _Because I'm selfish."_ Ciel finally answered, causing Alois to pull back in confusion. He stared at the bluenette, hoping for an explanation, but for the first few moment, he was met with an odd sort of bashful expression from the other teen as Ciel desperately avoided eye contact.

" _Wh-what?"_ Alois asked. The bluenette hesitated again before answering.

"It's because I'm _selfish."_ He embarrassingly repeated. "I… I can say it's for you all I want, but in the end, it doesn't do much for you if I only end up upsetting you."

"I didn't tell you right away because _I_ didn't want you to get involved." Ciel continued. " _I_ wanted you to stay out of harm's way, and _I_ wanted to keep you safe. That's not your job, though. You're my partner. _That's what you do_ … _I_ got in the way because _I_ wanted what _I_ wanted, not what _you_ wanted…" Surely he sounded like a babbling lunatic by now.

"I was stupid to think that you'd just go along with it like some doll." The Phantomhive said. "You're better than that. You _deserve_ better than that… and…" he looked up at the flabbergasted Macken boy for a moment before looking back down at his feet.

"… _and I'm just so sorry_ …" he uttered softly, losing his composure almost completely as the blonde wiggled out of his hold completely. Ciel simply allowed his hands to drop to his sides, still staring at the ground. His eye snapped shut and he flinched as he felt the other boy lifting his chin.

To his surprise, when he open it again, he was not being struck at. Instead, the blonde had pulled the sleeve of his shirt down to meet his palm so he could use it as a make-shift rag and wipe some of the blood off the Phantomhive's face. Now it was Ciel's turn to be confused.

" _Ji-?"_

" _Don't talk_." Alois interrupted, maintaining his focus on the task at hand. " _I'm still mad at you_."

In response, Ciel simply did as he was told and remained quiet until the menace felt like talking again. Thus, he stood still and allowed the other demon to carry out his ministrations and wipe away the majority of the red substance off of his face while avoiding eye-contact. The lad had healed quite some time ago, but the remnants of the conflict remained, even now, after the blonde managed to remove most of it. The rest would have to be taken off with water.

When he was done, he cupped the former Earl's cheek, caressing it and stroking it with his thumb. For the longest time he simply stared at the bluenette, trying to unlock his secrets. After a few moments, he took a deep breath and sighed.

"Okay, here's what we're going to do:" he began, causing the bluenette to look in his direction. "We're going to go to this party _together_ and finish this thing _together_ , and you're not allowed to argue against that. Got it?"

"Yes…" the Phantomhive said sheepishly. He couldn't even remember the last time he ever felt so small before the Macken boy.

"Good." Alois replied. "You might not want me to get hurt, but I don't want you to get hurt, either. You _are_ pretty selfish."

"I know." Ciel answered with a nod. "I'm sorry…"

"I'm so _royally pissed off_ at you right now." The blonde stated, staring intensely into the other boy's visage with a stern look. His voice was scolding. "What you did… I don't even know how to _describe_ it… You nearly set me back a hundred years with that cock-up, y'know that?"

The Phantomhive simply maintained his gaze at the ground. He gave another nod to indicate that he had heard the other demon. Alois moved his hand from the bluenette's cheek and cupped the lad's chin in his palm, gripping his face between his fingers and thumb and forcing Ciel to look at him.

"I want to make this absolutely clear: I _don't_ forgive you." The menace informed. "It's going to take time before I can; _if_ I can. It's going to take some effort from you, understand?"

"I-I understand." Ciel replied, now unable to look away from the blonde's piercing icy-blue eyes. "I'll do my best…"

"No, I don't want your ' _best_ '; I want you to actually _do it_."

"I'll do it, then!" The watchdog barked. To his surprise, Alois' gaze softened as the boy tried to hold back a smile. He started shaking for a moment before letting out a chuckle.

"Dammit." Cursed the blonde, moving his hand to the other boy's shoulder. "Stop being cute, you're making this even harder…" He paused, his grin fading as he looked down at his feet.

"I… I don't even know if you…" he trailed off, his voice heavy. "…if you even…"

"Jim-" Ciel began, only to remember the "rule" instated by the blonde. The Phantomhive corrected himself.

"Alois," he said, looking at the ground before looking at the blonde. He brought a hand toward the other boy's face. " _I love you_."

"I love you more than anyone else in the world; to the point where I almost lose you in trying to keep you for myself." He continued. "It's my selfishness that kept you shut out from my true intentions, and it's my selfishness, that even now, doesn't want you to be upset or hurt. The reality of things is that you _are_ hurt, and it's my fault. I love you, and I want you to be safe. I don't want you to ever experience hurt or heartache because I'm so selfishly in love with you." He paused, placing his other hand on the side of the blonde's head as well.

"But if what I want conflicts with what you want, I need to respect and submit to that." Ciel said. "When I'm with you, though, every shred of nobility and honour that I possess is stripped away. I'm left with nothing but greed. You're right. I _am_ just as bad as _Claude_. The one I desire, though, is _you,_ and I'm terrified of _losing_ you…"

" _You're such an asshole…"_ the blonde interrupted.

" _Wh-what?"_

" _An asshole._ You're an asshole." Alois repeated. "You know everything you did wrong, and you still insist on doing it anyway." The bluenette looked at the ground.

"I'm sorry…" he said.

" _For?"_

" _I'm sorry for being an asshole_ …" corrected Ciel.

"And…?"

"And…" the bluenette began. "And for not paying attention to you…"

" _And?"_ Alois' repeating of the word confused Ciel for a moment.

"And… And you should call me out on my bullshit?" he replied in a questioning tone, trying to figure out what it was that the blonde wanted. The other boy only chuckled.

"Close enough." Alois stated.

"What was the real answer?"

"I'm not entirely sure. _I just wanted you to know that you fucked up."_ The blonde replied, wrapping his arms around the other boy's waist.

"Oh." Ciel said. " _I fucked up."_ He added.

"I'm still mad at you." Reinforced the fair-haired demon. "But I still love you."

He was only answered by silence as the bluenette fidgeted in his arms. The boy rested his hands on the blonde's shoulders, now, and fumbled with the collar of the other's shirt as he tried to formulate a response. Finally, the bluenette sighed in defeat.

" _I don't know how to respond to that appropriately_." He shamefully admitted, hoping that Alois wouldn't be too upset. Surprisingly, he didn't, and instead seemed fairly _amused._

"You're so _docile_ right now…" Alois replied squeezing the boy even tighter around his waist. "It's no fair. Stop being cute when I want to be serious..."

"Sorry."

"And stop apologising."

Ciel stopped and thought for a moment. "Then what do you want me to do instead?"

"Hmm…" his partner hummed, pausing to think, himself. "A kiss would be quite nice." He smiled as the boy in his arms looked back at him in surprise, his cheeks flushed.

" _Ji-…_ A-Alois…" the boy hesitantly whispered. Before he could close the gap between their lips, the blonde turned his head and pouted.

"Not if you call me _that."_ Alois said as a blush appeared on his own cheeks as well. "You're not allowed to kiss me if you call me _'Alois'_ …"

" _Jim…"_ the Phantomhive corrected, resting one hand on the boy's shoulder and using the other to cup his cheek. "I love you." He added, guiding his beau in for a kiss.

* * *

 


	391. Don't Push It

The remainder of the night was spent in at least a semi-ordinary way. Ciel was able to rinse the rest of the blood on his face, and after a shower, he, too dressed himself for bed, this time joining the blonde in the bedroom of their hotel suite rather than commandeering the couch. He was hesitant in the action, but the blonde sat there with his arms wide open, beckoning the other boy to join him.

After pulling back the blankets, Ciel tried to get himself situated, but before he could, Alois already had his hands around his waist. Instinctively the bluenette put an arm around the other before seating himself with his back against the headboard while the blonde felt it necessary to nuzzle his face in his chest. Both boy simply sat for a moment while each of them tried to think of something to say.

"I missed you." The blonde put forward, even though they weren't exactly "apart" and were simply practising avoidance. His beau chuckled at the statement and played with the blonde's fingers with his free hand.

"I missed you, too." Ciel replied. "It wasn't any fun trying to stay away from you."

"Well, yeah, you were cooped up in here." Stated Alois. "For the record, though, it wasn't much fun going out and doing stuff without you."

"Naturally, because you were probably distracted by the fact that I'm a complete pillock." The Phantomhive jested, causing his boyfriend to giggle.

"I wouldn't say you're a ' _pillock_ '." The blonde said. "You're more of a ' _ninny_ '."

"Ah, _my mistake_." Answered his favourite businessman.

"It's okay. If I got mad over _every_ mistake you've made, _I'd have to somehow launch myself into the sun_."

"Sounds reasonable." Joked Ciel with a smile.

"Yeah…" the blonde said. "Oh, and Daniel said that the reason that you stayed behind was to sniff my pillow while I wasn't here, or something."

"Curses, he found out my secret." the Phantomhive said, his words dripping with sarcasm and making his fellow demon laugh. After that, however, neither of them knew how to continue the conversation, so they sat in silence for a few moments.

"Hey, Ciel?" Alois began, about to change the subject.

"Hm?"

"I'm sorry for headbutting you." The blonde said, moving his head in order to look at the other lad.

"Don't be. My face has already healed up, and I kind of deserved it." Answered the bluenette. "The punch to the face, too."

"Oh, I'm _not_ sorry for the punch." Alois said, trying and failing at not smiling. "You _did_ deserve that. The headbutt was just _overkill."_

"Makes sense to me." Replied Ciel. "I'm sorry for everything."

"I already told you to quit apologising, already…" The blonde reminded with a pout.

"Yes, but I really can't help it at this point."

All was silent in the moments after that, as the two boys ran out of things to say. An unusual awkwardness befell the pair; one that had not been present since the early days of their relationship. Once again, they had returned to waters that were unclear. Even if the waves had calmed to mere ripples on it's surface, it was difficult to see things as they were. Caution had to be taken when venturing deeper, as untested waters could be very dangerous, indeed.

"Hey, Ciel?" called the blonde once more, gaining immediate access to the other boy's attention.

"Hmm?" Ciel hummed in response.

"What are we going to do now?" his beau inquired, peeking up at the bluenette. Ciel paused for a moment to think.

"Well," he began. "You and I are going to try to enjoy the rest of this trip, and over the course of it, maybe come up with a few strategies." Alois let go of the bluenette around his waist and sat up on his knees so that he could see the other boy at eye-level.

" _'Strategies?'"_ the blonde echoed. "What _'strategies'?"_

"For attending _Krampus' party_ , of course." Answered the Phantomhive. "The invitation didn't say that I couldn't bring a guest." He looked over at the blonde. "You _are_ going too, aren't you?"

Alois practically beamed at the question, taking a moment to wrap his arms around the bluenette's neck and kiss him on the cheek. "Of course! I wouldn't miss it for the world~!"

"That settles it, then. I'm going to need your help coming up with a plan." Ciel said. "We only have a month left after this trip is over. That's not a lot of time to prepare."

"Oh? I thought you didn't want to include me?" inquired the blonde. "You ask me to go, and then you rely on me for battle plans? Weren't you scared of _'losing me'?"_

"I was, and I _am."_ Answered his fellow agent, wrapping his arms back around the boy and kissing his forehead. "I'm terrified, but I know that if I fail to include you, I will lose you _indefinitely."_

"Do you not think I can handle myself?"

"No, but given the situation, I'm not even sure if I can even handle _myself_ against _this_ bunch." Ciel stated.

"So… you _don't,_ then…" the blonde said sadly.

"That's not what I meant." Spoke the Phantomhive. "' _No'_ as in ' _that's not what I think'_. You've saved me on missions more times than I can count, Jim. Have you not noticed?"

"When have I ever saved you?" the blonde asked, narrowing his eyes.

"You saved me from Lilith." Ciel began. "You saved me from the first 'Annie' we saw. You saved me when we rescued Oliver at camp last year. Remember? You used your vines and saved both of us from falling off a cliff. You also saved me from August, and took care of me when I was shot in the head during the 'Messiah' case…"

"Okay, okay, I get it." Alois interrupted with a laugh. "I may be worried about nothing…"

"It's okay to worry." Replied the bluenette. "Just don't let it affect your sense of worth. You're _very_ strong, Jim _; I should know._ " He joked as he rubbed his face. In response, his beau chuckled.

"Okay, I am _a bit_ sorry for punching you." The blonde said. "So, _how exactly does one make a 'battle plan'?"_

"First, we get to know our terrain." Answered the bluenette. "For that, you're vital."

"Where's the party located?" Alois asked. "I only glanced over the invitation. Not much of it actually stuck."

" _Trancy Manor."_ Ciel stated.

"And you were just gonna go in without knowing any of that stuff?" inquired the menace. "You're crazy."

"I know, I know. I was being stupid." Spoke the other demon. "Can you draw a basic floorplan?"

"Do you have a piece of paper?" Alois shot back, prompting the other lad to separate from him in order to dig through his work items.

"Do you ever go _anywhere_ without your work stuff?" the blonde teasingly asked. "You're in Rio De Jeneiro on holiday, and you bring work with you?"

"I can't help it. I feel naked without it." The bluenette said, locating a pad of paper and a pen. HE then crawled back onto the bed and handed the two objects to his beau. "Draw the best map you can of each floor."

"You got it. I can't tell you how accurate it'll be, seeing as though I haven't been there in ages." Alois stated, taking the pen and paper from the other boy's hands. Soon, a series of boxes appeared on the page, sketched in, darkened, sometimes crosses out, and they were labeled in accordance to the rooms that they represented. Occasionally, the blonde would pause in order to think, or to make some sort of note that he felt was important, but as time went on, he became aware of a singular eye falling upon him.

"What is it?" he asked, looking up from his work to see the Phantomhive staring at him. Ciel wasn't even looking at what the Macken boy was jotting down, but rather on the boy's face. Upon realizing that he had been caught, a blush appeared upon the bluenette's visage, and he sat up straight.

"O-oh, it's nothing." He lied, attempting to play it off. Alas, the menace before him was not convinced, narrowing his eyes and frowning.

"Ciel, what did we discuss about secrets?" scolded the blonde, causing the bluenette's blush to darken.

"Um, _not to keep them from each other?"_

"That's right, now what is it _really?"_

"O-oh, well…" Ciel began, coughing into his fist. "I was just…uh…" He scratched the back of his head before sighing to recompose himself. With that, he straightened his back and put his nose up in the air, putting on the image of traditional Phantomhive arrogance.

"I… I was just thinking you looked attractive, is all." He said, trying everything he could to seem dignified. His efforts of putting on airs were dashed as the Macken boy laughed at him. The bluenette's eye twitched and he hunched a bit, his flush worsening.

"What's so funny?!" he demanded.

"You are. You're so _dumb_." Alois replied with a giggle. "You get so flustered about the stupidest things."

"And how exactly is that _'stupid'?"_ his beau inquired, leaning forward.

"It just _is_." Stated the fair-haired demon with a grin.

Naturally, the blonde was incredibly amused by the bluenette's behaviour; it was almost nostalgic. It had been quite some time since the boy interacted with Alois with such profound awkwardness. Obviously, Ciel had never been in so much trouble with someone that he actually respected, as he no longer knew how to behave. He was so consciously aware of his own actions, and was trying with all of his ability to act with the correct about of sensibility. Even if Alois was still a tad peeved with the boy, he had to admit, the noble was quite adorable.

" _So cute_ …" he said aloud, eyeing the bluenette's face as the other boy tried to direct his attention elsewhere.

"I'm not 'cute' and this is awkward." Ciel protested.

"You started it." His beau replied. "It's not my fault you're just naturally adorbs. Ah, I want to pinch your cheeks…"

"Please tell me you mean my face…" the Phantomhive complained.

"Well, I did, but your butt would probably embarrass you more." Alois pointed out. "In fact, that might get the cuter response…"

"Jim!"

"What? I'm not gonna _grope_ it! I was just talking about a small pinch; maybe a little pat, at most."

"Why?!"

"Because you'll get even more flustered and cute! Plus, you might make a funny noise!" Alois said.

"You're not touching my butt!" Protested the bluenette. "We're supposed to be making battle plans!"

"Oh, come on! Just a little bit!" replied the other demon. He held up his hands, flexing and unflexing his fingers at the other boy. "C'mere, Ciel, lemme love you~!"

This time, his beau didn't speak, but rather, he grabbed one of the pillows on the bed and threw it at the menace as his reply. It gently hit the boy's face before landing in his lap. Alois blinked a few times before furrowing his brow.

"Oh, you're gonna get it, now!" he declared, picking up the pillow and swinging it at the Phantomhive, who reflexively got up, grabbing a pillow as he stood at the side of the bed and using it as a shield.

He was soon joined by the blonde as the boy quickly crawled over to him, taking the high-ground as he stood on his knees on the bed's edge. Alois used this to his advantage, and swung at the other boy several more times, only to be hit in the side when he raised his soft weapon over his head. Even though he was hit, he laughed as though he were being tickled by the bluenette as the lad wore his own devilish grin.

Laughter filled the entire suite from both boys as they playfully fought, making their way around the bedroom while attacking each other. Sometimes, they would cycle between defense and offense, using their pillows as both a weapon and a shield. At others, they would pace each other, waiting to see who would strike first in moments of pause.

It started out as all fun and games until the blonde got a wicked idea. He noticed that the bluenette's suitcase was placed on the floor behind him, so Alois seized the opportunity and used his pillow as both a shield and a weapon at once, using it to push the Phantomhive. He plan succeeded, tripping the boy, but he didn't count on Ciel instinctively reaching out to him upon tripping, grabbing the back of his head and using his own force to bring him down.

The Phantomhive landed on his back with the blonde on top of him, the boy's pillow in between them placed over his chest. He grunted when he fell, but laughed as soon as he realised what happened. Internally, he praised the blonde for his ingenuity, but externally, he simply looked up at the boy grinning down at him as he ran his fingers through the boy's blonde locks with the hand that dragged him down.

Their laughter may have died down, eventually, but their smiles didn't, even as they took a moment to simply pause and look at each other. Soon, their eyes fluttered shut and the bluenette put pressure on the back of the other boy's head, reducing the gap between their faces. The pair nuzzled noses together for a moment, touching foreheads and briefly enjoying simple proximity.

Alois placed an elbow on the floor beside the Phantomhive's head in order to better distribute his weight so he could focus on the boy's lips. The other hand rested on the pillow between their chests, the only object that could even slightly hinder the deepness in which they kissed. The Macken boy sighed through his nose, enjoying the feeling of both the action that he was actively participating in, as well as the feeling of the bluenette's fingers massaging his scalp. Ciel's other hand rested in the small of the blonde's back before dragging itself upward while scraping fingernails against the fabric of the boy's t-shirt and hooking him under his arm, gripping Alois' shoulder and pulling him closer.

Eventually, the fair-haired demon craved the sight of the flushed face of the boy beneath him. Thus, he separated their faces and indulged himself, not at all becoming disappointed in the results. A smile appeared on his face again as he peered down at Ciel, tempted to kiss the boy again. It was then that Ciel smiled as well before chuckling.

" _Oh, Jimmy, you're too much man for me."_ He teased, prompting the other to release him and pick the pillow up off of his chest before placing it over his face. Alois tried not to smile as the Phantomhive chuckled through cotton and fabric, but he blushed at the thought of being called _"Jimmy"._

"You just got your ' _Jim-privilege'_ back." He said. " _Don't push it, dumbass!"_

 


	392. Falling Action

The rest of the night was spent with a little more purpose, as the two demons tried to formulate all of the possible scenarios of what could possibly happen at the party. Would they be attacked immediately upon entering, or was Krampus' obvious need to show off a good indication that he might drag it out for the sheer spectacle? It was necessary to factor in everything they knew about the group of demons, which they realised upon further discussion was surprisingly more than they thought.

It was obvious that Krampus was arrogant; far more arrogant than the Phantomhive had been in his youth. That could be exploited for their benefit if they manipulated him correctly. He wasn't the bluenette's major concern, however. Instead, he was more worried about his lackies, whose power he had experienced firsthand.

Even in the few hours they spent brainstorming, they had made excellent progress. They had a map drawn out and various notes on what could possibly be in the rooms marked on it. There were ideas on what to do in each scenario that they had concocted. Thank goodness, demons didn't require sleep, or they would have been exhausted by the time they both could no longer focus on the task.

Instead, they focused on things that weren't of nearly as much importance, merely chatting about this and that. Alois discussed the things he and the rest of the seven had done over the past week while Ciel listened intently. He talked about how Luka was worried because Ciel hadn't appeared in any of the pictures the blonde had sent him, and how Alois lied, saying the Phantomhive simply didn't want to be in the picture, or was working in the hotel room as to not worry the younger Macken. Apparently, the latter excuse wasn't an entire lie, as Ciel had passed most of his time by working, managing to buy out a smaller company and increase his market share. A wicked man, Ciel was, indeed.

Their chatter soon turned into mere cuddling as the blonde demon decided that sleeping would be quite nice. He had been having difficulty sleeping soundly, as a pillow was no substitute for the Phantomhive. It was far easier to relax with the warmth emitted from the other boy's person, along with his calming scent and secure embrace. Even so, Alois did not slip into slumber, as his beau did not want to with him.

Ciel confessed that he hadn't slept at all within the past week out of fear of the figure haunting his dreams. He described how the figure had been getting closer, and more visible. The bluenette went into detail about the man's appearance, describing how he looked dirty and worn, however, he also admitted that he couldn't remember what the man had said. All he remembered along those lines was how horribly gruff and grainy the figure's voice sounded.

While the Phantomhive didn't like admitting how much these dreams frighten him, he did so for Alois. He didn't like to appear weak or childish, but he did for Alois. Only Alois. It was shockingly pleasant to do so, however, like a massive burden had been lifted from his shoulders. It was nice to be able to put his thoughts out into the open. Now he sort of understood why the blonde felt it was beneficial to share things. Having help carry the weight made things slightly easier, and Ciel was ashamed that he didn't see it sooner.

The pair simply stayed put and chatted until morning, occasionally pausing for some canoodling before continuing. Neither boy was complaining, as they both needed to test the waters again with each other. The Phantomhive still felt guilty and Alois still felt irritated and distrustful.

When morning did break, they decided that both of them would head out and wait on the others at their next designated meeting spot. Daniel was insistent on taking a photo of the demons with the statue of Christ somehow in the frame. When the others eventually showed up, one of them was missing, apparently sleeping off a hangover.

Even with all of the turmoil and conflict, the trip turned out quite well. It was spent just like any other holiday, aside from the occasional detour in order to stay out of the sight of Iscariot agents. While the demonic duo's troubles were far from over, they at least managed to have a short interlude of normalcy before they returned to London and attended to the matter of the wrinkled red envelope shoved in the bluenette's suitcase.

 


	393. His Master, Imploring

In the months that followed, the duo's relationship took a turn for the better. After the incident in Rio de Jeneiro, upon returning home, the boys felt like they were on more equal footing. Alois was still open with the bluenette, but this time, the bluenette was also more open with Alois. At first was awkward, as he felt somewhat weakened as he attempted to remove his walls before the menace instead of simple making them partially transparent, but he soon found something that he felt brought him more security.

Forcing himself to be able to confide in the blonde was one of the most difficult mental tasks that Ciel had to accomplish, but once he learned how, he felt warmer. There was an odd gentleness that washed over him he became more sincere, even if he was the same, harsh, two-faced detective while working. It amused Alois greatly to see the Phantomhive go from instructing him to break a man's fingers one-by-one with a vile smirk during an interrogation, to being very sweet, and even shy. The blonde always had indulged in being the only one to see this sort of displacement, but now it was somehow different, as Ciel began to lower his guard completely.

Let it be known that the Phantomhive was still the prideful, arrogant, and haughty individual that he had always been, competing with the blonde over who could perfect a skill quickest, and who could best the other when sparring. The couple honed their combat skills with each other in preparation for squaring off against Krampus and his Black Annis goons. They discovered their strengths and discussed how to make up for each other's weaknesses.

Ciel found his spirits being lifted immensely in the months leading up to the party. Using the book of Akeldama, they learned counters for the majority of the hexes that they might encounter, including how to escape a demon trap like the one that trapped the Phantomhive. They made the appropriate preparations, and at long last, they felt ready.

Still, there was one last thing Ciel needed to do in case all didn't go as planned. He wasn't sure how, but he _needed_ to have this one, final detail worked out, or else he would not be able to go through with the evening. His problem was, he wasn't sure how he would be able to obtain it.

The Phantomhive needed but one request from none other than his butler, Sebastian. The man had served him well over the past century, but Ciel wasn't certain if the older demon would adhere to his wish this time. As he and the blonde prepared for what was to be a night to remember, with a deep breath, the called the man into his office.

He had rehearsed what he was going to say countless times over the past few months, from the very night that he had been presented with his invitation from Krampus. Even still, he wasn't sure how this was going to play out. He was genuinely nervous, considering his history with the butler, but he needed this one task carried out should things not go well.

"What is it, Master?" the man asked, stepping into the Phantomhive's office. He raised his eyebrows at the expression on the younger demon's face. "Is something the matter?"

"Somewhat, yes…" the bluenette replied, standing up from his desk. He walked over to the man, wearing the best mask that he could. "There's something that I need from you."

"Yes sir?" the man answered questioningly. "What is it?" He watched with baffled concern as the boy took a deep breath.

"Sebastian," the boy began. "I know that we haven't always been especially close or anything, and I know you have some lingering resentment toward me for trapping you within the confines of our contract, but even still, there is still something I desperately need you to do."

"I have had one-hundred years to reflect on the events of that day, master." The man said. "My displeasure has long since faded."

 _"Even if you were free?"_ the Phantomhive asked, startling the man. "This isn't something as simple as a matter between master and servant."

"Master…" the man said, his face becoming serious. "What on earth are you talking about?"

"Tonight, Jim and I will be embarking on one of our most dangerous missions yet." Ciel said. "Sebastian, I _implore_ you… should things ever turn to the _worst-case scenario_ …" He paused to swallow and regain his nerves.

"Please _, please take care of the remaining members of this household_." He concluded, looking up at the man with dire expression. Naturally, the request was incredibly shocking to the man, just as expected. "Even if you were to be freed from your obligations to me; even if you are freed from being my butler, _I beg of you_ … _please do this."_

For once, the older demon was at a loss for words. The request itself was ridiculous, after all. If Sebastian were to be freed, then he would have no reason to carry out this request, even if he agreed to now. For the boy to ask for such a thing was absurd. What on earth would make the Phantomhive believe that the man would even consider adhering to such an outlandish wish?

In truth, Ciel didn't, really. He didn't entirely know what to expect, but he needed this to happen. He didn't care if Sebastian took them along to roam the earth and hunt souls with him, as long as they were all _safe_. It was pitiful to think that the noble head of Phantomhive would ask of something so ludicrous; no, _beg_ for it. Still, when the boy set his sights on a goal, he would do whatever necessary to achieve it. He did have a backup plan, being to leave the group in the hands of H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. However, Integra was not immortal, and quite frankly, Ciel couldn't be certain if whoever is appointed to take her place would treat the Macken boys well. Thus, it was _Sebastian_ who was his first choice.

The man stood there, staring at the younger demon for a moment, simply trying to take that in. He hadn't thought much about what he would do should he be freed, as the occurrence seemed as though it was but a hopeless delusion. He would probably go back to his old business of forming contracts, but he wasn't certain as to how he would readjust. In all honesty, Sebastian started to quite enjoy the company of the children.

They looked up to him, including Alois, the very person who put him in this predicament. Yet he did not hate the boy. He did not hate his master, either. The demon had been experiencing this peculiar feeling of fondness for the group, and enjoyed watching them grow. He was proud of all of them when they did well, and was disappointed when they did not. Even still, he did not perceive them as "useless". The man didn't like it when they were upset, but found great amusement in their silly antics. They made him smile.

Oftentimes when the man went for his annual checkup at H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G; he would express concern over this behaviour. He didn't understand it. It was completely beyond him. The doctors would tell him that this was normal behaviour for humans, but they weren't entirely certain, for demons. Even after all of the tests he went through in order to get to the bottom of it, the results came back with nothing. There were no anomalies in his structure when compared to that of the demonic duo.

It frightened him. Yes, Sebastian could know fear, however rare it was. It was uncommon for him to have feeling, and it always has been, yet somehow the man felt some form of attachment to those in the Phantomhive household. This included not only Luka and Revy, whom he looked after often, but also Alois, who had banished him to this life, as well as his master whom he was subjugated to. The odd thing was, he wasn't upset about it anymore in the slightest.

He looked back at the Phantomhive boy, a look of confusion on his face as he tried to process all of this. The boy looked up at his butler in turn, nervous in his anticipation for what Sebastian might say. Before long, he was answered, but not in the way he thought.

"Master," Sebastian began, his voice oddly heartfelt. "I do not know many things about the way people feel attachment, but I know that even I, somehow feel attached to those in this household." He walked over to the boy, placing his hands on the bluenette's shoulders.

"I will carry out that request." He continued. "Even if I am no longer your butler, I will continue to care for those of Phantomhive house, not just for you, but for myself." Sebastian smiled, subsequently forcing the Phantomhive to do the same.

" _Thank you_." The boy said, in a rare moment of gratitude toward his servant. "It means a lot."

"But, you _will_ be returning to this mansion." The man said, releasing the boy's shoulders. "A household simply cannot be run without it's lord."

"Sure it can, when it's being kept afloat by one _hell_ of a butler." The boy jested, causing the man to smile wider.

"You should get going, master." Sebastian replied. "It's unseemly to be tardy."

"You're right. I trust you'll keep everything in order while I'm gone?" Ciel asked before the man offered him a small bow.

" _Yes, my lord."_

* * *

 


	394. In choro, inter mendaces

Alois got behind the wheel of the Phantomhive Mercedes Benz and shifted it into gear before taking off down the road toward their destination. He felt extremely uncomfortable strapped into his seat while wearing his new, formal suit that was purchased specifically for the occasion. He thought it was ridiculous as to how similar it looked to his work clothes aside for a few minor details, and how horribly binding it felt in comparison. It was beyond him as to why he couldn't simply wear his usual attire as it would have been more practical, but he didn't question it, as he had never before attended a modern soiree.

He and the bluenette were en route to his former home, Trancy manor, and he wasn't exactly thrilled about seeing the place again. It was incredibly depressing. Still, he was ecstatic at the fact that he was joining Ciel on such an important mission. He was concerned, however, about how the boy in the passenger seat looked ill.

The Phantomhive was scared. He had convinced himself that he was ready, but now, his fear had returned. Ciel stared straight ahead at the road with a vacant expression on his face mixed with anxiety simmering underneath. The lad suffered from an unusual palor, even though his face was pale on any normal evening. It was _this_ night that the lad had been dreading for the past few months.

A warm hand grasped at his own, clutching it tenderly. He turned his head to the right to see the blonde menace watching the road, only looking away occasionally to glance at the bluenette. He smiled.

" _It's gonna be okay."_ Alois said. "We're gonna go in there, knock some heads, _and finish the mission_."

"Yeah…" the bluenette replied. He sounded unsure.

"Relax, we're ready for this." The blonde said. "We've even got backup on speed dial. We've covered almost everything."

"I hope you're right…" the bluenette said softly, firmly grasping the other boy's hand so that he may never leave.

Soon, they had made their way to the abandoned manor of their shared past, but to their surprise, it no longer looked "abandoned" at all. When the car came to a complete stop, both demons practically threw off their seatbelts and flew out of the vehicle in order to better see the structure. It was almost like a dream; or rather, a nightmare.

The Trancy estate stood tall, restored to it's full, former glamour. The lights were on inside, and so were the lamps out front, illuminating the outside walls, which were flamboyantly decorated, when compared to those of the house of Phantomhive. Everything looked just as the duo remembered, creating the sense that they had both stepped back in time. It shouldn't have been surprising that a group of demons could do this; after all, Sebastian restored the Phantomhive estate in a mere two hours upon taking residence there. Still, the surrealism of the sight was almost too much. A pause was necessary in order to even hope and take it all in.

Everything came rushing back to the boys at once. The manipulation of Claude Faustus, and the duel in which the Macken boy was stabbed by the Phantomhive. The thread that sewed his flesh back together again was still embedded in the blonde's old body, much to the confusion of it's current owner. Flashes of the night the duo had first become acquainted surfaced, and both wondered if the party going on within the walls of the estate was reminiscent of that evening. Slowly, the two intertwined their fingers and gave each other a reassuring look. With a nod in silent agreement, they stepped forward and walked toward the manor.

When they came up to the familiar, giant, wooden doors, they watched as they opened before them. The duo half-expected Lilith to greet them, or perhaps Metus, but what they didn't expect was to see yet another demon, one dressed in a servant's uniform with an expressionless visage. Even with the small surprise, the bluenette did not falter.

" _Sir Ciel Phantomhive and Alois Trancy."_ He said, stating their identities. To this, the servant offered a small bow and stepped to the side.

"We have been expecting you." He said, gesturing to the inside of the manor. "Please follow me."

The boys tried their best not to be overwhelmed by the sensation of entering the restored state and walking its halls, but it was somewhat unavoidable. This feeling was only heightened when they were led into the ballroom where there were apparently other guests. It did; it looked exactly as it did on that day, with its gold finishing and enormous scale. The only real difference were the guests themselves, who obviously emitted a more sinister atmosphere than before.

There were supernatural beings almost everywhere. Demons, vampires, and other creatures that stalked the night. With that said, there were indeed a few humans, some unattended, but others accompanied by demons. It was an unsettling find, as the two would have to fight their way out should things go awry, but at least they factored this into their plans.

One of the more troubling discoveries was the amount of underlings that Krampus seemed to have. There were servants here and there amongst the group, tending to guests, and they were all lesser demons. While they would never be as strong as a "real" demon, they were susceptible to taking orders. While their faces differed, all of them had the same haircut, posture, and wore a uniform, which differed depending on the sex that they took on the appearance of. These demons were problematic, as they would be the first line of defense in Krampus' forces.

"So," the blonde began. "Where to start?"

"Stick to the plan." Ciel answered. "They want me here, so I'll hold their attention while you look around for Krampus. He's our primary target. After one hour, come find me and we'll discuss whether or not to commence phase two."

"Understood." Alois said with a nod. He released the bluenette's hand and turned to leave, but soon stopped and turned around. "Wait." He said.

"What is it?" curiously inquired the Phantomhive, only to find himself locking lips with his accomplice. His eye fluttered shut as the blonde lingered for a few seconds before finally ending the kiss.

"For good measure." The Macken boy said with a smile before trotting off to complete his task. Ciel smiled after him for a moment or so before going forth to accomplish his own.

It did not take him long. The demons whom he was most concerned about had be watching him very closely. The Phantomhive just wasn't sure _how_ closely until he made eyecontact with Lilith. She was dressed elegantly in a black dress, and offered the boy a smile from across the room. When the demoness raised her hand and snapped her fingers, however, the lad's eye widened as he noticed the shorter demon who usually accompanied her, Morgan, giggle before taking off in the direction in hich the blonde menace had left with a smile. Ciel turned to take off after his beau.

 _"Jim-!"_ frantically he called, only to be stopped when Lilith suddenly appeared at his side. She put a hand on his shoulder.

 _"Don't worry, she's just going to observe him_." She said. "We don't have anything to gain from killing either of you."

"You expect me to just believe that?" the Phantomhive growled between his teeth, turning to face the girl. In response, the demoness shook her head.

"No." she replied. "I don't. Here, it can be difficult to distinguish between lies, and truths, but I am entirely sincere when I say I have no interest in needless acts of barbarism."

"And yet the deaths caused by Black Annis are an exception?" Lilith shook her head.

"I said ' _needless_ acts of barbarism'. I will do what I must in order to achieve my goals, not at all unlike _you_ , rumour has it." She answered, much to the displeasure of the bluenette. "Your lover is of no interest to me. He doesn't appear to be inherently valuable as of yet, but he isn't useless. It's best to keep him alive."

"He is _not_ a _pawn._ " Ciel said angrily.

"But _you are."_ The girl replied.

"Is this Krampus talking, or is it you?" asked the male, as he began to question the girl's speech. He was infuriated when he didn't get an answer, but rather, another invitation.

 _"Care for a dance, Sir Phantomhive?"_ Lilith inquired, looking at the boy with a friendly expression and gesturing toward the dance floor, her eyes flickering to one of the servants. Realising that this was for a more private discussion, the boy, however begrudgingly, agreed.

He extended his hand, allowing the demoness to take it, and led the girl to the floor. A pang of bashfulness shot though him as he took the girl's waist, much to her amusement. Ciel maintained a frown as they started to cycle through the steps of the waltz, occasionally spinning and twirling, before Lilith spoke again.

"Do you feel unfaithful?" she asked, causing the boy to scowl. "Dancing with someone who is not your love, that is."

"A bit." Ciel said. "I gain no pleasure in doing so, however."

"I can tell. Your loyalty to him is admirable. It's quite comforting to know that demons are capable of love."

"We were both human once." The Phantomhive stated.

"We were _all_ human once." the lady replied, almost somberly. "Most demons simply forget."

"So they allow themselves to become monsters?" inquired Ciel as he spun the girl once more.

" _Exactly."_ Lilith replied as she met his face again. "They forget how to be human, and become voids that they need to fill. They've lost themselves, which is why they need masters to tell them who they are.

 _"You_ have a master, do you not?"

"Admittedly, I am no fan of masters. I simply do what I must." Her eye flickered toward the doors. "Speaking of which…"

Ciel turned, following her gaze, and saw the crowd part in order to make way for the party's host. It was Krampus. He was here. Lilith separated from the bluenette and offered a small bow in the man's direction.

Krampus stood, dressed in in a suit modified to appear like a dueling uniform, with a cape to match. He was dressed like royalty, yet did nothing to conceal his dead eye or the scars around it, or even make an effort to tidy up his broken horn. The man smiled, his dead eye staring forward with his functional one at the Phantomhive as he practically glided over to the former Earl, extending an arm to the girl next to the obviously younger demon.

 _"Lilith, to me."_ He beckoned, his haughty smile widening when the demoness did as she was told. The man put his arm around her before turning his attention to the bluenette.

 _"Phantomhive."_ He began. "I'm so glad you could join us."

"I'm not a fan of parties, albeit, but I wouldn't have missed this for the world." Ciel replied, posturing himself as he would have amongst the evil nobility of the Victorian age.

"Is that so?" Krampus asked, raising the eyebrow over his good eye. "In that case, would you care to join me in the drawing room? There's much that I would like to discuss with you, as I find that your company would be most beneficial to my cause."

 


	395. Negotiations

Alois wandered throughout the party, searching for a glimpse of the host, however, he was stopped on more than one occasion by other guests to be informed that he "looks like the boy in the paintings", referring to the paintings that hung within the manor walls. Time, and time again, Alois would create some form of answer or simply play it off, but there was more than one occasion that he had difficulty escaping from the unwanted conversation. The entire time, though, he noticed that he had a little shadow following him.

It was the girl demon who he saw help Metus after he fought the clawed demon last. The blonde couldn't quite remember her name. He also wasn't sure of her abilities, so he was cautious. He wanted to venture to other parts of the house, but he didn't want to engage her just yet. Thus, he decided that it was best to rendezvous with Ciel, even if it was before time and discuss what needed to be done.

Alas, he saw the boy, and he was talking to Krampus. He felt like a bit of a failure for not being the one to find the man first, but he was terrified as to what could possibly happen to his beau. All of the blood rushed from his face as he saw the lad leaving with the party's host, and he took a step forward, only to be stopped by one of the servants.

" _Excuse me sir, but might I say that it is quite rude to intrude on a conversation?"_ the servant asked, placing a hand on the boy's shoulder, which he soon shook off.

"You may not, as it is unsightly for a person of service to question the actions of a guest." Alois snapped. "That boy is my date, I'll have you know, and I will join him if I see fit."

He took a few steps forward, only to be stopped again by more lesser-demons. He turned his head to see his "shadow" shaking her head with a smile. Morgan wagged her finger at the boy, clicking her tongue.

"I'm afraid I can't let you intrude on Lord Krampus' business negotiations." She said, walking toward the boy.

"And just why not?" the lad asked, walking toward the girl, both stopping in front of the other. He peer down at her menacingly. "Not only am I Sir Phantomhive's datemate, I'm also his assistant when it comes to business affairs."

"I don't make the rules." Morgan replied. "I just follow intructions."

"Your instructions are dumb."

" _You're_ dumb."

" _Your mum_ is dumb."

"Demons don't _have_ mothers, stupid." The girl said, crossing her arms.

"I don't care." Alois replied. "I'm following that guy, and you can't stop me."

He took off again after the blunette. Unfortunately, he was now stopped by five more servants. The poor boy stopped dead in his tracks, causing the girl to laugh.

"I just _did."_ She replied with a haughty grin. This caused the boy to turn, coughing into his fist before regaining his composure.

" _You_ didn't stop me." He stated. The lad then proceeded to point to the servants blocking his path. _"They_ did."

With that, he simply walked away, finding that he was left alone after that. As much as it hurt his ego, it would hurt a thousand times worse if he had to engage in combat in a room filled with supernatural beings. Alois had to find a way to retrieve the bluenette and complete the mission, but how? As he made an attempt to appear casual, like an "ordinary" party-goer using his signature, Jim Macken-brand of deception, he pondered just how to do just that.

His eyes carefully followed Ciel as he walked out of the room. The Phantomhive appeared to be calm, but Alois knew all too well that this was a mere farce. The boy was terrified, but there was nothing he could do but go along with things until the right opportunity presented itself.

The bluenette followed Krampus and Lilith out the door of the ballroom and into other parts of the manor. Lilith led the way. She led the two gentlemen to the drawing room, which was quiet, and devoid of other guests. Krampus casually plopped down in one of the chairs as Lilith took to standing behind him. The man gestured to one of the other chairs.

"Please, have a seat mister Phantomhive." He said.

"That's _Sir_ Phantomhive." The bluenette corrected, reluctantly taking up the man's offer.

"My apologies." The man said with a chuckle. "I wasn't aware that you were knighted."

"I was. In 1952." Ciel replied. "That said, my full title is actually _'Senior Detective Constable Sir Doctor Ciel Phantomhive'."_

"How did you accomplish that?" Krampus asked, leaning forward as if he were genuinely interested.

"When you ally with the humans, you're able to live amoungst them more freely."

"I see, but wouldn't it be better if we didn't have to hide at all?"

"You mean live life in the open? I'm sorry, _I'm not familiar with such a concept_." Scoffed the watchdog. "I've always lived in the shadows, even when I was human."

"And do you wish to stay there?" the older demon asked. "Wouldn't it be better to be able to do as you please? Are you truly happy living within the confines of humanity, or is it but a slave's happiness?"

"Demons make contracts with humans. Humans will always rule it's in their nature. Only humans have the will and sense of self to control a demon."

"Are you saying that you have neither of those things?" asked Krampus, causing the bluenette's eyebrow to twitch in annoyance. The man grinned.

"Most demons aren't like us," he continued. "They have to be told what to do and who they are, that's why they consume souls and have masters. A soul can fill one's void for a little while, but the effects are temporary, much like a drug. That said…"

"…if someone were to give them purpose, wouldn't they be grateful?" he concluded, looking up at the bluenette with amusement. "You've done this. You've given demons names and assigned them traits, making you a master of monsters."

"You're wrong." Ciel stated. "Have you not done your research? Two of them were 'self-aware' from the start."

"And the third?" Ciel hesitated in his answer, thinking back on the conversation he had with Sebastian. Krampus leaned back in his chair.

"You should join me." The man said. "Turning the world into our playground would be child's play!"

"I have no interest in that." Replied the bluenette. "Rules and restrictions make life more entertaining for those like us. It wouldn't be the same if our abilities weren't tested."

"Come now, Sir, we simply cannot start the fun without you…"

"Then I suppose you'll have to do without." Said the boy as he stood up out of his seat. "If this is all you wish to negotiate, I have someone waiting for m-"

Ciel stopped talking as he noticed the colour red staining his suit. Sharp pain shot through his abdomen as Lilith was right in front of him, pushing the knife further into his flesh. He let out a grunt as the girl removed the weapon from his person and shoved him back into his seat. As he clutched his wound, he glared up at the girl, who looked almost apologetic, before looking at the weapon in her hand; a blessed blade. It was no wonder he was in so much pain. Sweat now coated his skin as he shook, trying to think of a way to escape.

"That's where _you're_ wrong, Sir Phantomhive." Krampus said. "You see, this wasn't really a ' _negotiation'_. You have something that I want, and I was going to have it whether you gave it to me willingly or not."

* * *

 


	396. Blockade

The pain in the bluenette's abdomen did not sting as badly as the man's taunting. He should have known that he was disposable, but given Lilith's words, he had hoped that the scenario would have been different. Krampus stood up, smirking.

" _Lilith, the knife."_ He said, holding out his hand. The girl placed the dagger in his palm without question, watching as he walked over to the Phantomhive boy.

 _"AUGH! Arrrgh_ …" Ciel inadvertently cried out in pain as the man lifted his foot and kicked him right in his freshly made wound. The older demon looked down on him.

"Alive or dead, I'll still get what we need from you." He said. "I just need your blood, is all." With that, he raised the dagger up and prepared to strike.

"Goodbye, Sir Phantomhive. It was a pleasure meeting you." He jested.

 _"Krampus, wait!"_ The man turned around, surprise on his face as he was called out to by the demoness. It was as though he weren't accustomed to her talking back.

"What?" he asked, taking his foot off of the poor boy. "Why should I 'wait'?"

"We might still need him." The girl said. "What if he made changes to the barrier, and his blood isn't sufficient anymore. _If he's dead, we won't be able to know how to break past it in the event that this occurs_."

Krampus paused. He took a moment to stare at the wounded boy seated in his drawing room, and to weigh the possibilities. With that, he handed the knife back to Lilith.

"Fine." He said. " _Take him to the basement and keep him there until we leave."_

Lilith smiled and nodded. "Yes, Sir."

With that, she grabbed Ciel's arm, swinging it around her shoulders, before helping the boy up. Then, she helped him limp out of the room and toward the manor's basement. How could Ciel refuse? He was injured, and she had the knife already in her hand. Each step was agonizing. Blood dripped onto the floor as the demon had difficulty regenerating. Blessed blades were serious business. They hurt more, and took longer to heal from.

Soon, they reached their destination, stopping just short of the door. Lilith then propped the boy against the wall. Fortunately, he could stand. She then did something completely unexpected. Ciel's eye widened in surprise before he looked up at the girl in confusion. She had just placed the dagger in his hand.

" _What is this?"_ he demanded.

"I need you to wound me." She replied. Her face was completely serious.

"What?!"

"I need you to wound me so it will be convincing when I tell them you escaped." Lilith clarified. Ciel didn't know what to think about that. He was simply angry.

"Why?" he asked, panting and wheezing from his injury. "Why stab me, and then help me escape?"

"I told you, I don't do anything without reason, Sir Phantomhive." The girl replied. "Krampus wasn't going to let you live if he made the first strike. I had to act first before he killed you."

"You expect me to believe that?"

"No, _but what choice do you have?"_

As much as Ciel hated it, the demoness was right. He _didn't_ have much choice in the matter. It was either trust Lilith now, or get thrown into the basement. Given the odds, the lad begrudgingly realised that trusting his enemy was actually the better option. He clenched the knife in his hands.

"Fine…" he hissed, positioning the blade.

"Don't hesitate, just do it." The girl said, bracing herself and clenching her eyes shut. With a deep breath, the Phantomhive stabbed the girl in the stomach.

Blood stained her dress, and she uttered a sound of pain, but she didn't scream. Ciel let go of the blade leaving it wedged in her side. To his astonishment, Lilith pulled the weapon out and put it back into his palm, coughing.

"Take it with you." She said. "You're going to need it to get away."

With that, she pulled the boy from his spot before taking his place against the wall. Ciel winced at the sudden movement as his organs shifted, but somehow managed to steady himself. He looked toward the girl, as if to make sure she was alright.

"I'll be fine." She wheezed. "Get your blonde lover and go." To that, Ciel offered her a small nod and bidded her farewell.

"Thank you." He said before turning to limp away.

He wasn't making particularly good progress, given his current state. It took him much longer to clear a single hallway than he had hoped. The blade in his hand had really done a number on him, making him vulnerable to attack. He didn't think he was going to be able to get away by himself; he needed Alois, but he wasn't sure how to get to him. He can't just simply limp into a large party all covered in blood now could he?

Oh, how the blonde was going to panic at the sight of Ciel hobbling to him all injured and bloody. Ciel pulled out his cell phone in an effort to call the lad and tell him the situation but there was no signal. Calling for reinforcements was subsequently more improbable than somehow getting the message to the blonde menace, who was currently having a similar, but less painful problem.

Alois had to somehow get to the bluenette and make sure he's alright. These servants, however, were a massive problem as they barred him from leaving the ballroom. They watched him like wolves getting ready to strike at a rabbit. He watched them in return, only to watch as a few more servants came to whisper in the ears of the first batch. With that, some of them left, but the rest started to make their way toward the blonde menace.

Immediately, Alois started to make a beeline for the door, shoving through the crowd, only to be blocked by more servants. He looked back to see that he was surrounded on both sides. He furrowed his brow.

"What is the meaning of this?" he demanded, almost imitating the authoritative tone used by Ciel. The blonde glared at his obstacles, staring them down somewhat, and he clenched his fists.

"We have orders to take you with us, Sir." One of the servants said, offering a bow.

"And if I _refuse?"_ Asked Alois.

"That was not an option." The man before him replied.

"I see." The Macken boy said, noticing how close the servants to his back now were. "Well, in _that_ case…"

Much to the servants' surprise, they were suddenly charged by the boy. They made their best effort in order to form a wall, but the blonde had anticipated this. Alois' leg muscles tensed and he simply leaped over the blockade, laughing as their heads turned in astonishment. He landed on his feet on the other side before taking off running again, eventually making his way through the massive doors and out of the ballroom. Problem was, he wasn't entirely sure where to go from there.

He tried downstairs, to start, with frantic servants on his tail. His knowledge of the mansion came to much use as he tried to out-maneuver his pursuers, as they dwelled around every corner, it seems. Every secret room, alternate route and staircase was at his fingertips, much to the dismay of the lesser-demons. Alois rounded another corner, confident that he had tricked his foes for good, only to find something a lot more disturbing.

It was Ciel.

The boy was laying on the floor, flat on his stomach. He face was being pressed into the rug by a servant, who had found him and apprehended him along with a few others. They gripped at the boy, retraining him and trying to force him down as he struggled. The Phantomhive was somehow overwhelmed by the lesser demons, but that didn't deter Alois' fury.

Narrowing his eyes and baring his teeth, Alois reached into his jacket and brandished his gun, Kaspar. His pulled the trigger without giving it the slightest thought, and quickly did away with the assailants, striking all but one of them in the head. The last one required a second bullet as the boy missed, and struck the servant's shoulder with the first.

" _Ciel!"_ he called, dashing over to the Phantomhive. The blonde crouched down beside him and hastily threw the bodies of the lad's attackers away from his person. Once he had done so, his eyes widened, his face twisting in horror. " _Oh, Ciel_ … _no_ …"

The blonde looked down at the Phantomhive boy to see that he was covered in blood. His clothes were cut, as was his flesh. A blessed blade protruded from his back as the boy wheezed, his single eye looking up at Alois. It clenched shut as Ciel tried to move, reaching an arm behind him in order to reach for the handle of the blade.

"Ciel! Don't…" Alois said, grabbing the boy's wrist.

" _It's a blessed blade…"_ the Phantomhive managed to say, his voice weak and raspy. "It has to come out…"

The blonde nodded at his explanation. _"Let me."_ He said, holding the boy's hand. Alois bit his lip and wrapped his fingers around the weapon. "H-here it goes…" He cringed at the feeling of the blade leaving the Phantomhive's muscle, but now nearly as badly as Ciel did.

" _RRrrrrghhh…"_ grunted the bluenette, putting up a tough face for his beau as he nearly crushed the boy's hand in his grip. His body tensed from the pain, but soon relaxed as the blade was fully removed and set to the side. His breath was heavy as he tried to recover, allowing himself to be turned over by the other boy.

"Thanks." He said, looking up at the menace. Despite his agony, he made an attempt to smile. "I must look like Julius Cesar or something, huh?"

" _Shut up!"_ Alois barked, his eyes stinging. He pulled the boy's torso into his lap, cradling him. " _It's not funny…."_

His voice was cracking as he took in the sight of the watchdog. The boy was cold to the touch, and nearly devoid of all colour. A coat of sweat covered his skin as he coughed and wheezed, dried blood surrounding his mouth.

"Down worry, I'll be fine." The bluenette said. "They didn't strike my heart, and Krampus specifically gave the order to make sure I'm still alive."

"How can I _not_ worry?!" snapped the blonde. "You're covered in blood and… and…" He trailed off. Ciel's eye widened when he felt a warm droplet land on his cheek.

"… _You're hurt…"_ Alois continued, leaking from the eyes. "…I was trapped in the ballroom… I could've escaped sooner, but…." He whimpered, touching his forehead to the Phantomhive's.

"Oh, Ciel… _This is my fault…"_ he concluded.

"No it isn't." Ciel replied. "It's no one's fault. These things happen. I'll be alright. I'll heal a bit slower, but I will heal, and then everything will be back to business as usual." Alois sniffled.

" _Promise?"_ he asked.

" _Promise."_ Replied the bluenette, tilting his head to kiss the boy's cheek.

"Let's go home." He said finally. "Think you can get me there?" Alois' tears stopped and he smiled.

"Yes, my lord." He said, kissing the boy's forehead. With that, he gently scooped the boy up, carrying him bridal style as to not cause him too much discomfort, and prepared to make a mad dash for their car out fron-

_**BOOM!** _

The ground shook at the sound of the explosion. The two boy's looked at each other, both horrified at the only possible explanation for it. Their escape vehicle had been sabotaged, destroying any hope of the pair escaping the manor successfully.

Ciel's mind was reeling. Without a car, they would have to escape on foot, making it easier for them to get caught. Alois couldn't carry the bluenette in his current state, and they were vastly outnumbered. While a demon could realistically run faster than a vehicle, a car made it easier to blend in with human commuters, rendering them invisible in plain sight. Escape was probable.

Now, however, they had to flee on foot. They would have to run through London, being chased by demons who held no value for human life, and they stuck out like a sore thumb, as the Macken now had to carry a bleeding and injured Ciel through the city in a horrendously conspicuous manner. Ciel stopped his thoughts, and looked up at the blonde, who was staring at him with a concerned expression.

"It'll be okay." Alois said, his voice shaking as he spoke. He offered up the worst excuse for a smile he had ever tried to pass off as genuine. "I'll still get us home. I can run. We'll be okay."

The Phantomhive stared up at the boy, analyzing his expression. He knew that wasn't true. He knew that _Alois_ was aware that it wasn't true. He placed a hand on the side of the blonde's face, cupping his cheek while he stared into icy-blue eyes.

" _Put me down."_ Ciel said _. "Go home, Jim."_

 


	397. Dignitos Coercitio

" _What?"_ Alois looked at the Phantomhive at the suggestion. His eyebrows bent upwards and his lips were parted, his entire face screaming that the command that the other boy had suggested was the only one that he did not want to hear.

"You heard me." Ciel replied. "Leave me, and go. I'll be alright." He continued to caress the blonde's cheek. "They can't afford to kill me, so I'll be fi-"

 _"No!"_ the blonde shouted, his voice breaking as his brow furrowed. "Not that! Not _that!_ I'm not leaving you here! We go home _together!"_

"Jim, listen to me." The bluenette said. "I will be alright. I will be alive. I need you to get out of here _now_ if there's any hope for either of us!"

 _"You don't think I can save us!?"_ Alois demanded. "I _can,_ Ciel! I'm _not_ weak! I can save you!"

 _"I know that!"_ Ciel shouted in response, ending in a cough. His outburst startled the boy, but made him even more determined.

"We're going." The blonde said as he began to walk. "I'm getting us out of here."

"Please, listen to me, Jim. Stop." Pleaded the Phantomhive. "We can't escape together on foot-"

"I'll _make_ it work!"

"You _can't,_ Jim!" Ciel barked, wrestling his way out of the other boy's grasp, sending himself flying to the floor. Sharp pain coursed throughout his body upon the impact and he coughed, this time staining the rug with even more red liquid. Immediately, the blonde crouched down to help him.

"Ciel!" called the Macken, propping the boy up, but instead of pushing him away again, he was help close by the boy as Ciel wrapped his arms around his beau's neck. The Phantomhive panted and wheezed into the blonde's ear as he rested his chin on the boy's shoulder.

"Ciel…?" Alois called again.

" _Jim…"_ the Phantomhive said in a soft voice. " _I need you now more than ever to listen to what I have to say._ "

"But…" began the blonde, his throat stinging and dry. His vision blurred as his eyes began to water. "But… why… why do you want me to leave you? I _love_ you… I… I don't want to _lose_ you…"

" _I know."_ The bluenette said, kissing the other boy's temple. "I love you too. I don't want to lose you either."

"Then… _why?"_

" _Because I know you can save me."_ Ciel stated, kissing the boy again. "You're _strong_ , you're _brilliant,_ and you're the only one who _can_. You just can't do it right away."

While his heart had not been pierced by the blades of Krampus' servants, it was torn to pieces by none other than the blonde menace as the boy hid his face in his shoulder. Even so, he had to continue. Even if it meant hurting the blonde, he desperately wanted the boy to escape alive.

"I need you to leave while I buy you time. That's the only way you're going to be able to build the forces necessary to bring me back. I know you can do it."

"But… but…" the blonde began to protest. "I don't want to leave you… How will I know you're okay? How will… How will I know that you'll be alive, still? I don't want to go… _I want to stay with you_ …"

" _Jim, look at me…"_ Instructed the bluenette. The other boy pulled away from him, still never letting go.

" _I'm not leaving you! I can't lose you! I don-"_

Alois' shouts of protest were silenced with the Phantomhive's lips. The boy's eyes fluttered shut as he gripped the watchdog, allowing himself to be soothed only slightly by the sensation of Ciel's hands gently running through his flaxen locks. His breathing was erratic as he inhaled and exhaled through his nose, unable to separate from the Phantomhive as the bluenette's tongue went straight for his own, giving him the unpleasant taste of iron as the kiss deepened.

The blonde refused to part from his beau, even as his head began to spin and he suffered from vertigo. He only gripped the other boy tighter, causing him to grunt as his wounds were inadvertently trifled with. All Ciel did in response was kiss the blonde harder, almost bruisingly. Even still, it was time to part all too soon and he pulled away from the Macken boy. He ran his fingers through the blonde's hair, sweeping the boy's bangs out of his eyes so that he may look into them.

" _That's how_." He said, smiling at the boy with all sincerity and fondness. He continued to watch as the boy hesitantly, oh so hesitantly, removed an arm from around the bluenette's waist and place his fingertips to his somewhat swollen lips, his eyes never leaving the Phantomhive's as they stared at the demon in shock.

"Will that do?" Ciel asked, wiping away one of the blonde's tears with his thumb. To this, Alois simply nodded.

" _Yes…"_ he said softly, to the point where it was almost a whisper. He noticed as the bluenette looked past him, only to discover that there were more servants approaching them from the end of the hall. Alois was pained as the bluenette gently pushed him away.

" _I surrender_." The Phantomhive said to the servants. "I will cooperate fully _, on the sole condition that you let my accomplice go free."_

Once the words were uttered, the servants slowed down. They eventually stopped in front of the bluenette, offering him a small bow before helping him stand. Alois was offered the same assistance, but shook free of the grip of the lesser-demons and stood on his own.

" _Please escort him safely to the exit."_ The Phantomhive stated as two demons each swung one of his arms over their shoulders and aided him in limping toward the basement, presumably to be treated and be revisited by Krampus. He only made it halfway down the hall before he couldn't bear not looking back at the blonde once more. His eye widened to see tears streaming down the boy's face again.

" _Wait…"_ the blonde said. "… _don't leave_ …" He balled his hands into fists and grit his teeth. " _…Don't_ …" Finally he took a step forward.

" _ **I TAKE IT BACK!"**_ He screamed, taking a few steps after the bluenette, only to be restrained by Krampus' hires. Alois violently trashed about, attempting to free himself.

"Ciel! _CIEL!"_ he cried out. "I can't! _I CAN'T!_ Don't make me go! _Don't leave me!"_ The blonde managed to notice his beloved staring back at him as he threw off one of the men keeping him back.

"Ciel! _Ciel PLEASE!_ " The blonde sobbed as he was picked up by the remainder of the other demons and carried away. He reached his arm out to the Phantomhive. He grit his teeth together, realising the futility of it all.

" _I'll find you!"_ he shouted finally. "I'll bring you back! _I swear it!"_

Ciel could do nothing but listen to the other boy as he cried out and pleaded. He turned his head back around to face forward, unable to bear the sight any longer. Teeth clamped down on his lower lip as the Phantomhive struggled to maintain his composure, causing more blood to trickled down from the fresh new wound.

" _I know. I'm sorry. I love you more than anything, Jim Macken."_

 


	398. The Long Walk Home

The large wooden doors of the manor opened and out stepped several servants, taking a few steps before throwing the blonde menace out into the night before retreated back inside. Moments later, those same doors slammed shut, barricading the blonde from entering again. Alois was left alone, with nothing but the flaming Mercedes that he arrived in, which wasn't even fit for use. It didn't matter, though. All that mattered was that Ciel was gone. Alois had lost him.

Moments passed, and he simply stayed there, lying in a heap against the cool stone steps of the manor. He couldn't feel bothered to move, really. There wasn't any point. What good was he if he couldn't save the one he loved? Nothing. He was pathetic, and deserved to rot on the ground, if he was even fit to become food for scavengers and flies.

He felt nothing. The shock of it all was too much. He didn't feel like living, and he didn't feel like dying. Alois simply _there_. That said, an instinctive part of his mind told him to get up and he did try, only to wobble and fall further down the steps. He landed with a harsh _thud_ on the cobblestone below and wasn't even in the right frame of mind to respond.

Still, that part of his mind told him to get up again, and he feebly placed on foot in front of the other towards nowhere in particular. He didn't look back at the manor. He didn't look at the burning Mercedes out front. He simply stared straight ahead and trudged toward the gates before continuing to walk in the direction of the city.

Alois walked, and walked, and walked, _and walked_. He walked for hours, yet did not feel pain in his feet. The boy was far too numb for that. Both his body, and his mind were not fit for use as he shuffled around in a zombie-like state until the sun came up. By then, he had no idea where he was, he just recognized it as London.

As dawn broke, he eventually began to regain some feeling. All of it was painful. He felt the aching in his feet and legs, and he felt the stinging in his eyes as they began to water. The blonde's throat felt dry as all of the moisture in his body seemed to silently poor from his eyes. He hadn't even realised it until he passed his own reflection in the window of a shop.

The areas around his eyes were red and puffy, and seemingly the only place that had colour on his face. The expensive suit he wore was dirtied from tumbling on the ground and his formerly shined shoes were scuffed beyond repair. What disturbed him the most was his face, however. It was the face of someone who had lost all hope. Slowly, oh so slowly, he began to register that it was _his_ face, and suddenly it clicked that he was still alive.

He flinched as he felt the cellphone in his pocket start to vibrate. Apparently he had found a signal. After simply standing and wondering how to respond to it, he slowly reached into his pocket and placed the device to his ear.

"Hello…?" Alois said weakly, almost scared of the way his own voice sounded.

" _STATUS REPORT!"_ shouted the person on the other end. After a moment, he realised he actually recognized it. It was Sir Integra.

"Huh?" he asked, not sure how to respond.

" _Don't give me that, Macken!"_ The Hellsing woman angrily shouted into the receiver. "I have been trying to get a hold of the both of you all night! Give me a status report! _Now!"_

" _Oh…"_ the boy said. After that, he heard a sound escape the woman's throat on the other end, as if she was going to say something else, but she hesitated. After a long pause, Integra spoke again.

"What happened?" she asked, her voice softening. She had caught on to the hopelessness in the blonde's voice. "Where are you?"

"Somewhere in London." Alois answered. "I'm… alone."

" _Jim, what happened?"_ the woman asked again, calling the boy by his real name as she always did. A pang of achiness shot through his chest at the sound of it. _Wasn't there someone else who called him that?_

" _Where's Ciel?"_ Integra continued. _Ciel._ The name sounded familiar.

Suddenly all of the memories from that evening came back to the blonde at once. His throat tightened, and after hours of tears that had finally stopped, they returned at the mere mention of the bluenette's name. A whimper escaped Alois' lips, and whimpering soon turned into sobbing. He bared his teeth, as his face contorted into a pained expression.

"Ciel…" he began, speaking between sobs. "Ciel… was… captured…" he said. "And... and… and it's all my fault!"

"What happened?" Integra asked, staying patient with the boy. She knew that Alois had been through much, and needed time to process things. "How was he captured?"

"He _… He was injured_ …" the boy replied. "They blew up the car… We couldn't get away, so… so…" He swallowed in hopes of regaining some composure.

"…So he exchanged his freedom for mine…" Alois continued, clenching his fist. "He told me to… come back for him when I could… so I could save him… but… _but… I can't_ …"

"Jim, calm down. We'll sort this out." The Hellsing woman replied. "Do you have any idea where you are?" Alois blinked and looked around.

"By… Heath Street?" he replied, spotting a street sign.

"Alright. Stay put. I'm sending someone to get you right away." With that, the woman hung up, leaving the boy to his own thoughts.

Alois looked at his reflection in the shop window once more, wondering how on earth this sad, pathetic teenager was going to do anything, let alone rescue the person who is most likely the closest real-world equivalent to _James Bond_. He ran a hand through his hair, remembering how the bluenette brushed his bangs out of his face before they parted. Recalling the boy's touch was somehow calming, but it didn't solve the fact that he wanted nothing more than to break down and give up, as he certainly wasn't suited to lead a rescue.

"… _I know you can save me."_ The bluenette had said.

" _You're strong…"_

No.

"… _You're brilliant…"_

_No._

" _I know you can do it."_

_**NO.** _

Alois tugged at his hair, placing his elbows up in the air before bringing them back down as he clawed at his face. He screamed. He cried. He threw a fit, choosing to beat himself up rather than destroy property. Eventually he fell to his knees before curling up like a dead insect on the ground. Thank goodness, it was far too early in the morning for anyone to be awake and see his display.

Approximately an hour later, he was found by H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. operatives, in the same spot, in the same position. He was conscious, but his eyes were vacant, and the life didn't return to them even after he was assisted into the vehicle. The other agents asked him questions on their way back to headquarters, but he didn't hear them. He didn't even know where they were going. He was hardly even consciously aware that he had been retrieved. All that he knew and felt was hollowness.

It continued even as he made it to the H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. estate. He was brought to the infirmary and examined. Doctors would try to ask him more questions, but he could only answer "yes" or "no" by nodding or shaking his head. Any further inquiries were useless as the boy tried to cope with sense of loss.

The boy's odd behaviour was noted by those examining him and he was instructed to lie down and rest. He didn't, but he still sat on the bed. His back was slumped and he stared at his hands. Alois heard voices outside the door, but he didn't care to investigate.

They were the voices of those of Phantomhive house who had no doubt been called to the scene. Luka, Sebastian and Revy were talking with doctor Ackerman about the condition of the blonde menace. Alois couldn't bear to face any of them at the moment. The boy hugged his legs and buried his face in his knees, as if to hide from the possibility of any of them entering the room. And, sure enough, the door did open and someone stepped through.

It was Sebastian. Luka was held at bay by the doctor as the door closed again. It was decided that it would be best if the boy didn't see his brother at the moment, leaving the butler to see to Alois alone. The man glided across the floor, his shoes tapping against its hard surface as he walked over to the bed. He wasn't at all surprised that the blonde didn't move or make any effort to acknowledge his presence, even as the man took a seat on the edge of the bed. Only when his weight shifted the mattress did the blonde move, if only to hug his legs tighter.

" _Hello Alois."_ The butler greeted, his voice somewhat gentle. " _How are you feeling?"_

In response, the blonde only shrugged his shoulders, still refusing to look at the older demon. Sebastian wasn't entirely sure how to reply to that. He paused in order to formulate a sensible thing to say.

"I can't even imagine." The man said finally. "I may be an excellent butler, but understanding the feelings of others is my only weakness." He watched in confusion as the boy remained unresponsive. Perhaps his methods weren't working correctly.

"Doctor Ackerman told us what you told Sir Hellsing." He continued, watching the boy flinch. "The Master has always been the troublesome sort, getting captured quite easily. This certainly isn't the first time that something of this sort has happened."

" _Is this supposed to make me feel better?"_ the blonde asked finally, surprising the other demon.

"Aha, so he speaks!" the man jested, tilting his head in confusion as the blonde groaned. Weren't jokes supposed to cheer people up? Regarless, he continued. "I'm trying to inform you that this wasn't your fault. Knowing you, you fought with the master until the end on what action to take, didn't you?" He smiled somewhat when the boy nodded.

"I understand that losing a loved one is often a traumatic occurrence. Love seems to be a very powerful feeling, and as the master used to say; _'once something is truly lost, one can never hope to get it back again'."_ The man said. His words only seemed to upset the boy, causing him to tremble. He could only imagine that the boy was desperately trying to fight back tears, but his face was still hidden.

"However, you haven't really _'lost'_ the master, have you?" Sebastian asked. "He's simply waiting for you to go and _retrieve_ him."

"How do you know that?" inquired the blonde, finally allowing himself to look up and peek at the butler.

"Because he _chose_ you, didn't he?" answered the man, pointing at his lips with a smile.

A blush appeared on Alois' face at those words and he touched his lips with his fingertips again, recalling the feeling of the bluenette's. He still tasted the other boy's blood on his tongue, and shuddered at the feeling of Ciel's hands running through his hair. Sebastian was right. Ciel _did_ choose the menace for the task of returning him home safely. When the moment came, the Phantomhive didn't tell Alois to go get help. He didn't tell Alois to get Sebastian, or H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G; or anyone else. Ciel specifically told Alois that _he_ would be the one to rescue the bluenette and no one else. The Phantomhive had placed his faith in the hands of Jim Macken, and the last kiss they had exchanged was proof of that.

Alois looked up at Sebastian, giving some indication that he understood. The butler chuckled and stood up. He asked:

"So, _what will you do?_ Has the one known as ' _Alois Trancy'_ finally gained the ability to simply _give up_ in the face of adversity?"

In response, the menace stopped hugging his legs. He sat up, clenching the bed's blanket in his fists and grit his teeth. He was scared; very scared; but that has never stopped him before.

"I…" he began, trying to find himself again. " _I want to bring Ciel back_."

Sebastian smiled. "Then you _will."_ He said. "You've done things that are even more improbable than this before, and at the time, you were a mere human."

"And you still encourage me?"

"Of course." Sebastian replied. "My master is your partner, and you are the partner of my master. I have long put our differences behind me, Sir, and am somewhat finding myself keen to discover all these new things that I would have never known about without your interference. It is my duty to protect and take care of the members of the Phantomhive household, and that includes _you._ Thus, _I will be with you every step of the way,_ mister Trancy _."_

"Even though I imprisoned you?" the blonde asked. To this, the butler smiled and offered a small bow.

" _Yes, my lord."_

* * *

 


	399. Alexythemia

Alois slept for a full day and a full night after that. He mind was heavy and it exhausted him, so he stayed in the H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. infirmary in the meantime, the others staying at the Hellsing household as well. Thank goodness that Integra didn't seem to mind, as Luka refused to leave. The poor boy was barred from seeing his older brother, at least until the blonde woke up, and he didn't understand what was happening. All he understood was that Ciel was gone, and Alois was upset about it.

Upon waking, the blonde menace decided that he wanted to return to the Phantomhive Manor. After a few more question from the doctors, he was permitted to do so, and thus the enduring of the long, silent car ride home began. Alois didn't want to speak, or even hear another person's voice. He didn't even really want to be near the others at the moment, but he had to, at least until he made it back to the mansion.

As he stepped out of the vehicle, he looked up at the massive building, feeling as though it had been ages since he had been there. It didn't feel like "Phantomhive Manor", as there were no Phantomhives there. Ciel wasn't there, so it didn't feel the same. Alois felt like he was walking into the manor for the very first time again. The boy almost got lost on his way to the master bedroom.

After taking many unnecessary detours, he finally made it there and shut the door behind him, locking it before leaning his back against it. The boy slid down its wooden surface before eventually sitting on the floor. Icy blue eyes examined the room, seeing it in a completely knew way. This was no longer the room of Ciel and himself, but rather, only _his_ room, for the time being.

It hurt. That realization only added to the long laundry list of things that hurt Alois. He ran his hands through his hair, replaying the moments he spent with the bluenette before being torn from his side. He was sad, he was hurt, but more than anything else, surprisingly, he felt some sort of spark in his mind that made him get up off of the floor.

He quickly walked over to the dressing room attached to the master bedroom and started rummaging through his closet. Alois picked out some clothes before crossing through to the attached bathroom and turning on the shower. The boy set his new clothes to the side before stripping and stepping underneath the warm faucet, clearing away the grime from the past few days. After he was finished, he exited the shower and dried off before getting dressed.

Alois donned one of his many "work-suits", which were made to be ruined, unlike the stuffy thing he wore the night of the incident. The shirt was buttoned up and tucked in, his pants secure around his waist with a belt, and Alois tied a black tie around his neck before putting on the jacket. He walked over to the mirror to check his appearance, only to find that it was the neatest he had ever dressed himself. What was more pleasing than this, however, was his own face.

The red puffiness around his eyes was now gone and tears no longer stained his cheeks. He didn't look upset anymore, only neutral. Alois' heart felt empty, and now his face matched. The blonde couldn't let himself get upset or feel anymore grief, as that would only distract him from his primary objective at the moment; _bringing Ciel back_.

The blonde ran his hands through his hair one last time before leaving. He turned and walked out of the bathroom, through the dressing room, through the bedroom, and to the front room that led out into the hall. The doorknob turned with a flick of his wrist and as soon as the door was open, he stepped through it, only to crash into the chest of a certain Butler, whose hand was poised to knock on the door.

" _Mister Trancy?"_ Sebastian asked, his eyebrows raised in a bit of surprise. The boy before him didn't look quite right, after all. There was an "off"ness about him that didn't sit well. Alois stepped back, straightening his clothes before rubbing his mouth and nose.

"What is it, Sebastian?" the boy asked. His voice firm, as opposed to the last time that they spoke, but held a certain amount of melancholy that was couldn't be missed. Sebastian lowered his hand and smiled.

"I was merely checking up on you, Sir." The butler replied. "How are you feeling?"

"The same as I did before." Alois replied, walking past the man. "Has H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. called?"

"Yes, it would appear that the Round Table Conference wishes to meet with you for a status update as soon as possible." Spoke the butler as he followed the blonde.

 _"How_ soon?"

"As soon as you can would be preferable, they said."

"I'm can go right now, if they'd like." Replied Alois.

"I will go and inform them, then." Sebastian answered. He paused for a moment, looking at the boy.

"Are you _certain_ you're alright?" he asked, almost worriedly. "You seem to be handling this a bit… _well_ …" He couldn't quite think of a word to describe it. It wasn't " _indifferent"_ or _"apathetic",_ but the blonde's lack of reaction to the matter was much unexpected of the boy.

"I'm fine." The lad insisted, continuing to walk forward.

"You don't seem _'fine'_." Sebastian pried against his place as a butler. "You seem… ' _Far away'_." The demons stopped in front of a door. Alois' fingers wrapped around the doorknob before he turned his head to look at the man.

 _"I'm used to numbing myself in order to get a job done."_ Alois stated. _"_ Allowing myself to feel it will only cause problems and get in the way of my goal. I can't afford that." He turned back toward the door.

"If you'll excuse me…" he trailed off, opening it and stepping inside. He shut the door behind him and peered around the room. It was another that was known well to the boy; the Phantomhive study. This is the place that was most likely going to be his base of operations until he completed his task.

Immediately, the blonde got to work, finding any data or information that might be useful in retrieving the Phantomhive boy. He didn't have time to cry. He didn't have time to be hurt. Alois would only allow himself to register how he truly felt about the situation after the fact. It was his preferred method of dealing with unpleasant, and even downright horrible tasks on his own, even when he was human.

He couldn't break down and become the scared little boy who relied on his apathetic butler for everything. He refused to. Alois was determined to stand on his own two feet and finish the mission without shedding another single tear and if that meant causing his heart to go numb, then so be it. All of his pains would fell further away while he completed the task the Phantomhive chose him for. His disassociation from his own suffering was in his eyes, a necessity in order to do so.

Problem was, he didn't know where to begin. It was Ciel who usually kicked of an investigation, as the Phantomhive held the most experience between the two of them. Alois just simply added onto the data.

The blonde touched his lips again while seated in the office chair, thinking of what Ciel would do if the situation was reversed. He had solved many cases with the bluenette over the years, but never had he paid much mind to how the other lad operated. He was usually just content to go along.

Alois pulled at his hair and slammed his forehead against the desk. How could he ever hope to rescue the Phantomhive if he didn't even know how to begin? The boy shifted so that his chin was resting on the desk's surface as he heard a small knock at the door.

"Yes?" he groaned, not at all pleased with anything. "Come in."

Through the door stepped the butler again, offering the boy a small bow. "It's me again, sir."

"H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. answered?"

"Indeed. Shall I start the car?" Sebastian asked, watching as the boy stood up. Alois took a deep breath and ran his hand through his hair again, swiping his bangs out of his face.

"Yes." Said the blonde. _"Let's go."_

 


	400. Ground Rules

Everyone loaded up into the Phantomhive family Rolls Royce and headed out for Alois' meeting. Sebastian didn't want the boy driving at the moment, let alone in his favourite vehicle, and the other two boys simply couldn't be left alone. Revy say up front with the butler and Luka sat in the back with Alois, sneaking a few glances at the older lad as he stared out the window. The poor boy looked on as his brother seemed different from his usual self; more somber, and less aware of things. Silence reverberated within the confines of the vehicle, making it almost unbearable to inhabit. Finally, Luka said something.

" _Jim?"_ he asked, looking over to the blonde and capturing his attention. "Are you alright?" Alois looked away from the window and smiled at the other lad.

" _Yeah."_ He replied, reaching over and ruffling his brother's hair. "I'm just fine. Don't worry about a thing. I'm gonna take care of this, and everything will be back to normal."

" _Okay_ …" the brunette said as the car pulled to a stop in front of the council's usual meeting place. Alois got out of the car and waved goodbye before closing the door and walking up the steps. The others simply watched him for a moment as he made it inside.

" _He's lying."_ Luka said sadly. " _He's not okay_."

Once Alois had left the others' sight, his smile fell and he resumed his previous state. Walking inside, he was escorted to the room where the council was currently meeting. Had he remembered fear, he would have registered that he was somewhat afraid, venturing to meet with the Convention of Twelve on his own. The boy would now have answer any questions or criticism without the help of Ciel. Moreover, he would also be expected to make suggestions in accordance of what action to take. He hadn't the slightest idea of where to start with any of that.

The doors opened and the menace found himself before a room full of older men and a few women. All paused from their own conversations briefly to look at the boy. Some of them whispered amongst themselves, while others simply waited for the meeting to start. Eventually, Sir Integra called everyone to order, summoning their attention.

" _Ladies and gentlemen, let us begin."_ The Hellsing woman said. "We have called this meeting on such short notice because the situation with Black Annis has taken a turn for the worse." There was a pause, waiting for the whispering throughout the room to die down again before she continued.

"As most of you are currently unaware, the demons behind the drug have in fact, captured Sir Phantomhive." She added, and the whispering grew louder.

"What?! How?" demanded Sir Midford, standing up. "Ciel is one of our very best!"

"Maybe he turned _traitor?"_ suggested Sir Kirkland. "You know how demons can be…"

"How dare you?!" replied Midford. "There's no way Ciel Phantomhive would ever do such a thing! He's a better man than that!"

"Everyone, calm down." Spoke Sir Hellsing, corralling the attention of the group. She looked to the Macken boy. "Mister Macken, would you please explain what happened?"

Alois visibly hesitated as he tried to gather his own thoughts. He had difficulty even revealing the basics to H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. right after the ordeal occurred, and he wasn't entirely sure how he was going to fare now. Even with all of his doubt, he still had to do this. Getting the council's help could very well mean taking the first actual step toward rescuing Ciel. The boy ran a hand through his hair and took a deep breath, steadying his nerves.

"Ciel was injured with a blessed blade by a few of Krampus' servants after we were strategically separated." Began the Macken boy, trying to maintain his façade of calm. "By the time I got to him, he was stabbed multiple times and there were cuts all over him. He couldn't walk on his own as we tried to make our escape. I tried to help him while we escaped, but Krampus' demons already sabotaged our car. They blew it up so we could only escape on foot, which wasn't going to work, because we were surrounded by more powerful demons and he…" the boy trailed off, not wanting to say the rest.

"What happened?" asked Sir Midford. "Jim, please tell us what happened."

"He… _He_ … He exchanged my safe escape for his own capture." The boy concluded, furrowing his brow and looking at the floor. "He told them that he wouldn't put up a fight if they just let me go…"

"And you just _left?"_ asked Sir Kirkland?

" _No!_ I didn't!" Alois said, looking up to face the group, his voice raised. "I argued with him until I was thrown out of the mansion by Krampus' flunkies! I wanted to stay with him!"

"…But Ciel knew the situation called for insuring the escape of at least one of you, so that you could go back for the other." Integra said, putting the pieces together. "I assume that you wish to proceed with that action?" Alois calmed himself and nodded.

" _More than anything, right now_ …" he said softly.

"Then why don't you go back to the Trancy estate with backup?" asked Sir Kirkland.

"No good. They've most likely fled." Answered Sir Greendown. "What about his cellphone? Surely he has GPS installed…"

"Don't be _dumb_." Interjected Sir Rob Walsh as he leaned back in his chair. "If they were smart enough to blow up their car so they couldn't escape, they're probably smart enough to ditch the smart phone so we can't track 'em."

"There's got to be some way to find him…" spoke Sir Midford, folding his hands together. "Surely H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. knows of a way…?"

"I've already sent out several teams to survey the area." Answered Sir Integra. "We've found nothing. The mansion was already abandoned and reduced to it's natural state, and the Phantomhive car was nothing more than a burnt husk, matching the testimony we have."

The humans argued and made suggestion, however a lot of what they did was bicker amongst themselves. Some of them were genuinely frightened, as they had never even dreamed that the Phantomhive lad could be defeated, let alone _captured_. It was expected for a few of them to be shaken by this, but none of them seemed to know what to do. Alois eventually just started to tune them out and think on his own.

H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. examined the area around in and around Trancy manor? Why? For some clue as to where they went? Maybe. There was no reason for the Black Annis demons to stay there, and they most certainly weren't going to stay in London. That said, which way did they go? Trancy Manor was located on the Northwest side of London, and if could be counted on that the demons weren't going to risk transporting the Phantomhive through the city. That means that they couldn't have gone South, or East. They had to have gone North or Northwest, as it was easiest to get out of the city that way. That said, where was a good place to hide?

" _Don't bother looking in London."_ The boy said, gathering the attention of the humans. "They've left. They probably didn't go through the city, so given the location of Trancy Manor, they probably went North, or Northwest. Try fanning out that way until we can narrow it down even more."

As he finished talking, he wondered if he spoke out of turn. The gentlemen stopped their bickering to offer him their attention. His suspicions were falsified, however, as he noticed the Hellsing woman smile.

" _Very good, Mister Macken."_ Integra said with a chuckle. "I'll be making a note of that and inform my squads as swiftly as possible." As she took out her phone and started sending messages, the some of the others turned their attention back to the blonde menace.

"Jim, are you… _handling this alright_?" asked Sir Midford, wearing a concerned expression on his face. The man was somewhat familiar with the boy given his proximity to the Phantomhive, so he could tell when something seemed out of order.

"I'm fine." Alois replied almost automatically.

"Aren't you and Phantomhive lovers, though?" asked Sir Kirkland. "Surely, you'd be a bit more upset…"

"I don't have _time_ to be upset." The menace stated. "Allowing myself to get worked up over Ciel's absence will only get in the way of bringing him back. Until he's back home, I won't shed a single tear."

"Don't you think that's a bit _heartless?"_

"I will do what I _have_ to, Sir Kirkland. That's what Ciel left me to do."

"You can't just _forget_ about Phantomhive to bring him back!" the man said, standing up. "Of all the contradictory, evil bullshi-"

" _Kirkland! Sit down!"_ interrupted Sir Anthony Greendown. "You aren't helping the situation." His eyes flickered toward the Macken boy, as if pointing at him. With that, Sir Kirkland looked over at the boy, pausing to take in the sight of his face.

It seemed as if all former feeling that the boy had possessed at the meeting's start was gone; crushed down somewhere within the recesses of the lad's mind. Alois' stare was dead as it was blank, looking past the men with a thousand-yard gaze. Sir Kirkland was taken aback by it, realizing he had crosses a serious line.

" _What… What are you..?"_ he trailed off as he sat down, not daring to look away from the demon for even a split second. The demon simply remained that way, awaiting his next cue to speak.

Oddly, it came in the form of Mathew Westley. The father of one of the lad's friends didn't have much to say on the topic of retrieving Ciel. That said, he did bring to light a useful piece of information.

"Mister Macken," he began. "I don't mean to be rude, but how exactly to you plan on devoting yourself to this cause? According to my son, you start college classes in only a few days, correct?"

Alois' eyes widened as he remembered the fact. He hadn't been keeping track of the days. Even if the bluenette wasn't going to be there with him in the first place, he still didn't want to go without being able to come home to the Phantomhive's presence. Moreover, he didn't want to waste any time he could be spending locating Ciel, especially to study for a job that he already has.

"I can skip." He said finally. "I need to spend my time doing my job."

"Listen, Jim, we know that you love Ciel, but you shouldn't disregard your other obligations." Said Sir Midford, trying to be understanding.

"I don't _have_ to go." Alois argued. "I'm not mortal. It's not like I don't have time for that. What I _really_ don't have time for is leaving Ciel in the hands of those monsters!"

"Mister Macken, do not back out of other duties and become some ' _Captain Ahab'_ over this." Said Sir Hellsing, saying bluntly what Sir Midford was trying to dance around. "Leave part of the burden on me. It's my job. You are hereby _not allowed_ to participate in this operation when you have other matters to attend to."

" _But Integra-!"_

"It is _not_ up for debate, Macken." The woman interrupted. "Until classes start, you are free to participate, but from then on, you are only allowed to work when your schoolwork is complete."

The blonde furrowed his brow and wrinkled his nose. His indifference turned into anger as he was denied what he was set out to do over some childish restriction. The boy's fists clenched as the woman began typing something out on her cellphone, undoubtedly sending instructions on how to enforce the restrictions to Sebastian. The man could do it, too. Alois wasn't going to stand for it, though.

"Integra, _please!"_ The boy said, taking a few steps forward. "I _need_ this! I can't just sit idly doing homework or whatever when Ciel could be getting tortured, or _worse!"_

"Mister Macken, you need to _stay calm_." Integra replied, her voice more firm this time. It made the demon stop dead in his tracks. "I know you care about Ciel, and how you feel that you owe him for what he's done for you, but you _need_ to follow the rules so you can save Ciel, and not lose your sanity in the process." Alois looked at his feet.

"Yes, ma'am…" he said quietly. With that, it was decided that the meeting should be adjourned before things get any more heated.

 


	401. I Dub Thee...

Ciel awoke with a jolt on the floor. Pain rang throughout his body, but it wasn't as horrid as it had been before he was put to sleep. Aside from his initial movement, he soon found that he couldn't move his arms, and was restricted by the cuffs on his ankles. He was restrained by a very peculiar device that resembled what looked like a bizarre hybrid between a human ribcage and one of those face-huggers from a certain film. From what the boy could gather, it trailed up his spine with odd "legs" spreading out from it and locking his arms to his sides.

The Phantomhive almost had difficulty looking down at his abdomen to inspect his wounds, and to his surprise, he was bandaged up and he didn't seem to be bleeding. He also noticed that his suit jacket, vest, and tie were missing, leaving him in only his bloodied dress shirt, pants, underwear and socks. Much to his annoyance, his shoes were gone. There was no doubt in his mind that it was to mildly discourage him from trying to escape, somehow. Even his belt was gone, as it might have been of use to him. Oh, this bunch was clever. They were absolutely thorough in their insurance of his captivity.

With a deep breath, the bluenette took the opportunity to look around the room, only to discover that he was no longer in the Trancy basement, but instead in some form of jail cell in a dimly lit corridor, at least from where he was sitting. It was hard to tell as only one side was visible to him. He could see between the bars in front of him to see a hallway, but he couldn't see anything else, as the other walls were solid stone. Upon further discovery, he found that the floor he was lying on was marked with chalk. It was a demon's trap, so that he was too weak to break his bindings and escape. Oh, how he was dreading his decision as of now.

Then again, Alois did get away, didn't he? That was a relief. He was safe, then. That's what really mattered.

Ciel grunted as he tried to sit himself up, finally managing to lean his back against the wall. He was certain that there was dirt on his face from the floor, but he didn't really care, as it wasn't the more disgusting thing on his person at the moment. After all, his clothes were currently covered in crusty, dried blood.

As he sat there, he was sort of comforted by the thought of the blonde, but he was also worried. He didn't have any doubt that Alois would come after him, but he wasn't sure how he would handle the initial shock of it all. His beau was sensitive, after all, and has difficulty handling loss, let alone separation. The more and more Ciel thought about it, the more worried about the blonde he became. The thought of the boy being upset made his arms ache as he wanted to reach out and comfort him.

Sadly, Alois wasn't there and his arms were bound. There was nothing he could do about it. He was trapped, for the time being.

Suddenly, he heard a door opening somewhere. The hair on the back of Ciel's neck stood on end as he backed himself up as far into the wall behind him as he could go. The anticipation alone was almost enough to kill him. He had no idea what happened, where he was, or who with. What god-awful creature would he see appear within his line of sight just beyond the caged door?

It wasn't a hideous creature. It was _Jonnathan Beattie_ ; or rather, _the demon that looked like him_. Only last year, he was the one distributing the Black Annis narcotic to the students of Warwick. He still looked the same with the dark circles around his eyes and his short black hair that somehow stayed flattened against his head instead of standing up. One the only difference was that he wasn't wearing his Warwick uniform, but instead a black turtleneck with light grey shorts that end at the knee. The other difference, was his physical appearance. The boy had two small horns sprouting from his forehead, pointed ears, and a tail. He almost walked past the bluenette's cell, but stopped when he saw that the boy was sitting up.

" _Oh, you're awake?"_ he asked, turning his head and taking a few steps back in order to peer into the Phantomhive's cell.

" _Unfortunately."_ Ciel thoughtlessly replied. " _Might I ask where it is that I am?_ "

"Outside Northampton." The other boy answered.

"Funny, I don't remember there being any place like this near Northampton…" said the bluenette.

"We're hidden in a wooded area away from the humans. This castle hasn't always been here. Krampus made it manifest."

"I see…" Ciel said. It wasn't entirely illogical, given the fact that Sebastian was able to fix Phantomhive manor for the first time using the ability, and this bunch of demons was also able to temporarily restore the Trancy residence. Ah, that reminded him…

"Do you know what happened to my partner?" the Phantomhive asked. "Did they let him go like I asked?"

" _Yeah._ They threw him outside at the party. We don't know where he went after that." The other demon replied.

Ciel uttered a sigh of relief. He may be aching, injured, and restrained in a jail cell, but at least Alois was alright. A smile appeared on the bluenette's face at the thought.

"So, what is meant to be done with me?" the bluenette asked. "Surely I wasn't kept alive just to be thrown in here."

"I don't really know." The boy said. "They don't tell me much. All I know is that I'm supposed to check on you and tell Krampus if you're awake, and then check on the others."

"' _Others?'_ " the bluenette echoed, dread filling his thoughts.

"I don't think you know them." The demon replied. "They're a couple of trainee reapers who were in the middle of their final exam. Krampus wanted them for some reason. I don't know that, either." Ciel paused for a moment to ponder this. It was confusing, to say the least. His thoughts were interrupted when the other demon began talking again.

"Anyway, if that's everything, I'm going to get back to work." He said before walking off.

Ciel could hear his footsteps fading behind the corridor before stopping for a moment. After a brief pause, they continued only to stop again. For the longest time, there was nothing but silence.

" _Shit!"_ the demon down the hall exclaimed, causing the Phantomhive to flinch. Ciel listened carefully as the footsteps drew closer again. Soon, the other demon was in his line of sight again.

"One of them's _dead_." The boy stated, continuing his pace. "I'm going to get someone to help me take care of this, _then_ I'll go tell Krampus…"

" _Wait."_ The bluenette instructed, hardly sure as to what for. When the other demon came back into view, he thought of something.

" _What?"_ the demon asked.

" _I don't think I ever caught your name_." Ciel said. He looked up at the demon through the bars as the boy became obviously uncomfortable.

"Well, um…" the other demon began. " _I don't really have one_ …" he said.

"Really?" the Phantomhive asked, somewhat surprised. "Why not?"

"I was never given one." the boy replied. "Most of us don't have names, actually, so it's not that weird."

"How do you know you're being called?"

"They point to us and say 'you'. Sometimes it's 'boy' or something else."

"How did the higher-ups get their names?" asked the watchdog. "They have names, why don't you?"

" _They picked them out themselves."_ The demon said. He shrugged. "I guess the rest of us just aren't that creative."

"Hmmm…" hummed the bluenette. "You look like someone I used to know from school." He said. "His name was ' _Jonnathan'_. How does that sound?" He watched in surprise as the other demon gripped the bars and leaned in as he stared with wide eyes. The demon looked genuinely surprised; shocked, almost entranced.

"' _Jonnathan'_." He echoed. "'Jonnathan'? Jonnathan…" A smile spread across his face, growing wider every time he said it.

" _I like it_." He said finally. He let go of the bars and took a few steps back. "From now on, I'm _Jonnathan!_ Hey, did he have a last name, too?"

"Yes, of course." Ciel replied with a chuckle. " _'Jonnathan Beattie'."_

"Yes! That's it!" the demon excitedly said. " _'Jonnathan Beattie'!_ That's my name, now!"

"I'm glad you like it." Ciel said with a small smile.

"Yes! Thank you!" replied Jonnathan. "I'll be back soon!"

With that, the boy finally left, oddly happy with his new name. Ciel couldn't entirely blame him, though. It must be awful to not have something as basic as a name in their possession. To finally gain one is probably an exciting experience. With this, perhaps Ciel would be able to get more out of the other boy and cause his loyalties to sway just a tad.

The Phantomhive still wondered, however, about what he was there for. He recalled Krampus and Lilith saying something about a barrier that they needed him to break, but he admittedly didn't recall much of the conversation, seeing as though he was painfully stabbed at the time. Moreover, Ciel still couldn't fathom what the use of two reapers in the cells next to him were supposed to be. Well, _singular_ reaper, given the state of the other one. The bluenette assumed that he would find out once the other one had woken up.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Johnathan Beatie's name has changes a lot in spelling. About three times maybe? I don't remember. Anyways, the important thing here is that we're down getting down to the wire. The end is nigh! We still have quite a lot, but for this series? It can go by fast. That's why I haven't been posting ten chapters a day, lately. But, if you want me to, I can. Just say the word. 
> 
> When it gets closer to the end, I'll talk about posting the next installment. Traditionally, the first chapter is posted on the same day of the last chapter of the previous one. Look forward to it~!
> 
> Until the next chapter, my duckies~!


	402. Interruption of the Worst Kind

Days had passed since Alois' meeting with the round table conference and the boy had not slept once. He had been far too preoccupied in his search for the Phantomhive boy to participate in demonic luxuries like eating sleeping, or even _showering,_ for that matter. The boy had hardly kept track of how many times the sun had risen as he kept the curtains closed in the small office he had confined himself in.

The only times he left was for investigative purposes. Occasionally, he would call a cab to take him places, like the Trancy Manor, for starters. Alois had searched the building high and low for some kind of clue or a sign, only to find nothing but a few bloodstains on the floor of the basement. It was a grim find that nearly shook him, but the lad maintained his resolve. He trusted Ciel, and _knew_ he was alive. The only problem was, he wasn't sure where, or even how to get him back.

By this particular day, he had concluded that the Black Annis demons ventured North, or Northwest, landing them in either the providences of Westminster or Northampton. They would probably have gone no further than that, given the fact that they have to transport a demonic prisoner who is no stranger to conflict, and they have to do it so that he stays _alive_. Now, given this discovery, the lad has to decide where would be the most logical place to make their base of operations. It couldn't be small, given the volume of Krampus' forces and the size his apparent ego.

He sat at the desk in the Phantomhive's office navigating the computer and searching for possible sources. He had called H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. multiple times, only to be informed that no new developments had been made, even given the additional hypothesis he had concocted. Leaning back in the Phantomhive's chair, Alois sighed while staring at the screen in front of him. The boy ran a hand through his hair as he tried to maintain this odd sort of nervous calm that he had been exhibiting over the course of approximately four days. It was simply so much territory to cover. How on earth was he going to do it? Just then, there was a knock at the door.

" _Come in."_ the blonde said, putting his arm over his eyes.

" _Mister Trancy!"_ the butler said, quickly swinging the door open and briskly walking through to the front of the desk, startling the boy.

"What?! What is it?!" the blonde asked standing up while watching the man sweep around the side of the desk and push on his shoulders from the back.

" _There's no time to explain_." Sebastian answered, pushing the boy out the door. "It's _urgent._ You need to quickly take a shower and put on the clothes set aside for you."

" _But-!"_

" _No time to explain!"_ the man repeated, shoving the lad into the master bedroom and closing the door. Alois stood momentarily and blinked in confusion for a moment. What could this possibly be about?

" _Are you getting ready?"_ Sebastian asked from the other side of the door. His voice caused the poor boy to jump. " _If you don't, I'll come in there and help you."_ Immediately, the lad's cheeks dusted a light pink at the threat.

" _No!_ Don't come in!" the boy said, frantically trying to rip off his tie, unbutton the buttons on this shirt, and unfasten his belt all at once. He managed to take off the tie despite his clumsy haste-induced state, and got half of the buttons undone before removing his trousers. Alois' foot got stuck in one of the pants legs and forced him to the floor. He somehow kicked off the offending garment before making his way toward the bathroom.

"If you're not in the shower in _five seconds,_ I'm coming in." Sebastian warned with his back leaned against the door. Moments later, he heard the water running and smirked. "Ah, well, that's _one_ way to get him to do something."

Sometime later, the water stopped, indicating that the boy was clean. Then there was more shouting from the blonde's side of the door. "Where are my clothes?"

"On top of the dresser." The man replied, projecting so that his voice would be heard.

"Honestly, how the master manages to keep you in line, _I'll never know_." He murmured, stepping away from the door. It soon opened with the blonde menace rushing through it, dressed a bit more casually with sopping wet hair. The boy stopped abruptly and looked up at the man.

" _What's going on?!"_ he asked, only to receive no answer. Instead, Sebastian took to straightening the boy's garments and inspecting his appearance.

" _Look this way."_ He said, tilting the boy's head and looking behind his ear.

" _Now that way_." He added, repeating the action.

" _Now smile_." When the boy did, the butler shook his head and placed a hand on the boy's shoulder before spinning him around and pushing him back into the room.

" _Brush your teeth_." Sebastian instructed. "And dry your hair better."

"But you didn't tell me wha-"

" _Do it_." Interrupted the older demon in a firm tone, pointing toward the bathroom.

" _Okay!"_ replied Alois in an exasperated tone. He turned and stormed off in the same manner expected of a disgruntled teen. Once those two tasks were complete, he quickly returned to the butler.

"Now what?"

"Smile again." The man instructed, pleased with the results this time. He placed a palm on top of the boy's head. " _Now turn around."_ He said, forcing the boy to do so with a turn of his wrist.

With that, he plucked a small comb from his pocket and began to work on untangling the boy's hair. It was obvious that the lad had paid no mind to personal hygiene, but he simply didn't care. He felt a little better after scrubbing some of his own personal funk away, now, but it still didn't solve his problems. For instance, the problem he is currently having with a certain butler giving him orders and not telling him what is so urgent that it can take priority over his search. His mind began to wander shortly into the ordeal, causing him to have to be physically moved by the butler in order for him to reach certain sides of his head. The boy was starting to wonder if making a break for it was a feasible means to escape.

"Done." Sebastian said finally, placing the comb back in his pocket. He then started walking toward the very door that the blonde was staring at. "No time to dawdle. We need to leave soon."

"Where are we going?" the boy asked as he followed the man down the hallway. He was growing increasingly frustrated each time Sebastian said nothing, but couldn't think of a decent way to persuade him. He didn't have his beau's way with persuasion, it seemed.

Once finally downstairs and in the garage, the lad looked up to see both Luka and Revy sitting in the backseat, smiling and waving at him. At the time, he thought nothing of it. Alois simply assumed that they were going along because Sebastian had to drive. Thus, he got in anyway in the front passenger seat and buckled himself in, still confused as to what was going on. His confusion only grew when they traveled down and unfamiliar road and ended up at a building that he had never seen before.

After the car pulled to a complete stop, the man in the driver's seat unbuckled and stepped out of the vehicle. He then proceeded to walk around the car to the passenger side, and open the door, hinting that Alois should get out as well. Arching an eyebrow, the boy heeded his silent request, and joined Sebastian at the side of the car. The man then reached back in, having Luka hand him a few things from the back seat. There was a backpack and a folder which soon made their way into Alois' hands. Alois looked down at the two items and looked up as the man closed the door before offering the blonde a smile. With that the boy pieced it all together.

" _Hey, wait a minute!"_ he shouted, but Sebastian had already jumped over the top of the car and made his way back into the driver's seat. Alois tried to pry at the door, but the man had already locked it, cracking the window.

" _I'll be back to pick you up at three-thirty, sir_." He said.

"Sebastian! You dirty twat! Open the door right now!" shouted the blonde, jiggling the handle.

"Have a nice day!" Sebastian replied, shutting the window completely before driving away, forcing Alois to let go.

With that, Alois was left alone in front of King's College in London with no way home. In his left hand was his bag with notebooks and the like, and in his right was a folder with his schedule in a map. The rest of him was filled with fury.

Alois didn't have time for college. He didn't care about anything else but finding Ciel. Perhaps Sir Integra was right. Maybe he was turning into some kind of "Captain Ahab", but he would rather be a Captain Ahab _with_ Ciel than a college student _without_ Ciel. To Alois, it didn't make sense as to why it mattered if he did go a little nutty in search of the boy. Ciel did similar stuff all of the time. What he didn't know, however, that to H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G; The Round Table, and the Phantomhive household, Alois was the anchor that kept the bluenette from being too obsessive about cases, and that they really didn't need _two_ absurdly "dedicated" detectives. That was part of the reason for allowing the blonde to stay in the first place. Obviously, though, he was turning out to work fairly well as a "spare demon".

That is, if he weren't currently suppressing a fit. If there was something nearby to smash to piece, it probably would have found it's way into the boy's hands, or be introduced to his fists. He did not like being made a fool of, and he did not like being denied what he wanted. He did not like being taken away what he had deemed important, and rightfully so, for something that he deemed less important, if not at all. He knows he wanted to attend college, but that was specifically to compete with the bluenette. If Ciel wasn't there, then what was the point?

Still, he was stuck at the front gates with no way home. He would have to call a cab, but even if he did, he was sure that Sebastian already had a plan to get him back on campus to attend whatever classes he had left. In a huff, he swung his bag over his shoulder and opened up the folder to peer at it's contents.

The schedule within it made the boy cringe immediately. Math. First thing. On a Monday. That wasn't already going well. Alois snorted and plucked the map out of the folder and began walking. His mission would have to be put on hold until he himself returned home.

* * *

 


	403. Go Google It

When he walked into the door, he was glad to see some familiar faces. Even though they had graduated from Warwick, it seemed as though Alois would never be able to escape some of the sensational seven. As soon as he set foot in that classroom, he was noticed by the one and only Daniel Westley, who waved at him from his seat in the back row. Next to him was Kristopherson, ditching the pink tie for a pink button-up with the sleeves rolled up and a vest.

" _What up, playa?"_ the Westley lad greeted dweebishly, much to the dismay of the Miles. Kristopherson rubbed his temples in embarrassment as the Macken boy decided to walk over and join them. He still wasn't entirely thrilled about the situation, but maybe if he was amoung friends, it would fell like time is progressing faster.

"What're you two doing here?" asked Alois as he set his things down and took a seat.

"It's a core class, so everyone has to take it once no matter what field you're going into. I thought you were supposed to be a detective?" joked Kristopherson. He arched an eyebrow as he looked at the lad's face which formed a fresh frown. "Are you alright? You don't look too good…"

"First day jitters?" asked Daniel. "Wait, does Alois even get nervous about stuff?"

"Ignore Daniel. He's an idiot." Kristopherson said to the menace. "Anyway, you looked bummed." Patiently, the faux-blonde waited as Alois hesitantly answered.

"Yeah…" the Macken lied. "It's just… A lot has happened recently…"

"Did you and Ciel fight again?"

"No! I mean, we didn't, but…" The demon paused, his eyes looking around the room. "It's not something I can really talk about in a crowded classroom…"

"H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. stuff?" Kristopherson asked, arching an eyebrow.

"Yeah… Sorry…" answered Alois. His friend looked at him with a concerned expression, but felt that it was best to not pry.

"It's fine. You can tell us later." He said. "Or not at all. Your pick. Don't worry about it."

"Thanks…" the blonde replied. He then proceeded to stare into space while he waited for the instructor to arrive, still running through his head how he needed to get home and continue working. The more he thought about it, the more anxious he became, made apparent by his constant fidgeting. The two human boys simply looked on curiously, wondering what had gotten the boy so bent out of shape.

"So…" Daniel began, trying to think of a way to relieve the tension. "Are you living on campus, Alois?" he asked, only earning a small head shake from the Macken.

"No." the blonde said. "You?" he asked, trying to pretend to be interested.

"Nah." The brunette replied. "I'm moving out, though… Speaking of which, can you come over and use your demon strength to…"

"You started this conversation to ask me to help you _move?"_ Alois asked, finally turning to face the other lad. Daniel simply shrugged.

"Maybe." He said.

"No." the blonde replied. "I'm busy."

"Oh, come on!"

"Just hire somebody to do it for you…"

"But that costs money!"

"And you're rich…" Alois said. "And anyway, like I said, I'm busy. I'm in the middle of a job, and I need to focus on it."

"What's the job?" Daniel asked.

"H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. stuff, weren't you listening?" the Macken answered. "Have Kristopherson help you."

"I already am." Kristopherson intervened. "He's moving into my new apartment. Apparently, his brother lost his job and his girlfriend dumped him, so Dan's in a hurry to get out before Nathan moves back in."

"Bet his mom's pissed off, isn't she?"

" _Extremely_." The faux-blonde replied. "Anyway, we'll be good on our own. You just focus on whatever it is that's got your hands tied."

Once more, Alois sighed. He ran his hand through his hand again, brushing his bangs out of his face for what appeared to be the tenth time through their conversation. With that, the Miles boy removed something from his wrist and handed it to the menace.

"What's that?" Alois asked, arching an eyebrow.

"A hairtie." Kristopherson replied. "It'll keep the hair out of your eyes, if it's bothering you. Ann left it in my car."

"Should you really be giving me stuff that doesn't belong to you?"

"Doesn't matter. She's got a million of 'em." He continued. "She won't notice if she's missing one."

Hesitantly, the fair-haired demon took the small elastic band and pulled his hair back. His hair was short enough that he had to pull it back tightly in order to get enough of it to make an adequate ponytail. The stinging sensation on his scalp as a result, he found, was slightly more effective than his fingertips in reminding the lad what the bluenette's hands felt like in the last few moments they saw each other. He could still picture the boy's face as he moved the blonde's bangs from his gaze; how bloodied and pained he looked. Even with the hairband, three locks of the blonde's hair were too short to be pulled back, and remained in place. He didn't mind. He could still see.

"Ah, too short, I guess." The Miles lad said. He chuckled. "Put on your suit, and you'll look like a hitman or something."

"Good." Alois replied. "I _am_ a hitman."

"Damn straight." Added a certain politician's son. "…or _not_." He joked before glancing over at the blonde's notebook. "Why do you have a map of England?"

Reflexively, the blonde closed the book and slid it out of the Westley's gaze. "I'm looking for something…"

"Have you tried google maps?" Daniel asked. "It's easier to find stuff with that. It's how I found out where Kris' super-gay flat is."

"It's apparently your super-gay flat, too, dumbass." Quipped Kristopherson.

Alois didn't pay attention to that last part, but he did hear Daniel's suggestion. Google maps was a modern invention, one that the blonde hadn't known about for very long. It was only last year when he learned of it. It provided directions and alternative routes, but it also showed satellite photos of the entire planet that could be zoomed in or out of. According to Ciel, such satellites were used for combat purposes as well during times of war.

The blonde's mind was reeling at this point. The round table has access to that kind of technology, and the people to scan through any possible findings quickly. With the possible field narrowed in the way that Alois had specified and that kind of searching capacity, they would be able to find possible locations for the bluenette to be hidden in no time at all!

" _That's it!"_ the blonde declared aloud, slapping his hand on the table. Several heads turned and stared at him in confusion, much to the embarrassment of his friends. Alois, however, couldn't have cared less as he stuck his tongue out at them. With that, he immediately took out his phone and began texting.

"Uh… are you okay?" asked Kristopherson, arching an eyebrow at the boy in confusion.

" _Ecstatic."_ The blonde replied as he continued to type out his proposition. He pressed send and placed the device on the table in front of him and waited.

The demon folded his hands and rested his chin on the table as he stared at the phone. The others simply stared with him, or rather, at him for a moment before looking to each other with a shrug. They couldn't explain the thought process of Alois Trancy, therefore they couldn't understand his behaviour. They simply waited with him. Finally, the phone vibrated, shaking the table, and Alois immediately slapped a hand over to it and read the message.

" _Are you serious? You want to use a government satellite?_

_-IFWH_

He typed his response and hit "send".

" _I wouldn't joke about this. Think of it as an investment._

_That's one more demon the you don't have to catch,_

_and one more supernatural being who works for her majesty._

_You can't replace Ciel Phantomhive, after all._

_-AT"_

Then, he waited some more.

" _I'll see what I can do. I expect to see you here as  
soon as your classes are finished._

_-IFWH"_

Alois grinned. It was the first real smile that graced his face in days. Admittedly, it was sort of unsettling to his friends, but he didn't care. With this, he was one step closer to completing his mission. He was one step closer to finding Ciel, and one step closer to bringing him back. Now, he was glad he came to school, but he didn't think he could be able to sit still until three-thirty.

 


	404. Mack The Knife

 

* * *

Ciel waited patiently for Jonnathan to return. It took far longer than he had expected, but he assumed that the boy was having trouble finding assistance. Eventually, the other demon did return with a lesser demon with him. They both walked past Ciel's cell; much to the lad's surprise the demon outside smiled at him before walking onward.

He then listened carefully to the sounds of the footsteps as the echoed down the corridor. They didn't stop at the first cell this time, and continued to the second. A door creaked open and the sound of shuffling was heard. Eventually, the Phantomhive started to hear the sound of something being dragged. There was no doubt in his mind that it was the body of the dead reaper.

All suspicions were confirmed as the two demons passed his cell again, the servant following behind Jonnathan with the body in tow. The man looked a lot younger than the reapers that Ciel was familiar with, but then again, he was supposedly a trainee of some sort. The body was fresh, stiff and bloody. It appeared as though there was quite a bit of blunt trauma along with the lacerations that covered it, judging by the way it's limbs sat at anatomically impossible angles. His eyes were wide open yet they were completely empty. No life was visible in those yellow and green orbs, which is still oddly inappropriate for a grim reaper, whose face was permanently contorted in agony, his mouth agape in a silent scream.

Obviously, the poor reaper did not die peacefully. It made the bluenette wonder what was in store for himself. Oh, how Ciel was dreading this decision. Yet, it would be worth it in the end, wouldn't it? At least the others are safe.

Jonnathan left with the lesser demon and the corpse of the reaper and did not return for a while. He still had to dispose of the body, after all. Then he had to inform Krampus of the Phantomhive's awakening. It was still agonizing to wait on the lad. He had not the slightest clue as to what was going to happen to him. He would soon find out as Jonnathan returned, this time with Morgan, who walked with a bizarrely peppy, spring in her step. They stopped in front of the boy's cage and Jonnathan unlocked the door, subsequently deactivating the demon-trap on the floor as they were somehow connected.

" _Krampus wants to see you."_ Said Jonnathan, his face looking a bit concerned. The bluenette only nodded and tried to stand. It was difficult, as he still had no way of moving his arms. He was soon assisted by the other boy, who helped him to his feet and guided him out the door. Morgan simply smiled at him, following along.

They walked up a flight of stairs and made their way into a large hallway, which led to the rest of the castle. It was flamboyantly decorated, just as Krampus himself was. Yet, the Phantomhive did not get to see very much of it, as their destination was close by. Back down the stairs they went and into another dark section of the castle. Upon walking into the room, Ciel immediately froze.

Krampus was there, as expected, seated comfortably in a chair in the corner. Yet the room held a certain familiarity about it that the Phantomhive did not like. In the center of the room was a T-shaped table with some straps attached to it. Knives were mounted on the wall; some were clean and some were freshly used.

It had been a long time since Ciel had felt this same kind of fear. It had been one hundred and thirty years, almost. That is when he felt the same, childish, crippling fear at the age of ten. Flashbacks appeared before his eyes as images from that day flooded forward; images of _the day that his story truly began_. His heart was racing and his eyes were wide. A layer of sweat coated his skin as every never in his body was screaming, telling him to run. He couldn't. His legs refused to listen, and instead were only capable of taking a few steps back.

He was swiftly shoved forward, and just narrowly caught himself before he crashed into the stone floor. Ciel then looked up and watched as Krampus stood and walked toward him. The man stopped just before him, and bent over at the waist to meet the younger demons' height.

 _"Why, hello there, honoured guest."_ The man said, his breath reeking of a stench similar to the scent of an open flame. "You don't look too well." Ciel said nothing, focusing all of his energy in staring the man down.

"Let's have another chat, shall we?" the man asked with a chuckle. "It's about why I let you live…"

"What do you want, Krampus?" Ciel asked, his voice forceful, as always. There was haste and urgency mixed in as well, which apparently went unnoticed by Krampus.

"Ooh, eager, aren't we?" the man asked. "You want in on my little plan that badly? Hm? Tell you what, Phantomhive, I'll cut you a deal."

"What 'deal'?" the boy asked.

"If you continue to be a good boy and cooperate, I'll let you in on my plan, and I'll grant you a wish."

"I don't care about your plan anymore." The bluenette stated. "I just want to ensure the safety of my family."

" _'Family'?"_ the older demon echoed, standing up straight and arching an eyebrow. "What _'family'?_ You mean that little bunch you have staying with you?"

" _Yes."_ Ciel replied. "They are my family. As long as they're safe…" he trailed off, hesitant to say what was to come next. "… _I'll do whatever you ask."_

Krampus smiled, throwing his head back in a haughty laugh, clutching his stomach. Ciel glared up at him, waiting for him to make his next move. The boy involuntarily flinched, somewhat as Krampus reached out, placing a hand on his head and rubbing it.

"You're a _funny_ one, aren't you?" the man asked. "How noble!" The man then looked to the two other demons in the room.

"Please get mister Phantomhive situated in his new seat, and make sure his comfortable!" he instructed with a jest.

Upon hearing the command, Morgan placed a hand at the base of the bluenette's neck, where the beginning of the restraining device was located before running it down it's spine. The device unlocked and Ciel was finally able to move his arms again, but it didn't last for long. The Phantomhive was soon grabbed by the demons and forced over to the center of the room.

The lad's feet refused to move toward the altar, so he was dragged, wearing holes in his shoeless socks. He tried his best to cooperate, but some fighting back was instinctual. Regardless, he found himself strapped in, the leather binding his arms and legs tearing into his skin.

Ciel's chest heaved as the flashbacks continued. While his eye stared up at the ceiling, all he could see were the masks of those men. Back in reality, the older demon seemed immensely amused.

"You seem… _troubled_ , Phantomhive." He joked. "Having a bad day?" He placed a hand on the boy's head, petting it soothingly.

"No, from the looks of things, it's already happened to you. What a shame." He continued. "I was hoping I would be the one to break you." He turned to the other two demons in the room.

"Oh, Morgan?" he called.

"Yes Sir?" the girl asked with a smile.

"Would you please be a dear and collect the blood sample from miser Phantomhive?" The man asked, causing the boy's eye to force itself to pay attention to the man as it strained to stay in the real world.

" _Here's what's going to happen_ ;" Krampus said to Ciel as the demoness grabbed one of the knives from the wall and a small jar. "I'm going to have Morgan here cut your wrist, and collect a little bit of blood. Don't worry, these are ordinary knives, so you'll heal right back up, _but it may take a few tries._ "

" _Here we go~!"_ Morgan chimed in a sing-song voice, placing one of the cleaner blades against the bluenette's left wrist. Ciel's eye widened and so did the grins on the other two demons, while Jonnathan simply stood idly, looking on in silent horror at the scene.

" _Arrgh!"_ Ciel let out through his grit teeth as the blade sliced through his flesh. Quickly, the demoness moved the jar to collect the red liquid that poured out. Soon, however, the wound healed shut and only the bottom of the jar was filled.

So she repeated the action. She did it again, and again, and again, and again. Finally, they had over half the jar full. Ciel looked over at his wrist, which was completely fine, but still tingled from the pain of being sliced open so deeply. He shook and hyperventilated as he saw the girl position the knife once more. His eye snapped shut as he braced himself for more pain.

"I think that's enough." Krampus said finally. "What do you think, Phantomhive? Will that do?"

Ciel simply looked up in amazement at the man as he laid there. Ciel had never been on the receiving end of this kind of psychological torture. He had always been the one to administer it. Even though he was unable to speak, Morgan ceased her actions, putting away the knife with a small pout before putting a lid on the jar.

"Yes, sir…" she said.

"That's my girl." Replied Krampus before walking away from the table and toward the door. He stopped and turned around.

"Take him back to his cell." He said as he was handed the jar of blood. "Just in case we still need him."

"What… What are you going to do with that?" the boy asked as the straps loosened. The older demon shrugged.

"I guess it won't hurt, telling you." He said. "There's nothing you can do to stop me, after all. You see, a little birdie told me that this right here will give me access to _what lies beneath your manor…"_

Ciel's eyes widened. " _No…"_

"Yes." Krampus replied. "Three damned objects. _The Book of Akeldama, The Hand of Akeldama,_ and the last remaining shard of the demon sword _Lævateinn;_ all of which, will become _mine_."

"Morgan, and you _, boy_." The man said, alerting the attention of his two underlings.

" _Yes, sir?"_ replied Morgan, as Jonnathan looked like he wanted to correct the man, but decided against it.

"Take that one, Metus, and whoever else you think you might need, and bring me those three items." Krampus instructed, receiving a laugh from the demoness as Ciel sat up.

" _You can't!"_ Ciel barked, attempting to stand up, only to be held back by the remaining two demons. _"You said you'd leave the others alone!"_

"Oh, Ciel, you're so _naïve…_ " Krampus stated. "Rule number one of dealing with demons: we will always _lie."_

"Don't touch them!" the Phantomhive commanded, his eye glowing with rage as he gave the man's underlings a hard time. "If you or your freaks lay _one_ hand on any of them, I'll kill you!"

Krampus only scoffed at the notion. "I don't see what you're so upset about. People are replaceable. If you stay here and earn your freedom back, you can make friends with the demons here."

"Don't you _dare_ talk about them like they're worthless!" Ciel shouted, his fists clenched. _"They are all infinitely more valuable than the scum a piece of trash like you could ever produce!"_

The older demon froze at the lad's words. His eyebrows were raised with shock momentarily before furrowing. He asked:

"What did you say to me?" Ciel snarled.

" _You're trash_." The watchdog growled. "You're a piece of trash that doesn't deserve to have the luxury of rotting in even the world's worst landfill. No, on second thought, you're not _'trash'_. Trash can at least have some value to someone. You are _less than_ trash! You're-"

Krampus grabbed one of the knives off of the wall and buried it in the Phantomhive's chest, silencing the boy except for a sound of pain. He then brought his arm back up to repeat the action. He did it again, and again, and again, and _again._

Soon, the Phantomhive stopped talking. He simply lied there as his attacker finished his fit. He wasn't breathing. He couldn't as his lungs quickly regenerated. He healed almost instantaneously, but he still felt pain. His eyes were open and he stared at the ceiling, unable to force himself to move. Krampus threw the knife to the side as he looked down on the boy.

"What was that?" he asked again. "I'm _trash'?_ 'I'm _'less than trash'?_ Then what does that make _you?"_ He turned to his two underlings.

"There's going to be _a small change_ to your instructions." The man calmly said. "I want this little _'family'_ of mister Phantomhive's to _suffer._ I want you to make them suffer such agonizing pain, that it makes a demon to _beg_ for death, and when they do, I want you to keep it out of their reach. I want you to do this for as long as possible until they each finally die _. Understood?"_ Morgan smiled while Jonnathan's eyes widened.

"Yes, Sir." They both answered, regardless if it was what they wanted or not.

" _Good."_ Replied the eldest of the demons. "Now, please take mister Phantomhive back to his cell, if you'd please."

Thus, the bluenette was put back in his restraints and escorted back to where he started. He was thrown into his cell, landing on his side before rolling onto his stomach. Ciel heard the sound of the lock and felt the snare reactivate, sapping his strength once more. He didn't care, though. He didn't care about anything. All he thought about was what was going to happen to the others? He thought he had saved them by sacrificing himself, but it wasn't enough. He wasn't strong enough to save any of them. He couldn't even warn them of the danger that they would be facing. It wasn't enough. He simply didn't have the power to do any of it, nor did he have the strength to pull himself out of the pits of despair.

Ciel closed his eyes, picturing his beau's face; his icy-blue, cat-like eyes, fair skin and blonde hair. Ciel imagined the boy's smile, and the sound of his laugh. If Krampus' underlings were successful, he would never see any of it again. There wasn't even the smallest hope that he would. Jim Macken would cease to exist, and there was nothing he could do to save him. As much as he believed in the blonde's strength, he wasn't sure if he could hold his own against all of the Black Annis demons at once, even with the help of Sebastian. Ciel pressed his lips in a fine line, trying to remember the feeling of his last kiss with Alois.

" _Jim…"_


	405. Adding Two and Two

"Anything yet?" asked the blonde, walking up and staring at the screen of one of many H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. worker.

"No, sir…" the man confusedly said, un-use to have to call a child "Sir".

"Oh." Alois replied. "Keep looking, then."

"We've only just started, Macken. It takes a while to sweep entire territories of land, especially when you aren't sure what it is you're searching for." Said Integra from her seat. "Why don't you just sit down? Your pacing is starting to stress even _me_."

"How can you not be worried, though?" asked the menace. "Ciel was hurt. He could be worse off, now!"

"You forget, we have a _secret_ that tells us if he's alive." The woman answered with a reassuring smile. A small blush appeared on the other boy's cheeks as he gently brushed his fingertips against his lips.

When Alois went to H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. headquarters, he disclosed his plan before he was forced to do any schoolwork assigned under the watchful eye of the Hellsing woman. It took him much quicker than Integra expected, but upon examining his work, it turned out to be satisfactory. Thus, she had no choice but to allow him to participate in the search. To his dismay, however, there really wasn't much for him to do.

The H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. operatives were taking care of things, leaving him with nothing to do but to observe. He hated that. The demon could never quite understand how nobility could just sit back and watch as other people did their work for them. It was maddening, like he was somehow being restrained.

He couldn't sit still. There was so much left to do, and he couldn't shake the feeling that something was severely _wrong._ He was sure that his sixth sense was trying to tell him something crucial. Despite the woman's request for him to sit down, he couldn't help but nearly wear a hole in the floor from his constant pacing. It wasn't as though Integra was going to stop him from trying to work out his anxiety.

What could possibly be happening? Was Ciel undergoing interrogation or being tortured? Was he slowly being killed or was he being brainwashed? Perhaps, and perhaps not. It could be nothing, or it could be everything; Alois wouldn't be able to know until _after_ he reunited with the bluenette.

"Here's your tea, ma'am." Said a familiar voice, catching the Macken's attention for a moment.

"Oh, thank you." The woman replied, taking the cup and saucer from the soldier. When the young man turned around to leave, Alois recognized him.

 _"Audrey?!"_ he called, causing the soldier to jump. He didn't recognise the lad, as his hair had been cut so that his bangs no longer covered his eyes. The reaper smiled.

"'Sup?" he greeted casually. "Nice ponytail, by the way. I hardly recognised you." He added.

"So you did get into H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. after all, huh?" Alois asked.

"Yep. It was easier than I expected, but I did have _some pretty good recommendations and help._ " Replied Audrey. His smile soon faded.

"We'll find Ciel, Alois. We'll bring him back and exterminate those bastards." He continued, pausing to put his hand up to his forehead in a salute. " _'Sir'."_

Alois smiled at the other gentleman's somewhat playful use of a formality. "Carry on, good soldier." He said before turning his attention back to the matters at hand.

The nagging, anxious feeling he had been experiencing worsened, suddenly as soon as he did. Something was definitely wrong. He could feel it as he gripped his chest. Alois felt like he needed to run, but didn't know where to. This was not simply just nervousness toward the situation as a whole, but rather, it was his sixth sense indefinitely.

" _Integra…"_ he called, capturing the woman's attention. In response, Sir Hellsing set her tea sown on the table in front of her and listened.

"Yes?" she replied.

"Something's wrong…" Alois said. " _Really_ wrong… Sixth-sense wrong…"

"Any ideas on what it could be?"

Alois paused, and thought. It could be the bluenette's status at the moment, or it could be something else. What did he know about Krampus and his intent? He knew that Krampus was arrogant, and power-hungry, but there wasn't much else. Alois then began to think about the conversations that he and Ciel had on the matter. Was there something that Ciel had a bad feeling about, other than the infiltration of Trancy Manor?

The blonde paced back and forth, aggressively scratching his head and undoing most of his ponytail in the process. The more frustrated he became at not finding an answer, the harder doing so became. "I don't know!" he said.

"Jim, calm down." Integra instructed. "Take a deep breath, and _push what's at stake to the side_. Think _only_ about the logical possibilities for a moment."

"I… I can't…" Alois stated.

"When will you figure out that you actually can?" the woman asked. "You finished your math in under an hour. I saw your grades from Warwick. That _should_ have been impossible."

"That's because this time, it actually _mattered!"_ argued the Macken.

"Are you saying that finding a possible reason as to why your sixth sense is on the fritz _doesn't?"_ Integra inquired further as she stood up. "Right now is your opportunity to show everyone your true potential. I've read the mission reports from Ciel. He says you're unwittingly _brilliant."_

There it was, back again. " _Because I know you can save me."_ The bluenette had said. " _You're strong, you're brilliant, and you're the only one who can_."

But how? The Phantomhive was always saying those things to the blonde in order to reassure him. If they were so true, the why did they constantly need said? To Alois' eyes, he was none of those things. They just weren't there. He didn't know why the bluenette claimed to believe in him when it was obvious to the blonde that he was still the same frightened little boy who had to cling on to someone else as he was one hundred years ago. He didn't understand why Integra told him those same things now.

"Get a hold of yourself, Macken." The Hellsing woman said. "You've got important work to do. We can't afford to have you flaking out on us now."

"How is pacing back and forth important?" the demon asked. "I've just been standing here!" Alois took a step back as the woman leaned down to meet the level of his eyes.

"Then _take action."_ She said before walking back to her seat.

Her associate couldn't help but stare after her for a moment, wondering what she meant. He simply didn't know what sort of action to take in order to heed her advice. Did she want him to decide on a course of action? If so, then how does he find that out? She said to push everything else to the side and to focus on the logical possibilities. That was a difficult task, as he constantly felt as though he were blowing things out of proportion.

He always did, after all, always finding things that are wrong, when in reality, the real problem was easily solved. Alois recalled the incident in Rio de Jeneiro when he fought with Ciel because the boy wouldn't tell him what was bothering him. Ciel only hid it because he wanted to protect the blonde, but Alois didn't know that. How was he to know about the invitation from Lilith or Ciel's dreams about the figure?

"Oh…" Alois said aloud. _"Oh!"_ he shouted, his eyes widening as he put his hands on his head.

"Integra!" he called, alerting the woman's attention. "I've got an idea!"

"What is it?" the woman asked.

"After Krampus' attack on Warwick a while back, Ciel's sixth sense was going crazy, too." Answered the boy. "He kept having dreams and visions about the Book of Akeldama. Krampus said something about becoming 'the demon to rule them all' or something. With that as a possible motive, and the book of Akeldama…?" he trailed off, waiting for Integra to connect the dots.

"He could actually do it." She concluded as she stood up again. "Macken, you're going home immediately. Take a team with you and secure that book!"

"Yes, ma'am!" the boy said, grabbing his jacket and running out the door. "C'mon, Audrey!"

"World domination?" The reaper asked. " _Cool._ "

 


	406. Attack On Phantomhive Manor

"Sebastian, when's Jim coming home?" Luka asked, looking up at the man. He had asked many times, but was never satisfied with the answer.

"I don't know if he'll be coming home, Luka." The butler replied with a sigh. "He hasn't been doing anything but working, lately, so I wouldn't be surprised."

"Oh." The lad said, looking at his feet. "Just like Ciel, huh?"

"Yes," Sebastian chuckled. "He and the master share a lot in common, don't they?"

"It's okay, because Jim loves him. They're both gonna come back." Luka paused, reaching up and patting the man's arm. "It's okay, Sebastian don't be sad."

"I'm not sad…?"

"Well, you miss Ciel, too, don't you?" the boy asked. "And you look worried about Jim, too."

"Maybe I am…" Sebastian said. He bent down and picked the youngest of the Macken brothers up. "Come on, it's time for you to get ready for bed."

"But I wanna wait for Jim!" the boy protested as he was carried down the hall.

"I'm afraid not." Answered the butler. "If you don't get to sleep, you'll be tired all day tomorrow, and… and…" The man's attention seemed to move elsewhere. A frown appeared on his face as he furrowed his brow.

"Luka," he began. "Where's Revy?"

"Probably in his room. He never leaves." The boy replied. "Why? Hey!"

Luka shouted as the man started to run down the hallway. Sebastian carried the boy, holding him closely as he did. The butler's eyes shifted toward the wall, at the window, and he jumped forward, dodging as the glass shattered. Through the window came a familiar figure, but one that neither of the Phantomhive demons had seen before.

Before Sebastian and Luka stood a demon who took the appearance of a lad in his late teens, with horns the swirled from his cranium on both sides and claws on his middle and index fingers as well as his thumbs. The boy had his black hair cut in an unusual bowel-cut and his face contorted in a wicked smile. His tail swished from side to side as he offered his greeting.

" _Howdy_." Said Metus as he straightened his back and waved at the pair.

" _Oh my…"_ the butler replied. "I didn't know we were having guests. I would have prepared tea."

"Cut the crap, old man." Metus said, making a face. "I'm not here for some witty, bullshit banter."

"Oh? Then what _are_ you here for?" In response, the younger demon flexed his claws.

"Just doing my job." He said before lunging at the butler and Luka. "And man, do I _love_ my job!"

He cocked his arm back, and swung at the man, only to be blocked, his claws being stopped by a set of silverware as Luka uttered a small yelp and clenched his eyes shut. The Black Annis demon arched an eyebrow, and audible "huh" escaping his lips as he looked up at the man. His opponent, however, smiled.

"What a rambunctious guest you are…" the man said. "Still, I'll be more than happy to offer you the same Phantomhive hospitality."

Metus swung at the two other demons, either missing, or being blocked by the man's silverware every time. Soon, the butler kindly introduced his foot to the Annis demon's face, sending him reeling backwards down the hall. With that, Sebastian took off running again.

"Sebastian! What's going on?!" the Macken boy pleaded, gripping onto the man tightly and refusing to let go.

"We seem to be under attack." Sebastian answered. He dashed down the hallway to the other Macken boy's room. Naturally, the door was locked, so Sebastian promptly kicked the door in. There, he found Revy seated at the computer, currently jumping out of his own skin.

"What are you doing?!" the revenant demanded, confused by the man's actions.

"Never mind that, just follow me." Sebastian answered. "We're in a bit of a dangerous situation, so step lightly."

"What the hell are you talking _abOUT?!"_ the boy yelped as he was swiftly picked up with Sebastian's free arm and swung over the man's shoulder. Now with both lads secure, he had to somehow deal with the situation before things got of hand.

As much as he didn't want to fight with the two boys in tow, Sebastian also didn't want to leave the other demon to ransack the place, especially since the man knew that there were dangerous items that the house was guarding. He would have to somehow protect the children and the house at the same time. It was easier said than done as another window shattered.

"Hullo~!" chimed a female demon as she entered the establishment, crushing shards of broken glass beneath her feet. The demon had a doll-like face with big, bright eyes with her hair put up in pigtails. Long, black horns protruded from the sides of her head, extending outward. It was a wonder she didn't get caught in the window, with their size. She had long, inhuman arms, the forefront of which widened at the ends and were covered with black fur. Ugly claws extended from her hands and she smiled at the group sweetly. It was Morgan. She was here on the orders issued by Krampus, and she was more than happy to oblige.

With his hands full, Sebastian opted to make a run for it and call for backup. Admittedly, he felt silly for prioritizing the lives of the two children with him, but he did. He wanted Luka and Revy to be safe and sound before he took care of business.

"Sebastian! Look out!" Called Revy, prompting the man to jump. The arm of the demoness had extended, and she struck the ground where Sebastian once stood. Still, the butler kept running.

"Revy! Do you have a cellphone on you?" he asked.

"No! I left it in my room because you picked me up!" the boy answered.

"Well, then I assume we'll have to go back." Sebastian sighed.

_"Are you out of your fucking mind?!"_

_"Language,_ Revy." The man scolded. "Just because things have taken a problematic turn, that doesn't mean you get to misbehave."

"This is stupid!" the boy protested.

"Tell that to the young lady chasing us. I'm sure she'll appreciate it." Replied the butler.

He rounded another corner, attempting to take an alternate route in order to cut back around to the lad's bedroom in order to call H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. Revy suggested that they try to use the home phone, but it was likely that the chord had already been cut, given how this bunch was known to operate. Sebastian's hunch was proven correctly when the lights went out.

"WAGH!" Luka cried out, frightened by what was going on. They were being chased by people who broke into their house with the obvious intent to hurt them, and now it was dark. The boy was scared. He clenched his eyes shut and hid in the crook of the man's neck as he clung to him, whimpering.

"Oh dear…" Sebastian said, observing the lights for a moment before turning his attention to Luka. "There, there, Luka. If I can get someone as troublesome as the master out of situations like this, I can certainly manage to do the same for you." The boy looked up curiously and Sebastian offered him a smile.

"After all, _what kind of butler would I be if I let the occupants of my household perish_?" he added, receiving a small nod from the boy.

With that, Sebastian took off running again. Seeing in blackness was not a problem to a demon of his caliber, thank goodness, and the group made it to the revenant's bedroom. He quickly set the boy down.

"Find your phone." He instructed, receiving a small "okay" from the teen as he took off his sunglasses. Alas, Revy's night vision wasn't so exceptional.

"I can't see anything!" he said while stumbling about in the darkness.

"Approximately where did you put it?" asked the demon.

"Uh… On my desk, I think?" the boy replied, causing the man to rummage around the table for him. With a sigh, Sebastian turned to the lad again.

"Any other ideas on where it might be?" he asked.

"Uhm…." Revy answered, jolting at a loud booming sound coming from elsewhere in the house. "C-coat pocket!" he answered.

Sebastian reached into the pocket of the coat swung over the back of the chair, finding the small, handheld device that he was looking for. He placed the item in his own pocket before placing a hand on Revy's back.

"Alright, let's go." He said, ushering the lad to the door. Suddenly, he stopped and picked the boy up again.

"Well, hello, there." Greeted Morgan as she stood in the doorway. The older demon furrowed his brow as the girl held out her arm to them again. "And goodbye." She added, prompting the man to turn around.

 _"I'm sorry, master."_ He said, surprising both his enemy and the Macken boys as he kicked a hole in the wall of the bedroom and leaped through it into another room.

"Wait! Get back here!" the demoness called, about to run after them. Alas, her massive horns got stuck in the door frame and she could not pass.

Sebastian kept running. He didn't want to be trapped by the demons, after all. He stopped in the foyer, the front door in sight. They would be able to escape, now, and have the opportunity to call for help. Then Sebastian would be able to go back and fully defend the manor. Still, he could not shake the feeling that something else was coming. Suddenly, he set both children down and held them close.

"Wagh!" Luka shouted as the front door was smashed in, bits of wood and splinters flying across the room.

"Luka! Revy! Don't open your eyes!" the man warned, but instinctively, Luka did anyway. There, standing in the doorway, was the most horrifying thing that he had ever seen.

 _Annies_. Lots of them. They stood tall with their black armour with blood seeping through the many gaps and their skeletal faces with red tears streaming down their faces, staining their pearl-white teeth. They groaned and shuffled toward the group. Luka was frozen as he stared up at the monsters, his eyes watering and small whimpers escaping his mouth.

"Luka, it's going to be alright." Sebastian said, letting go of the two boys. "I'm going to protect you."

Sebastian tugged on his glove a few times after he turned to face the creatures, making sure they sat securely on his hands. His eyes glowed crimson and the Black Annis monsters made their advance, provoking the man to take action. In an instant, he was high in the air before the face of one of the ghastly creatures, finding that the creature wanted the man to sit between it's jaws. While Sebastian did not oblige the Annie's request, he did promptly introduce it's jaw to his foot.

Shattered fragments of black armour scattered across the foyer floor and Sebastian did not wince at the impact. He kindly stuck the monster again, this time crushing the skull of the human that lied within. The man's feet touched the floor and so did the body of the Annie before the butler moved onto his next opponent, repeating the action of breaking the creatures' plating with his fist.

Luka closed his eyes and clung to Revy, hiding his face in the other boy's chest. His brother wrapped his arms around him, holding him close and shielding him from the chaos around them. The revenant couldn't look away from their caretaker, however. He could stop watching as the man who had treated them with kindness and care brutally smashed these god-awful monstrosities in the dim light of the moon shining through the hole where the entrance to the manor once was. Blood decorated the carpet and the tiles on the floor of the foyer, while dying what little blackness of the butler's uniform there was crimson.

Somehow, the most frightening part was not the violence that ensued, but rather, the small glimpses of Sebastian's face as he inflicted it. The man seemed to be sincerely enjoying himself as he crushed the armour and skulls of the creatures. It looked as though he was simply playing a game. Sebastian ordinarily acted kindly, and was very much a father to the boys of Phantomhive house, making it so easy for them all to forget that he is in fact, a demon. Sebastian was always a monster, and it was only recently that he began to take on human characteristics rather than simply mimic them. The man is a predatory beast; it wasn't a hard concept, they knew. They _always_ knew this fact. That said, it was very different to simply "know" something, rather than seeing it with your own eyes, as Revy found out while he watched the violence before him unfold.

He had been through H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. training, but it did not prepare him for seeing the eradication of monsters _by_ monsters up close. It didn't prepare him for the blood, the strands of meat and the shattered bones. It didn't prepare him for the pained howls that erupted from the creature's throats as they fell to the ground. It didn't prepare him for the empty faces of humans beings as the black masks of the creatures shattered, revealing the person that they once were underneath. Even now, he was stuck with disbelief as the floor was littered with bodies, leaving Sebastian as the only one standing.

The man removed his gloves as they were now wet, sticky, and dyed forever crimson. He sighed at the state of the ruined pair before walking over to the two boys. As he turned to greet the pair, he couldn't help but feel a pang of guilt and something else as he saw the way Revy looked up at him, his eyes widened with fear. The butler reached out a hand to the boy, watching as he flinched.

"I'm not going to hurt you." Sebastian said in a soft voice. "I was merely removing the threat. We have to get going."

Hesitantly, the boy nodded and stood up, still cradling the ten year old in his arms. Revy soon picked the boy up and followed Sebastian out the front door, running as fast as he could. He was soon picked up by the man, however, as the demon was not satisfied with the slow speed that the revenant was traveling at. With both boy's secure, he paused after running quite the distance to phone H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. and inform them of the attack.

As soon as he did, however, he saw some armoured trucks en route to the mansion, and flagged them down. Once they stopped, he set the children down, holding onto the hand of the youngest of the Mackens in an effort to comfort the poor boy. The door on one of the trucks opened, and immediately jumped out the blonde menace.

"Luka! Revy!" he called, running over to the two. Luka let go of the butler's hand and ran over to his older brother.

"Jim!" he shouted back, running to the eldest only to be scooped up by the demon into a hug. The blonde menace nuzzled the boy, kissing his temple as he sighed with relief seeing that everyone was alright. Alois then made his way toward the others, joining his odd family.

"I'm so glad you're all okay." He said, ruffling the revenant's hair before turning to Sebastian. "Thanks, Bass-man. I owe ya." The man only smiled.

"I was merely performing my duties, sir." The butler answered. "Now that the boys are safe, we must return to the manor and flush out those pests."

"Krampus' goons?"

"Yes."

"Glad to see my sixth sense works." Alois stated. "I'm on it. Revy, Luka, get in the truck that I was in. They'll take you to Integra's house. You can stay there while we deal with this, okay?"

"What about you and Sebastian?" asked Luka.

"We're going to go with the other truck and wipe the floor with those bastards!" the menace replied, only to be corrected by Sebastian.

"Language, Alois." The man said.

"Oh, _come on_!" complained the eldest Macken. "They're just words, Sebastian, it's not like they're gonna hurt anybody-"

_BOOM!_

The earth shook beneath their feet as the explosion went off. Quickly, Alois ushered the younger ones into the truck and instructed the driver to take them back to H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. headquarters. With that, he and Sebastian took off toward the manor, followed closely by the remaining armoured car. When they got to the house, however, it was too late.

"No…" Alois mouthed as he watched the inferno consume the Phantomhive mansion.

Red, yellow, orange, and any other colours in between raged toward the heavens as black smoke seeped out. Walls collapsed, turning to ash as the house fell. Krampus had now not only taken their master, but he had also taken their home.

 


	407. March Comes Early

Ciel heard footsteps again, but he didn't care. He simply continued to lay in the floor and do nothing as they approached. What reason did he have to do so? If he put up too much of a fight, if his family was still somehow miraculously alive, they most certainly wouldn't be for long. The bluenette then heard the sound of the door to his cage being opened, the demon snare beneath it being deactivated once more.

" _Sir Phantomhive?"_ called a voice, one that the lad had not expected to hear again. Ciel turned over to face the girl as she stood in the doorway, staring at him with an odd expression on her face.

" _Lilith?"_ the bluenette answered back, causing the demoness to walk toward him and help him sit up.

"How are you feeling?" she asked. The boy furrowed his brow.

"How do you _think_ I'm feeling?" he snapped, but the girl just rolled her eyes.

"Save the attitude, I'm here for some good news." Lilith replied.

"Yeah? What's that?"

"Your friends are alright." She answered, watching as the Phantomhive's face immediately went from contempt to an odd combination of shock and relief.

"They're… safe?" he asked, absent mindedly. The demoness nodded.

"Yes, they're all alright, but I don't know where they are." She admitted. "Morgan, Metus, and Jonnathan set fire to the mansion after they took what was underneath it."

"I have an idea of where they might be staying…" the bluenette said, looking down. He paused for a moment before looking up at the girl again. "Hold on, how did you know about 'Jonnathan'?"

"What? That that's his name?" Lilith asked. "He told me, but I'm afraid you've got bigger problems."

"Let me guess; about my imminent demise?"

"Oh, you're _good_." The girl retorted. "I'll do what I can, but I thought you should know what's going on."

"Why?" Ciel asked. "So I'll trust you? How do I even know you're telling the truth?"

"Because _you already knew it_." The girl said, gesturing toward her lips. Ciel blushed at putting together what she meant.

"You knew about _that?"_ he asked.

"Yes, and it wasn't that easy to keep _hidden_ , either, just so you know." Lilith replied as she stood up. "Anyway, that's all I came here for. I have to go deal with Krampus as he gloats about his _'new toys'."_

Ciel grimaced at the thought of that demon getting his hands on those diabolical objects. He would have to put a stop to this quickly. With those items, it would be more than easy to create a second catastrophe of London, the one where Sir Integra lost her eye, and this time, it may not be contained to just the city.

The body count would be greater as the flames spread across the United Kingdom. People would be devoured by the Annies and any other supernatural beings who decided to take the opportunity to run wild. The Grim Reapers would have to scramble to keep up with the lives lost and be hassled by the amount of souls that couldn't be collected because they were consumed by demons. Krampus would create his own little playground, just as he said he would, and when nothing is left but ash, he would leave the small collection of nations and go onto the next. Then he would move on to the next, and the next, and the next, and the next.

The humans would be powerless. It wasn't as though ordinary bombs or bullets had any effect on these creatures. Orginizations like H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G., Iscariot, B.I.G.F.O.O.T. in America and Branch 42 in Japan would be better equipped, but if the creatures scattered throughout Europe decided to provide Krampus support, then they would be easily overwhelmed. Lilith could see the dread on the boy's face as she shut the door of the cell and locked it.

"I'll keep you updated." She said.

"Why?" the boy asked.

"Those are spoilers that I can't give, right now." The demoness replied. "You'll find out soon, though."

Ciel simply watched her as she walked away, more than dissatisfied with the answer. It was expected, as it was the only rational response to the situation. Lilith traveled down the large hallways, passing by several servants who offered her a small bow. She didn't particularly care for it, but it kept the lesser-demons out of trouble. They can't create contracts, after all, and need some form of guidance lest they begin to kill at random.

Eventually, the demoness made it to her destination. She took a moment to pause at the large door in front of her to take a deep breath and straighten herself. Once she composed herself, she wrapped her hands around the door's handle, opened it, and stepped inside.

There, she found a large room with Krampus lounging on the sofa with three items seated before him on a table. He smirked as if he were proud of himself for his minions' work as he stared at them. There was a large book before him, bound in aged leather. There was a jar with many seals on it's exterior that contained a green liquid, and a disembodied hand floating in it. It was shriveled and grey with talon-like claws on the fingertips that looked like they could cut through steel. Lastly, there was teal shard of some unknown hard substance that appeared to be only recently given a small handle with a sheath positioned next to it on the table. These items were the book of Akeldama, the Hand of Akeldama, and the shard of the Lævateinn, respectively. Krampus' eyes flickered up from the three objects and to the demoness.

"Lilith," he greeted, sitting up with a smile and a hand outstretched toward the girl. "come here."

The demoness heeded the man's command; her heels clicking on the hard floors as she made her way over to the man. Reluctantly, she took a seat on the sofa next to him as he wrapped an arm around her. She smiled.

"So I take it the mission was successful?" she asked, tilting her head to the side.

" _Very."_ Krampus answered with a laugh. "I didn't think it would be this easy! That bunch dropped like a bunch of flies!"

"You certainly played them like a piano." Lilith said, surprised when the other demon looked to her.

" _We_ played them." He corrected, removing his arm from around the girl and leaning forward. He grabbed the blade off of the table and put it in it's sheath. He smiled at the girl before placing it in her hands.

"A gift." He said. "For you." There was some hesitation in her movements, but she took the weapon, offering the man a smile. She took it out of the sheath again and examined it.

"It's beautiful." Said Lilith, causing the other demon to chuckle.

"And so are _you_." He said, grabbing the chin of the demoness between his index finger and thumb so she would face him. Krampus kissed her before standing up.

"Now, I say, we celebrate." Said the man before walking over to another part of the room which housed a record player. He activated the device and put on a record before turning toward the girl again and extending an arm. "Care to dance?" Lilith smiled before standing up and making her way toward the man once more.

"Not really." She answered. "I was thinking something more _… penetrative?"_

Krampus arched an eyebrow and smirked as he closed the distance between himself and the demoness. With a chuckle, he wrapped his arms around the girl.

" _Eager_ , aren't we?" he asked. "I think that wish is more than within my power to gra-"

A sharp pain pierced the man's abdomen, causing his eyes to go wide. He looked down to see a teal-coloured blade protruding from his stomach and blood seeping through his clothes. Krampus looked up at the girl in his arms.

" _Lil..ith?"_

"You really are a _vile_ excuse for a man." Lilith said, twisting the dagger before shoving the man off of it. Krampus took a few steps back, clutching his wound.

"You… _you bitch!"_ he hissed, blood dribbling from his mouth as he fell to his knees.

"You never were that creative with insults, were you?" Lilith asked, walking back over to the sofa and pulling a handkerchief out of her pocket. "Come to think of it, you were never really that bright at all."

The man glared at her as she sat down and proceeded to wipe of the blade. "Why?!" he asked. "Why did you…?!"

"I have my _own_ priorities." The demoness answered. "I don't really care for violence, really. But, if it's necessary, I'll do what I must."

"You… You want to steal my kingdom from me, don't you?!" Krampus wheezed.

 _"No_ , you're ' _kingdom'_ is worthless." The woman stated. "I'm not so simple-minded as to destroy the planet for my own entertainment. The humans are doing a good enough job of that as it is."

She watched with contempt as the man on his knees began to cough up blood. "Did you know, Krampus? About the Lævateinn… Did you know that a wound inflicted by it will _never_ heal?"

"…Urrg… _Bitch…"_ the other demon choked out, causing Lilith to roll her eyes.

"Another interesting fact;" she continued, leaning back in her seat. "A soul pierced by the Lævateinn will come to a complete end. _Poof!_ No more soul. So I guess that what that means is that you have no way of coming back, hmm? This really _was_ a nice present you gave me."

"No…" the man wheezed as he tried to crawl toward the other demon. "…help me… You have to…urrgh _… Help me!"_

"First you call me a ' _bitch'_ and then you ask for help? What realm are you from where that makes sense?" Lilith asked. She tilted her head as she watched Krampus collapse and writhe on the floor. She then turned her attention to the book on the table and opened it, skimming through the pages.

"Thanks for getting these for me, as well." She continued. " _It was really helpful_."

Sweat poured from the man's brow as he coughed and wheezed, resting his head against the cold tiles as the words of the demoness began to sound farther and farther away. His vision started to blur as his good eye watched the demoness get up and walk over to him. She put her weapon back in it's sheath and asked:

"You really aren't that bright, are you? All I had to do was play nice and boost your silly ego. Apparently, that was all it took to get you to trust me… You even gave me the weapon to kill you with!" She nudged him with her foot.

"Goodbye, Krampus, ye shall not be missed."

She turned away as the life drained from his eyes completely. He was still, so she was now alone in the room, and was free to fully examine the items on the table. She ran her fingers over the lid of the jar.

" _Akeldama_ …" she said aloud, eyeing the hand in the small container. Her eyes then wandered to the door.

 _"Now onto the next step_."

 


	408. Treachery and Neighbours

Once again, Ciel heard footsteps, and looked up to find Lilith standing before him. She quickly unlocked the cage and stepped inside without a word before helping the boy up. She said:

"Krampus is dead."

Ciel's eye widened. "What?"

"Krampus," she began, saying it slower this time. "…is dead. I don't know _how_ , but I know that you need to get out of here. You need to take back your belongings and leave right now."

"How?" the Phantomhive asked. "There's guards everywhere."

"I'll escort you." She said. "I'll lead you there and while you're still shackled up. That way, everyone with think I'm just leading you somewhere. I'll undo the binds when we get to the room with the book and the hand. Take them, and go."

"Why are you doing this?" the bluenette asked again. "Answer me, this time." Lilith hesitated in answering.

"Because in a way, _I'm just like you_." She said. "The only difference is that when I lost someone I loved, I lost them for good. You _need_ to go back to your family, Phantomhive. That's just the way that things should be." Ciel stood up straight, even if his arms were still bound.

" _Let's go."_ The Phantomhive said, waiting for the demoness to lead the way. With a reassuring smile, she did, leading the boy out of the cell and up the stairs into the hallway.

Lilith was right. None of the servants said anything, and instead only offered the girl a small bow. With that, it was too easy to get to their destination. _Too easy_. Ciel was almost hesitant when they finally got to the door. He felt the girl run her hand down the spine of his restraints, causing them to unlock and fall to the floor. The Phantomhive looked to his accomplice, and received a nod.

"Go. I'll watch the door." Lilith said. "Once you've got what you came for, I'll lead you out."

"Got it." Ciel said as the girl opened the door.

The boy stepped inside and found a large room with a record player, a sofa, and a table with the items on it. As he got closer, however, he found that one of them was missing. It was the shard of the Lævateinn. The piece was nowhere to be found.

Ciel inspected the rest of the room in search of it, only to find nothing. The only thing he did find was Krampus' body on the floor in a pool of blood. The boy had a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach as he flipped the man over. He died of a stab-wound to the abdomen, but how? Even with a blessed blade, one can only hope to kill a demon by piercing it's heart. Suddenly, it clicked.

"Lilith!" he said aloud, running over to the door. He tried to open it, only to find that it was locked from the outside. The Phantomhive pounded his fist against the barrier. "Lilith! Open the door!"

He heard voices outside and backed away, staring wide-eyed at the door. It flew open and servants poured in along with Lilith. The girl looked distraught.

" _Krampus!"_ she shouted, rushing over to the man. Ciel watched her as she pretended to grieve, but soon stopped as he was grabbed by lesser-demons.

" _Don't_ kill him!" the girl ordered, looking up. "We still need him! Put him back in his cell!"

"You traitor!" Ciel yelled at the girl as he was dragged away. "I never should have trusted you!"

His confusion toward the entire situation only grew as the girl stood up with a somewhat apologetic expression. Reading her lips, he found her to be saying " _I'm sorry_ " as he was carried off. Thus, Ciel found his way back into his cell with his restraints placed back on his person. He should have known that the girl was _too_ helpful. He should have known from the moment that she informed him that Krampus was dead that something was amiss.

The real question was, what did she want? She didn't seem like the sort who would want the same chaotic mess that Krampus did for herself, but then again, she was quite manipulative, wasn't she? She took her time trying to be "friends" with the bluenette, gaining his trust, only to pin him for murdering Krampus. Then there was the part that disturbed Ciel the most; why did she order the servants to keep him _alive?_

Clearly, she still needed him, but for what? She already had the three diabolical objects of Phantomhive manor. What more did she need? What could she possibly need him for now that she has what Krampus sought to gain? The demoness always said that she has her own priorities, but where exactly did those priorities lie?

"Oh, you're back, huh?" called a voice. It was familiar, but Ciel couldn't quite place who it belonged to. "Sorry I haven't talked to you sooner. I was recovering and couldn't speak." The bluenette paused before hesitating.

"Oh, you're the trainee reaper in the cell next to mine, aren't you?" asked the Phantomhive.

"Sure am." The reaper replied. "There one more, though. They captured my partner, too."

"I know…" Ciel replied. Apparently, the lad in the other cell was unaware of his compatriot's fate. He wasn't sure if he should tell him, but it slipped regardless. "Your partner's not in that cell anymore. They took him away."

"What?!" asked the reaper. Ciel heard the sound of movement next to him. "Where?! Do you know where they took him?!"

"Unfortunately, I don't." the bluenette answered. "All I know is that… well… he's not suffering anymore…"

"What do you mean?"

"He's dead."

Ciel didn't hear anything after that for the longest time. He simply leaned back against the wall and waited. As expected, he heard some heavy breathing, as if the trainee was trying to calm down. It must have been a shock. The Phantomhive didn't know how long the reaper had been conscious, but his friend had been carried off several days ago. All of this time, the reaper must have thought that his comrade was still next to him, trying to regain strength just as he did. Ciel could understand how that must feel. Ordinarily, he wouldn't have given it any thought, but, it wasn't as though he had anything better to do at the moment.

"He's dead…" the reaper said softly. "How could I not have noticed?"

"You didn't talk to me for several days, but I was told that you were there." Ciel replied. "Should that have been false, I would have still believed that, given that my senses are a bit restricted." He added, looking down at the chalk markings on the floor.

"I didn't really know him that well, but… I still didn't want this to happen…"

"How could you have predicted it? You were doing what you were supposed to, and this bunch captured you. The control was not yours." The demon said.

"I guess…" the reaper replied, marking the beginning of another long, awkward silence. He sniffled.

"So…uh…" he began, trying to continue the conversation. "What's your name?"

"Ciel." answered the bluenette. "Ciel Phantomhive."

"Cool." The lad in the other cell replied. "My name's Maxwell _… Maxwell Goddard_."

* * *

 


	409. Sight or Flight

Hellsing Manor, home to the Hellsing family for three generations and base of operations of the H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. organization. At the moment, it was currently housing four more occupants than usual; the remaining members of Phantomhive house. Their manor had burned in an attack, and while it was easily restored along with everything inside a mere two hours later by a certain devilish butler, the substitute head of house was not certain that it was safe to return just yet. Thank goodness for Sir Integra, who kindly offered them a place to stay while they continued their work in finding Ciel Phantomhive.

Alois would go to school, and then return to prepare for making his rescue as H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. operatives combed the specified range of territory for any oddities that could lead to locating the demon's beau. The blonde finished his schoolwork and like always, was on the base's training course again. He simply couldn't leave it alone.

"Pull!" he shouted, and up into the air went seven orange discs on multiple sides. He pivoted, lining up the shot on each one before pulling the trigger.

"One… two… tree…" he counted off as he hit each one. "Four… _damn_ … five… _Damn!"_

Five out of seven. He made five out of seven shots. That was two out of seven enemies left standing while he needed to reload. Alois clicked his tongue in annoyance as he reloaded the magazine. Still, he heard clapping at his performance.

"Very good." Said Sebastian. "You've almost got it."

The boy had been practising under the watchful eye of the butler ever since he started school. He would go to class, come back, do his homework, and then practice with Sebastian. It was very awkward at first since their interaction without the bluenette's involvement had been somewhat limited. After all, it was very difficult to get past the fact that the menace had trapped the older demon in eternal servitude. Still, the man was very helpful, and claimed to feel no resentment toward the blonde.

"I still can't hit any more…" Alois answered. "I can only go up to five… I just can't sense the last two."

"I think I might see the problem. Might I make a suggestion?" Sebastian replied.

"Go ahead." The blonde stated. "It's not like I'm going to get anywhere on my own."

"You're trying to use only five senses." The man pointed out. "Even with your enhanced senses, the standard five aren't all that reliable."

"So… use sixth sense?" asked the menace. "How? Isn't it just a gut feeling?" Sebastian shook his head.

"No." he said bluntly, walking over to the boy. "It isn't just a _'gut feeling'_."

"Then what is it?" Alois inquired further, only to have the butler grab his shoulders and turn around.

"What's around you?" the man asked.

"The training area?"

"Give more _detail."_

"I don't have eyes on the back of my head, Sebastian. I can only see what's in front of me." Alois said. Much to his confusion, the man covered his eyes.

" _Now_ what's around you?" the man asked again. Alois paused for a moment, using his ears instead of his eyes.

"There's trees." He said, listening to the sound of leaves rustling against the wind. "And birds."

"And _now?"_ the man asked before covering the boy's ears. The boy paused again, keeping his eyes closed.

"I don't know." He said, prompting the man to release him.

"Exactly." The man said. "There are things that cannot be heard or seen, but that doesn't mean they aren't there. That's why you have sixth sense."

"Well, how do I use it?" Alois asked. "Shoot where my gut tells me?"

"No, it's not your 'gut'." The butler stated, walking around and prodding at the boy's forehead. "Some say that it's like a third eye in the middle of your forehead, but that's for enhancing one's sight. Sixth sense is an intuition based on feeling with your entire being."

"That doesn't make sense…"

"Can you sense someone's soul?"

"Yeah…?"

 _"That's_ sixth sense. You don't use your eyes, ears, nose, tongue, or touch in order to sense it."

"Discs don't have souls Sebastian." The boy said, crossing his arms.

"Then do it like this; close your eyes." Sebastian instructed, waiting for the boy to obey. It was only after alois did that he continued.

"Now let go of everything. Don't think about anything." The butler said. "Forget the discs, forget the gun, forget your mission _. Just let yourself slip into unyielding darkness_."

Alois said nothing and kept his eyes closed. Sebastian took a few steps back and observed the boy as he stood motionless. With a nod, he turned his head to the side, looking toward one of the disc launchers and it's operator. He pointed to the man next to the machine and said:

" _Pull."_

_BANG!_

The disc only made it approximately one foot in the air before the blonde shattered it. The man at the machine shouted in surprise at the closeness and fell back on his rear. Alois' eyes snapped open and he looked off to the side. His arm was out on it's own as the barrel of the gun smoked. The blonde looked to the butler with a shocked expression on his face.

" _Perfect."_ Sebastian stated, quite pleased with the boy's actions. "For practice purposes, however, it would be advisable to wait until the disc gets further up into the air, wouldn't you agree?"

"Y-yeah…" Alois replied, lowering his arm. Somehow, he seemed less than thrilled.

"Ah, I forgot. How careless of me…" the butler stated. "You used to have a fear of the dark, didn't you? Because you can't see?" The blonde bashfully nodded in response.

"Demons see best in darkness." Continued Sebastian. "There is no need to be afraid of it. Darkness is a tool that helps you see what your eyes cannot. The darkness is _yours_ , not the other way around."

"I don't like it…" Alois said. "It's…. scary…" The butler arched an eyebrow.

"That's a _human_ complaint." The man said. "You performed perfectly, yet you're still afraid? You're a demon, not a human. Darkness cannot harm you."

"My soul may be blackened, but my heart isn't." replied the blonde. "I can't just let things go, Sebastian!"

"But Alois…" began the butler, grabbing the wrist of the boy attached to the hand that carried the gun as he held it up. "…You just _did."_ Alois tore his hand out of the man's grasp.

"I know you have a human heart, and I know you share the master's ideologies on what it means to ' _be human'_." Sebastian continued. "That said, for all biological purposes, you _are_ a demon; a demon who must fight other demons."

"I know." Alois replied.

"Then why hesitate?"

" _I know!"_ The boy said again, causing the man to sigh.

"I guess I just don't understand…" spoke the butler. "From my stance, you have a natural talent for the ability that could mean the difference between whether or not you fall in battle, but you're somehow afraid of it?"

"I know, it's just…" Alois began, pausing to take in a deep breath. "…I'm… _scared_ ; of _everything,_ really."

"Why?" Sebastian asked. "What do you have to be afraid of?"

" _Failure."_ The boy stated. "After I complete this step, then what? I don't know. I don't know anything, so how am I supposed to rescue Ciel? I'm just stalling, because I'm too busy stumbling around in the dark trying to find a lightswitch. I don't know what course of action to take…"

"Then let your intuition guide you." The man stated. "You already can. Not only did you get this technique down on the first try, something that not even the master could do, you also made the major contributions to the search for the master's whereabouts. In all honesty, mister Trancy, I don't understand how you can simply ignore these facts."

"But what if I fail anyway?" asked the blonde. " _I'm not as good as Ciel!"_

"Are you questioning the master's judgment?" Sebastian asked. "Out of anyone the master has met in a timeframe of one-hundred years, the master chose _you_ as his partner. He chose _you_ as the one person who he would trust with his heart, and he chose _you_ as the person he would count on to rescue him from Black Annis. Are you saying that he was wrong?" Alois paused for a moment.

"No…" he answered. "I don't know what I'm saying… Even if Ciel believes I can do it, I _don't._ "

"Then don't believe in yourself." The man stated. "Believe in the master. Either way, he's counting on you, and you want to bring him back. How about instead of fumbling around in fear of failure, you simply let yourself complete the task?"

"I don't know…" Alois said, only to close his eyes again as the man covered them once more.

"Then _don't think."_ Sebastian replied. "Trust yourself, and let your natural intuition do the thinking _for_ you." He let go of the boy again, making sure that the blonde's eyes remained shut. The man pointed to another machine.

" _Pull."_

_BANG!_

The gun went off again, shattering the target. Sebastian smiled at the boy's actions as he watched Alois act as a demon. As odd as it was, the butler was somewhat proud of the boy. He pointed at a different disc launcher.

_"Pull."_

_BANG!_

_"Pull."_

_BANG!_

_"Pull."_

_BANG!_

When he stopped sensing the discs, the blonde opened his eyes to see the Phantomhive butler smiling. Alois arched an eyebrow at Sebastian's odd facial expression and became even more confused when the man walked over to him, placing both hands on his shoulders. Sebastian spoke.

"See?" he asked. "See what you can do when you stop overthinking? You have a talent for wandering through darkness, even when afraid. That's something that you've always had, mister Trancy. You're clever enough to trap a demon in eternal servitude, so why wouldn't you be clever enough to rescue one from the clutches of another."

Alois said nothing and simply reloaded his weapon. He was apparently done with the conversation. With a deep breath, he closed his eyes.

"All of you. _Pull!"_ he declared, causing seven discs to shoot high into the air. He pulled aimed and pulled the trigger seven times with his eyes shut tight before finally opening them again. He looked to the butler, who stood with seven fingers held up, as if he had been counting them off.

 _"Well done_." Sebastian said with a smile. " _Seven out of seven hits_." The man swore he saw the biggest grin appear on his blonde protégée's face since the capture of his master at those words.

"Really?!" the boy asked excitedly.

"Of course you did. What have I been telling you?" the man replied. "Now reload and do it again."

The entire afternoon was spent this way. Alois would shoot down a group of discs, be told to reload, and do it again. After that became tiresome, they switched to hand-to-hand combat, utilizing the same technique. To his surprise, the blonde lasted much longer against Sebastian with the skill, even if he was eventually bested each time. It was like he could see the man's movements before he performed them, but his reflexes were still a bit slow in comparison to the older demon's. At the end of the day, while Alois was still covered in bruises, they would quickly heal and he felt much better about the whole situation. That is, until he saw Audrey running up to him.

"Alois!" the Baines lad called. The blonde initially smiled at him, but when he saw the look on the reaper's face, it soon faded.

"What is it?" the Macken boy asked, waiting for the other lad to get closer. "What happened?"

" _We found it."_ Audrey said, motioning for the demons to follow him as he turned to run again. Without question, they did, finding themselves led into the same room where Alois had been simply pacing days earlier. There, on the many monitors, was a castle.

That was it. That's where Krampus was keeping Ciel.

* * *

 


	410. Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

When the bluenette first heard the reaper in the cell next to him use that name, he was shocked, to say the very least. Now he understood why the lad's voice sounded familiar. That aside, Maxwell Goddard was _dead_. How could he possibly come back as a reaper? It didn't make even the slightest bit of sense to the Phantomhive. Regardless, he continued to converse with his peculiar neighbour.

If the boy was indeed Goddard, he seemed to have no recollection of his past self. He knew nothing of Warwick or of Alois when Ciel casually mentioned them in discussion. In response, the other lad simply told him about his training and what his own life was like. He talked about his classmates, and about "Mister Spears" and "an odd red guy" who would show up every now and again to flirt with his instructor. Ciel had a strong idea of who those two might have been. Still, it would appear that "Maxwell Goddard" isn't _his_ "Maxwell Goddard". It was either a coincidence, or the slate had been wiped clean!

Regardless, the bluenette was somewhat glad to have someone to talk to. As much as he hated to admit it, he had gotten quite lonely cooped up by himself. The discussion was quite pleasant, even if it was possibly with someone who he once killed. Ciel wisely kept that little detail to himself. His conversation was cut short, however, at the sound of footsteps.

"You!" the Phantomhive snarled, prompting the demoness to roll her eyes.

"Calm down. There's no need to get excited…" Lilith replied. "I had pin the murder on someone, or else the demons in this castle will scatter into the nearby towns. They're lesser demons. They don't make contracts, Ciel."

"And why should I believe that?" asked Ciel. "You tricked me. I can't believe a word you say!"

"Well then it's _your loss_." The demoness stated. "I have no intention of keeping you here forever. Once my goal is complete, I won't need you, and you can _leave_. I was going to let you in on the whole process, but if you don't want to listen, you can stay in this cell."

"What is it that you want?" the Phantomhive asked. "Why do you still need me? Why do you still need _him,_ too?" he added, referring to the reaper. Lilith shrugged.

 _"Information."_ She said bluntly. "I'm trying to complete a certain task, and _you_ know how to perform said task, while _he_ knows details that could be useful. I might need help with this soul."

"What are you talking about? Stop beating around the bush and get on with it!" ordered the boy. In response, the demoness only backed into the wall behind her before sliding down it and taking a seat. She looked as though she were pondering how to explain something, but soon, she nodded and looked at the bluenette.

"Do you know the story of Akeldama?" she asked.

"Of course. Why?"

"Well, I'm going to tell it anyway." Lilith said.

" _Once, many centuries ago, there was a demon of an untold age who went by the name 'Akeldama'."_ She began. "Akeldama was a brilliant demon, who kept all of his discoveries in the way of magic written down in a book."

"The book of Akeldama. What about it?" Ciel asked.

"Don't interrupt, it's rude." The girl scolded. "Now, Akeldama served many masters in his time, but every time he completed a contract, he found himself feeling empty and sad. This is because Akeldama, while a he was a demon, he could feel loneliness."

" _He wandered for centuries, but then he met a child in the forest, and was surprised when they weren't afraid of him."_ The bluenette said, continuing the story. "He befriended the child, but they were eventually sold to one of the nearby lords, where they met their demise."

"Yes, and then in a fit of rage, Akeldama turned into a ferocious beast and destroyed the township, but at the end, he was still alone." Lilith replied. "With nothing left to live for in his despair, he sealed all of his energy and cursed his left hand, meeting his own end. The hand is now known as simply ' _The Hand of Akeldama'_ , and it is said to have contained his very soul." The girl stood up and brushed off her clothes.

"Now, isn't a pity that a demon of Akeldama's caliber to have met such a fate?" she asked. "You've seen what's in his book, Ciel. Don't you think that he could have done so much for the world?"

" _No…"_ Ciel said aloud, putting it all together. " _You're going to_ …"

"I'll leave you to think about it some more." Lilith replied as she stood up. "Even if you don't help me directly, everyone still wins. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have quite a few materials left to assemble."

"You can't do that, Lilith!" The Phantomhive shouted.

"Perhaps not, but _it's not as though you can stop me."_ The demoness retorted as she made her exit. The sound of her shoes echoed against the stone steps as she made her ascent.

"Lilith!" the bluenette called, only to be ignored _. "Lilith!"_

He scrambled over the door of the cage in hopes of getting her attention, but failed. The Phantomhive rested his head against the bars in defeat. What was going to happen? Why would she do this? Why would she hope to revive one of the most revered demon who ever lived, who died so bitterly? Ciel dreaded the thought of Akeldama returning almost as much as he dreaded the thought of Krampus' silly plan actually working. If Akeldama were to live again, then what kind of destruction would unfold? While the coolness of the metal against his face, was calming, but did nothing for the dread that the boy felt over what was to come. Silence fell over the room for quite some time before the boy heard a voice.

"Ciel?" called the reaper in the cell next to his. When the demon looked over, he saw that the other boy was peeking through the bars as well, staring at him.

Maxwell looked almost just as he did the last time they met. The only differences appeared to be his eyes, which were those of a reaper's, looking at the demon through a pair of cracked spectacles. Instead of white, his locks of hair were dirty blonde, and swept back haphazardly, as if his hairdo came undone midst of torture and he tried to fix it. The reaper looked at the demon curiously. He certainly did look like an imprisoned aristocrat, somehow.

"What?" the bluenette asked.

"What's she going to do?" Maxwell answered with an inquiry. The Phantomhive paused.

"I think she's going to try and bring back one of the most powerful demons who ever lived." Replied Ciel. "I don't know why, but… That's what I took from her explanation…"

"She can't do that…"

"She _can."_

The reaper looked away from the bluenette, and straight at the wall. His brow was furrowed, and he seemed to be deep in thought. He shrugged.

"Can she?" he said again. The demon looked at him confusedly.

"Well, what if the hand doesn't really contain his soul? What if it was already collected?" the reaper asked. "Wait, you do know about soul collection, right?"

"A little." Ciel answered. "So what happens if it was already collected?"

"Well, in that case, if it's still in Limbo, she can pull it off, if the hand acts as a medium." Explained Maxwell. "If it's already been reassigned, though, there's not much she can do."

 _"'Reassigned'?"_ echoed the Phantomhvie. "Is that like reincarnation or something?"

" _A little."_ Maxwell replied. "Not _quite_. I probably shouldn't be telling you this, but it might be useful. You see, the life cycle of a soul doesn't move in a circle. It's more of a figure-eight. Demons are on one end, angels are on another, and humans are at it's intersection. Though, reapers and lesser-demons fit on there, too."

"So how does it work?" asked Ciel. His neighbour thought for a moment as he tried to figure out how to explain it.

"Okay, so, humans are the center, right?" Maxwell asked.

"Right."

"And Grim Reapers collect the souls and decide what to do with them, right?"

"Right."

"Well, what usually happens, is there's a waiting period that can take up to a couple of centuries, in some cases." The reaper answered. "That's 'Limbo'. Then, after the soul is processed, we reassign it. Sometimes, we skip a step or two, and reassign them differently, but in most cases, what happens is that the soul either ends up as a demon, or angel. Demonity is a punishment, while becoming an angel is a reward. When either one of those die, the _demon_ will become a _lesser-demon,_ in most cases, and the _angel_ will become _a Grim Reaper."_

"Makes sense…" the bluenette half-lied. It did make some sense. After all, there was no one "devil", so why would there be "hell"? As for the other end of things, it explained the reappearance of Maxwell. "I assume that when a lesser demon or reaper dies, they become human?"

 _"Exactly."_ Maxwell replied. "Genetics and appearances are left up to other humans, though. We assign the souls to humans at random, so they end up in completely different places and under different circumstances so they end up totally different from the start."

"So where does that leave Akeldama?" the demon asked. His neighbour paused.

"Hard to say…" the reaper stated. "Sometimes, we do intentionally skip steps, depending on the judgment, so someone could go from human-to-reaper, human-to-lesser-demon, or even human-to-human in the same process. Akeldama could be _anywhere_."

That was a discomforting thought. Under that premise, practically anyone could be  
Akeldama. Even if they were, however, it didn't matter. If that were the case, then they had no problems, now did they? That said, if Akeldama were to somehow still be in Limbo, there would be a _massive_ problem on their hands.

Ciel struggled against his restraints. If he was going to stop this, he was going to need to get out of this cell soon. Where on earth was his beloved Jim Macken?

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so this seems a little weird. Remember that this was written back in 2014, though. That was several years BEFORE Toboso revealed how exactly Grim Reapers came to be, so there was no way of knowing at the time. Thus, this theory came into fruition. Since then, that information was revealed, but for the sake of avoiding backtracking, I just decided to keep this "way of the world" as the way things are for this particular universe. (If you want to get nitpicky, you can claim that the anime concluded way before then as well, so there's no way of knowing what is true in that version of Kuro either.) 
> 
> That good? Any questions on that?
> 
> Anyways, yeah, this universe is kind of strange, in case you can't tell. As long as I can throw weird shit at you and somehow make it make SOME sense, I've done my job right. 
> 
> It's actually a little more complicated than this, though... It gets expanded upon later. I think??? Shit, I can't remember. That's not good... Basically, you can get moved around as well. If they don't think you'd be good as an angel, you might skip a step. If they think you've suffered enough as a demon, they might make you human when you die. This is just kind of the skeleton of the process.
> 
> Though if I have to explain it this much, is it really a good idea? Who knows... Too late to undo it, though~!
> 
> Until the next chapter, my duckies~!


	411. The Smoking Gun

_"This castle appeared in Northampton almost overnight, according to reports."_ Said Audrey, pointing to one of the screens. "We don't know how it got there so quickly, or why."

"Should we send scouts to survey the area?" asked a fellow soldier.

" _No good."_ Answered Integra. "If the Black Annis demons are in that castle, I would only be sending that team to their deaths." She turned to the blonde menace. " _Macken,_ what say you?"

Alois was staring intently at the screen in an almost entranced state. He leaned his weight on the table before him with one arm, and with his free hand, touched his lips with his fingertips. He could feel it. The blonde was hardly able to contain himself as his senses went haywire. A massive grin appeared on the boy's face as his blue eyes turned crimson.

" _That's it."_ The blonde said. "Ciel's _there_."

"So what do you want to do?" asked the Hellsing woman. "We could send in forces, but what would be the cost?"

"A small team of elites should be efficient, preferably if they are of a supernatural persuasion." The menace stated. "Regular armed troops won't last very long against the Annies. Bullets bounce right off their armour."

"Oh, that reminds me; after this meeting, you need to go to the laboratory. Mister Blake hake something for you."

" _Sweet."_ Alois replied. "So what's the plan, boss?"

"I think you're right." Said Integra. "I specialized task force of our top agents is more than sufficient for this job. The problem is, what are we going to do about their menagerie?"

The Macken lad sat down and thought for a moment. Their opponents possessed some diabolical items that could wipe them all out in an instant, if used correctly. The boy took out his gun and set it on the table in front of him and stared at it.

"Who do we have?" the boy asked. "There's Sebastian and myself, making two demons. There's Seras and Charlotte, adding two vampires; a werewolf, a sorcerer, and a Grim Reaper…" He looked up.

"What kind of weapons do we have?" he further inquired.

"Seras' _Harkonnen Anti-freak cannon_ should be able to pierce the armour of the Black Annis creatures, giving us quite a bit of firepower, but standard H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. armaments aren't going to cut it…"

"Has Dafydd come up with anything new?"

"Not that can be of much use, I'm afraid." The woman replied. "Mostly barriers."

"Are they portable?"

"Yes. Once activated, they can deflect attacks for up to an hour."

"Then use them." Alois said.

"We can't finish this in under an hour, Jim." Stated Sir Integra.

"How many portable barriers are there? Does it have to be ' _one per person'?"_ Integra smiled at the question.

"I see... Why don't you ask Mister Blake when you see him? He's the self-proclaimed ' _expert_ '." She said. "We'll start there and go through our resources before forming a battle plan."

"Sounds good to me." Alois stated, tightening his ponytail as he stood up. He practically shaking with anticipation. Things were getting down to the wire as the mission was nearly underway.

Finally, he would see Ciel again. Finally, he would get to hold his beloved and plant kisses on the Phantomhive's cheeks to his heart's content. Finally, things would go back to normal, the way they should be. Life would go on, and he and his beau would resume operations as usual. Alois' arms were starting to ache from not being able to cling to the bluenette for so long. With a heavy sigh, the menace got up to pay a visit to the research wing of the base. To his surprise, however, when he reached for the door handle, it opened on it's own. From behind the barrier stood a familiar-looking man.

He was reasonably tall, but seemed slightly shorter than Sebastian, with neatly combed hair parted to the right. A pair of glasses rested on the crook of the man's nose, and behind them sat two green and yellow eyes staring back at the boy. He was dressed in a nice suit, and as he stepped through the doorway, he revealed that he wasn't alone. With him, were two other men, one with long red hair and another with orange and black, both stood on either side of the first. Alois recognised the one in red, but only vaguely recognised the other two.

"I'm looking for a Sir Hellsing?" the first man said, yet the Hellsing woman didn't budge.

"Grim Reapers…" Sir Integra mused. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"I'm terribly sorry for the intrusion, Miss." The man replied. "We couldn't find any other way to contact H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G."

"It's not exactly like you're listed in the phonebooks or anything." The reaper in red stated. "Would it kill you to leave your number somewhere?"

"Quiet, Mister _Sutcliffe_." The first man said in monotone. "My name is _William T. Spears_ , I am the Supervisor of the Grim Reaper Dispatch Society's Management Division. I need to speak to a _'Sir Hellsing'…"_

"Well then you've certainly come to the right place." Said Inetgra as she stood up and walked over to the reaper. "I am Sir Integra Fairbrook Wingates Hellsing."

 _"'Sir'?"_ echoed the reaper in red, only to receive a jab to the ribs from the reaper in orange.

" _My card_." Said William, offering the woman a small card with his contact information on it. It was promptly taken and neatly placed in the woman's suit pocket.

"To what do I owe the pleasure?" Integra asked, grossing the menace out, somewhat with her hospitality. Had the men not been divine, she would have destroyed them all in an instant.

"It appears that two of our trainees have been capture by the group responsible for those Black Annis monstrosities." William answered. "It's bad enough that they keep the soul housed after death, and now they've kidnapped two of our own. We understand that you have been pursuing these creatures as well, and were hoping if you would be so kind as to provide us with some information so we can apprehend our trainees."

Integra smiled. Alois knew that smile. It meant that she had a plan. Based on the conversation both Alois and the head of Hellsing had previously, the blonde had an idea of what she was going to do.

"What a coincidence." The woman said. "They've captured one of ours as well, and we were just discussing how to retrieve him, and put an end to Black Annis once and for all."

"Are you suggesting a partnership?"

"If it wouldn't be too much trouble." Integra stated. Mister Spears paused to think for a moment.

"I will need to discuss the possibility with my superiors." The man replied.

"Thank you for your consideration." The woman replied, reaching into another pocket. " _My_ card." She said, holding out the piece of paper.

"Thank you very much." He said, offering a small bow. "We will discuss this in more detail at a later date. Please excuse me for our intrusion."

"I understand." Spoke the older blonde as the menace looked on. "I look forward to our meeting."

"Sutcliffe, Knox, come along, we'll be making our leave." William stated as he turned to head toward the door.

"What?! That's it?! We were only here for five minutes!" protested Sutcliffe.

"Maybe if you stay, you can be a nice test-subject, or something." Mister Knox jested, closing the door behind the group. They left the room just as they found it, the only difference being a dumbfounded blonde lad.

"The fuck was that?" Alois asked aloud while Integra took her seat.

" _Language_ , mister Macken."

"Sorry; the _frick-frack paddy-wack_ was that?" the menace corrected, prompting an odd look from the woman before him. Integra pulled out a cigar.

"What did it look like?" the woman answered. "If we can add Grim Reapers and their death scythes to our arsenal, then our chances go up substantially." She lit her cigar as the boy took a seat.

"I guess…"

"You seem less than 'thrilled', somehow. I thought that was good news."

"It is, but…" the Macken replied. "Well, for one, that guy reminds me of Claude and it's gross, and two; _well…"_

 _"'Well'_ what?" Integra asked, arching an eyebrow.

 _"I_ want to save Ciel…" the lad said, playing with his fingers as he sat across the table.

"That's silly." Sir Hellsing replied. "Do you want glory, or do you want Ciel back?"

" _Ciel."_ Alois answered.

"Then even if you can't have both, choose _that_ option. Don't let pride get in in the way of what's really important." The Macken boy scoffed in response.

"Tell that to _Ciel…"_ he said, crossing his arms.

 _"You have your share of stubbornness."_ Spoke the noble seated across from him while puffing on her cigar. Alois arched an eyebrow.

"Hey, what's so great about those things, anyway?" he asked, pointing at the object in the woman's hand as she blew a ring of smoke. She chuckled before sliding the box across the table at the boy.

"Find out." She said, amused by the slight excitement on the boy's face. He loathed the smell of cigar smoke, but had always thought that smoking looked "cool", for some people, especially when Sir Integra or Detective Bailey did it. It was what people with money did.

Hesitantly, Alois picked up the box and took out one of the cigars and examined it. It looked expensive, but he didn't quite understand why he always saw people smoking them. He looked up as he heard the sound of a lighter sliding across the table, and stopped it before it slid into him. The menace's eyes flickered to the Hellsing woman before picking it up. He opened it's metal lid and flicked it on, placing the cigar between his lips and imitating what he noticed Integra do when lighting one.

The boy's eyes widened as harsh smoke entered his lungs and he coughed in an effort to get it out. Alois nearly hacked up a lung before the Hellsing woman slide the ash tray over to him so he could put out the accursed thing. His eyes were watering as he tried to take in some fresh air, and he shot the woman across from him a glare as he heard her chuckling.

"What the hell was that?!" he demanded.

"A cigar, what else?" Integra answered. "The first few times are the worst, but you get used to it fairly quickly."

"If vampires and werewolves don't kill you, _that_ definitely will!" Alois shouted, wiping his mouth.

"Shame," the woman said. "I was wondering if demons could get addicted to nicotine. I guess that little experiment was ' _inconclusive'."_

_"You're horrible!"_

 


	412. Just Keep Swimming

The H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. research department was almost on the complete opposite side of the base, so Alois and Audrey had to do some walking. The blonde didn't mind. It wasn't as though he got tired, after all. It just irritated him to see the other operatives staring at them. They always did. Apparently, that's just what it's like to be a known supernatural being at H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. " _Freaks_ " was the slur that the soldiers liked to refer to them as. It brings a whole new meaning to the term, " _Anti-freak technology_ ".

Alois swiped his I.D. card and opened the door, finding the lab as it usually is; _a mess_. It was _always_ an organised mess, is seemed, with papers and bits and bobs of whatever it was the team was working on. Doctor Lovejoy was off to the side looking through a microscope and jotting things down while Dafydd and Miranda were doing whatever it was they were doing. The younger researchers seemed to be arguing over something, and as the menace and his young, reaper friend approached, they began to discover what.

"Just paint it black!" the sorcerer said. "It doesn't need to be fancy!"

"You can't go through the trouble of designing an enhanced version of an Anti-freak gauntlet and just say ' _oh, well let's just spray-paint it black'!"_ The Ackerman girl argued. "Besides, if you cover up the silver-plating, it loses it's effect!"

"No, it doesn't! It's the metal itself that's harmful!" replied Dafydd.

"You want to reduce the conductivity of the metal's surface against supernatural-skin?!" Miranda asked.

"No!"

"Then leave it!"

"What are you doing?" The blonde asked finally, forcing the researchers' attention from each other.

"Dafydd wants to screw up your gauntlets with a half-assed paint-job." Miranda stated.

"It's not gonna screw it up!" the sorcerer protested.

"Yeah, it will! I thought you were supposed to be some kind of _'genius'?"_ the girl snapped.

"Hey! _Who_ designed the thing again?"

" _I did."_ Miranda stated. "The gauntlet itself is _my_ design. You helped strengthen it with your magic, but don't take credit for _my_ portion of the work."

"Well… I…" the sorcerer began, scratching the back of his neck. The other boys laughed.

"Damn, Daffs, you got _served_." Said Audrey, prompting the attention of the Ackerman girl. The girl looked at him confusedly for a moment, before suddenly coming to a realization.

"You're… Audrey, right?" she asked. "From Alois' birthday party?"

"Yeah; you're Miranda, aren't you?" the reaper asked.

"Oh my god, I didn't recognise you!" Miranda said. The lad had cut his hair short, as standard for all soldiers, revealing the rest of his face. As soon as the girl set her sights on it, she was unstoppable.

 _"Reaper eyes!"_ she declared, putting her hands on the sides of the boy's head, nearly sending him into a state of panic. "Yellow and Green irises! Aha! You really are a reaper, aren't you? I've never seen eyes like these in person before! _Thank you, Jesus!"_

" _Wh-wha…?"_ was all the poor Baines lad managed to get out. It seemed to be enough to snap Miranda back to her senses, however, as her face turned completely red.

"I'm so sorry!" she said, letting go of the boy. "I just got carried away! I do that, sometimes when it comes to the supernatural… It's helpful when it comes to research, but I'm sorry if I weirded you out with that. Won't happen again. It's just that they're so cool…"

"My eyes are… ' _cool'?"_ Audrey asked, a blush formed on his face at the statement. He had always covered his eyes with his bangs, as they were constantly mocked at school when he was younger. He had never heard anyone hold them in such high regard, before; let alone a girl. Speaking of eyes, the two remaining lads rolled their own.

"Jesus, get a room, you two…" snarked Dafydd, motioning for the Macken boy to follow him. Alois did as instructed, and was led over to a table. After Dafydd cleared some of the junk off, he found that a pair of gauntlets were placed on it.

They were silver with other types of more dulled metals used in their construction. They were almost "pretty" with their Celtic knot designs decorating the exterior. There were two of them, this time, one for each hand as opposed to the singular gauntlet that the demon had the first time. Alois traced his finger across shiny finish, simply taking a moment to appreciate it. Why on earth Dafydd wanted to cover it up, the blonde may never understand.

 _"Jarnglofar MK II."_ The sorcerer said. "It's silver is toxic to most types supernatural beings, and can withstand force of up to eight tons _; double_ of what you can carry."

"Think it can withstand crazy demon chicks?" Asked Alois.

"I _know_ it will." Dafydd replied. "You should also still be able to hold your gun with it."

Alois picked up the right gauntlet before placing it on his hand. He clenched and unclenched his fist a few times, getting used to the feeling. It seemed to fit a little more snugly, than the last one, but at least it was comfortable. With that, he reached into this jacket, grabbing Kaspar out of it's holster. Sure enough, he was still able to get a firm hold on it and access the trigger with ease.

" _Nice."_ The menace said. He was almost itching to hit something with the thing.

He had a new toy and his target in his sights. Now all he had to do was wait patiently while all of the preparations were made. It was an agonizing, but necessary process. As much as Alois wanted nothing more than to storm in, grab the bluenette and jet, that wasn't how things would work. That's never how missions work. There was a lot of stealth and planning involved. It was never wise to haphazardly rush into things unprepared, but that still didn't calm Alois down. He would have to wait until he's given the order, so he must somehow find another way to occupy himself.

"Oh, yeah! I was supposed to ask if you guys had any more weapon-related projects you were working on." He said, somewhat genuinely curious as to what exactly goes on in the laboratory. Dafydd sighed.

"Always the weapons…" the sorcerer replied. "Really, we don't have much, just those portable barriers, and those Rosemary bombs. We've also managed to recreate swords similar to Ciel's that are designed specifically for demons, but they don't come close, really."

"That all?" Alois asked. "No guns? No nothin'?"

"Oh, well, we've made some advancements to the standard H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. ARMS 13.7mm Anti-Midian rifle, and we're also trying to replicate Seras Victoria's Harkonnen cannon for supernatural soldiers to use. An ordinary human can't tote them around, I'm afraid." Dafydd answered. "They're too heavy."

"Damn, how much does it weigh?"

"About sixty kilograms, when unloaded."

"Psh, no sweat."

"Yeah, for you." The sorcerer stated. "Not everybody can haul that shit around like it's nothing. Do you know how heavy those gauntlets are?" Alois flexed his arm for a moment.

"Three pounds?" he asked.

" _Ten_." The other boy stated. "Ten pounds _each_."

"Psh…"

"Don't ' _psh_ ', me! I'm supernatural too, but you're like a goddamn _freak of nature!"_

"Well, technically speaking, I _am_." Alois replied. "And we don't use those dirty words, young man. It's disrespectful."

" _You're so full of it…"_

"Excuse me? Aren't _you_ the one who used to fancy me to the point where you hatched a scheme that led to Ciel and I getting locked in a shed for a full night?" the blonde asked, causing the sorcerer to visibly hesitate.

"Yeah, but, we're past that, now, aren't we?" the other boy asked. "On the bright side, I did meet my boyfriend over that whole ordeal and can now leave you alone."

"Yeah, there's that…" said the Macken boy, pausing to chuckle. "And I did get to let off some steam."

"You didn't…" Dafydd replied.

"I _did…"_

_"In the shed?"_

_"Yep."_

"And Phantomhive went with it?"

"Oh, yeah." Alois said. "He had a hard time resisting my seductive charm."

"Great. Glad I could help. Super." The Blake lad snidely said. "Speaking of which, I think Lovejoy was performing some experiments on that little 'sample' you gave us."

"She's not trying to make demon-hybrids is she?"

"No, we'd need your consent for that. I think she's just trying to figure out what the hell you're made of."

"Neat."

"Last time I checked, they were still just swimmin' around…" he paused, looking at the blonde's face. "You want to see, don't you?"

"Kinda, yeah." The menace casually stated. With that, the sorcerer led the blonde over to the table that doctor Lovejoy was working at. The woman turned around and looked at the two boys, having overheard their conversation.

"Save me the explanation." She said, backing away from the desk and gesturing to the instrument she was using. "Just go ahead and look."

"What is that?" Alois asked.

"You don't know what a microscope is?" answered Lovejoy with a question of her own. "You use it to see things that are really, really small; like cells and stuff."

"You can do that?"

"Yeah, just look through here." The woman stated, pointing to the eyepiece at the top of the instrument.

Hesitantly, he looked inside, recalling the little 'experiment' that Sir Integra had performed on him earlier. To his surprise, there they were; little sperm cells. They swam around just like Dafydd had said.

"They're still alive after several months." Doctor Lovejoy stated. "I really don't understand demons…"

"What do you think, Alois?" asked Dafydd. "Do they have tiny horns or something?"

"Nope, they're just kinda there..." The blonde said.

"For the record, that isn't _your_ sample, by the way." The woman said. "That's _Phantomhive's."_

Immediately, the blonde's face turned red at the information and he tensed up. He was going to go back to work, but now he couldn't look away. Now this, was the most ridiculous thing to happen to Alois that day. He was stuck, unable to think of anything to say, embarrassed that he had somehow been tricked into looking at his significant other's ejaculate through a microscope. All kinds of inappropriate thoughts came to mind, and what was worse was that he hadn't had the time to focus on similar thoughts for several weeks. Dafydd saw the boy's embarrassment and smirked.

"' _Oh, my, it's Ciel's little babies'!"_ he mocked, making a high-pitched voice that was somehow supposed to be reminiscent of the blonde menace. Alois finally looked away.

" _ **Shut up!"**_

 


	413. Sensationally Pissed Off

"Stand aside!" demanded a certain son of a politician. "Out of my way; commin' through; Daniel Westley, son of Mathew Westley; the guy's on the Round Table, people!"

"Daniel! We can't just barge in here like this!" objected Preston. "This is a private base!"

"They have us on file and know who we are." The Westley said. "We have a right to know the full story on this!" the boy added as he marched straight up to the front desk of H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. headquarters, his friends in tow. The man behind the counter looked confused at most.

"Can I help you?" he asked, arching an eyebrow at the boys.

"Daniel Westley, son of Mathew Westley, a member of the Round Table Conferece." The boy replied. "My friends and I would like to speak to Mister Alois Trancy, please, we're participants in experiment _66-B."_

"Do you have any identification?" the man asked, prompting the lad to present his driver's license. The man behind the counter took a pair of glasses out of his pocket and put them on before taking the card and looking it over. He then typed some information from the card into the computer.

"Well, you check out." The man stated, handing the boy back his card. "So, who did you want to see again?"

"Alois Trancy." Daniel answered. "Spelled A-L-O-I-S-T-R-A-N-C-Y." The man behind the counter punched in some more keys before shaking his head.

"Sorry, there's no _'Alois Trancy'_ here." The man stated, causing Daniel to huff. Kristopherson nudged the boy to the side and took his place.

" _'Alois Trancy'_ is an alias and the name he prefers to go by." The faux-blonde stated. "Try ' _Jim Macken'_." The man behind the counter went back to the computer.

"A-ha, ' _Jim Macken'_." He said. "Field operative, answers to the Round Table, assistant to Ciel Phantomhive and fellow test subject in experiment 66-B… _demon?_ You sure you want to see him?"

"Yes, he's a friend of ours." Kristopherson stated.

"I'll see what I can do to find him." Replied the older gentleman as he picked up the phone on the desk and dialed it. Eventually, he tracked the boy down to the research department, and dialed again. After a brief discussion on the phone, he hung up.

"He'll be here shortly." The man said. "Just wait in the lobby."

"Thanks." Answered the Miles lad, turning back to the others and shooing them away from the counter so they weren't blocking it.

The lads sat on some nearby couches as they watched workers in various uniforms walk around and do their jobs. Kristopherson took particular interest in the uniforms, finding some operatives to be wearing military uniforms, others wore white polo shirts with red trim and the organization's logo on the breast, and others still wore lab coats while some wore plain clothes; the later of the three had to carry their I.D. cards in special lanyards in order to point out their employment. The humans watched as other humans scurried about, and gawked when one of them casually rolled by with a cart carrying rifles in neat little stacks. No one seemed to bat an eyelash, so it appeared to be a common occurrence. All they could do was look at each other.

"Did you see that?!" asked Daniel. "What the hell are those for?!"

"Well, it is a secret militia, Dan." Said Kristopherson. "I imagine they use them to do their job."

"What do you think the guys in the polo shirts and in plain-clothes do?" asked Preston. "I mean, the lab coats and the combat boots on the other guys are kind of a giveaway."

"Well, the guy at the front desk wore a polo shirt." Said Daniel. "Do you think they're desk-jockies?"

"Probably, but what about plain-clothes?" inquired Kristopherson.

"They all have flash-drives on their lanyards." Travis pointed out. "A lot of them are also carrying laptop cases."

"Oh, so they're the tech-guys?" suggested the Omid boy.

"I think we found you a summer job, Pressy!" Daniel teased, elbowing the boy.

"No way! I can't deal with this supernatural stuff all the time! Besides, how would you even put that on a résumé later on?"

" _Lie."_ Kristopherson bluntly stated. "Where's Alois, by the way? How long do you think it takes to get over here?"

"I dunno. This place is huge." Said Daniel. "I think I overheard the guy say something about the 'research department'?"

"Why would he be there?" asked the faux-blonde, prompting his friend to offer a shrug.

" _What are you guys doing here?"_ called a voice.

The others turned around to see Alois standing with his hair still pulled back in a ponytail and wearing his suit. Next to him was another fellow, whom the other's vaguely recognised. He wore a military uniform and had the eyes of a grim reaper. The human boys had to squint in order to figure out who he was, but once they did, they were stunned.

"What the hell happened to you two?!" Kristopherson asked in regards to the appearances of the two operatives. "Alois, you look like a mobster, and Bones, you look like…" He paused _. "You look pretty good, actually, I'm not gonna lie…"_

"Thanks." The reaper said as the Miles boy was punched in the arm by Daniel.

"Remember why we're here!" the Westley scolded before standing up and looking straight at the demon with a frown. He furrowed his brow and asked: "Why didn't you tell us what was up, huh?"

"What are you talking about?" Alois asked.

"Don't play dumb!" Daniel accused. "My dad told me what happened to Ciel!"

" _And?"_

"Don't ' _and'_ me! Why didn't you tell us?" the boy demanded. "He's our friend! We deserve to know, don't we?"

The blonde menace seemed unfazed by the lad's accusations. He wasn't, really, it was all perfectly reasonable. Still, Alois didn't want to hear it, so he simply shut down again, as he often did as of late when confronted with less than desirable conversation. The other boys watched as the light faded from his face while the Westley boy spoke to him.

"Well?!" Daniel asked. "Don't we?!"

"Yes," The blonde answered bluntly. "But there wasn't much point in telling you. It's not like there's anything you can do."

"Sure we can! Just give us one of those guns and teach us how to shoot real quick!" the other boy said.

"That won't _work_." Alois firmly stated. "The creatures we're up against have armour-plating that can't be pierced by ordinary bullets. You'd need to be able to carry the cannon that we've only got one of so far, and I highly doubt you could carry 60 kilograms of gun _and_ the big-ass bullets that come with it."

"Then… I dunno… Just let us do something!"

" _Go home."_ The blonde instructed. "This isn't a game of paintball. The threat of getting torn to shreds and eaten alive is very real, here, Daniel."

"Then why is Audrey going, if it's so damn dangerous?!" the Westley asked.

"Audrey has been trained for months to be a field agent." Alois answered. "He's physically fit enough, skilled enough, and has all of the requirements necessary."

"Come on! There has to be something that we can do!"

"There's _nothing_ you can do!" the menace snapped, somewhat scaring the other boy. "If there was, I would tell you, but there isn't. Go home, there's nothing for you to do, here."

With that, the blonde menace began to walk away, followed by Audrey, who mouthed a quick "sorry" to the rest of the lads. The others watched them for a moment in silence, somewhat shocked by the blonde's behaviour. Finally, it was Kristopherson who spoke up.

"Who _are_ you?" he asked, arching an eyebrow. Alois stopped in his tracks.

"What?" confusedly asked the Macken boy.

"You; who are you?" the Miles boy repeated. "You're not Alois. You're like some mean, algebra teacher or somebody."

"Why's that?" the blonde inquired as he turned around to face the group again. "Because I don't want you to die? Listen here, precious, the difference between you and Ciel in this scenario is that if I lose you, the chances of you coming back is _zero_."

None of the others could respond. How could they? Alois was right, after all. Regardless, the boy continued.

"I have a job to do." The menace said. "And that job involves keeping the death toll to a minimum. I _do_ care about you guys, and that's why you aren't allowed to join the mission! I'm going back to work… See you all later, I guess…" he added before leaving. No one called out to him, as his argument was completely sound.

With that, Daniel turned toward the door, only to be followed by the others. They walked out of the building and toward their respective rides home. The Westley lad was quiet, which was unnerving. It usually meant that there was some underlying motive or reason.

"Dan?" asked Preston as the group walked. "You okay?"

"Yeah…" the politician's son said, digging for his phone. "I'm not giving up, though."

"Are you nuts?" asked the faux-blonde. "You heard Alois! We'll be killed!"

"No we _won't."_ Daniel said. _"I'm going to make a few phonecalls…"_

 


	414. Caslte Mania

Alois looked down at his feet and he quivered with excitement. Hardly could be heard over the sound of the helicopter, even with his head-set on. He couldn't focus on the trees down below as he was too anxious of what was to come. Any second, now, they would be arriving over a suspicious castle in Northampton, and he couldn't wait.

His gauntlets were on and his gun fully loaded with plenty of magazines on his person to spare. The other agents were geared up as well, with Anti-freak cannons, rifles, and even swords. They had rosemary bombs to use when their own demonic forces were out of range, and they had various barriers. Two demons, Sebastian and Alois, two humans, Integra and Heinrich, two vampires, Seras and Charlotte, one werewolf, one sorcerer, and one half-reaper took up the space of two helicopters, aside from the pilots, making a team of nine. The rest of their reinforcements agreed to meet on the ground and had their death-scythes at the ready.

"We're approaching our destination." Said the Hellsing woman over everyone's headsets. "Prepare to jump!"

With that, operatives began to unbuckle their safety belts, and the door of the chopper opened, making the ground below plainly visible under the moonlit sky. Those who couldn't survive such a height on their own had to pair up with a supernatural partner to help them down; Integra with Seras, Audrey with Charlotte, Heinrich with Amelie, and Dafydd with Sebastian, as Alois wasn't too sure about the jump, either. Sebastian looked to the blonde with reassurance before the woman over the headset gave her last order before touchdown:

_"Go!"_

With that, one by one, the agents leaped out into the open, landing on the roof of the castle. As soon as they did, lesser demons stationed nearby immediately began to head their way, only to fall at the precise bullets of the crew. Integra quickly reached into her pocket and pulled out a radio.

"Mister Spears, we're here." She stated. "Commence your attack now."

"Affirmative." Replied the reaper over the radio. The plan was simple: H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. would attack from above, and the Grim Reaper Dispatch Society would attack from the ground.

"Sweep the castle clean." Sir Integra instructed to her team. "I don't want one enemy left standing, do you hear me?"

" _Yes ma'am!"_ answered the majority of the group, with only the occasional "Yes sir" and a "Yes, my lady" sprinkled in.

"Let's move!" the woman bellowed, motioning for the others to follow her. They advanced to the nearest entrance, taking down every single opponent in sight.

While their primary target was Krampus, they had no choice but to exterminate any opposing demons in sight. Taking out their chain of command would only cause them to scatter, and while this was an efficient strategy in ordinary warfare, these were not humans. Once scattered, they would go out and eventually make their way to nearby towns and devour every human in sight. That's simply the way that lesser-demons are, without a sense of self assigned to them. Without a name, they're simply machines, and without a master, they are monsters.

Sebastian and Alois ran in front while Amelie and Charlotte ran in the back to cover the crew. The two demons took out a good portion of their opponents, clearing a path for the others to make it through. They would take out any demons that the prior had missed. Alois stopped, looking to his left at an intersection.

 _"Annies to the left!"_ he shouted as he set eyes upon the creatures; their hollow faces and unpolished armour with blood seeping through every crack and gap. The menace put his gun back in his holster and prepared to use his fists, but was stopped just short of doing so.

"Stop, Jim!" commanded Integra, forcing the boy to a complete halt. " _Seras!_ Fire an incendiary napalm round right through their ranks!"

"Yes, Sir!" the draculina replied, readying her cannon. She held the massive 30 millimeter weapon with ease, and loaded it as instructed. Seras crouched on the ground and lined up the shot before pulling the trigger.

 _BOOM!_ While Audrey, Dafydd, and Heinrich had to cover their ears from the sound of the blast, the rest of the group seemed unfazed, including Integra. She acted as though she had seen this sight thousands of times before.

The round tore through the creatures as if they were nothing, destroying their armour and ripping through the flesh underneath with ease. The walls were painted crimson, except for the places where the creatures still stood, unfortunately out of the line of fire. Instead of reloading, Seras awaited instructed.

"Sebastian! Clean up!" Integra ordered, causing the butler to smile.

"Yes, my lady." The man stated, making quick work of the remaining creatures. It was completely astonishing how he somehow managed to do so without getting a single speck of blood on his uniform. His white gloves, however, were a different story, as avoiding small droplets of the substance at such a distance was impossible. It was blatantly obvious that the man was enjoying himself, and somehow, the blonde menace sincerely wanted to join him.

 _No,_ Alois had to focus. He came here with a specific objective in mind after weeks of labour and intense anxiety bubbling beneath the surface of his skin. He wasn't going to lose himself now. Not yet. Not until he saw the bluenette. Even with his fists itching with a thirst for violence, he couldn't lose himself to his own fear; his fear of being left alone by the Phantomhive. Even if he wanted to lash out in defense, he knew better, now. After all, he wasn't the frightened child that he was over one-hundred years ago anymore.

His feet moved forward, down the freshly cleared hallway with the others while closely obeying instructions in order to take his mind off of things. He was so close, that it was almost maddening. He could sense Ciel in the building, and desperately wanted to take off in pursuit of him, but he couldn't. Ciel had trusted Alois, his judgment, and his restraint with his life. There was no way that the Macken boy was going to through that away to fulfil a mere impulse.

Even though the castle was vast and seemingly endless, the team would not leave until it had been completely cleared of all opposing freak forces. They would not leave until all of the Black Annis demons were dead and gone. Most of all, they would not leave until they had found Ciel Phantomhive.

 


	415. Crimson Romantica

 

 _"God, my feet hurt!"_ whined a certain son of a politician as he marched through the wilderness.

"Ssh! Quiet!" Kristopherson scolded. "Do you want us to get killed?!"

 _"Both_ of you shut up." Spoke Mister Irons.

Yes, with nowhere left to turn, the boys turned to their teacher and former H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. soldier, Mister Robert Irons. At this time, the man was leading the remainder of the sensational seven through the wilderness, armed to the teeth. Each lad was given a gun, loaded with anti-freak bullets. They were a little outdated in comparison to the organization's current technology, but they would be more than sufficient. After several days of practice, the boys had all learned how to competently use a gun, and hopefully, they would do alright on the field.

"I didn't come all the way out here to get torn to shreds." The man continued. "I came out here to help you save the damn Phantomhive kid."

"I can't believe that Ciel would get himself captured so easily…" said Oliver, who had joined the group. "Are we sure that this rag-tag team will be enough?"

Oliver Midford and Daniel Westley started speaking to one another after the father of the latter had joined the round table conference. They weren't especially close-knit, but they were good friends. They certainly made it bearable to endure various parties that they were forced to attend. With his H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. training, it was only natural for him to be invited as well. He even brought his own blade as he, too, practiced the long-held Midford tradition of mastering the way of the sword. His friend, Nigel, however, was completely barred from joining the group by his father. Naturally, Oliver's attendance on the little mission was supposed to be a secret from him.

The group treaded through forest, as it was far too dense to travel by car. All of the boys were now dreading their decision as they started to get tired before their mission even started. Just the thought of having to shoot at one of the monsters was starting to get to them as they drew closer, their flashlight leading the way.

Knots appeared in their stomachs and their faces grew pale as they approached. They now saw the castle, but remained hidden in the trees. They heard gunshots and the sounds of whirring machinery; like chainsaws and other pieces of similar equipment. They began to shake at how close it all sounded. The lads couldn't fathom how Oliver and Mister Irons were unfazed.

"Let's go." The man said, motioning for the lads to follow. He and Oliver took a few steps, only to realize that the others weren't moving. "What are you doing?"

"U-u-uh… w-welll…" Daniel began, his voice shaking. He didn't really have an explanation for this behaviour, other than the fact that he was scared out of his wits. He was at least relieved that he wasn't the only one, but flinched when he felt a hand on his shoulder.

" _Don't worry."_ Oliver said comfortingly. " _Mister Irons and I will protect you."_

The boy had that same peaceful aura about him as always, and his emerald eyes practically sparkled. It was hard to believe that such a person was related to the supposed embodiment of all evil by blood. A small blush appeared on the cheeks of the other lads, save for Kristopherson, at the gesture, much to their embarrassment.

"Whatever! Let's just go!" Daniel said, squashing his fear to the side.

"Are you nuts?! We'll die!" Preston protested.

"No we won't!" the lad declared as he walked forward with mister Irons and Oliver, soon to be followed by the others. "We don't have _time_ for death!"

The whirring sounds became closer as they approached. There were bodies of monsters leading all the way up to the castle. Mister Irons assumed that H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. had been here. It was now too dangerous to just up and leave, so he would have to be angry at the children later. The more he thought about it now, the more it seemed as though he had fallen for the children's lies, as they said that they didn't know if H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. was going to be here or what they were up against. The whirring became louder and louder, and once they walked through the door, it was right on top of them.

 _"Did I hear someone say 'death'~?"_ called a voice over the sound of whirring. There was a flash of red and a glimpse of a chainsaw. The group tensed up, closing their eyes and bracing themselves for impact, only to find that nothing had happened.

"What the…?" the voice said. "A bunch of kids? And an old guy with H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. gear? What are you doing here?"

Slowly, they opened their eyes to see a man standing before them, with long red hair and eyes just like Audrey's, sitting behind glasses with red frames. Sharp teeth came into view when he spoke, and his his face held a certain degree of confusion over the situation as he retracted his blade. He asked again:

"Well? What is it?"

"We're here to help rescue Ciel Phantomhive." Answered Mister Irons.

"Oh, so you're with H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G; then." The reaper replied. "Why aren't you attacking from the roof? Follow the plan, will you? We don't need any _dead_ weight!"

"Sorry, we were ill-informed, Sir." The teacher answered, causing the reaper's eyebrow to twitch.

"Just who are you calling ' _sir'?"_ the reaper asked. "I am a _lady!_ That's ' _miss',_ to you!" Now Mister Irons looked really confused. Daniel opened his mouth to argue, but was quickly shot down by Kristopherson.

"We're really sorry, Miss." The Miles boy said. "It was a massive mistake. Allow me to introduce us, I'm Kristopherson, the _'old man'_ is Mister Irons, the blond one with the sword is Oliver, the tall kid is Travis, the short Indian boy is Preston, and the dumb one is Daniel."

"Hey!" protested the Westley lad, causing the reaper to giggle.

"Grell Sutcliffe." The woman said, introducing herself.

"It's a pleasure to meet you." Kristopherson said with a smile. "Can you fill us in on what's going on?"

"Of course. We're on the ground floor working our way up while H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. is on the top floor working their way down." Grell replied. "We're supposed to wipe this place clean of any monsters we see, and collect the souls of those black things while we make our way to rescue a few of our own. The brats got themselves captured, just like that Phantomhive kid."

"Black things?" asked Preston. "You mean the Annies?"

"Is that what they're called?" the woman answered with a question of her own. "Beats me. All we know is that they've been causing us nothing but trouble for almost an entire year. They hold onto the souls of the dead and make it hard to collect them."

"Is that what you're still doing here?" Mister Irons inquired. "No one seems to be moving to the upper levels."

"Yes, I'm afraid. Not much fun, really." Grell answered. "I don't care about the cinematic records of some former drug-addicts; not when there's a hot stud waiting for me upstairs!"

"Someone in the H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. team?" asked Travis.

"Technically, he works for that Phantomhive kid. It's such a waste that a man like that has to work as some brat's butler."

 _"Sebastian."_ Kristopherson said. "You have a good eye." This statement piqued the reaper's interest.

"You're of _that_ sort of persuasion?"

 _"Unfortunately."_ The boy replied. "Rejection comes with the territory, even before you confess. Oh, even though I say that, my eye isn't on _Sebastian_. He's all yours."

"Such a noble love!" declared the woman in red. "To suffer the slings, arrows and piercing thorns of rejection before one's heart even has the opportunity to be presented out in the open! Such tragedy! You certainly have this woman's respect, boy."

"You're too kind, Grell." Kristopherson stated. "If it isn't too much trouble, do you think we could stay with your group? We're way in over our heads, and you obviously have the skills necessary for what we set out to do."

"Of course! Stay as long as you like!" Grell replied. "Stay close to me, kiddies, and you won't meet a deathly horrible end!"

"Thank you so much!" the Miles bot said. "We won't get in your way."

With that, the boys had nothing left to do but wait on the reapers to finish their task and move on. It wasn't that interesting, given the fact that none of them could actually see the supposed cinematic records that they were looking at. The humans saw nothing but air, save for Oliver, who had been given the task of describing what the reels looked like to the others. According to him, some humans have the ability to see them. Integra could, and he claimed that Ciel supposedly could when he was human, as well.

No one seemed to be able to figure out why. H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. had been looking into it for years, but the exact reason couldn't be pin-pointed. It didn't appear to be genetic, but all of the humans that were known to be able to see the cinematic records appeared to stem from the Phantomhive family in one way or another, skipping over many generations at a time. That family was cursed from the beginning, it seemed, breeding all kinds of bizarre individuals and being the subject of many tales.

Daniel, however, couldn't care less. He was too busy thinking about Kristopherson's behaviour from earlier. How was he so calm and courteous? The situation hardly seemed like one where such a thing could exist.

"What the hell was that?" he asked finally in a whisper to the Miles boy. Krisotpherson simply looked confused.

"What was what?" the other boy asked.

"That! Why'd you act so nice to that shark-faced ginger?" the Westley inquired further.

"Because it was the decent thing to do, and she has a chainsaw?" replied Kristopherson

" _'She'?"_

"Yes, ' _she'."_ The faux-blonde stated. "She identifies as a woman, so she's a woman. If she prefers to be called a woman, then call her a woman. It's the only polite thing to do."

"Be polite to chainsaw-wielding crazy-people. Got it."

"Someone being trans doesn't make them 'crazy', Dan."

"But _chainsaws?"_ asked Daniel.

"Chainsaw-swinging's another story, though…" Kristopherson said. "Those are two mutually exclusive factors, you know…"

"That's weird…"

"Says the guy who insisted that we march into a castle full of monsters with our former teacher?" the faux-blonde concluded. "I would be mad, but I'm kind of crazy for going along with it."

"You didn't have to." The Westley replied. "You could've just stayed home."

"Yeah, but I'd feel shitty if I let my best friend die while I'm at home watching TV."

"I'm your best friend?" Daniel asked. He was somewhat surprised, as while he may have had his suspicions, he had never actually heard the other boy say it. "Even though I'm a 'dumbass'?"

"Dan, you're my best friend partially _because_ you're a dumbass." Kristopherson answered. "It would be boring if you weren't."

" _Oh my god, you're such a homo."_

"For you? You _wish."_ The Miles lad lied.

"Oh, sorry, I forgot. You only have a thing for _blonds_." Daniel jested. "What about Oliver, over there?"

"Nah, he's not really my type."

"Then what _is_ your _'type'?"_ The boy asked. Kristopherson hesitantly opened his mouth to answer, but looked away when he noticed movement.

 _"The reapers are leaving_." the pink-loving lad stated. "Let's go."


	416. Parallel

A sigh escaped the lips of a certain demoness at the great deal of commotion in the castle. She could hear it all the way in her room, but she didn't seem terribly concerned about it. Her focus was entirely on her work.

Lilith walked around the room, lighting candles as she prepared for the ceremony. Everything was at the ready, with the chalk markings on the floor perfect, and the body on the table covered in a large cloth. It was the body of a rather tall man, made with the use of alchemy as designated in the book of Akeldama. It would have been ready much sooner, had Lilith been able to order the supplies while Krampus was still alive. Now, she had to deal with a silly attempt to take the castle as well. She had wished that the humans would have at least had the decency to choose another date, but it seemed as though this wasn't going to be the case. After lighting the last candle, she put out the match.

 _"Morgan, can you go take care of that?"_ she asked her associate. Morgan had been watching intently, helping with this and that when it came to Lilith's little "project". The smaller demoness' pigtails bobbed as she hopped off of her seat.

"Sure thing, Lil." She answered. "Do you need anything?"

"No, I think I've got everything for now." Lilith said. "Thanks. Give them hell, and keep them out of this room."

"Yes'm!" Morgan replied with a playful salute. She then walked out of the room to rally the castle's defenses. Her friend smiled after her before locking the door.

Lilith rolled up her sleeves, as the only outfit appropriate for such a task that she owned didn't seem to have the right length. She opted for a less-than-elegant, cream-coloured tunic and a pair of black ordinary pants in case things got messy. She had learned after the first trial with the alchemy that things can go awry.

Thus, she got to work, padding over the chalk-covered stone floor and over to the table. She stared at the body for a moment, before placing her hand on it's forehead. After taking a deep breath to calm her nerves, she recited the incantation.

_"Ignis et de loco doloris angustia dolores eos ad me venire, obsecrans ut venires ad me. Egredimini de carcere serviunt mihi adhæsit anima misera tenebris. Patet ex hoc damnatorum limbo ad me, Akeldama!"_

Light seeped from the chalk lines on the ground as if they were escaping from something as hot winds poured into the room to follow. The flames on the candles grew in size as the girl grit her teeth, determined to complete her task. He focused all of her energy into the task as papers scattered and things fell off of nearby shelves from the force of the harsh gales. Lilith's eyes glowed crimson and she remained vigilant. More, more, _more!_ Just a little more! The end was in sight!

But then, it all stopped. The light vanished and the winds died down. The candles went out and all was silent. The demoness paused to catch her breath for a moment, before hastily removing the cover from the body's face.

The man on the table was tall and pale with dark circles around his eyes. His face was very angular, and his long black hair fanned out as he laid motionless without the smallest hint of life. The demoness walked around to the side of the table and cupped the man's cheek.

"Akeldama…" she called. "Wake up, Akeldama."

Nothing. Quickly, she laid her head down over the man's chest, listening for a heartbeat. Her stomach tied itself in knots as she heard nothing but silence.

"Akeldama…" she called again, lifting her head again. "Akeldama, wake up!" When she continued to get not response, she moved back to her original location and placed her palm on the body's forehead again.

 _"Ignis et de loco doloris angustia dolores eos ad me venire, obsecrans ut venires ad me. Egredimini de carcere serviunt mihi adhæsit anima misera tenebris. Patet ex hoc damnatorum limbo ad me, Akeldama!"_ she recited once more with similar results.

"Akeldama?" Lilith said. " _Akeldama!"_

Her voice's volume increased every time she called the other demon's name, and every time, the desperation in her plea started to show through even more. She lightly slapped the face of the body in an effort to wake the demon. Her breathing started to become quicker as she began to panic.

This wasn't how things were supposed to be. Everything had been going so perfectly, so what had gone wrong? She flinched and let out a small yelp at the sound of a cannon going off somewhere within the castle walls.

"Akeldama…" she called again, her voice soft. She held the man's head in both hands before leaning down and touching their foreheads together. " _Akeldama, please_ …"

"Please wake up…" she pleaded, blinking away the tears that threatened to surface. " _It's me… Mary…_ "

The girl stayed like that for what seemed like ages. Her tears started flowing freely, now, as she struggled to find her composure. This wasn't how things were supposed to be. Akeldama was supposed to come back. He wasn't supposed to stay gone forever.

Eventually, the girl managed to dry her eyes and calm herself down a bit. This was okay. This is why she kept Ciel and that reaper alive. She would just have to consult them and alter her plans slightly. She anticipated this. Why was she crying? She hasn't lost yet.

Lilith stood up, wiping off her face. She covered the body again before walking toward the door. After one last glance at Akeldama, the demoness opened it before stepping through. She hasn't lost yet. She still had a backup. She still had Ciel Phantomhive.

 


	417. What Went Wrong

The sound of gunfire echoed through the castle and made their way to the dungeon where Ciel and Maxwell sat. While Maxwell was worried, the Phantomhive felt an uncontrollable smile spread across his face, as he knew the source of the sound. It faded as he heard the sound of hasty footsteps make their way down the steps, as it was not who he wanted to sense. He looked up to see Lilith standing before his cell.

"My, my…" the boy said. "Don't you look a mess?"

He was right, the girl did look considerably sloppy in comparison to all of the other times the two had met. Her eyes were red and puffy and her attire was much less well-kept. The girl's brow was furrowed, a frown prominent on her face. She opened the door of the cell before stepping inside. Her boot was promptly introduced to the side of the Phantomhive's face.

"How did you do it?" she demanded. " _How did you do it?!"_

"Do _what?_ " Ciel asked, encouraging the girl to kick him in the stomach.

"The resurrection spell." She stated, grinding her heal into the lad's abdomen. " _How. Did. You. Do it?"_

"Oh." The Phantomhive replied. Before the foot was taken away. "Did you build the vessel correctly?"

"Yes." The girl said.

"The circle?" suggested Ciel.

"Exactly as it was in the book."

"The incantation?"

"Yes!" Lilith shouted, picking the boy up by the collar of his shirt. " _'Ignis et de loco doloris angustia dolores eos ad me venire, obsecrans ut venires ad me. Egredimini de carcere serviunt mihi adhæsit anima misera tenebris. Patet ex hoc damnatorum limbo ad me, Akeldama!'_ Just as it said! _"_

 _"Akeldama?"_ Ciel echoed, completely unfazed. "Is that his _real_ name?"

"What do you mean?" the girl asked, glaring up at the other demon.

"Was ' _Akeldama'_ his _real_ name?" the lad repeated. "It won't work if it's an alias. When I summoned Jim, I called for _'Jim Macken'_ , even though he always preferred the name _'Alois Trancy'_. Besides, by now he may no longer be in Limbo, so you'll have to figure out where his soul is before you can call him."

Ciel let out a grunt as he hit the floor. He looked up to see the demoness frozen, the only thing to be read on her face being shock. It was unbelievable. Her plan had failed? From the beginning? After all of that deception and calculating, her plan was doomed from the start? Lilith did not know Akeldama's true name and even if she did, Ciel was right, he may no longer be in Limbo. The girl took a few steps back and rubbed her forehead, her eyes blank and staring ahead.

"So what will you do, Lilith?" the Phantomhive asked. "Will you release us as promised?"

Lilith's hand slid down from her forehead to her eyes. She peeked through her fingers and stared down at the boy with contempt. A slight pang of fear shot through the bluenette as her eyes turned garnet. Thank goodness, he heard more footsteps down the stairs. He was somewhat relieved, even though he knew yet again that it wasn't the blonde menace.

"Miss Lilith!" Jonnathan called, stopping dead in his tracks when he stood in front of the cage. He stood, frightened as the demoness turned to look at him. The younger demon swallowed hard before continuing. He had never seen the girl look so cold.

"Morgan sent me to check in with you." He said. Silently, Lilith took a few steps toward him, forcing him to retreat back, only to walk past him completely. "What do you want me to do, miss? They've probably come back for the prisoners…"

"The prisoners?" Lilith asked, almost in a daze. She continued walking toward the exit.

 _"Kill them."_ She instructed, shocking the demon.

"Wh-what?" Jonnathan asked, only to be ignored as the girl made her way up the stairs. He looked toward the demon on the floor in the cell, becoming almost stupefied by the bluenette's glare.

"This wasn't the deal!" shouted Maxwell, gripping onto the bars and standing up. "We were supposed to be let go!"

"So, what will you do, Jonnathan?" Ciel asked from his place in the floor. "Will you follow orders? Flee in the confusion? What will you do?"

"I _… I…"_ the other demon said, his eyes never leaving the Phantomhive as the boy stood up. Ciel leaned against the wall, arms still bound, dried blood on his clothes, and bandages around his middle from wounds that healed days ago.

"Let me rephrase that." The bluenette stated. "What do you _want_ to do? Are you a man? A dog? A _monster?"_

With that, Jonnathan stopped shaking. He furrowed his brow, reaching for the blade at his belt. The demon walked toward the cage.

"Let me _show_ you."

 


	418. Going Down

_BANG!_

"Reload!" ordered Integra. "Don't leave a single one standing!"

The H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. team had been making quick progress, advancing at a steady pace. They had been exterminating both annies and demons alike, their group moving as one impenetrable force. It was ensured that none of the creatures had time to get within a certain distance, but the few times that they did, they were quickly taken care of by one of the more quicker supernatural members of the group.

It had taken an hour at least for each floor, so in three hours' time, the team had cleared three floors and made their way down to the fourth. There were seven in total, so hopefully, they would be done by daybreak, if they didn't have to stop and catch their breath every so often. Apparently, sorcerers and half-reapers only have a slightly higher amount of stamina as humans. Integra, however, was either miraculously not tired, or rather, very good at not showing it. Sweat collected at her brow and her breath was somewhat uneven. Her movements were somewhat sluggish as she ever-so-subtly tried to regain her strength.

"Are you alright, Sir?" asked Seras, watching as the other woman reloaded her revolver. The Hellsing snapped the weapon back together before answering.

"I'm afraid I might be starting to get too old for this…"the woman said after making sure the others weren't paying attention.

"What?! No way! You're only thirty-six!" replied the draculina. "You can't take on a desk job yet!"

"Oh? And what if I don't want a desk job?" Integra asked. "What if I want to just up and retire altogether?"

"You and I both know that's _impossible."_ Stated Seras. "You would go mad. Even if you were a hundred, you'd still be working." The vampire's words caused the Hellsing to chuckle. She turned to the troops.

 _"Let's keep moving!"_ Integra said, rallying her troops. She was greeted by three exasperated groans; one from Dafydd, one from Audrey, and one from Heinrich.

"How on earth is she still able to keep this up?" whined the sorcerer.

"I don't know… Are we _sure_ she's completely human?" replied Heinrich.

" _And so, the Iron Maiden strikes again_ …" the reaper said as he forced himself to stand up, the other two following after.

 _"I can hear you_." The woman stated, causing the three to snap to attention. She resumed her instructions, saying: "Get back in formation. We've still got a lot of ground to cover."

With that, the crew shuffled back in line before taking off again. They never could rest for long, as it would give the enemy an opportunity to sneak up on them. Before long, they made it to the fourth floor, only to be greeted by a ton of lesser-demon servants. The two Phantomhive demons in the front of the line kept their pace.

"Sebastian! Take the left!" shouted Alois. "Seras! Harkonnen down the center!"

"Right!" said the draculina, waiting for the others to clear her line of fire.

"Well, since you're the temporary head of house…" Sebastian mused, fishing out his silverware from his pocket.

Seras fired the cannon, sending a massive bullet whizzing past the two demons and taking out the entire middle of the other group's formation. With that, Sebastian and Alois took care of what was left on the sides. The blonde menace finally got to release some of his own tension, bashing heads and lashing out in a manner that is certainly not suitable for any civil person.

This is how he learned to reduce stress. This is how he learned to handle anxiety. This is how he learned to express anger. Being a demon had nothing to do with this outburst, but it certainly didn't help. When the boy started going after "Sebastian's" side of the hallway, cocking back his arm and shattering the skull of one of the demonic lackies, it appeared that he had gone mad.

 _"Jim Macken! Stop!"_ bellowed Sir Integra.

Alois froze, confused as to why he heard his name. He lowered his fist, and realised that the collar of one of the dead servants was in the other one. The boy jumped in surprise as he saw the mangled face of the creature, dropping it to the ground. After examining his attire, he found himself covered in blood.

He looked horrified as he looked toward the others, who stood in shock at the sight. All, but Integra, that is, who immediately walked over to him, a frown prominent on her face. The Macken boy clenched his eyes shut as he saw the woman raise her hand. Stinging pain shot through his cheek as she brought it back down.

"Do _not_ do that again." She said, her voice sounding angry. "Until your superior is retrieved, you will follow _my_ orders. Do _not_ give instructions that will confuse the team unless the authority to do so is given to you by _me. Am I understood, agent?"_

" _Y-yes, ma'am…"_ the blonde answered, looking down at his feet. His bangs hung in his face, matted with blood as his ponytail holder wiggled itself free during his fit of aggression.

Truly, he regretted what he did. Not just because he was in trouble, but because he was better than this and he knew it now. He was not supposed to be that brat that he was over a hundred years ago, abusing the power that he had so carefully stolen in horrible ways. It was wrong; he had _learned_ this over the past four years. Alois thought that his behaviour had been corrected, but obviously, there is still a part of his former wretched self that remained.

That is not the person that he wanted to be. The menace wanted to be strong, sturdy, and dependable. He wanted to be someone worthy of the position that he had been given, and who was worthy of a second chance of life. Most of all, he wanted to be someone who was worthy of being the alleged "hero" who would save Ciel Phantomhive, and be good enough to stay at his side.

Obviously, he had faltered in his pursuit. Alois watched as Integra turned around to face the team. She placed her hands on her hips and stood tall.

"Does _everyone_ understand?" she called.

" _Yes, ma'am!"_ the crew answered, a few "yes sir's" and a "yes, my lady" mixed in. Satisfied with that answer, she turned her attention to Miss Victoria.

"Seras." She said, snapping the Draculina to attention.

"Yes, sir!" Seras replied, feeling at fault as well for going along with the lad's order.

"How much ammunition is left for the Harkonnen?" asked the Hellsing woman.

" _Three bullets,_ sir…" the vampire replied, causing Integra to sigh as she rubbed her forehead.

"Conserve those for now." She said before turning the other way. "Let's keep moving."

And so, the team began to march on once more, walking past the Macken boy as he stood there. He didn't feel as though he was capable of doing this anymore. Surely, one of the others was more suited to the task. Even after coming so close, Alois felt as though he should have just waited at home.

With a flinch, he noticed that someone was touching him, patting the top of his head as they walked by. He turned to see Seras walking away. After a few moments, she stopped and turned to face him.

"Well, come on." She said, motioning for the boy to follow. "We've still got a job to do, don't we?"

"I…" Alois began, "I'm not cut out for this job… I'm too… _unstable_ …" Seras sighed with a smile, walking back over to the boy and grabbing his hand.

" _Stop talking nonsense and let's go."_ She said, tugging him along. With her strength, the boy could do nothing to protest! "You're doing fine. It happens."

"People just snap into fits of murderous rage?"

"Of course. We're _predators,_ aren't we?" the woman replied, referring to their two species. "It's happened to me, before."

"You?" asked the lad, arching an eyebrow. "You've snapped into a blood-rage?"

"Yup, and Sir Integra stopped be just like she stopped you." Seras stated as they walked. "She was a bit harsher with you, though, but I think it's because she wants you to focus on Ciel. It's why we came here, and what you worked toward so hard. She probably doesn't want to see you lose yourself while trying to achieve it, and just forget it altogether."

"How do you know?"

"I know Integra. She may seem pretty serious, but she really does care about us." She continued, letting the boy dwell on that for a moment.

"Oh…" Alois said. "So she's like Ciel?"

" _Exactly_ like Ciel."

"How long are you going to hold my hand?" the lad asked finally, causing the woman to grin.

" _Until you stop needing me to drag you along while you mope_." Teased the Draculina. In a huff, the Macken boy wiggled his wrist out of her grasp and kept walking, the small blush on his face prompting Seras to giggle.

Suddenly, the group stopped, or rather, _Sebastian_ did, causing a sort of chain reaction. The butler's eyes narrowed as he stared straight ahead. He looked as though he were prepping for a fight.

"What is it?" questioned Integra.

"Nothing serious…" the man replied as he glared toward the stairs. "But nothing _good_."

Something was coming. He knew it. It was familiar to him; this presence. All was completely silent as they waited, preparing for the worst. Like a stampede of raging horses came a reaper like none other, the one and only Grell Sutcliffe.

" _Bassy!"_ called the woman in red as she extended her arms toward the man, only to be dodged without the slightest bit of effort. She nearly crashed into the Hellsing woman as well, only to fall to the floor with a thud when the monster hunter stepped out of the way.

"You again…" the butler said with a slight hint of annoyance. The tone of voice was foreign to the ears of his associates.

"How rude!" the reaper stated as she stood up and brushed herself off. "That's the greeting I get? How cruel, but oh, how I love it! It's really been far too long, Bassy."

"' _Bassy'?"_ echoed Audrey, he and Dafydd trying to refrain from laughing. They immediately stopped, nearly dying of fright on the spot when the butler shot them a glare.

"I assume your coworkers are nearby?" asked the man, rubbing his temples.

"I run ahead of them all the way here to say 'hello', and you ask for them instead of me?" Grell inquired, leaning against Sebastian's back.

"Just answer the question." Ordered Integra, striking the other woman's attention.

"Jealous?"

"Don't waste my time with disgusting suggestions." The Hellsing stated. "Answer me."

"Alright, fine. Yes, they're on their way up." Grell replied. "We've cleared the first few floors, and found no signs of either our man, or yours." She paused to think. "But we _did_ run into a group of kids on the way here. They claimed to be with you?"

" _Kids?"_ asked Alois. "What were their names?"

"I don't remember all of them, but I know one of them is named _'Kristopherson'_." Answered the reaper in red. "Nice boy. Quite the gentleman. Shame, he's so young and plays for the 'other team'."

Alois furrowed his brow in anger, clenching his fists and gritting his teeth. He had specifically told them to stay out of this. He had specifically told them to stay home!"

" _You motherfuckers…"_

 


	419. An Unfortunate Detour

" _You motherfuckers_ …" Alois growled under his breath as he saw the rest of the sensational seven approach accompanied by grim reapers. Immediately upon seeing the blonde menace, his face angry and suit covered in blood, they immediately regretted their decision to disobey his instructions.

"O-oh, hey, Alois…" Daniel greeted, waving nervously. He stepped back as the blonde made an attempt to advance, only to be halted by Integra.

" _Ahem."_ The woman interrupted, reminding the Trancy of her presence. With that, the Macken boy froze, having already gotten himself in trouble for excessive violence once over the course of the evening already. He still glared at the Westley lad, knowing full-well that he was responsible for the humans' being here. He made sure to let the boy know, without words, that had Integra not been there, he may have thrown him back down those stairs. As mister Spears turned up, the Hellsing woman greeted him with a simple inquiry.

"I take it the downstairs area is clear, then?"

"Yes, but they may regroup, later." William replied. "We're heading upstairs to collect the souls of the annies that you killed."

"Sounds like a plan." Integra stated. "Did you find our men?"

"I'm afraid not. We will be doing another swipe at the upstairs area for that as well. Feel free to do the same downstairs."

"And what about them?" the woman asked, looking to the human children that the other group had brought.

"It was my understanding that they were with you?" replied Mister Spears, arching an eyebrow when the woman sighed.

"I suppose we'll have to take them, then…" she said before turning to the other humans. "Can you boys at least shoot?"

"Yeah, we've been practising all damn week!" said Daniel.

"Can you fire under pressure?"

 _"Uhm…"_ the boy trailed off, causing the blonde menace to introduce his forehead to the palm of his hand. Meanwhile, a certain red-headed woman grinned.

"It seems like this bunch is going to need some extra protection!" said Grell, staying at the side of a certain butler. "I suppose I'll have to stay here and keep and give them some _assistance."_

" _That won't be necessary."_ Sebastian stated. "We are perfectly capable of handling ourselves."

"Actually, I don't think that's a bad idea." The Hellsing woman replied. "However, I'm not too keen on your intentions, mister…?"

 _"Miss_ Sucliffe." The reaper finished for her. "Don't you worry about a thing! I'm perfectly capable of performing this task!" She walked over to Daniel and took his weapon.

"Guns? You're trying to get the enemy before they get too close, eh?" She said, aiming the thing before looking back toward the group. "I can handle this. Just leave it to m-"

Grell accidentally pulled the trigger, causing the weapon to go off. Bullets whizzed past her allies, somehow miraculously missing them, before she dropped the gun to the floor. Everyone ducked as they ricocheted off the walls before all went silent. Grell looked up at her superiors.

"Mister Sutcliffe!" William scolded, his expression matching that of the other team's commander. The man was about to scold the reaper in red before the Hellsing woman marched right over to her.

"Do you have any idea what' you've just done?" Integra demanded.

" _Uhm… I wasted bullets?"_ the other woman asked.

"You've just alerted all enemies in the castle of our location!" bellowed the maiden of iron, glaring at the reaper. She opened her mouth to continue her scolding, but immediately stopped when she heard a loud _boom._

_"What was that?"_

_Boom._ There it was, a little louder this time. For a moment, everyone froze, simply listening, but the demons prepared themselves for a fight.

" _Sir Hellsing."_ Sebastian said, alerting the woman of the danger. She immediately stopped listening, and started giving orders.

"Prepare for combat!" she shouted, taking out her revolver. Daniel picked up his own gun as the H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. operatives and the humans readied their own. Oliver raised his sword, Sebastian grasped at his knives, and the grim reapers prepared their deathscythes, all prepared for the worst.

_Boom._

_BOOM._

_**BOOM.** _

Suddenly, the sound stopped again, and the group waited. Sebastian looked up before dashing over to Daniel and shoving him away from the stairwell. He turned his attention toward the window next to it.

"The window!" he shouted before the glass shattered. There was a near panic at what was seen crawling through the freshly made hole in the wall; it was a beast like none any of them had ever seen.

It was a massive annie with three faces, knashing it's teeth and reaching out to grab whoever it could. The reapers, being the closest to the beast, began their attack and Audrey joined them, somewhat foolishly acting on his instinct to fight back in the face of danger as he moved to get a better line of fire at the monster. A few of his teammates, including his blonde friend reached out to him as he moved.

 _"Audrey! Wait!"_ the Macken boy shouted, eyes widening as the stairway collapsed under the weight of the monster's foot.

Reapers, including William and Audrey fell with it, leaving the H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G group stranded. The sound of machinery, conflict, and the roaring of the creature continued, even after one of the other windows shattered, then another, and another. Annies seeped into the castle like cockroaches, setting their sights on the nearby H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. crew.

"Keep your distance!" Integra instructed, noting that the red-haired reaper was still with them. The other woman grinned.

"Are you kidding?!" Grell asked, revving up her deathscythe. "They've politely made my job easier by coming to me! It would be rude to not reward them with their long-awaited _death!"_

With that, the reaper commenced attacking the monsters, causing the others to require giving her backup, including Sebastian. The human boys stood frozen by fear as the monsters approached. Noticing this, Sebastian darted over to them, picking up Travis and Preston while throwing the boys over his shoulders.

" _Get the children to safety!"_ he instructed, prompting Charlotte and Amelie to take his advice, scooping up Kristopherson before making their escape with the man. They were instinctively followed by mister Irons and Heinrich, not noticing that the rest were not.

" _Get back here!"_ Sir Hellsing barked, watching as the creatures split up, most of them going after the others while the rest came toward her and the remainder of her group. "Seras! Harkonnen!"

"Got it!" the Draculina replied, firing off a round straight down the annies' ranks. It helped get rid of most of them, but they were still coming.

"Fall back!" commanded Integra before the remaining supernatural forces in her group whisked herself, Daniel and Oliver to safety. One last time, Dafydd turned around to face the monsters while they were retreating.

" _Scientia de anima!"_ he shouted, the many rings on his fingers starting to glow. _"Quinque minuta nemo istud!"_

The light from his rings escaped from his hands before firing straight for the creatures. It stopped in mid-air before spreading outward, creating a slightly transparent wall between himself and the annies. Horrible groans escaped the throats of the beasts while their ugly claws scraped against the barrier. With this, he then ran off to make his escape with the rest of his group.

Meanwhile, Sebastian and the others were having less luck with losing the creatures. His hands were full, and the bullets of the others were ineffective against the annies' armour plating. He could have easily outrun them, but what of the two soldiers that couldn't keep up or be carried?

Quite the conundrum it was, indeed, but if he couldn't handle this much, then what kind of butler would he be?

 


	420. It Takes Two To Tango

" _What to do…"_ Sebastian sighed. He simply couldn't simply stop and kill the creatures chasing them, as that would involve dropping Preston and Travis, leaving them to fend for themselves.

The man had some serious difficulty understanding how the human race hadn't been wiped out already, seeing as though they were so fragile. How have they flourished instead of facing extinction? The butler may never know, but having to carry teenagers seemed to be a job of his; first, there was his master, who eventually stopped requiring the service due to his gained demonic strength and agility, there was Luka, Revy, and finally, the sensational seven. Humans are incredibly weak, and it simply baffles Sebastian how such silly creatures can manage to have the will necessary to control a demon.

It wasn't long before he noticed the humans in the back of the line start to get tired. Heinrich and Mister Irons were starting to run out of stamina. It was impressive that Mister Irons had kept up for as long as he had, but that still didn't change the fact that he was slowing down, and the gnashing teeth of the black monstrosities drew nearer. At this rate, it would be curtains for the both of them. What to do? How were they to avoid losing troops?

"Amelie!" shouted Charlotte, causing the other girl to slow down a bit to pace beside her. The vampire gave the girl a few quick instructions, causing an expression to form on the girl's face that could only be described as seeming as if she remembered something important.

"Hmph!" huffed Amelie terrifying the Miles lad that she carried by swinging him onto her back. The poor boy let out a yelp as he was forced to ride piggyback on the much smaller girl.

"Hang on, pinkie!" she warned, but she really didn't have to. Kristopherson held on tightly as Amelie began to shape-shift.

Her blue eyes became larger and her ears did too, becoming more pointed, and sitting on her head differently. Her limbs became longer and she formed a snout filled with sharp teeth. Paws dug into the floor as she moved, having taken the shape of a large wolf that towered over Charlotte. Kristopherson grasped onto silver fur for dear life, as his arms could no longer reach around the girl's neck.

She and Charlotte slowed down, their pace matching that of the two humans that were falling behind. The Vampire grabbed Heinrich before tossing him into the air to land on top of the lycanthrope's back, and waited for the man to steady himself before reaching for Mister Irons. The two men grabbed onto both the wolf's fur and onto each other, whichever they felt would best keep them from falling off. Once it was certain that they were secure, both girls sped up again in order to catch up with Sebastian.

"Let Amelie take them!" the vampire instructed. "That way we can fight some of them off!" The butler grinned.

"That won't be necessary." He said, tossing Travis onto the back of the werewolf before handing Preston over to Charlotte. " _I_ will be _plenty_."

With that, the man leaped backwards, turning in midair. The butler reached into his jacket, pulling out silverware and clutching them in both hands. He made sure that the werewolf was far behind him before he hurled the knives and forks toward their targets, aiming between the larger gaps in their armour.

The majority of the frontrunners were expertly struck, and howled in pain. Soon, the silver started to fizz and burn. The creatures stopped and clawed at the festering injury as the blood around it began to boil. One unwittingly became the target of Sebastian's shoes as he finally landed, kicking the monster right in the face and shattering it's armour plate and revealing the face of the human that it once was.

"It would appear that you're allergic to silver." He mused, watching as some of the armour around the creatures' injuries started the give way from the constant digging and clawing. The man's feet hit the floor and he righted himself.

"However, it appears retrieving my wares will be quite the pain…" he sighed. "Ah, well… I suppose we'll have to do things the old-fashioned way, then."

With that, the man ran toward the beast as it leaned down to bare it's freshly-revealed, dull, human teeth at him. The bone was more fragile than the armour, he found as his foot broke it; crimson leaking from its wound. He only kept going as the beast fell, grabbing the wrist of another as it attempted to swipe at him with it's horrible claws. It only took a swift yank on the butler's part to sweep it off its feet and hurl it toward its brethren, becoming a weapon at Sebastian's leisure.

The man let go of the monster, having severely injured it. The poor thing seemed incapable of regeneration, so he did the only humane thing and put it out of its misery by impaling it with its own severed arm; claws slipping through the gaps of armour and tearing through to it's poor, faint heart. It wasn't often that Sebastian was permitted to use such amounts of violence, but it was certainly refreshing to do so. Without any children or superior officers watching, he was free to dance to his heart's content.

"Now…" he said, his eyes flashing with a crimson glow. "Who's next?"

In response, three different annies charged at him. One bared its fangs and the other, its claws. The final creature did both as it prepared to attack.

"Now, that's not fair." Sebastian said, leaping into the air again. "You're going to need more than that to even have a chance."

He came back down and prepared to strike the center of the nearest creature's forehead, only to hit air. Must to his surprise, the monster had already been decapitated. Sebastian landed back on his feet, furrowing his brow at the sound of whirring machinery.

"How cruel!" called the voice behind him. "You've started the dance without me? Don't you know that it takes two to tango?" The butler stood up straight, dusting off his clothes.

"Perhaps it was a solo dance." He replied. "Shouldn't you be more concerned about your comrades?"

"Please, it takes more than a big lummox to kill a cortege of reapers." Grell replied. She grinned at the demon. "I might as well give you a hand, ri-"

To her surprise, the butler had already continued fighting without her. The woman wasn't at all pleased about being ignored in favour of a bunch of ugly beasts. With a swift yank of the chord, she revved up her deathscythe again.

"Oh, Bassy, you wound me!" she shouted as she joined the man. "Don't you know it's rude to simply walk away from someone while they're talking?!" she said as her chainsaw sliced through the limbs of one of the creatures.

"You were talking?" Sebastian asked before wiping out two more monsters. "I hadn't noticed."

" _Rude."_ The reaper said, jumping before slamming her deathscythe downward again and shoving it between the gaps of an annie's armour. The blade caused blood and bits of flesh to be strewn all over creation as it continued to rip and tear, even while being held stationary.

"We haven't seen each other in ages, and this is the treatment I get? Your coldness only revs me up, like always!" she added, extracting her weapon.

With that, she simply moved onto her next target, lopping off it's head with ease while running. For her next attack, though, it wasn't quite so easy, as the creature's defenses had grown to form around the neck, only allowing the minimal amount of movements with the small joints. It bared it's fangs at the reaper, but in response, so did Grell, as she took a strong stance and swung as hard as she could. She managed to cut open it's throat, just missing it's spine. The beast still dared to swing it's claws back, only to have it's head kicked off by Sebastian.

"Thanks for the save, Bassy~!" the reaper in red cooed, only to be shocked when the man grabbed her by the shoulders. The demon stared at her with his usual smolder, causing her face to turn the same colour as her hair and coat. " _B-Bassy?"_

" _Fly for me, Grell."_ Sebastian replied softly before picking the woman up and throwing her into the air.

He had sent her soaring toward an annie that was crawling along the wall, she discovered after the initial shock. It opened it's mouth wide, causing her boots to hit against it's teeth with brutal force, one foot on the upper and lower jaws, each, respectively, holding it open. With that, she shoved her deathscythe directing into the monster's face, only stopping when it hit against the creature's armour on the other side. Soon after her boots hit the floor as she landed.

"See how wonderful teamwork can be?"

* * *

 


	421. Zetsubou Yuugi

Somehow, they had managed to outrun the beasts. Alois, Seras, Integra, Oliver, Dafydd and Daniel somehow managed to outrun them. That said, they were now separated from their group and their formation was completely broken. How on earth were they supposed to escape the castle now?

Alois pulled at his hair, causing pale strands to fall free from his ponytail but he didn't care. He grit his teeth as he paced back and forth, unsure of what to do next. He was obviously frustrated. Anger seeped through every sound, every expression, and every gesture he made. It wasn't necessarily certain who or what this fury was directed toward; not even he, himself, was certain. Was it the crew? The reapers? Daniel? Or was it himself? Maybe, it was all of the above, but it didn't matter.

The others simply sat in silence as Integra pondered what to do next, her single, sapphire eye watching the Macken boy closely as he paced. Daniel stared at the ground, eyes wide, with the sort of expression worn by those who were facing utter despair. He did not want this. He did not want his friends to get hurt, yet here he was, uncertain of the fate of the others. It didn't matter, though. None of it did. Dafydd was exhausted, while Seras and Oliver kept a watchful eye on the others, taking everything in. They pondered as well, but more along the lines of how to keep everyone together. Things were falling apart at the seams, and it didn't look like they were going to get much better.

"Alois." Seras called, watching as the lad continued to pace. "Alois… _Alois!"_

" _What?!"_ barked the Macken boy, prying his hands away from his head long enough to glare at the Draculina. Seras only stiffened.

"Everything is going to be fine." She said. "Stop panicking. It's not going to help."

"Then what _will_ help?!" the boy demanded. "How do _you_ know that things are gonna be okay, huh?! Things don't _look_ okay!"

"Yelling and panicking isn't going to fix it." Seras replied. "We have to stay calm, and think."

"And then what?!" Alois asked. "How am I supposed to stay calm?! Everyone's gone!" Daniel flinched at the last few words, catching the blonde's attention. The Westley lad was partially to blame for the danger that their friends were in, having brought the human boys along.

"What about you, huh, Dan?" the menace asked, walking over to the boy and looking down at him where he sat. "You got any bright ideas?! Oh, wait, no you don't! _'Oh, let's go save Ciel after Alois told us not to come!_ ' Who's fucking idea was that?!"

Tears began to silently fall down the Westley boy's cheeks and his lips trembled. A small whimper escaped his throat as he couldn't form words to speak. All he could do was shake his head; he wasn't entirely sure what he was trying to say, but he had to respond somehow. If he didn't, he was afraid of what the demon would do.

"Huh? ' _No'? 'No' what?!"_ Alois demanded. " _'No'_ , it _wasn't_ you're idea!?"

"Alois, _stop!_ " said Oliver, knowing he needed to intervene. He furrowed his brow sternly. "That's enough! Daniel just wanted to help! He didn't know any of this would happen, and making him feel worse about it isn't going to do anything but hurt your teammate!"

"Oh, I'm _so_ sorry!" the Macken boy snapped. "I was just making sure he understood why the others are missing, since he's apparently too bloody dense to understand simple bloody instructions!"

"Alois, I'm warning you…"

"Or _what?"_ Alois asked, watching as the Midford boy grasped at the handle of his sword. He took a few defiant steps forward. "You're gonna poke me with that thing? Like you can do shit!"

He took one last step, only to stop as he felt a studden stinging in his cheek. Warm liquid trickled down from the spot as blond locks fell down in front of his face. Oliver hadn't moved, and only stood wide-eyed as Alois' ponytail-holder fell to the ground, cut in half. Alois looked to the side of his head where the pain was, only to see a blade. He didn't dare look behind him. He could already feel her presence and cold stare.

" _Jim Macken,"_ Integra began. "That is _enough."_

Hesitantly, the menace reached a hand up and touched his cheek, feeling a small gash. When he held his fingertips up to his gaze, they were dotted in his own blood. Sir Integra lowered her sword putting it back in it's sheath as she stood of straight from her fighting stance.

"That is not acceptable behaviour." She said. "I don't care how stressed you are; if you even threaten to act violently toward your team, friends, family, or to the general public, I will _not_ be able to save you. Are you listening to me?" In response, Alois simply nodded, continuing to stare at his hand.

"I want to believe that you aren't a monster." The woman continued. " _Don't_ prove me _wrong_."

" _Ah…"_ Alois uttered, falling to his knees. The cut on his cheek stung, as the blade was blessed, but it didn't really register as he sat there on top of his own two legs.

He stared through his bangs at the ground in front of him, disheveled and a complete mess. His anger was quenched; extinguished by a sudden numbness. But as moments, passed, something else bubbled within the pits of his stomach. The feeling grew, and it grew, causing the boy's body to tremble. He couldn't see, as his eyes were blank, but he could feel warm liquid fall from them and onto his hands in front of him.

" _Ah…"_ the boy uttered again as his face contorted. The feeling in his stomach grew, spreading to his entire body and expelling the numbness that he felt; or rather, didn't feel. What was this? He didn't like it. He didn't like it at all.

Alois hugged his own torso, digging his fingertips into his biceps through his jacket. His head lowered and his teeth grit themselves together as his eyes clenched shut. What was this feeling? It made the boy want to scream, but all that would come out was a weak whimper, sparking the attention of the others. They looked at him with concern; he knew, because he could feel their eyes upon him. To that, the lad did everything in his power to stop whatever it was that he was doing, but he couldn't. The tears just kept coming.

" _Alois?"_ Oliver called, taking a step forward. The Macken boy wanted to reply, he really did, but all that would come out were broken sobs.

Now Alois remembered. This is what pain felt like. The feeling washed over his entire body like waves crashing against rocks. It did it again and again; thus, the boy did cry in response. How could he not? No matter what he did, the tears continued. Through it all, he ached for warmth to soothe him; a soft touch, kind words, and the presence of one person.

" _Ciel…"_ the boy choked through his blubbering. He didn't know why the name played at his lips so badly. It felt as though he need for the other demon was suddenly hitting him.

After all of this time of simply trying to ignore it, the feeling had become too much to bear; all of the fear, anxiety, and worry over the bluenette that Alois had so desperately tried to ignore. The fact of the matter is, that part of the reason he focused all of his energy into finding the Phantomhive boy was simply to keep himself from thinking about how much he missed him. He wanted nothing more than for the other boy to come home safely. Krampus' plan didn't matter to him. All that did was Ciel, Ciel, and _Ciel_.

Alois couldn't remember the last time he cried like this. The initial pain from losing the other boy didn't even compare. Now, it had time to fester and grow, picking away at his skin and digging it's way into his bones. He had lost Ciel, and now he had lost his friends. He didn't want to lose anymore, so he was frozen; too afraid to step forward, yet unable to step back.

The boy pulled at his hair again, angry at his weakness. It was pathetic. What could he do? He did the only thing he could. Whether he wanted to or not, he now appeared just as pathetic and weak as he felt, openly sobbing while compressing himself further and further into the floor.

It hurt. It hurt all over. Alois had no idea how much he was actually hurting until the numbness wore off, and it all came flowing out at once. It was contagious, too, as Daniel began to break down, and both Oliver and Dafydd fought back tears. The boys hadn't expected this. They had never seen a real battle before, so when the supposedly fearless blonde menace broke down, they threatened to do so as well.

Violently, the Macken boy flinched when he felt a gloved hand that wasn't his own run through his hair. It wasn't Ciel's, but somehow, he still found it comforting. Somehow, he found himself being held gently and while he couldn't see through his own tears, he could smell the scent of cigar smoke mixed with rosemary.

" _It's alright_." Integra said softly, much to his surprise. "You're alright…"

Alois simply closed his eyes, allowing himself to be held by the woman until he calmed down, his sobs eventually turning to small hiccups. Confused as he was, the boy did not complain. Integra had quelled the rage of monsters many times before, but never had she hushed sorrow. She had calmed Seras once in a similar fashion after she was forced to destroy her own teammates after they had been transformed into ghouls against their will. The Hellsing woman, while she did not fully understand Alois, himself, she did understand that he had always held difficulty in expressing himself, much like Ciel Phantomhive, only the blonde would lash out in ways that were violent, and sometimes emotionally self-destructive.

"You're hurt." She said. "That's normal, but don't let it be your only focus. If you still want to see Ciel, you _have_ to keep going."

" _I can't_ …" Alois sniffed.

"You _can_." Replied Integra. "You've dealt with much worse, before. You're very strong, and very brave. Even in the midst of utter despair, you keep fighting, and that's what makes you great." She pushed the boy away so that she could look him in the eye, brushing his bangs out of his face.

"Even if you're hurt, you can't forget that." She said. "Don't _ever_ forget that. You're allowed to be sad; it's only _human_ , after all, but don't let that end the story _here_. Not like this, Jim." She watched as the boy before her rubbed his stinging eyes and nod. With that, she gestured to the side with her eye, causing the lad to look to yet another boy. It was Daniel.

"Go do what you have to do." The Hellsing woman instructed, standing up. She pat the boy on the head as she did so, but his eyes remained fixated on the Westley lad.

Alois sat there for a few moments, collecting himself before he can even try to do the same for Daniel. Then, the menace stood, wiping his nose on his tattered sleeve before walking over to his friend. Daniel avoided eye-contact, choosing to look at the floor in favour of acknowledging the Trancy.

"Hey…" the blonde greeted, unsure of what to do when he didn't get any response. He scratched the back of his neck as he thought. Eventually, he crouched down to the other boy's level.

"Dan…" began Alois. "This isn't your fault, and… I know you only wanted to help… I just didn't want you guys to come because I was scared that you'd get hurt, and when you did anyway… I was terrified." He noticed the boy glance in his direction before looking the other way again.

" _Dan, I'm really sorry…"_ he said finally, holding out his hand. _"Wanna go get everyone back?"_

Daniel sniffled and looked up at the blonde, trying to read his face for a moment. Hesitantly, he nodded, taking the other lad's hand and shaking it. Faintly, a smile started to appear on his face.

"Yeah…" he said. "I'd like that... You're such a dick sometimes."

"Yeah…" Alois replied. "I know."

 


	422. Entering The Game

_"What do you want to do?"_ Ciel asked from his place in the cell. " _Are you a man? A dog? A monster?"_

In response, the nervous demon before him stopped shaking. Jonnathan reached for the knife at his belt as he walked forward. There was an odd, uncharacteristic calmness to his demeanor that clashed with his usual appearance.

" _Let me show you."_ He said, making his way into the cage. He raised the blade high over his head before bringing it crashing down again toward the Phantomhive boy.

With that, the old chain around the bluenette's ankles were broken. Ciel smiled as the other demon put the knife back in it's sheath, watching as the boy trailed a hand down the spine of his restraints. The strange, ribcage-like device released the Phantomhive and he was helped up by Jonnathan. Once he was up on his feet again, he started stretching his stiff joints, causing them to loudly pop. A grunt escaped the bluenette's throat at the feeling. He had been restrained like that for days.

"A man, then?" the Phantomhive asked.

"You tell me." Jonnathan replied, turning to exit the cell. "You're the one with the weird philosophy. I just didn't want to kill you."

He unlocked the door to Maxwell's cage, as well, and unfastened his cuffs. The reaper rubbed his wrists and stood up, his legs wobbling underneath him. It was when he hobbled out of the cell that Ciel got to properly set eyes on him; on Maxwell Goddard, the former angel.

One of the lens of Maxwells glasses were cracked, impairing his vision, but it didn't stop the Phantomhive from seeing that it was indeed, Maxwell. The reaper's hair was loosely swiped back, as if the boy had tried to move it out of his face. It was an odd, dirty-blonde colour as opposed to his former white. His face was the same, only more tired.

It was to be expected, however. The boy had small cuts on his face and bandages wrapped around his torso. He didn't have a shirt, but only his jacket, and hissed when Jonnathan touched his back in an effort to help him walk. He had been tortured, and was lucky to not have met the same fate as his partner. The problem was, though, how on earth was he going to escape in this condition?

The two looked at each other in astonishment, having finally seen the other with clarity. They had spent weeks beside each other, but hand only ever heard a voice. It was very strange to finally put a name to a face, even if the face was already somewhat known. Maxwell leaned his shoulder against the wall.

"What now?" he asked, finally.

" _We find H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. and get out_." Ciel replied simply. "Jonnathan, are you coming with us?"

"Well, I'll _die,_ if I stay." The other demon answered, causing the Phantomhive to smile.

"Help Maxwell keep up." Instructed the bluenette. "I'll keep the path clear."

"And how will we even _find_ this… " _Helsing"_ bunch?" asked the reaper.

"Simple." Ciel said, touching his fingertips to his lips. "I have an _ace_ up my sleeve."

Alois was there. He knew it. He knew it because he knew Alois, and that the blonde menace wouldn't be able to resist coming to get him. It's just the way he is. Ciel also knew the blonde menace was here, because he could sense his very presence somewhere in this castle. The promise of seeing the boy again was too tempting, and thus, his own agenda was not to find H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G; but to find _Alois_ who was likely to just so happen to be _with_ H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. It was selfish, he knew, but he didn't care. He could still sense the blonde, so he was going to follow that trail until he found the boy and was able to hold him again.

" _Ethel_." He called, holding out his hand. Black flame spouted from his palm before growing outward. He clenched his fist, gripping onto something, and shook it, expelling the flame away. In his hand was the blade of Elizabeth Midford, and later "Hellsing". The boy smiled as he was finally getting his sense of dignity back.

"Where the hell did you get that?!" Maxwell asked as Jonnathan helped propped him up. It baffled him, how the bluenette could have possessed such an item and not have used it by now, but the Phantomhive did have a somewhat reasonable explanation.

"It was sewn into the garments of my demonic form." Ciel replied. "Calling it is no problem under normal circumstance, but it's immensely difficult when my arms are bound, I'm trapped in a circle that saps my strength, and if I don't play ' _nice'_ , my family might be put in danger."

"Okaaaay..?" Maxwell said. "Lead the way, then, I guess?"

With that, the bluenette began traveling up the stairs, occasionally stopping for Jonnathan and Maxwell to catch up. It was a long climb, so it took some time, but once it was cleared, they should be able to move a bit faster. Ciel peeked outside the stairwell, only to see a few servants rushing by. He assumed that this must be the direction that the others were in, so after a few moments of waiting, he walked out into the hallway, out of the sight of the lesser-demons, for now. He didn't count on it staying that way for long, given the fact that they had quite the acute sense as well.

Part of him actually _wanted_ the demons to notice him. He wanted to stretch his legs a bit, and they would have given him quite the opportunity. Ciel walked silently, his feet padding against the hard floor in his socks. The demons had taken his shoes, after all. His pace was slower than he'd have liked, but he had to make sure that the others were keeping up.

While his patience was wearing thin, his excitement only continued to grow. Ciel knew that somewhere in this castle, his beau was searching for him. Now, he didn't want to disappoint the blonde, now did he?

* * *

 


	423. Armour Could Not Shield Me

Ciel's feet padded long the hard floor in an odd sort of half-trot as he was torn between keeping up with the posse of lesser-demons, and allowing his rag-tag team of associates keep up with him. Maxwell was slow. He couldn't help it. He was injured, after all. The Phantomhive did wonder why grim reapers couldn't heal as quickly as demons, though, as it would improve their time immensely.

He was in a hurry, you see. Someone's waiting on him. That "someone" just happened to be the love of his life, and the bluenette was understandably growing impatient. With his arms free, he could now hold Alois, touch his face, and run his hands through the boy's blonde locks. His lips formed a thin line as he pressed them together, trying not to let the memory of the last kiss they shared distract him.

It was immensely difficult to ignore. Ciel was aware of the danger that was all around him, but he was almost drunk on the idea of seeing Alois again. He knew that there were demons to his front and he knew that should he be noticed, he would have to fight them off, but he didn't care to linger on that thought. He was too busy spacing out about his precious blonde beau.

" _Wait."_ Jonnathan said suddenly in a hushed tone. This prompted the other demon's attention, forcing him to stop in his tracks.

"What?" he asked. Jonnathan paused.

"Something's up ahead." The younger demon replied. " _Listen_."

Doing as instructed, the bluenette did just that. Ciel listened intently for anything that might seem out of the ordinary. Suddenly, there it was; the most peculiar creaking and clacking of metal.

"What is that?" the Phantomhive asked, only to receive a small shrug as an answer. He raised his sword in the general direction that the sound was coming from, only to be baffled by what he was greeted with.

 _Knights._ Knights in black armour that was not at all dissimilar to that of the annies. The four demon-knights walked into view with their gladiator-esque suits; their helmets somewhat resembling the head of a horse, like the chess piece. Each one had in hand a halberd, which was a spear with an axe on the end. They paused for a moment, simply staring at the escapees while the group stared back.

Ciel tightened his grip on his sword while Jonnathan took out his knife in one hand, holding the reaper up with his free arm. Their eyes were locked on the opposing demons, watching their every movement. None of them dared to move, but finally, the silence had to be broken.

"What… what are those?" asked Maxwell, terrified of what he was seeing.

 _"The four horsemen_." Replied Jonnathan. "They're lesser-demon knights that have been trained to fight. They were picked by Lilith, because they seemed to be the most dangerous of the crop to her. Something about their eyes…"

 _"Is that so?"_ Ciel mused, assuming a fighting stance. "Guess we'll find out."

The demons across the hall from him tightened their grips on their halberds, before aiming the tip of the spear in their direction. All of them formed a perfect line, blocking the hallway. To this, the Phantomhive only smirked.

"I see…" he said. "Single-line defense… That's clever _, but_ …" he trailed off as the enemy began to advance.

The knights ran forward, aiming their halberd straight ahead. With that, the bluenette charged them head-on, much to the horror of his associates. The spear-tip of his opponents' weapons closed in quickly, but once it seemed as though the gap would be closed completely, he ducked, causing them to run right past him. He turned around.

 _"…There's still gaps."_ Ciel concluded, leaping into the air and pointing his blade downward. His feet touched one of the knights' backs and he brought the tip of his blade down, shoving it into the gap between the demon's helmet and back-piece. The blade reemerged on the other side of the knight's neck, poking out of his throat. In one swift motion, Ciel lopped of his head completely, thus forcing his allies to reconsider their advance.

Once Ciel's feet hit the floor once more, he waited to hear the sound of armour touching down with it. He was confused when it never came. He was even more confused when he was struck in the back with the corpse. The knight next to the dead one had swung their weapon his way, using it to hurl their teammate's headless body at the boy. Ciel righted himself and threw the lifeless demon to the side, only to find that now he had their full attention.

A halberd was swung at the watchdog, forcing him to duck again. When a second one came his way at the same time, he blocked it with his sword, nearly falling over. He pressed his free hand against the floor in an effort to prop himself up. The weapons passed him, leaving one remaining. The final knight swung straight down at him, causing him to drop himself and roll to the side and out of the way.

Ciel stood up again, taking a swing at one of the knights, only to be blocked by the metal rod that the blade was attached to. He jumped backwards before another halberd could crash down on top of him. Almost instantly, he had to jump to the side as the third knight went in for an attack.

They were one down, but still overwhelming. The Phantomhive had to admit, it was somewhat impressive. Lesser-demons trying to fight one-on-one with a full demon was laughable. Three-on-one was pathetic. But three-on-one with legitimate training and equipment? Now this, might not be something to sneeze at.

After he recovered, the lad went in for another kill. He jumped, dodging another swipe from one of the knights, pressing his feet into the lesser-demon's chest-piece. Before stabbing the demon in the neck, however, he noticed one of the others preparing to strike. Thus, he used the demon as a springboard and hurled himself at the new attacker. He was narrowly missed by the halberd on impact, but his blade still found itself sheathed into the knight's neck.

Quickly, he took it out again as the one to his back charged. Ciel turned, using his sword to knock his assailant's weapon off course. He grabbed the bar with his free hand, and shoving his blade between the knight's chest-plate and abdomen cover in an upward motion, striking the heart. With a swift yank of the Phantomhive's arm, he threw the lesser-demon to the ground, removing his weapon in the process. Now, only one knight remained.

To his surprise, the knight stood off to the side quietly. It was as if he _knew_ that the boy was going to try and use the simultaneous attack to kill them in the same manner. It waited patiently for the boy to pay it some mind. When Ciel did, the lesser-demon clutched at his weapon with both hands.

"Last one." The Phantomhive said. "Are you sure you don't want to run?"

He got no answer; just a blank stare. Soon, however, the pause would end and the second wave of the battle would begin. The knight twirled the halberd before griping it tightly again. He then charged at the boy, swinging instead of stabbing.

Ciel dodged the attack without much effort, and made an attempt to counter. The only problem was that the demon before him had somehow managed to change the direction that the staff was moving, swinging it in the opposing direction and knocking the bluenette's attack off course. In one fluid motion, it did this, letting go of the halberd with one hand while firmly grasping it in the other. With his newly freed hand, the knight decked the Phantomhive lad square in the jaw.

While the boy made an attempt to recover, the knight's weapon kept traveling. Using the inertia from the strike, he spun around, making the axe blade appear on the other side of the bluenette. Quickly, Ciel lifted his sword again to block it, only to be punched again when he succeeded. Ciel jumped back, creating some distance between he and the knight.

This was different. Without all of the others to worry about or to foolishly try to rely upon, the lesser-demon was actually good. It was shocking, as these creatures aren't known to be especially bright without a master.

Once more, the knight advanced, this time swinging with both hands. As Ciel blocked it this time, it was he who did so one-handed, using his free hand to strike the other demon. He struck the knight hard, but not as hard as he would have liked. Even so, the blow sent the demon stumbling backward and caused his helmet to fall off.

A look of horror flashed across the bluenette's face. His eye widened by what he saw. Not only was the knight not a "he", but a "she", she was also someone fairly familiar to the boy. Her hair was cut shorter than he remembered, styled in the same way as all of the other servants in the castle. While her visage wasn't as haughty and taunting, her face was still recognizable, even with it's unsettling blank expression. A single word escaped Ciel's lips at the sight.

" _August."_

 


	424. The Worst Month Of The Year

_"August…"_ the bluenette said upon seeing the girl. She looked slightly different in her attire and her expression, but her face was just the same. There was no mistaking it. That was _August Remy_.

Back in his earlier days of Warwick Academy, the demoness had fallen in battle from a bullet fired by Audrey. While the demonic duo had wondered about what exactly happens when demons die, they didn't speculate on it much further. Now, with the knowledge from Maxwell as his disposal, the Phantomhive correctly assumed that the demoness was assuming the next role in the cycle. If human becomes demon; demon becomes lesser-demon, and lesser-demon becomes human again. Just as Maxwell had gone from angel to reaper, August was now a lesser-demon; a monster without the sophistication to form contracts.

Without a master, they simply roam about, devouring everything in sight, however, since they cannot form contracts they often cling to powerful demons, as they can't really think on their own. Without someone to give instruction, or to give them a task, they're no better than ghouls. Sometimes, they are blessed to be given a name, which in turn gives them a degree of "personality" in accordance to what the master wants from them. Krampus obviously hadn't bothered to give even an ordinary demon like Jonnathan a name, so why bother with the lesser-demons? It would be irritating if your minions have free will. Unfortunately for Krampus, he discovered this too late.

"What are you doing?!" asked Jonnathan, snapping the Phantomhive back to his senses. "Kill her!"

He said that not a moment too soon. August was preparing another attack. Her muscles tensed and she rushed forward, swinging her halberd even quicker than before. She twirled it, using the inertia of the first attempted strike to continue a series of attacks. Even the long handle of the weapon was used for offense as it made it's way toward the Phantomhive's head.

Ciel had to admit; she was good. Without fear or emotion holding her back, she could focus on the sole task of eliminating the enemy. The bluenette didn't have that ability. His mind was fogged with thoughts of the possibility of being struck down by the blade or stabbed with the spear-point. As of the moment, his main priority was making sure that that very scenario didn't have the chance to play out; dodging and blocking the onslaught against him.

He backed up, only to be followed as the girl continued to strike. Soon he found himself left with nowhere left to go, for if he did, the others would be cut to ribbons. Unable to dodge, all he could now do is block with his own blade. He had to force August back somehow, but he was running out of ideas. His muscles were still stiff from being bound, so he couldn't do anything drastic.

" _Ciel!"_ called Jonnathan, taking a step forward.

" _Stay back!"_ the bluenette shouted in response. His eye suddenly widened, as yet another thought occurred to him.

"Jonnathan!" he called, continuing to fend off the lesser-demon's strikes. "Why did you help me?!"

"What?!" the other demon replied, obviously confused by the question. "I dunno _! I just didn't want you to die!"_

"What about _Maxwell_?!" Ciel further inquired. Hesitantly, the younger demon looked at the equally perplexed reaper.

" _I dunno_ …" He said. "I might as well have! He was there too!"

" _Perfect."_ Ciel stated, a smirk appearing on his face. He moved his blade, defending himself from a strike from above.

" _August!"_ he shouted, looking the other demon in the eye. His opponent's head tilted, slightly, but she still pushed down on him. " _That's your name!_ August! Your name is _August Remy!"_

Immediately, the girl's eyes widened in surprise at the declaration. It was the first sign of any sort of emotion throughout the battle. Suddenly, the weight bearing down on the Phantomhive from the demoness' halberd lessened, before disappearing completely. The lesser demon before him stood, clutching her weapon, simply staring at the boy.

" _What… was… that?"_ she asked, tilting her head. Her voice wasn't as sickly sweet and patronizing as the bluenette recalled, but instead, genuinely curious. Ciel dropped his fighting stance, standing up straight and letting his arms fall at his sides.

"That's your name." he repeated. "Your name is August Remy. That is what you will be called henceforth." He stared intently at the demoness in front of him, examining her every move.

"I have… _a name?"_ she asked. At those words, her shocked expression seemed to light up. She seemed to become more animated at the information. Ciel nodded.

"Of course you do." He said in a matter-of-fact tone. "It's strange to not have something as basic as a name, isn't it?"

"I… I've never had one before…" August said quietly, her eyes trailing to the floor and then to the weapon in her hands. "I've never had _anything,_ before…"

"Then you are free to come with us." The Phantomhive stated, much to the surprise of his associates. With that, he stepped forward, walking past the girl and down the hall. "…Or you can stay here. It doesn't really matter, unless you want to find out what it's like to have a life of your own."

He was followed by Jonnathan and Maxwell in silence, leaving the lesser-demon standing alone. She gripped the handle of the halberd tighter as she pondered what to do next. She wasn't used to this. She wasn't used to being able to _think._ Soon, however, she stopped thinking and went with her gut. She looked up again, wearing a determined expression and turned on her heel. August, too, followed Ciel Phantomhive through the nearly deserted halls of the castle in search of this "life" the boy spoke of.

* * *

 


	425. Knowledge Is Power

"That's three down…" spoke a certain mister Ronald Knox as he wiped the sweat from his forehead.

It took the reapers quite some time to whittle down the massive, three-headed annie, as none of their deathscythes could reach it's head or it's heart in one strike. It took what felt like hours of cutting away it's armour by sticking their weapons into the cracks and prying it off. Even so, they had to "kill" it three times, as it turned out to have a strange mutation.

"I guess what happened was that three humans were close enough together while the armour was growing to cause them to mesh together like that…" theorized Audrey. "Did you get what you need?"

"All three cinematic records have been analysed, and judgment has been passed." William Answered. He looked up at the crumbled staircase, furrowing his brow with displeasure. "We still need to judge the souls upstairs before those _vermin_ get to them…"

 _"'Vermin'?"_ echoed the Baines lad curiously.

" _Demons_." Mister Spears clarified. "This castle is absolutely crawling with them. If we don't find another way to the upper floors, then there might not be any souls left to collect."

"Ugh, thinking about the paperwork makes me sick…" Ronald chimed in.

"'Paperwork'?" Audrey said, echoing the reapers once more. To this, Mister Knox arched an eyebrow.

"Yeah, paperwork." The man said. "If a soul can't be collected, then we have to file about three times the paperwork for it. C'mon, even if you're a deserter, you should at least know that!"

"I _don't,_ and I have no idea what you mean by _'deserter'_ …" the Baines lad replied.

"What?! A deserter is someone who abandons their post!" Ronald explained. "The glasses? You take off your glasses, you're assumed to be a deserter. Did you lose them, or something?"

"There's such a thing as _contact lens,_ you know." Retorted Bones. "And I never had a post. I didn't even know grim reapers _existed_ until like, three or four years ago!"

"Huh?!" asked Ronald as the attention of Mister Spears was piqued.

"You." He said. "What's your name?"

"Audrey Baines, sir." The boy replied. "I recognise you, by the way. You're Mister Spears. You were undercover as a substitute teacher at Warwick Academy a while back. You stopped me in the hallway and asked if I wore glasses."

"Oh." William uttered. "I vaguely remember that."

"Huh? Warwick? Didn't a bomb go off, there?" Ronald inquired.

"Yeah, and I recognise you, too." Said Audrey. "I was there, too. I was the one Ciel asked to tell you that the bomb was underneath the wrong section. I didn't get your name, though."

"Why were you at a _human_ school?" asked the orange-headed man. "Why didn't you even know about reapers?"

"I was raised _human_." The boy stated, a small twinge of annoyance in his voice. "I'm only _half_ -reaper. My mum got married to my stepfather and raised me human. I have no idea who my real dad is, by the way, so please _forgive me for my ignorance as to how you lot operate."_ That small twinge was enough to make Mister Knox feel a bit guilty, to say the least.

"Uh, sorry, kid…" the man said. "I didn't know…"

"It's fine." Audrey replied. "But honestly, a reaper giving up being a reaper for H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G? The whole reason I joined H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. was to learn more about the supernatural world and possibly learn more about grim reapers, which shouldn't be hard, with the high mortality rates…"

"You're gonna get killed…."

"We all are, some day. Might as well do something worthwhile in the meantime, right?"

" _What foolishness_." Interrupted William, nudging his glasses so that they sat on the crook of his nose. Both men looked over at him, somewhat confused by the statement.

"You would throw your life away out of mere _curiosity?"_ Mister Spears asked. "If you had just let it go, you wouldn't be in this mess."

"That's _exactly_ why I couldn't let it go." The boy answered. "I'm not going to stay ignorant for the rest of my life. If I wasn't in this mess, then where would I be? At home watching TV? Why would I do that when there's a whole world to see?" William rubbed his temples and sighed before starting to walk again.

"Let's keep moving." He said, changing the subject, much to the annoyance of the Baines lad. Still, he couldn't argue. They did have to find a way upstairs, after all.

The group of reapers marched onward, and, while the Baines lad was thrilled to finally be with other reapers, he had to admit, it was a bit underwhelming. In his mind, he imagined an elite group of military-like individuals, but instead, he found an elite group of combative office-workers. Everything was business. They wear suits, file paperwork, and hope they can avoid working overtime. Audrey could only imagine what their headquarters looked like; an office building, perhaps? And what was with the yard equipment? Mister Knox had a _lawnmower_ with him, for Christ's sake! The boy sighed as he walked with the others. These were the adventurous "Grim Reapers" that he was somehow kin to.

"What's with you?" asked Ronald, pushing his deathscythe along.

"Grim Reapers aren't at all like I expected…" Bones admitted.

"What? Did you expect a bunch of skeletons, or something?" the man jested. "Don't worry, we're still skeletons without our skin and guts."

"No, that's not it." Audrey chuckled. "I didn't expect it to be like a _business."_

"It's a simply job just like any other." William said as they walked. "We answer orders from on high. We don't ask questions, and work with subtlety and discretion."

"Don't mind him." Ronald stated. "He's a little stuffy. But, he's right. Soul collection is just a job. Grim Reapers are just the ones who do it. It's been this way since Adam and Eve, for all we know. Sorry to disappoint."

"Nah, it's still interesting." The boy replied. "Actually, it makes a lot more sense. Kind of a relief to finally know this stuff..."

"What do your parents think about you joining H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G.?" William asked.

"My dad doesn't really know what it is, but my mum positively _hates_ it." Audrey said. "She hates anything supernatural, really. She wanted me to be a normal human, but when I found out, I couldn't just go back to the way things were."

"What's your mother's name?"

"Kim." Bones stated. "Kim Baines. Her maiden name was Kim Soo, though. _Why?"_ Mister Spears paused.

"I might have to question the staff." He answered, finally. "Fraternizing with humans is _unacceptable_."

 _"Sorry to offend you with my existence, Sir_." The boy quipped, causing the other reapers in the group to cover their mouths to contain their laughter. He smiled when he was nudged in the arm by Mister Knox's elbow.

" _You're alright, kid_." The man said with a grin. "Anything else you wanna know about Reapers?"

" _Only everything_." Audrey answered. He listened intently to the explanations that came pouring from the reaper's mouth as they continued to walk down the hallway.

* * *

 


	426. What A Boy Wants

The game was still on. Alois somehow managed to regain his composure, and in fact, felt better than he did at the start. His head was feeling much clearer, now that he had managed to let out some of his suppressed feeling. He was no longer too numb to feel, or too numb to _think_. Alois was almost completely refreshed, and thus, he was now able to focus on the task at hand. He wished he could say the same for Daniel.

While he could sense the bluenette in the castle, he had no way of determining if the rest of the sensational seven was still well. He trusted Sebastian, Charlotte, and Amelie to keep them safe, but Daniel didn't have that luxury. The Westley boy was still hung up on the fact that it was his fault that the other boys were here in the first place.

Daniel silently jogged along with the others, wearing the face of an ordinary person convicted for murder. Occasionally, he would trip over his own feet and have to be helped back up by one of the others. If they didn't, they were somehow sure that he would continue to lay there. Alois understood this. It was the exact same thing he went through right after losing Ciel. Once they reunited with the others, all would be well. They just had to keep moving.

" _Up ahead_." Alois said. "I can sense Audrey."

"He's alright, then?" asked Oliver.

"He's alive. There's also the Grim Reapers, with him, so most of them made it, at least." The menace answered. "We can take him back with us, and then we can go after the others."

"Sounds like a plan." Chimed in Integra. "It's good to see you back to your usual self, Macken."

"You're the one who snapped me to my senses." Alois replied. "Who knew you were good with kids?" he jested. Integra ignored his teasing while her vampiric assistant giggled.

"Technically, you're an adult." Said Dafydd. "Didn't we come here to get back your husband?"

"He's not my ' _husband'!"_ the menace snapped, his cheeks turning a bit pink. He furrowed his brow when the sorcerer still had one word to add.

"… _Yet_." The Blake lad said with a snicker.

" _Shut up!"_

Despite the occasional teasing of the Macken boy, the group trekked onward, through the completely trashed castle. There were bodies on the floor from where they had already been, and red stains on the carpet and walls. Some of the stone had been damaged from bullets, magic, and blows from a certain pair of gauntlets. The team had been forced to run around in circles in search of a way downstairs. It mattered not, however, since the Baines lad was getting closer.

They rounded the corner to see the reapers, all but Grell, whose whereabouts had not been confirmed, but were pretty obvious. They were tired, but so were the humans on the H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. team. The fatigue seemed to be mutual, all except for Audrey, who seemed to be much more excited than usual.

"Bones!" called the blonde menace as he trotted up to his friend. "You're alright!"

"Yeah. It took a bit, but the reapers managed to pry at the annie's armour enough to kill it." Replied Audrey. "I just shot at it after they did most of the work."

"It would be pretty nice if deathscythes were projectiles, though…" commented Ronald, scratching the back of his neck.

"Aren't you just saying that because you have to lug around a lawn mower?" asked the younger reaper, prompting some surprise from the Macken boy. It seemed that Audrey had already made friends with the full-reapers. It was unusual for the boy, but not unheard of.

"Mister Knox, might I remind you how much you complained about filing for that upgrade to your deathscythe?" inquired William.

"Why am I being picked on?!" asked Ronald.

"Because it's easy." Said Audrey.

"That's it, I hope you _don't_ train to join the dispatch! It'll be annoying to have a coworker like you!" Knox declared.

"Wait, what's he talking about?" asked Alois, looking to his friend. " _What_ dispatch?"

" _The Grim Reaper Dispatch Society."_ Bones replied. "If I join, I can be a full-fledged grim reaper!"

"Why would you want that? You'd just harvest dead people and do paperwork all day." The blonde stated, having been told of the reapers processes in the past. "Isn't hunting monsters more interesting?"

" _Not when you're the only one like you_." Audrey answered, his tone shifting to sound somewhat more serious. "It's hard to be on that base, sometimes… People call you ' _freak'_ instead of your name…"

"How do you think _I_ feel? I'm a demon." Alois said. "You don't have to leave because of something like that… I get it. It sucks being supernatural in a human world…"

"No, you _don't."_ the other boy replied firmly. "You're still surrounded by people who're like you, and who get you… and I… I'm just… a _halfer._.. a halfer with human parents who don't know what it's like to not be able to find out about who you are…"

"That's not true. Your parents love you, and only want to protect you. You still have H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. They have all of the information you need. So what, if a few idiots call you a ' _freak'?_ You should still walk with your head held high!" The blonde said as Audrey clenched his fist.

"They don't know everything, and that's easy for you to say when your boyfriend gets you a position of power!" the reaper-boy snapped, causing the other boy's eyes to widen.

"You know why you aren't called _'freak'?"_ Audrey asked. "It's because you have some authority. You're ' _Agent Jim Macken'_ , assistant to the infamous ' _Sir Ciel Phantomhive'_. Must be nice to have that luxury. You don't have that as a foot soldier. Too bad you become a complete mess when Ciel's _gone-"_

The boy was cut off when the demon grabbed the collar of his uniform. He clenched his eyes shut as his feet left the ground. Audrey was held up in the air by the demon, causing Integra to open her mouth in an attempt to scold the other blonde. She closed it, however, when Alois spoke.

"What the fuck is wrong with you?" asked the Macken. "This isn't like you… How can you say shit like that… and talk about leaving?" Audrey opened his eyes again and looked down at the fair-haired demon.

 _"Ever since I found out what I was, I wanted to know everything_." He said. "I joined H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. so I could learn more about this world; the one that ' _normal_ ' people can't see but I _can_ … You don't know what that's like… You know exactly what you are… but I… I don't know anything… Now I can finally learn from the _source_. I can't just give that up…"

 _"But you'd give your friends and family up?"_ asked Alois. " _Just like that?"_

To this, Audrey hesitated. Did he really want to give that up? He looked down at the boy holding him up by his shirt and furrowed his brow.

 _"What if I can find my dad?"_ he asked. "I can finally do it… why does that make you mad?"

He watched as the demon grit his teeth. It frightened the reaper when Alois tightened his grip. Audrey let up a yelp as the menace roughly dropped him on the floor. He landed on his rear with a thud, and he hesitantly looked up at the other boy. His eyes widened at the expression on the blonde's face.

"You were born with people who love you unconditionally…" Alois said. "You made friends who have your back even in the most outrageous of scenarios without much struggle… If you truly wish to throw that away, _then so be it_."

With that, Alois turned the other way and started walking. He treaded past the other members of his group, leaving the Baines lad speechless. The blonde turned, to face his team.

 _"We still need to find the others."_ He said, prompting the rest of H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. to go with him. They simply left Audrey with the grim reapers. After all, that's what he wanted.

 


	427. What?

That was not supposed to happen. They weren't supposed to lose anyone to anything on this mission, but it would appear that they had failed in that pursuit. Even though Audrey was alive and well, should he truly decide to go with the reapers, the sensational seven may become the sensational _six._ It was this revelation, that the blonde menace regretted what he did to Audrey.

He shouldn't have picked him up, and he shouldn't have been so cold. Alois felt guilty for not being more supportive, but his already shaken state of mind wouldn't allow for such rational decisions. He had been on bringing everyone back with him and it hadn't even occurred to him that they might not _want_ to go back. It made the blonde angry, especially because Bones had promised to help him on this mission.

Bones was supposed to be the one friend that he would allow on this quest, but it appears that he only wanted to come along in case the grim reapers would appear. Was it Audrey's intention to use him? H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G; too? Alois didn't know. He really didn't want to, either. All he wanted to do was find his friends and go home, but the mission would not be over until the kind of the castle fell.

It was a shame, as Daniel has clearly had enough. The boy nearly had to be dragged along, he was so lethargic. It was somewhat bizarre to see him deviating from his usual, goofy self and act with such melancholy. His eyes were open, but he was not seeing. He still had ears, but he could not listen. Whenever they would stop and rest, when it was time to start moving again, he had to be forcibly moved from his seated position, as he couldn't seem to understand what "it's time to go" meant.

Talking to him directly was useless as well. He would simply stare vacantly and make no sound. If the group was lucky, they'd get a small nod, or a half-hearted shaking of his head. He wasn't injured, and he didn't seem to be in pain. Daniel was simply hollow, having blamed himself for everything.

It seemed as though he got even worse when Audrey refused to come with them. In his mind, that was his fault, too. He wasn't entirely sure how, but it definitely was his fault. Oliver had to hold the boy's wrist and tote him along before finally, Alois became annoyed with the slow pace and picked him up. If he wasn't suited for running, then he would have to be carried.

Alois felt bad for the Westley boy; he really did. He understood the emptiness, the guilt, and the sheer shock of it all. He was exactly the same way after he was thrown out of the Trancy estate on that fateful night almost two weeks ago, so he couldn't be angry at the other lad. Even if he did put the others in danger, and even if he was slowing them down a bit now, Daniel still had very good intentions at the start.

Unfortunately, it seemed as though Daniel, himself, has forgotten that at the moment. He couldn't even complain that he was being carried like a princess through a castle. The thought simply didn't occur to him.

Suddenly, Alois blinked as they approached an intersection of hallways. His pace began to slow down. Something was coming. He had an idea of what, but he wasn't going to run at it head-on.

" _Stop!"_ he instructed, causing the rest of the group to heed his instructions.

"What is it?" asked Integra. "Do you not know which way to go?"

"No." the Macken boy replied as he shook his head. "Something is coming." He set the Westley lad on his feet before nudging the boy to stand behind him. He held out an arm to do the same for Integra.

"I'm gonna have to ask you to stand back for a second…" the boy added, prompting confusion from his superior. The Hellsing woman arched an eyebrow at the agent for a moment, before looking up. She waited, just as they all did, for whatever it was that the demon had sensed to appear.

Suddenly, a flash of silver passed in front of them, dragging wind along with it. The group actually had to brace themselves from the force of the gusts as it blew their hair, coats, and all else. Even Daniel snapped to his senses for a moment in order to keep himself steady.

Then, just as quickly as it came, it vanished, leaving the group windblown and flabbergasted. The H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. team stood for a moment, silently trying to decide what happened. After a few moments, they heard the sound of boots and heavy breathing in coming from the direction in which the silver flash originated.

" _Amelie!"_ called a familiar voice as Charlotte stopped at the intersection to catch her breath. "They're back this way!" she said, pointing to Integra and the others.

"Charlotte!" spoke the Hellsing woman, prompting the girl's attention. "Where are the others?"Charlotte pointed in the direction that the silver flash went.

" _She has them."_ The vampiress stated. She turned her attention from the group and her eyes widened.

" _No,_ _no_ , _no, Amelie!"_ she shouted, waving her hands in front of her before being mowed down by the a large wolf-like beast.

The creature had stopped, laying down with it's paws resting on top of the vampire and it's head bent forward as it affectionately licked the girl's face and wagged it's tail. While they were distracted, Heinrich and Mister Irons hopped down, followed by Travis, who helped Preston get off of the werewolf's back. All four of them were a bit ill from the wild ride. Kristopherson soon followed, disheveled, but otherwise unharmed. He took a moment to attempt to tuck a few locks of hair behind his ears, but eventually gave up when he realised how futile it was. They were soon joined by Sebastian, and then Grell, who finally managed to catch up.

"You run quite fast, Amelie." The butler said, straightening his uniform. "I almost had trouble catching you after finishing up." He frowned at the display that the two girls were performing.

" _Amelie, that is hardly appropriate behaviour for a public setting..."_ Sebastian scolded, causing the werewolf to look up. She snorted, resuming her original form, which somehow made the scene worse, given the fact that she was still currently on top of the vampire.

" _Stupid, fun-killing manchot_ …" the wolf-girl said as she stood up and helped the other girl up off the floor. Sebastian simply sighed, however, his eyes did widen at the scene that followed.

Daniel didn't know what possessed his legs to move foreward, but they did. He didn't know why he ran up to the faux-blonde, but he did. He didn't hear the sound of oxygen being sucked from the room as a few of the others gasped in surprise, and he certainly didn't _want_ to.

The rest of the seven, Dafydd, Charlotte, Amelie, and even Sebastian were more than a bit surprised when the Westley boy grabbed Kristopherson's head with one hand, wrapped the other around the boy's waist, closed his eyes, and pressed his lips to those of the other boy's. Their surprise, however, didn't even begin to compare to that felt by Kristopherson himself.

The eyes of the Miles lad were wide with shock and his face turned red at having that of the brunette so close. His blush only darkened when he registered the arm wrapped tightly around his waist and the hand on his cheek. It felt like his heart was rattling in his chest at the feeling of that of the Westley pressed up against his, and he thought he might faint when he felt pressure and heat against his lips. Kristopherson nearly did just that when what was happening it finally clicked with him.

Daniel Westley, Kristopherson's best friend and supposed heterosexual, from whatever black magic or insanity that was currently possessing him, was kissing Kristopherson.

If he registered the reactions of their friends, he would have certainly died then and there. Alois was speechless, Preston was shocked, and Travis forced the other two lads to look away out of courtesy. Meanwhile Grell, was simply amused. The poor faux-blonde was at enough of a loss already. He didn't need an audience of peers.

Now, in the few seconds that followed, Kristopherson had to make a choice. His rational self was screaming to push the other boy away. After all, Daniel was dating the boy's sister, and Kristopherson wasn't entirely sure of his intentions for performing the action. He knew all of this. He knew it well, as it had kept him from pursuing the Westley lad for years. That said, even though it screamed for him to make the ethical decision, Kristopherson's voice of reason sounded too far away.

As soon as he registered that those lips that he has had sought after for so long where in reach, Kristopherson didn't want to make the rational choice. Instead, he chose to selfishly not let this chance slip by, laying all of his cards on the table in the process. His eyes fluttered shut, and he kissed his friend back; loosely wrapping his own arms around the other boy as he did.

Both of them stayed that way for a moment before they both needed air. They separated their lips and simply stared at one another. Sadly, that is when things took an odd turn. Daniel's face flushed completely red and he looked mortified by what he had done. It was infectious, as it soon spread to the Miles lad as well, who quickly let go and pushed the Westley away, cursing himself for slipping. It was game over for Kristopherson.

"Wh… _Wh-wha_ ….?" Daniel managed to utter, completely stunned. He touched his burning lips, replaying the scene over and over in his mind. He didn't know what possessed him to do it, but there was no doubt in his mind that he kissed his best friend.

 _"Y-you_ …" Kristopherson began, being slightly more coherent. He now knew that he had to perform some kind of damage control in efforts to maintain the other boy's ignorance to his affections. "What… _What the hell was that for!?"_

"I… _I don't know!"_ the Westley shouted back. He paused to look at the ground. "I just… I was happy to see you all again… and I just… I dunno…" Suddenly, a thought occurred to him.

"Wait… _Did you kiss ba-"_

Daniel was cut off when he was stuck in the cheek by the faux-blonde's fist. The boy hit hard enough to make Daniel see stars for a moment, as well as to send him to the ground. Kristopherson's actions surprised not only him, but the rest of the seven as well. Alois, Travis, and Preston honestly expected that just as much as they expected Daniel to kiss the Miles. They knew of the lad's feelings; they all did. Everyone in their group except for Daniel himself was aware that Kristopherson held some fancy for him, but something told them that he would soon find out.

The Westley clutched at his cheek and sat up. He was about to demand an explanation and open his mouth to speak, but the words died in his throat as he saw his friend's face. Kristopherson didn't look angry. He looked as if he was only _trying_ to be angry. Instead, the expression that the boy wore was pained, as his eyebrows furrowed, and his lips pressed together in an odd frown. It was infectious, as it hurt the Westley boy, too; more than the blow from Kristopherson's fist. What hurt Daniel the most was the fact that Kristopherson, for the first time in ages, looked to be desperately fighting back tears.

" _That was my first kiss, idiot…"_ the boy choked out, his voice shaking. " _Don't treat it like it's some kind of joke_ …"

The others silently looked on and Daniel's mouth hung open. His friends were alright, but not Kristopherson; not his best friend. He was severely hurt, and no amount of medical attention would be able to fix such a wound. It was his fault. It was all Daniel's fault.

After a few moments, it was time to leave. Everyone had wasted enough time with these dramatics. While it seemed highly inappropriate for the mood, Integra knew what had to be done.

"Let's keep moving." She announced as she began to walk again. "We're still in the middle of a mission!"

Everyone silently followed her down the hallway without question or argument. Even Kristopherson and Daniel did, using their other friends as a barrier between them. It seemed trivial, but it mattered to them, even though they were in the middle of a mission. Everyone would move on. They had to. Only after the mission was complete and they all went home safely would they be able to even think about repairing the friendship that might have just been broken.

 


	428. Spring It

The team marched onward in complete silence from that point forward. Both Kristopherson and Daniel refused to even look at one another, and tension hung over the rest of the sensational seven that was seemingly undetectable to all others. Just when things had just started to pick up again, they seemed to only get worse. Audrey had abandoned his post, Kristopherson and Daniel now resented each other, and Ciel was still nowhere to be found. The determination that the blonde menace had fought so hard to obtain again was now starting to crack and crumble once more.

Alois looked up from the floor and watched the back of the H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. woman who led them along as she walked. Somehow, she was always able to stir his confidence in ways that not even Ciel could. The Macken boy wasn't sure what he was looking for, but perhaps Integra's calm could be as infectious as the smothering air that emitted from behind him. For the most part, it was sort of working. Integra, like her name implies, is very integral. She was very much like the Phantomhive lad, which could possibly be why Alois found her presence comforting.

She was calm, cool, and collected, but could be playful and caring. She demanded respect from everyone, including enemies, and she _always_ got it one way or another. If there was one difference between the Phantomhive and Hellsing, it was that Integra had a more "ethical" code of conduct that she followed very strictly. While Ciel crept in darkness, she treaded in the light. They were alike, and they were completely dissimilar all at once. It made Alois wonder if that was why the two hadn't gotten along in the past.

 _"What is it?_ " the woman asked, noticing the boy's staring. Alois blinked in response, briefly looking away.

"Oh, nothing…." He said. "It's just… how do you stay so calm?"

"Practice, I suppose." Integra answered. "I've been through worse."

"Worse than a castle full of demons?"

_"How do you think I lost my eye?"_

_"Good point."_ Alois replied. He could understand this, given the fact that they had cleared almost the entire structure without the woman enduring even a single scratch. He wasn't sure how to continue the discussion, and neither did Integra, it would seem, thus the deafening silence from before returned with a vengeance.

The menace almost wished that they would be able to get into a fight for the sake of filling the void with some sort of noise, and perhaps take his mind off of things. It would seem that violence was how he was getting rid of stress, lately, which honestly disturbed him a bit. Still, he didn't know what else to do. He wanted the night to be over so that he can return home with his beau, but obviously, it wasn't going to be that way for a while longer.

A large door appeared at the end of the equally massive hallway, much to the annoyance of the group. It was a dead end apart from this grandiose door, most likely leading to the ballroom, and it made even the human's uneasy. As for the more supernaturally-inclined, they could sense a large presence behind the door. They knew that what lied just beyond it was a swarm of monsters, ready to strike once it was opened. Seras walked past the Macken boy and stood in front of her mistress in a defensive fashion, only to be followed shortly by Sebastian.

"Do we have a plan?" he asked.

"Not yet." Integra stated. "We need to somehow make sure that the children are safe while combating whatever it is that has both of you so on edge."

"It's a swarm, ma'am." Said Seras. "Once we step inside, we'll be surrounded."

"I see…." The Hellsing woman replied. "So we have to mow down as many as possible without allowing any of them to get close?"

"Yes."

"If the others could shoot guns, there would be less of a problem." Integra continued. "We would be able to shower our enemy in a hail of bullets. Unfortunately, due to their inexperience, they may be too scared to pull the trigger."

"Sebastian?" called Alois, prompting the older demon's attention. The man looked back at him, his eyebrow arched in curiosity. "I know I'm not your master, and am in no position to give you orders, but… _do you think you can make this work, anyway?"_ With a chuckle, Sebastian place his right hand over his heart.

"Before leaving, the master knew that the mission that caused his absence would be dangerous, therefore he left me with one order that I must fulfil should he disappear for any reason." He said. "I am to protect and take care of all members and allies of the Phantomhive household, and I intend to do just that."

His words caused a smile to form on the boy's face; one of the brightest in weeks. Alois then looked ahead and waited for what was to come. They had an arsenal of some of the best combative forces they could muster, consisting of two demons, two vampires, one of which related to Dracula, himself, one werewolf, one sorcerer, one somewhat volatile grim reaper, two hardened soldiers, one professional badass, one rookie monster hunter currently set to join H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G., and four hastily-trained human boys. That was a total of fourteen people against an unknown amount of lesser-demons and annies. In this situation, however, what choice did they have but to go with things as they were?

The poor humans of what was left of the sensational seven were terrified of whatever it was that lied beyond that door. They were shaking, clutching at their weapons as they stared ahead. All of them were convinced that they were going to die that night, and simply hoped that their souls were collected by a grim reaper, rather than eaten by a ravenous beast.

The worst of it seemed to hit Daniel, as it was his fault that they were even there. He was unaware that his eyes were leaking, and didn't find out until he felt a hand on his back, rubbing it soothingly. Daniel looked over to see Charlotte smiling at him.

"Don't worry." She said. "We'll keep you all safe."

While her words made him feel a little bit better, he was still terrified of the hell that they were most certain to see before them. The boys were not soldiers. They didn't belong here. They were not cut out to peer into the eyes of catastrophe and carnage, and were most certainly not capable of fighting against such forces. Fear almost crippled them and could possibly destroy them, but the lads were anchored to their sanity only by the determination of others, leaving them unable to simply lay down and die.

How could they be so calm? It was horrible to think that they had probably witnessed hell greater than this before. Still, that assumption was most likely correct. In the case that it wasn't, however, it was simply the way they are. Oliver had never seen such a frightening spectacle, but maintained a steady posture, as he knew that the battle was unavoidable. He had trained for years on how to wield a blade and he was most certain to do just that whether he fell or not. He was going to put up a fight, because that's what humans _do_.

Sebastian reached out and gripped the large handle on the door before looking to the others. He waited until Integra nodded, giving him permission to open it. With that, he did as he was instructed, and removed the barrier in front of them. Eyes widened, however, as the room was completely empty.

"It's obviously a trap." Spoke Seras as she faced her mistress. "What do you want us to do?"

" _Spring the trap_." The Hellsing woman instructed, taking a few steps forward.

She walked into the massive room, only do have her vampiric assistant trot along in front of her as the other's followed. The majority of them hardly dared to _breathe_ at the anticipation that something was coming. They knew it was. They just weren't sure what, or from _where._

When they all set foot in the center of the room, doors on all sides swung open, some of them secretly hidden behind mirrors. The group jumped, but for the golden group of Alois, Sebastian, Seras, and Intgra, who were expecting this. It wasn't much of a "surprise attack", given the fact that they swarmed the group, just as predicted, lesser-demons and annies pouring out of hidden rooms en masse, setting forth to attack the group. Integra took out her blade.

" _Destroy them all!"_ she commanded.

" _Yes, ma'am!"_

The whirring of deathscythes and the sound of gunfire sounded, blanketing the floor with corpses. Fists and legs flew with enough force to decapitate, and in some cases, they did just that. The sound from the battle and the sheer spectacle of it all completely drowned out the sound of feet padding through the hallways, and the sensing of a certain bluenette drawing nearer.

 


	429. Caritas

The sound of machinery whirred as Grell swung her chainsaw, hacking down lesser demons as Sebastian did the same with powerful kicks. Seras was almost more proficient, though, taking out entire rows just by running by them. This golden trio seemed to have the edge on their opponent, and fanned out in order to cover more ground. Bodies were starting to pile up, forcing some of the lesser demons to either crawl over them, or move them.

Integra and Oliver swung their swords, not allowing any creatures to get too close to them. Charlotte and Amelie did the same with their guns; as did mister Irons and Heinrich, only the German man did both at once. None of them would let the monsters get close to the lads at the center, or to each other, as succumbing to the swarm would mean certain death.

For the most part, they protectively guarded the weaker bunch within their group, but eventually, as things got heated, this began to change. More and more demons and annies joined the fight, forcing their efforts to be somewhat scattered. Soon, the four human lads were almost fully exposed, leaving them to take up arms as well. Thank goodness, they too had guns.

Travis was the first to take up arms, firing his weapon without a single word. For a few moments, he was the only one keeping the monsters at bay, but he was soon followed by Kristopherson, as it finally sunk in that they would most likely die if he didn't. Travis could only do so much on his own. The hardest part about firing the gun was remembering the fact that these were not people that they were shooting at.

While the lesser-demons had human faces, they were mindless in their pursuit of sustenance, just like ghouls, but with better animation. They knew this. They all knew this, but deep within their minds, they couldn't shake the thought that killing someone who even looks human was wrong. Even if they were terrified, and even if their morals were shaken, Krisotpherson and Travis put the survival of both themselves, and their friends first.

 _"What are you doing_?!" the Miles boy loudly demanded, pausing briefly to look at Daniel before shooting some more. _"Help us out!"_

Daniel simply stared at the faux-blonde for a moment, as if confused. His mind was numb as the shock of the whole experience was starting to get to him. All he could focus on was Kristopherson, on how horribly disheveled he appeared, and on the sound of desperation in the boy's voice. What was happening? The entire world was falling apart, and there was nothing Daniel could do to stop it.

" _Get up!"_ Kristopherson barked. " _I'll be pissed off if you die!"_

The boy's words seemed to reach the Westley boy, slightly, stirring him awake. It slowly began to dawn on him that he was in the middle of a brawl that could possibly kill them all. He didn't want that. Daniel didn't want that. It was bad enough that he was responsible for bringing them here, and he was certainly not going to let them die.

With that, the boy stood up, grabbing his weapon and beginning to fire. While he wasn't very good, he was still helpful. The amount of collateral on the opposing side increased, and none of them were getting close enough to harm the boys even if only three out of four of them were doing any actual fighting.

The tides changed, however, when something else made it's way through the swarm. An annie was on course to attack the lads, much to their horror. Their bullets had no effect on it's armour plating, so no matter how much they fired at it, the monster simply kept getting closer. Soon, it was right on top of them. It cocked back it's arm and readied itself to strike.

All that the boys could do was stop and wait for it to kill them. Their gunfire ceased as they stared upwards with wide eyes at the beast, the blood draining from their faces. Kristopherson's body tensed as it aimed straight for him. He forced his eyes to snap shut as he raised his arms in front of himself, bracing for impact. To his surprise, however, he felt pressure elsewhere; on his shoulder, to be exact, as he was swiftly shoved to the floor, landing on his side.

He forced his eyes open again when he heard a blood-curdling scream. The annie had missed him, but at a cost. Instead of Kristopherson, it struck Preston after he had shoved the faux-blonde out of the way.

 _"Preston!"_ shouted Travis as the Omid lad fell to the floor as well. He opened fire on the annie, knowing full-well that it was futile. It only seemed to make the beast angry as it prepared to strike again, this time aiming for the boy who was trying to hurt it, only to be struck in the neck between it's plates by an extended pruner.

It was unusual to see a piece of yard equipment on the battlefield, but the boys didn't really care. All they were interested in was the annie, and the fact that the odd-weapon managed to pry off a chunk of it's armour from underneath. Travis moved Preston out of the way so that he the large piece wouldn't fall on him, only to turn his head as the sound of gunfire drew nearer.

Lesser-demons either moved out of the way, or fell as Audrey approached, mowing down the monsters as he franticly rushed to the other's side. Upon further inspection, a few other reapers appeared as well to join the fight. The annie before them soon found itself stuck with deathscythes and soon fell with a mighty _thud_ much to the relief of the human boys.

 _"What happened?!"_ Audrey demanded as he stopped before his friends. He saw Preston bleeding and clutched at his torso, his face confused as his body went into shock. Bones stared at the boy for a moment before looking at the annie and looking back again.

 _"Did it get him?!"_ he asked, earning a nod from the group. His eyes widened at the news. "Come on, let's get him somewhere safer!" he instructed, prompting the Sullivan boy to pick up his injured friend before following after Audrey. The other two stood for a moment before doing the same, unsure of what exactly just happened, themselves.

Still, they all navigated the battlefield with the wordless help of both the reapers and H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. agents. They all saw the one of the boys had been injured, so they took it upon themselves to clear them a path. Sebastian, however, gave himself another task and decided to make sure that the blonde menace didn't notice. One of the last things they needed was Alois being broken in the middle of fighting. While it was somewhat cruel, the butler had promised his master that he would keep the boy safe. Allowing him to give into despair while he was in battle would definitely impede upon carrying out this request.

The human boys made it to a section where the fighting was not thick, and found themselves guarded by mister Irons and Heinrich along the way. Travis set the Omid lad down on the ground, laying him on his back. Audrey crouched down next to the injured boy and forcibly pried Preston's hands away from his injury before lifting the boy's shirt to inspect the damage.

Fortunately, the cut wasn't especially deep, but it was long, reaching from his left pectoral to his right hip in a diagonal motion. Had this been a blade, this would have been fine, but since it was an annie, things were a lot more serious. Small black growths had already began to form around the injury. Preston's skin was cold and he was sweating profusely. His body started shaking within moments.

" _No_ …" Audrey gasped. He looked up to one of the men guarding them from harm.

"Heinrich!" he called, prompting the man's attention. "Go get Dafydd and bring him here!" The German only offered a nod, asking no questions before taking off in search of the sorcerer.

"What's happening?" asked Kristopherson, his voice shaking, somewhat. Bones' pause did nothing for his nerves as he looked down at the lad.

"He's infected with Black Annis…" the reaper-boy answered softly. "That's one of the things annies do… and Preston… he's…"

Audrey couldn't even finish what he was going to say. He shouldn't have left his friends. He should have stayed. Kristopherson looked mortified as he peered down at his injured friend, who was by some miracle, still conscious.

"Why did you do that?" he asked, not even expecting an answer. His eyes stung and he sniffled. "We're not even that good of friends…"

"But we're still friends…" Preston said softly, startling the faux-blonde. He smiled up at the boy, even though he didn't really feel like it. "I'm not good at making friends… _real_ friends… Usually, I only care about how I can profit… but… with you guys… it's _different_ …"

"I wanna be around you guys…" he said. "Even we're doing something totally stupid… If anything happened to you… I'd be all by myself again…"

" _But you didn't have to do that!"_ Kristopherson shouted, tears streaming down his cheeks, now. "You've still got the others, don't you?!"

"I don't want any of you to be hurt… The group's not as fun if one of you guys is missing…" Preston answered. "I'm not that important, so it's not like you can't have fun without me…"

"You are important!" barked Daniel, his own voice somewhat strained. "Without you, we can't be the sensational seven! You've helped us all the time! Remember when we vandalized Tamworth's statue? Just who shut down the security system so we could do that!?"

"Oh, yeah… That was fun…" chuckled the Omid lad before coughing. "It still doesn't matter, though… I just don't want you guys to die… _I'm kind of a greedy bastard like that_ …"

"No, you're not…" said Travis. " _You're the exact opposite_ …"

As the world began to spin for Preston, and his vision began to blur, he thought he saw two figures rushing toward him. He heard the others shouting "Dafydd", but it didn't really occur to him that this was the identity of one of them. All he knew that his head was fuzzy, and he felt strange. He also knew, that no one else was going to die that night.

 


	430. Still So Much To Do

"What happened?!" asked Dafydd as he rushed to the scene.

"Black Annis." Audrey replied. "Look."

He pointed to Prestons exposed torso and at the blackness that started to sprout. To that, the sorcerer crouched down as well, examining the injury closely with gloved hands. He shook his head.

"I can't stop it." He said solemnly. "I can _suppress_ it, but…"

"Just do it!" said Kristopherson. "Just save him!"

"Are you deaf, or just stupid?!" Dafydd asked. "I can't ' _cure'_ him! There's no cure! All I can do is stop it from spreading!"

"Then do that!"

"It'll still get him eventually!" the sorcerer snapped. "It could take days, it could take months, or it could take _years,_ but someday, even if I give it all I've got, he _will_ succumb to Black Annis!"

To that, the boys were silent. They didn't know what to say. In the end, it wasn't really for them to decide, now was it? Only Preston could. Instead of arguing with the sorcerer, they instead turned their attention to the Omid lad.

"Preston?" asked Travis. "What do you want to do?"

"We all die someday…" the injured lad said. "If I get treatment, I'll stay around for a bit longer, right?"

"So do you want me to do it, or not?" asked Dafydd. For a moment, Preston paused.

 _"Do it."_ He answered. To that, Dafydd took a hankerchief out of his pocket and held it up to the boy's mouth.

"Bite down on this." He instructed, prompting the lad to, while somewhat reluctantly comply. He then turned to the rest of the group.

 _"Hold him down."_ Dafydd said, much to their discomfort. "This is going to _hurt,_ and we don't have any painkillers at the moment."

Hesitantly, the other lads complied, grabbing hold of Preston's arms and legs in an effort to restrain him. To their horror, the sorcerer pulled out a blade. He cut the rest of the boy's shirt off of his body before placing the tip against his skin.

"A blessed blade." Dafydd pointed out. He waited for a moment before asking: "Are you ready?" Preston squeezed his eyes shut and slowly nodded.

 _"I'm so sorry…"_ the wizard said before he began to carve symbols into the lad's skin while chanting.

Preston let out a scream, muffled by the hankerchief in his mouth, and began to flail. He was firmly held down by his friends as they looked on in terror. They had imagined a quick spell, not some fiendish ritual. In reality, the markings would slow down the growth of the black substance while Dafydd went onto get rid of it. This way, it wouldn't try to grow back, at least for a while. After marking the boy's flesh, Dafydd took a moment to let Preston breathe for a bit, taking the handkerchief out of his mouth, briefly.

 _"You alright?"_ asked the sorcerer, only to have the lad shake his head. The boy whimpered in pain and tears fell from his eyes. A bit of drool fell from his mouth as he panted.

"We're halfway done." Dafydd said. "Just hang in there for a little bit longer, alright."

Cautiously, Preston nodded, only to have the handkerchief placed back between his jaws. He bit down on it as the pain only increased. Instead of carving, Dafydd was now cutting off the black growths as he continued to chant. He threw the pieces out of the way before continuing to cut. It was a lengthy wound, so this would continue for a while. By the time that the sorcerer was to the midway point of the injury, poor Preston had already passed out.

Quickly, Dafydd tore up the boy's shirt in order to wrap his wound with it. Preston was limp, but alive. No one was just sure for how long, however. They had done all that they could do.

Thus, Dafydd drew up a barrier on the floor around the lads, before taking off again to join the fight once more. What else could be done? There was still too many other things to do.

* * *

 


	431. And So

Alois was on fire. He was combating the other side's demons with much skill, albeit with less grace than someone like Sebastian. His movements were still somewhat rough, but that was to be expected of a newbie demon. In fact, he was doing much better than expected.

His brutish fighting skills were, while barbaric, effective, as he smashed open heads. The silver of his gauntlets was stained red, as were his clothes. The boy's hair matted together with blood and sweat as he single-mindedly focused on his task. _He would clear the dance floor, then find Ciel._

In his mind, it was just another step closer to being with Ciel. Once Ciel was back, he would know how to deal with everything else, wouldn't he? He would know the best way to deal with tension in the group, and how to get back Audrey. If there was one thing that Alois knew about the Phantomhive lad, it was that he _always_ had a plan.

The problem was, there were so many enemies to fight at once. He knew that he, Sebastian, and Seras could most likely keep up, but what about the others? Even Charlotte and Amelie could get tired, and Grell could, too. The humans would definitely become overwhelmed, eventually, so they needed to cut back the enemy's forces very soon.

What was Alois to do? He had to do something, as he wasn't sure that anyone else would. But what? How do you either take out, or weaken a swarm of demons all at once? As he noticed Dafydd running across the dancehall, Alois got an idea.

With that, the blonde menace made his way over to the sorcerer, shoving demons out of the way as he did. Dodging some wayward spell, he appeared before the other lad, and began fighting alongside him. When there was a brief pause in action, he finally asked for what he needed.

"Daffy! Wanna know how to weaken all of these monsters at once?" he inquired, punching a lesser demon in the face.

"Shoot." Dafydd replied. "What didja have in mind?"

"I'm gonna need some temporary barriers and some rosemary bombs." Alois stated.

"Oh, so the barriers will make sure the bombs don't affect you?" asked the sorcerer, reaching into his pockets. He handed the menace a few barrier-patches, and six bombs. " _Go crazy."_

" _I intend to_." the other lad answered. The blonde then proceeded to make himself a path as he went in search of yet another ally whose participation he needed.

Once he spotted the man, he waited until he was in the optimum position before charging at him. Alois knocked heads and shoved his way through the crowd, slapping a barrier-patch on his shoulder during his journey. With that, he called out to the butler.

" _Sebastian!"_ he shouted, prompting the attention of the man clad in black. " _Gimme a lift!"_

For a moment, Sebastian was confused, but then he turned to face the boy, bending his knees and linking his fingers together. He was quite curious as to what the boy had in mind, especially when Alois slapped a patch onto Sebastian's suit as he placed his foot into the man's hands. At the same time that he jumped, the butler lifted his arms up, throwing the boy high into the air.

Alois looked down at the lesser-demons below him with a grin. He flipped himself so that he was completely vertical, his head pointing toward the floor. Then, the blonde reached into his jacket, pulling out the small bombs and holding them between his fingers. The lad spun himself and let go, causing the rosemary bombs to fall in a circle before he righted himself midair.

The explosions were greater than absolutely necessary, actually injuring the demons before rendering them less able to regenerate. Rosemary-laced fog began to fill the room as Alois landed on his feet, he, himself unaffected by it's aroma. He looked back at the mob to see how well his plan was working, and sure enough, it was.

Slowly, the demons' movements became progressively lethargic before some of them simply fell to the floor. They simply weren't motivated to move anymore and the gas had a similar effect on the remaining annies. Alois laughed at the dazed expressions on the demons' faces as they fought so hard to snap out of it. He looked over to see the butler smiling at him as if he were impressed.

" _Let's tidy up for the master, shall we?"_ he called from across the room. Sebastian chuckled in response.

"That sounds like a pretty good idea." Replied the man.

Following their lead, all participants even remotely on the side of H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G began taking advantage of the situation. Lesser-demons fell in a shower of bullets in some areas, while in others, they were relieved of their heads. It was bizarre and almost unsettling, how easy that this became, but no one was complaining. They had to work quickly before the Rosemary dissipated and the creatures came back to life.

Even though his plan worked, the blonde couldn't help but feel uneasy. Icy blue eyes quickly scanned the room, trying to pinpoint the source of his distress, only to fall on the sensational seven. Preston was in bandages, but seemed to be alright, from where he was standing. He must have been injured in the brawl. Alois began to walk toward the group to see what was the matter, only to feel that same uneasiness from before, but this time, it came from his back.

It wasn't especially alarming, but it caused a small amount of anxiousness appear in the boy's chest. The feeling was much more intense than it was before, and it was incredibly familiar. Franticly, the blonde searched for it's source once more, only to have his eyes set on a door; just a simple door. Alois furrowed his brow and bit his lip as he waited for whatever it was to reveal itself. He had his suspicions, but that would make things _too easy_.

After what felt like an eternity, the door opened, and there stood a familiar, albeit filthy face. His clothes were tattered and his shirt hung open with his torso wrapped in bandages covered in dried blood. He wore no shoes, so he made no sound as he hesitantly set foot inside the dance hall, a look of genuine surprise on his face at the unusual sight of the place.

That same look of surprise turned into wide grin as it's owner's singular eye locked with those of the blonde menace. Alois felt himself succumbing to the infectious nature of the other lad's expression, as he, too, smiled uncontrollably. The Macken boy uttered one word and one word only, as it held sole monopoly on his thoughts.

" _Ciel…"_

 


	432. The Demonic Duo

It occur to Alois that he was somewhat in the middle of completing a task, nor did it occur to him that he had a limited amount of time to complete said task. He didn't notice the other boy's shabby appearance or that a few others followed the bluenette out of the door from which he came. All he was focused on was Ciel.

He simply didn't know what to do in this situation, as his mind had somewhat shut down. It took a strong hand on his back and a small push before he started moving forward. The butler simply looked on with a smile at the two boys, and was perfectly fine with providing that needed nudge in his master's direction, as the blonde menace couldn't seem to do it on his own.

Alois trotted between demons and jumped over heads, all while never taking his eyes off of the bluenette, who did the same. The boys nearly crashed into each other, tightly wrapping their arms around their beau. Alois wished he didn't have on his gauntlets so that he could touch the bluenette directly for the first time in so long, but for now, he was content with being held, and holding the other boy. The Phantomhive hardly noticed the metal gloves as he ran his fingers through the blonde's tangled, messy hair. He kissed the other lad's ears, head, and neck, as the boy's face was currently hidden in Ciel's shoulder.

" _Let me look at you_." The Phantomhive instructed, a small amount of desperation in his voice. He hadn't realised _just_ how much he wanted to see the Macken boy until they finally came in contact again, and then the lad had the _nerve_ to hide his face from the bluenette.

Ciel didn't have to ask twice, as his boyfriend immediately pulled back enough so that they were facing each other. His smile was wide and he looked as though he wanted to cry. The blonde stayed at this distance, allowing his beau to cup his cheeks and touch his face, leaning into the bluenette's hand every time it made brief contact. Finally, the Phantomhive found himself pressing their foreheads together, their noses nuzzling briefly before more kisses were planted on each other's faces.

" _I love you."_ Said the bluenette.

" _I love you, too."_ Replied Alois, pecking his boyfriend on the cheek. " _I love you so much… I missed you…"_

"I missed you, too." Ciel stated. "I was so worried…" He pulled back and looked at the Macken boy amorously, pausing to move a lock of flaxen hair out of the lad's face.

 _"I knew you could do it, though_." He said, smiling proudly at the boy. At those words, the tears that Alois had so dutifully tried to keep hidden spilled from his eyes as he nodded.

"Yeah," Alois said. "You did, didn't you?"

After all of this time of doubting himself and believing that he couldn't wouldn't even get close to seeing the Phantomhive again, he succeeded. Here he was with his arms wrapped around the bluenette's waist, listening to the lad's voice and indulging in his gentle touches again in a moment of sheer bliss. The light at the end of the tunnel was in his grasp, and he was certainly not going to ever let it go again.

Ciel wiped away the boy's tears with his thumb before going back to hugging the boy. He just needed to hold him, and he was certain that Alois felt the same way. It was somewhat odd to be embracing in the middle of a muted battlefield, but they both seemed to forget about the corpses and violence inflicted by their allies going on around them. No more fighting, no more troubles, no more worry and heartache; they weren't important. The only things that were important in that moment were Alois to Ciel, and Ciel to Alois.

A few of the others stopped long enough to notice the pair, grins appearing on their faces as well. With this, they only had to take out the king of the castle, and their mission would be complete. Moreover, it was just nice to see the two together again. It had been so strange to see Alois without his Ciel; like there was a major piece missing to the overall order of things.

Soon, there were reunions all over the place, as Maxwell found himself returned to his coworkers by the two demons in his group. Even if the others frowned at them, Maxwell still acted friendly. They had helped him make it back to his allies alive, after all. Perhaps demons weren't as bad as they were said to be. Jonnathan, however, was extremely alarmed when he found himself being embraced by a man he couldn't quite recognise. The demon wanted to fight him off, but found himself unable to as soon as the man began speaking to him in a moderate German accent.

" _Johnny!"_ the man called as he held the boy in his grips. He wasn't sure why the boy was here, but he didn't care. He didn't care if it was only an illusion, either.

" _Who the hell are you?!"_ Jonnathan snapped back, trying to pull away from the blond before him. "How do you know my name?!"

"I've always known your name." the man stated, pulling back to look at the demon. His face was uncharacteristically saddened. "Don't you recognise me? It's me _, Heinrich_."

For some reason, the man was right. He did look familiar, and his name was, too. The only problem was that he couldn't quite place them. He did note that the man's face looked a tad older, and a bit scruffier than the one from his memory, but still, he felt as though he could place trust in the person, even though they had never met.

" _Heinrich_ …" Jonnathan echoed. "Who are you?"

"I knew you before you died…" the man said with a small smile. "I'll tell you all about it."

The rest of the crew kept slaying lesser demons before they began to stir. The smell of rosemary was starting to become faint, after all. August took to killing her own as well, much to the confusion of those at H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. Her ability only slightly hindered, as she and the other arrived as the fog started to become thin. They knew they were running out of time before the battle continued at full swing, but the demonic duo were bent on using every second until then to simply be together. While it mildly annoyed their team, they still understood that the pair needed this, so they were more than happy to pick up the slack.

"You're covered in blood." Ciel pointed out. "Are you alright? Did they hurt you?"

"Uh-uh." Replied the menace while shaking his head. "It's not mine. Things got a bit messy on my way here." His smile faded as he noticed the bloodied bandages around the other boy's middle.

"What about you?" he asked, touching them. Ciel only smiled and kissed his forehead.

"I'm perfectly fine, aside from my pride." Said the bluenette. "I've been healed up for a while, but couldn't take off the bandages. I was a bit tied up."

" _My poor baby_ …" Alois cooed, kissing the corner of the other boy's mouth. "I don't think I'm gonna be able to let them get away with that." His beau chuckled before he remembered something to make his smile fall. The blonde looked at him with concern.

"What is it?" he asked. Ciel only shook his head.

 _"Krampus is dead."_ The Phantomhive said. "Lilith killed him in a coup d'etat…"

"Why would she do that?" inquired the blonde.

"I don't know. She wanted to resurrect Akeldama, but she failed..." Ciel answered. "I have no idea what she's up to now…"

"Is this your way of asking me for help?"

"Oh, please…" the bluenette stated, leaning in closer to the blonde. _"You act as though you wouldn't even if I tried to stop you."_

 _"Jerk."_ Alois replied with a grin as his eyes fluttered shut. His beau did the same as their faces drew less and less apart, their lips almost brushing against one anothers.

Just then, Alois stopped. He hooked his arm around the bluenette and swung him around so that they were facing the other way. The blonde's free arm swung upward, and a loud _clang_ sounded, as if something struck metal. Ciel opened his eye again to see that the blonde had shielded him from a large, black claw with his gauntlets.

 _"Am I interrupting something?"_ Morgan innocently asked, retracting her claw. Alois lowered his arm and released the bluenette momentarily.

 _"A bit, yeah."_ The Macken boy replied, noticing that he could no longer smell rosemary inside the room. His eyes darted around to see the remaining lesser-demons beginning to stir.

"I guess that kiss will have to _wait."_ He said with a heavy sigh, only to receive a small peck on the cheek.

"When this is over, _I'll make up for all the kisses that we missed when we get home."_ Spoke the Phantomhive, gripping the handle of his sword.

Alois smiled at the boy's words and raised his fists. That was all the motivation he needed to keep going. He would have to enter the fray yet again, but at least this time, he had his love at his side.

 


	433. It's A Date

"There's not that many left!" shouted Integra. "Don't give up, yet!"

She was right, while even though the demons were beginning to stir once more and take up arms, there was only a fraction of them left. The fact of the matter was that the lesser-demons were not even close to being as powerful as the H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. team and the reapers, even with numbers on their side. Thus, the creatures would be made relatively swift work of, but the same might not be said for the remaining "self-aware" demons on the side of Black Annis.

Morgan stood before the freshly reunited demonic duo with a cute grin as she readied herself to strike again. Both boys were poised to attack as well, and waited for the demoness before them to make the first move. When she did, they sprang into action.

The girl extended one of her disproportunate arms, stretching it past it's usual length yet again in an effort to claw at the pair. It hit against one of Alois' gauntlets, and with his free hand, he held the arm in place while his beau attacked. With one swing of his blade, the Phantomhive boy severed the appendage completely. The girl opened her mouth to scream and clutched at the stump with her remaining hand, only to be struck in the face by the blonde menace.

She flew backwards, into a pillar, cracking it with the back of her head. Her nose was bleeding, and so was her arm. The blade that had wounded her was the one designed by none other than _Elizabeth Hellsing,_ for the sole purpose of killing demons. It was now in the possession of her cousin, a demon, who wielded it against other demons in her stead. Morgan would not be regenerating that arm any time soon.

" _Y-you! You!"_ she shrieked, struggling to find words as tears poured from her eyes. " _You monsters!"_

"No, we're _men."_ Ciel replied, motioning for the blonde to walk over to her with him. "And you're _dead_."

Alois reached into his jacket and pulled out his gun, which sat comfortably in his gauntlet, thanks to it's design. He aimed it directly at the head of the demoness, causing her to utter a small squeak. Her eyes frantically searched the room as she looked for a means to escape.

"L- _Lilith!"_ she called. "Lilith!" Her eyes finally fell on the staircase leading to the rest of the castle.

" _Lilith!"_ she said, smiling with relief as she made eye-contact with the other girl. That smile soon faded, however, when the gaze that the Lilith gave her turned cold.

" _Lilith?"_ Morgan called again, her eyes widening as the other demon turned to walk away. "Lilith! Lilith!"

She kept calling out to her friend, but the girl simply kept climbing the staircase without looking back. The volume of Morgan's pleas became louder with every utterance of Lilith's name, growing more and more desperate each time. With her remaining hand, she tried to crawl toward the staircase with a trail of blood following her.

"Lilith!" she called. _**"LILITH!"**_

A single gunshot went off, followed by silence. It made Lilith stop for a moment, her lips pressing together to form a thin line. She didn't look back, not even once. After a small pause, the demoness kept going, her pace increasing. Soon, however, she found herself stopping once more, but this time, against her will.

" _And just where do you think you're going?"_ asked the Phantomhive boy, as he jumped over the railing of the staircase and landed in front of her. A haughty look on her face caused a snarl to grace over her own. She didn't have time for this sort of nonsense, or to try and come up with a witty retort. As reply, she uttered only a single word.

" _Metus."_ She said flatly, and lo and behold, the demon appeared in between them.

" _Howdy."_ Metus said with a grin before swiping at the bluenette with his claws. He missed, but made the Phantomhive back up just a tad. With that, the demon then turned to his mistress.

"Lilith." He said, putting his fingers together in a fashion similar to what Sebastian did earlier, and offering the girl a boost. She happily took it, and was launched into the air and over the bluenette's head.

"Thanks." She said before continuing to make her escape. Ciel watched after her for a moment before taking a step in her direction.

"Oh no, you don't." spoke the demon to his back. The boy's eye widened and he dodged before he could be slashed by Metus' venomous claws.

While he would never admit it, Ciel was afraid. It had been a while since he had fought this demon, but it was this demon that first showed him just how weak he could be. The Phantomhive was not going to let that happen a second time. He wasn't going to harm the blonde menace, either. This time, he was determined to finish Metus off without earning obtaining a single scrape as he raised his sword.

"Oh? So eager to become my _puppet_ again?" Metus taunted with a snarl. Ciel narrowed his eye as anger coursed through him. He waited for the other demon to strike first, but when he did, Metus found his face shoved into the wall by a hand shielded by a silver gauntlet.

" _Guh!"_ the demon grunted as stone cracked against his skull. Alois turned to his beau as he held Metus' head in place.

"What are you doing?!" the blonde demanded. " _Don't let her get away!"_

" _B-but…"_ uttered the Phantomhive in reply, flabbergasted by his beau's suggestion. He didn't want to face Metus because of their previous encounter, but he also didn't want Alois to fight him either. The blood drained from his face as he wondered just what would happen should the boy fall victim to the demon's venom.

" _Jim, I don't-"_

"Shut up, and kick her ass!" Alois intterrupted. "I've fought Metus before! I can win! _Trust me!"_

Ciel did trust his love. He trusted him with his own life. That didn't mean that he wasn't worried, however. He knew just how dangerous that the Macken boy's opponent could be. Still, what choice did he have? With a sigh, he took a step back toward the direction that Lilith exited in.

" _Stay safe."_ He said. " _That's an order."_

" _Same goes for you."_ Alois replied with a smirk. " _You better come back to me and fulfil your promise to make up for lost time."_ He added, blowing the boy a small kiss.

" _Yes, your highness."_ Ciel answered with a smile. As much as he didn't want to leave the boy, he couldn't disobey him. The blonde simply had too much power over him, it would seem. He took off in pursuit of Lilith, leaving Alois to deal with Metus while the rest of the crew finished wiping out the lesser demons on the floor below.

Alois looked after the Phantomhive for a moment, but then his eyes flickered toward the demon currently in his grips and he jumped back, his feet landing on the staircase railing. Metus had swung his pronged tail at him in an effort to free himself, nearly poisoning the boy in the process. The demon turned around to face the blonde.

" _You little_ …" he growled as he rubbed his face. He glared at the boy through his fingers, becoming angrier when the boy seemed unfazed.

"' _You little'_ what?" the Macken asked. " _'You little delight'? 'Cutie'?_ I'm sorry, but I'm already taken by the fellow who just left, and let's face it, _you're really not my type_." He jumped when Metus swung his claws at him again, his feet landing in the same spot as before.

"Whoa! You're _pushy_ , aren't you?" Alois taunted as the demon before him bared his teeth and furrowed his brow.

The blonde took out his gun and took aim, only to miss when he fired, much to his surprise. The other demon appeared to be quicker than he initially thought. With that, stepped down from his place on the railing and stood in Metus' path higher up on the staircase.

"Hold still and let me get this over with." The blonde stated. "I kinda have a date after this, alright?"

 


	434. The Story of Akeldama

Ciel had to finish this quickly and make it back to the blonde. While he trusted in the menace and in his abilities, he had a nagging feeling in his stomach that something was severely wrong. It was possibly due to the fact that they had been separated once again, after having just reunited for mere moments. It was enough, though. It was enough to let Ciel know that Alois was alright, and would still be waiting for him when he returned.

When did Alois learn to make faces like that? He looked so determined and unyielding when he told the Phantomhive to leave. When did he get so fearless? Despite his protests and many tears from when they were torn from one another, Alois had been going strong. He had become a lion, and Ciel regretted that he missed seeing it. His beloved Jim Macken had become strong and noble. Had witnessing this transformation actually slip through the bluenette's fingers, or had the boy simply been that way all along? The Phantomhive didn't know. All he knew was that he wanted to embrace the boy quickly, as Ciel's arms began to ache for him soon after having a small sample.

It was simply all the more reason why Ciel needed to kill Lilith. Forget her plan, whatever it was, now; Ciel simply wanted to go home. It was selfish, he knew, but he also desperately needed a shower. Thus, the lad climbed the staircase with sword in hand as he searched for the demoness.

There was a pause as he entered a hallway. It was clean; too clean for H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. to have been through. This section must have been closed off and out of the team's reach until now. Lord knows what could be lurking behind any door, as Ciel certainly didn't. He did, however, feel that something was amiss, so he was on his guard.

Sweat coated his skin along with dirt, blood, and grime as the hair on the back of his neck stood on end. His sixth sense was telling him something, but couldn't tell what. He knew that he should have taken more time to perfect his sensory skills with Sebastian, but it simply didn't occur to him how useful it's mastery could be. Soon, however, his sixth sense was screaming for him to turn around and that he did, raising his blade to prevent his head from being lopped off by a broadsword.

Lilith stood before him, brow furrowed, baring her teeth as she tightly gripped the handle of her own blade. For a few moments, she simply tried to push the boy back, but soon jumped back to prepare for another strike. She wasted no time, charging at the other demon again while swinging her blade. Any mortal man would have fallen from the sheer force of her blows, but Ciel remained sturdy.

Using his own weight, he managed to shoo the girl away, just long enough to get in a swipe of his own. At first it seemed that he missed as the demoness took a few steps back. That is, until the strange hairtie that sat at her front, wrapping her hair around her neck like a scarf fell to the floor, having been slashed in two. Ciel smirked at his accomplishment, and at the girl before him who only became more furious as her long hair flew freely.

With that, Lilith began attacking again, forcing the bluenette to back up with every advance. Each blow she delivered was mighty as it was swift, making it difficult for the bluenette to simply dodge. He grunted upon every impact while she roared with every strike.

Certainly, this was not the same calm, cool, and in control woman that he had first become acquainted with. Perhaps it wasn't. Perhaps, this was just Lilith showing her true colours.

Realising that she wasn't making much progress, the demoness drew back, and began to pace with the boy. Their eyes remained locked on each other's; refusing to let their opponent out of their sight for even one second. Both were getting nowhere, as both were waiting for the other to make the first move.

" _So, what now?"_ Ciel asked, finally.

" _Simple, I kill you, and try again later."_ The demoness answered.

"And just how do you intend to do that?" the boy inquired further. "How are you going to find out the true name of Akeldama, and how do you expect to escape anti-freak forces? Kill me here, and the world will know about you. There's nowhere you could hide."

" _Watch me_." Lilith stated, lunging for the boy again. She brought her blade down on top of him, causing metal to crash against metal. The two stood, trying to force the other to falter.

"Just what are you trying to accomplish?!" Ciel demanded as he glared up at the slightly taller girl. "Why on earth do you want to resurrect Akeldama so desperately?!"

His eye widened as the girl pulled back, nearly decapitating him with her next strike. He ducked, and jumped back, creating distance between them both. He watched as the girl stood across from him, her expression as cold as the stone that made up the castle that they stood in. She clenched her fists as she tried to stare the boy down.

"Are you familiar with… the story of Akeldama?" she asked finally, her voice much softer than it was before. Ciel nodded.

"Yes." He answered.

"Well, I'm going to tell it anyway." The girl replied.

"Once, there was a demon of untold age, who went by the name ' _Akeldama'_." She began. "Akeldama knew many things, and held enormous knowledge of black magic, _which he wrote down in his book._

"Akeldama made many contracts in his time, and served many, many lords. Every time a contract was completed, however, Akeldama felt a strange emptiness inside. Soon, he realised, it was because he was alone. Akeldama had a heart.

"He roamed the land, traveling far and wide in search of something to cure his sadness, but no amount of magic could. Soon, Akeldama found himself in a woods, where he sat to ponder his seemingly meaningless existence."

She paused before continuing.

"That was when Akeldama heard a voice. _'Sir, why are you out here all by yourself?'_ it asked. Akeldama turned to see a little girl standing before him, much to his confusion.

"' _Little girl, are you not afraid of me?'_ he asked, to which the girl replied: _'No, you look too sad to be frightening'._ Thus, Akeldama and the girl became good friends. He would help her in the fields and they would play together. And Akeldama was finally _happy._

"Then, however, the girl did not come to their meeting spot like she normally did, and when Akeldama went in search of her, he discovered that she had been sold to one of the local lords, as her family was poor, and had too many mouths to feed. That is how the girl met her grisly _end._

"Enraged, Akeldama took the form of a ferocious beast and terrorized the nearby villages, killing everyone and everything in sight before he came to the lord's castle and destroyed it completely. He killed everything. He burned everything. He destroyed it all.

"He had had his revenge, but Akeldama was in despair. As he was unable to die naturally, and unable to let go of his hatred Akeldama sealed all of his power away into his left hand, rendering him mortal. He soon died, but the hand remained and would curse anyone who tried to wield it without his blessing, and that, is _the story of Akeldama."_

Ciel arched an eyebrow at the bizarre explanation, confused as to what it meant. _"Why are you telling me this?"_ he asked, to which the girl lowered her sword.

"I've told you before, Ciel." Lilith answered. " _We were_ _ **all**_ _human once_." The Phantomhive's eye widened.

"No…" he uttered.

"A little fact often forgotten about the story: that little girl had a name." the demoness replied. "That little girl was named ' _Mary_ '. That little girl was _me._ "

The demoness lunged once more, swinging her blade downward, only to be blocked by the Phantomhive's own. The force behind this attack was much greater than the ones that came before it. Ciel grit his teeth and pushed back against it with all of his strength, not noticing that the floor beneath him was beginning to crack.

" _You should have left with your love when you had the chance."_ The girl growled.

The floor finally caved in, leading to the lower levels of the castle. Ciel felt weightless as he made his descent, his eye locking with Mary's as she watched him fall. Then, she simply left him in favour of completing her task.

* * *

 


	435. Touch And GO!

" _I kinda have a date after this, alright?"_ the blonde asked as he raised his fists and prepared for combat. His opponent bent his knees in order to prepare for his own attack.

"Congratulations!" the demon shouted as he lunged at the Macken boy, swinging his claws. _"You make such a cute couple!"_

 _"Thank you!"_ Alois growled, blocking the powerful strike with his gauntlets. He cocked back his fist before releasing it in the direction of the other demon's face. " _We've been together for four years!"_

"When's your anniversary!?" hissed Metus as he ducked from the blow. "There's a lovely restaurant in North London!" he stated as he made another slash.

"Really?! What's the name?!" demanded his foe as the lad stepped just out of his reach.

"It's called ' _Clos Maggiore!'_ " he snapped back. "It's really romantic!"

"Sounds delightful!" Alois barked as he took another swing at his opponent. "I'll have to check it out!"

Metus caught the blonde's fist in one claw before swiping at him again with the one that remained. This time, the blonde caught the strike, only to be kicked in the stomach when the other demon jumped. Alois was forced to take a few steps back. He had to admit, it did hurt quite a bit, but this was to be expected. This was no _human_ he was fighting, after all.

The other demon roared as he swung his leg in order to get the other boy with a roundhouse kick. His crimson eyes widened when the menace caught his leg with a smirk, forcing him to balance on one foot. Metus snarled and tried to poison Alois with his pronged tail, only to have that caught as well. His tail was in one hand, while his leg was trapped between the other lad's free arm and his side.

With a swift yank of the appendage, the Black Annis demon emitted a yelp as he lost balance and was sent to the floor, lying on his stomach. He tried to kick himself free, only to wince and grit his teeth as his tail was yanked harder. Alois smirked.

"Your advantage of having an extra venom-dispenser is also a disadvantage." He said to the demon beneath him. He stepped on Metus' free leg. "The tail has lots of nerve-endings, so it's very sensitive. It's like hitting your pinky with a hammer, only not at all…"

Metus snorted and swung his weight so that he could kick with more force. Because his foe had put one leg on his own, the boy lost balance, releasing the demon with the bowl-cut and his poor tail. Quickly, Metus scrambled to get up and did so before Alois could. With Metus on his feet and Alois just now sitting up, the older demon prepared to attack the blonde while he was down.

" _Sports!"_ Alois shouted, punching his assailant in perhaps the most intimate of places _other_ than his tail. As the other demon doubled over, shielding his loins, the blonde made a face of disgust and wiped his gauntlet on the carpet before standing up.

Admittedly, he cringed at the sight of the other boy. He had just punched a demon in the testicles with an anti-freak weapon. He didn't want even to know about the actual damage he just caused. Still, he took the opportunity, and struck the demon's head with the sole of his shoe before planting it back on the ground and following up with his fist.

He found his wrist grabbed by the demon as Metus prepared to strike. Sensing the lad's intentions, Alois tried to pull his arm away, inadvertently pulling the demon with the bowl-cut with him. He watched as his foe let go of him and accidentally flung himself down the hallway. The two stared at one another as the older demon got up.

Their eyes never parted, even as Metus took a sudden half-step forward, causing the blonde to flinch in order to counter a possible attack. After a few moments of doing this back and forth to one another, both simply stopped when Metus finally froze in place. Alois furrowed his brow, waiting to see what the other demon was going to do next.

Metus ran away. He turned in the opposite direction and ran down the hallway, stunning the Macken lad. Alois simply stayed frozen for a moment. After processing what just happened, the boy took off after the coward.

" _Get back here, scorpion-dick!"_ he exclaimed while in hot pursuit. As he ran, he found himself somewhat disgusted by what he had just said.

He shadow-stepped in an effort to move faster and caught up with the other demon on several occasions, but the young man with the bowl-cut still somehow managed to get away. Metus swung his tail at the blonde, forcing him to back off, and led him up a few more flights of stairs. Eventually, the menace got tired of this and pulled out his gun.

He didn't even bother to make some witty remark to his opponent before firing. He fired off six shots, missing all but one. Metus screamed as his tail was injured, even going as far as to stop completely to assess the damage.

The fur on the demon's tail was missing around the wound as the bullet burned it away. His flesh sizzled and steam poured out of hole that housed the bullet. Anti-freak technology was a fearsome thing, Metus discovered as he frantically tried to dig the projectile out of his appendage with his claws. Thankfully for him, his claws were sturdier than his flesh, so they weren't quite effected by the fearsome bullet. Unfortunately for Alois, it seemed as though the older demon couldn't poison himself, so he reloaded his weapon.

With a small _clinking_ sound, the bullet was tossed to the side and Metus glared up at the menace while the other demon fumbled with his weapon. Alois' eyes widened as he realised that he was almost out of bullets. He shoved the gun back into it's holster and looked up at his opponent in return, watching as he struggled to maintain his balance.

Finally, the older demon got a grip on himself, and began to run again. Alois followed him confusedly, trying to figure out where he was going. Metus kept climbing to the higher parts of the building, and that's when it hit him.

The blonde stopped in his tracks and turned, making a detour. With his gained knowledge of how the castle was built, he easily located another staircase, even though it was littered with corpses from when his team passed through earlier. Alois kept climbing, higher and higher, until he reached the place where it all began: the roof.

How fitting, a rooftop brawl? Alois closed the door behind him and waited patiently. Lo and behold, the door swung open, and out stepped Metus with a look of surprise on his face.

" _Evening."_ Greeted the Macken boy. "We'll, technically, it's ' _morning',_ but the sun's not up yet." He added with a shrug. The other demon glared at him, shutting the door.

"How'd you know that I was leading you here?" he asked.

"Lucky guess." Alois answered. "You're probably like me, and enjoy the great outdoors. More room to _breathe,_ y'know?"

" _Definitely_." Metus answered with a smirk. "Better to stretch your legs, out here."

"Ready for round three?"

"Oh, yes." The demon stated, bending his knees and preparing to strike.

" _I hope your date doesn't think you stood him up after this, though_." He added. _"When I'm done here, you won't be able to make it."_

 


	436. Necromancer

The great wooden door slammed shut, having sealed off the room in which the demoness dwelled. It was a large, round room, with a sofa, a record player, and a table with three items on it. There was a massive red stain on the floor that couldn't be removed, no matter how much it was scrubbed at. This was the room that Krampus died in. It was the room that the demoness killed him in.

Mary leaned her back against the door. She slid down it into a sitting position, putting her sword to the side and drawing her legs in close to her chest. It seemed as though she stayed that way for hours, even though it was only a few mere moments. Blinking did nothing to stop the tears that stung her eyes from pouring forth and onto her knees as she buried her face in them.

This wasn't how things were supposed to be. Akeldama was supposed to come back, and no one was supposed to die. Why did she do that? Why did she leave Morgan to die? The other demon trusted her and was her friend. Her death was avoidable, but Mary left her behind in order to futilely attempt to bring back Akeldama. Mary knew she was wrong, and she knew that she wouldn't be getting Akeldama back. She was just so lost in regards to what she wanted to do, and what she needed to do, that everything seemed to slip through her fingers.

She pulled at her hair as she tried to sort this out. What to do? What to do?! There was nothing she could do, it seemed. All of her pawns had nearly been exhausted, and when that happened, she would most certainly be next. The Phantomhive boy was right. There was nowhere that she would be able to hide.

If she survived this by some miracle, there would be nowhere in the world where she could run. The world's anti-freak groups, agencies, and organizations would all have her on their list. There was no way that she could fight them all. She was strong, but not strong enough to take all of this on. She was barely strong enough to get herself to stand up anymore. The fight was over before it could even truly begin. Mary would die alone, without Morgan, her pawns, her castle, or even Akeldama.

" _Akeldama_ …" she uttered, the name inadvertently escaping her lips. If anyone knew what to do, it was him. He was the wisest demon that she knew of, but he was gone. His advice was out of her reach. It seemed as though none of the black magic at her disposal would help her, even with the aid of the man's book.

Suddenly, her eyes flickered upwards to the items on the table. After a while, she finally motivated herself to stand up, picking up her belongings and wiping her eyes. The demoness walked over to the instruments and examined them thoroughly, resting her palms against the table's wooden surface. Her brow furrowed as she debated on what she was going to do.

What could she gain from this? Power, of course. She would have the power to crush H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G; the Phantomhive boy, and all foes that would come after, but at what price? Mary continued to wage war against herself as her eyes fixated on the jar on the table, or rather, the black hand that resided inside of it.

It was far larger than either of her own hands, with talon-like claws protruding from it's fingertips. The jet-black appendage floated in what appeared to be green slime. Goodness knows what exactly the substance was and the demoness certainly didn't care to find out.

Was she brave enough? Was she good enough? The hand was known to be cursed, corrupting those who come in contact with it and turning them into monsters, but she _knew_ Akeldama. Would the hand have the same effect on her? Would the hand reject her? Would she die?

Mary scoffed at that last thought. She would die if she didn't, but she might die if she _did._ " _Might die_ " always holds greater odds in her favour than " _with all certainty_ ".

Hesitantly, Mary reached out and grabbed the jar. She stared at it for a moment longer before picking at the seals that held it shut. Every time she removed a tag, the glass cracked, little by little. Soon, it seemed like a miracle that the thing was still together. Once the final seal was removed, however, it gave way, causing the demoness to utter a small yelp.

She took a few steps back, putting her arms out in front of her as glass came flying in her direction. Her forearms stung from the shards and goodness-knows-what-else freshly embedded in her skin. When she opened her eyes, however, she saw the hand lying limp on the table and emitting an ominous aura.

It was familiar, yet so distant from what she remembered, yet she didn't remember Akeldama's hands appearing this way, either. They were strong, but not threating. This same hand held hers at one point in history and often patted her gently on the head. She remembered it so vividly, even in death.

Now, she was certain that she wanted this. This way, Akeldama would be part of her forever. All she had to do was accommodate for him. Her hands shook as she reached for the blade at her hip and pulled it out of it's sheath. Why was she nervous? She had done something like this before. She had cut off her own tail before, just as her old friend had, knowing that it's weakness far outweighed it's usefulness.

This pain would be nothing in comparison to that. She wouldn't regenerate once everything was in place, but she would still be at full power. Slowly, Mary placed her forearm on the table. Her breath was shaky, and she bit her lip as she lined up the blade. Swallowing hard and gritting her teeth, she drew back the blade before sending it crashing down again.

Her horrible, agonizing screams echoed throughout the castle, drawing the attention of a certain bluenette as he made his way back upstairs. Quickly, Ciel followed the sound, running as fast as he could. The lad wasn't sure as to what he would find, but he needed to finish his mission. There was so much at stake already, and he simply wanted this endless night to be over.

Soon, he came to the large door that he had been swindled into opening once before. Roughly, he grabbed the handle in an effort to pry it open, only to find it locked. The Phantomhive furrowed his brow before backing up and ramming the door with his shoulder. From the sounds of things, the screaming was starting to die down, filtering into broken sobs. With one last shove, he forced the door open, dashing into the room, only to stop dead in his tracks.

His foe was sitting up on the floor, tears streaming down her pained face. In her hand, she clutched her bloody wrist, having dropped the sword to the floor. Next to it, was her left hand, twitching against the stone. Ciel stared with wide eyes, horrified by what the girl had done.

" _What are you…?"_ he trailed of in a hushed tone, watching as the girl clumsily hoisted herself up, using the table for balance as she pressed her injured arm against her torso in a vain effort to dull the pain.

" _I… I told you…"_ she choked, leaning her left elbow on the table as she turned around, her back facing the boy. " _I… I will… do anything… to meet my goals… No cost… is too great for me…"_

Mary grunted as she reached across the table with her right hand, picking up the artifact she so desperately wanted by the wrist. Quickly, she attached it to her arm, watching as the fibers connected and the wound sealed itself shut. Her breath was ragged as she tried to calm herself, the pain being replaced with cold. She inhaled deeply as she tried to will the blackened hand to move. With a gut-wrenching _snap_ it did, causing a wicked smile to spread across her face.

Sluggishly, it moved, increasing it's speed over time. Ciel looked on as the girl turned to face him, brandishing the hand. It had been ages since the boy had felt so sick to his stomach. A massive chill ran down his spine as the girl giggled.

"What's wrong?" she asked. "You're looking a little green."

"You're sick…" replied the Phantomhive.

"Well, I'm sorry that the last thing you feel isn't going to be pleasant, but I have things to do." Mary stated.

The jet-black pigment from the hand trailed up her skin, reaching all the way up to her neck. With a smile and a snap of her fingers, she encircled herself with black flames. The flickered and danced, reflecting in the bluenette's singular eye and in the finish of his blade. He prepared himself for combat, but as soon as the fire started, it disappeared, at least from the lad's vision.

He saw only a small glimpse of a black figure leap forth from the inferno before feeling a blunt blow to the underside of his lower jaw. He found himself up in the air, only to be kicked again, sending him higher, and higher still. Soon, the boy's head hit the skylight; glass being shattered against his cranium.

With one final blow, he found himself on the roof, even though he was a bit dazed and confused. The sound of feet hitting the rooftop and the creaking of armour alerted his attention. He looked up to see Mary standing before him, her demonic form revealed.

She wore black armour, obviously somewhat reminiscent of the annies and of the knights from before, only easier to move around in. It didn't sacrifice mobility for defense, however, as it covered almost every inch of her, aside from where the joints met, her hands, and her head. She had not two, but three horns sprouting from her cranium and pointing toward the heavens; one on the left, one of the right, and one in the center of her forehead, creating an odd, crown-like appearance altogether. Her skin was black covering her left arm and crawling up her neck and cheek. A smile adorned her visage, her eye's laughing, yet darkened out aside from glowing, crimson irises with slit pupils.

" _I'm so sorry, mister Phantomhive."_ She said. " _But I'm afraid that this is where your story will end."_

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THIS was the chapter that caused a few readers to suggest that I change the ratings. Somehow, all that other stuff was fine, but this was too far. I'm not sure if I really get it, but I wasn't about to ignore the fact that more than one person messaged me about it. One person is a fluke, but three or four? That's not. So, DLTD was changed from "T" to "M" 400+ chapters in. 
> 
> Doesn't hurt my feelings. It did, however, lead to many, many, MANY confused newer readers sending me messages asking when I was gonna get to the smut. Some people got like, 200 chapters in before asking! At least if was good enough to get that far with no "wink-wink, nudge-nudge," so that's good, I guess? I'm sorry if that's what you came here for... I'm just not really comfortable with writing it. It's really boring for me. Everybody else has fun, but for me writing it it's just like "Ugh, this sucks and not in a good way." I tried it once but it got tedious to write so I started to try and write in character development out of nowhere? Yeah.... I think it's for the best if I just stick with the violence... (The one-shot doesn't exist anymore, in case you're wondering.) 
> 
> There's a few suggestive situations in the sequel, though, along with a few comments if you pay attention. I think it's implied that the duo made love on the pool table once. Alois topped.
> 
> Believe it or not, the sequel is darker, so that's fun. I just write what I like. If it's not fun, I won't do it. It's also carried over that "M" rating. Look forward to it~! I crave BLOODSHED.
> 
> So what do you think? Do you think this chapter deserved the rating?
> 
> Until the next chapter, my duckies~!


	437. Faith

Ciel stood up, his eye never leaving the demoness before him. He felt fear before, but it didn't compare to what he felt now. Now, he was faced with the very real threat of his death. For some reason, the thought scared him, now. It hadn't in ages, not since he first learned what "death" was as a child. Since then, he had almost welcomed its embrace, in order to rid himself of this long, torturously boring immortal life of his.

That changed, however, when he was no longer the only one effected. He saw how Alois looked since he had been gone. The boy was a mess who was desperate to get him back. Somehow, Ciel felt as though that if he left the blonde now, Alois might end up just like Mary. Ciel didn't want that. He didn't want the other boy to suffer.

No, Ciel was determined to live! He would fulfill his own selfish desire of being able to see Alois again, and he would keep the boy safe, too. If he lost here, who's to say that the demon before him wouldn't go after his friends and family next? That was an end that Ciel couldn't accept. He would _never_ accept it!

He pulled the string of his eyepatch, causing it to fall to the ground. The boy defiantly raised his sword to the demoness. In response, she only smiled.

After a few moments, he made his advance, aiming straight for the girl's heart. As if on instinct, Mary raised her blade to block him easily, only for her eyes to widen when the boy burst into flames. They flickered and danced, their blackness absorbing any light that could be offered while spitting out heat.

" _Do you think that's going to work on me?"_ Mary asked, swinging her sword right through the middle of the fire. To her surprise, she hit nothing. Instead, a blade came at her from below as the boy sprang upward from his crouched position, fully adorned in his demonic garb, replacing the rags he had been forced to continue wearing for so long.

" _No."_ he said bluntly, aiming for her head.

His target only tilted to the side, causing him to miss as she reeled back her own arm in preparation for a counter attack. The Phantomhive's feet planted themselves firmly on the ground, yet he made no effort to evade. Mary swung her blade as the bluenette pulled his own back, forcing it between them both and defending.

" _Regalia umbra."_ Spoke the boy as the threads of his coat sleeves unfastened themselves and coiled into spikes before thrusting toward the demoness. The woman leaped away in an effort to evade, only to swing her sword to know the extensions off course.

"Spiritus autem Gilgrim." She called as reply, expelling a ball of fire from her lips. Ciel shifted his weight so that he was now facing the threat. With a grunt, he swung his weapon, splitting the flames in two.

Heat rushed past him as he was surrounded by walls of fire. They cut against the darkness of night, changing blackish blue to a combination of orange, red, and yellow and poisoning the air with smoke. Had he been human, Ciel wouldn't be able to tolerate the attack on his lungs.

The flames parted again as his foe leapt through them, sending her broadsword crashing down on top of the boy. His feet caused the roof to crack under the force, and learning from experience, he tilted the angle of his own weapon so that it would deflect the girl's blade to the side. She stumbled forward, leaving herself open for attack.

" _This is it!"_ shouted the Phantomhive, swinging his sword and cutting across the other demon's throat. He cut deeply, feeling the tip of the blade scrape across Mary's spine.

" _Tch!"_ he clicked his tongue in frustration as his strike was too shallow to warrant a decapitation. Thus, he jumped back, creating some distance between he and the other demon, his eyes never leaving her person.

Mary's head hung for a moment as she leaned forward. With her cursed hand, she gripped her orange locks and held her head on as she attempted to stand up straight. An onyx liquid oozed from the wound instead of crimson, dying her skin even further. For a few moments longer, she held her head in its place until the wound sealed itself completely. Mary smiled at the horrified expression on her enemy's face.

Why wouldn't he be horrified? She was just nearly decapitated by a blade designed with the sole intention of being completely fatal to demons, and regenerated in a matter of seconds. It still took him up to an hour to heal from a blessed blade. This woman was a monster; a bona fide, honest-to-God _monstrosity_. This was the power of the hand of Akeldama? Something told Ciel that the worst was yet to come.

Still, he had to survive. He had to live, not only for his sake, but for the sake of Alois and for the other members of his household. The Phantomhive was still needed. There was so much more that he needed to do after this. There were things that he selfishly _wanted_ to do as well. Ciel hadn't kissed the blonde menace in weeks, nor had he heard the other boy's laugh. There were some things that he wasn't willing to give up on just yet. They were so much more important than his own well-being, so he wouldn't allow himself the _luxury_ of being afraid of this demon.

"You're better than I thought." Mary stated, raising a hand. As she lowered it, slowly, the flames around them began to die. "I guess I'll have to be a little more serious."

Ciel furrowed his brow and held on tightly to the handle of his weapon. His brow furrowed in confusion as the demoness sheathed her own sword. They raised themselves again, his eyes widening in surprise as the girl vanished suddenly. The Phantomhive tensed himself up, and tuned his senses into his surroundings, trying to pinpoint the girl's location.

" _ **Kugh!"**_ he grunted, coughing up blood as the girl's fist harshly greeted his abdomen. With her free hand, Mary struck the boy's cheek, forcing him to move. Continuously, she followed up, hitting the boy again, and again, and _again_ with absurd speed, breaking his nose, busting open his lips and bruising his skin. There was no time to recover from the onslaught, as all openings were closed off to him. His feet left the ground as the girl finally stopped and ended her chain with a roundhouse kick to the cranium, sending him flying.

Ciel flew across the courtyard and shattered stone as he collided with a tower. He slid before his body finally fell and landed on another roof, his sword slipping from his grasp along the way. It landed several feet away, but the bluenette couldn't process that at the moment, given the fact that his head was more than shaken.

If it were not for the ringing in his ears, he would hear feet gently touching the roof not far from where he was laying, and the clatter of his weapon being kicked to the side. He moved his head in an attempt to examine his surroundings, only making out the blurred image of Mary's feet. Soon, he found himself being flipped over on his back and picked up by his throat.

" _That all?"_ the girl teased, her voice somewhat faint to the bluenette. "Oh, I see, you're still healing. You're so _slow…"_

The boy glared angrily at the girl from her words. Despite his appearance, he was far from done. The cuts on his face quickly sealed themselves and his bruises quickly vanished. Still, he was currently being held by the throat without a sword.

Ciel quickly gathered all of the blood still in his mouth and throat before spitting it directly in his foe's face. With smirk, he chuckled at his deed and even though the girl was temporarily blinded, she could feel the rumbling in his throat. She grit her teeth and flared her nostrils, throwing the Phantomhive to the side before wiping her face with the back of her hand. Her anger meshed almost perfectly with her profound disgust.

The boy wobbled to his feet as quickly as possible before darting for his weapon. Ciel was but a few mere feet from the blade before Mary appeared before him, forcing him to stop suddenly. He lifted his chin, his eyes wide as he realised that the girl had her sword to his neck.

"You loathsome boor." She hissed, staring daggers at the boy. "I thought you were better than this."

"You act as though there are _rules_ when it comes to _warfare_." The Phantomhive replied.

"And you act as though you aren't afraid of my blade." Mary said. "Why is that? Do you have no fear of death?"

" _No_ , I _don't_." her foe stated. "My fear of what would happen _after_ I died frightens me _infinitely more_ than my actual death."

" _What?"_ the girl asked, tilting her head slightly. As she thought about it, a smirk appeared on her face. " _So, I see…"_

"Here's an idea;" the demoness continued. "Since you're currently at my mercy, how about we have a little _wager?"_

"What _kind_ of wager?" inquired the Phantomhive, narrowing his eyes.

"I bet you, that I can make you feel _agony worse than death_ , so great, that you will be _begging_ me to put you out of your misery." The girl answered. "And I'll do it _without even touching you."_

"What's at stake?" Ciel asked.

 _"Our lives,_ obviously." She said. "If you win, you get to kill me, and I won't put up the slightest fight."

"Any other rules?"

"Just that we take a break from beating each other until the game is over."

"And just how does this work?" the Phantomhive asked finally. With that, the girl before him withdrew her weapon, putting it back in its sheath before turning around and pointing.

" _There."_ She said, pointing to another section of roof. Ciel's eyes focused on what appeared to be two figures, and upon further inspection, he recognised them.

"You act as though my man can lose." The Phantomhive scoffed, folding his arms. "Jim has beaten that demon before. He can do it again _easily."_

" _I wouldn't be so sure_." Spoke Mary. "Metus has been _itching_ to fight your man since then..."

"Your words are hollow, and my faith in Jim will not be swayed."

"We'll see in due time. _The game has already begun_."

 


	438. Never Dream During Battle

"Isn't your name 'Alois Trancy', or somethin'?" asked Metus, pointing at the blonde standing before him.

"Yeah, how'd you know?" asked the menace.

"There were paintings of you in that mansion we used for the party." The clawed demon explained. "The name on it said 'Alois Trancy', and I don't forget the names of people who almost beat me."

"Ooh~! I'm so flattered." Alois replied. "Can't say the same for you, though. Up until now, I've just been calling you ' _bowl cut-guy'_." He added, causing his opponent to frown.

"It's _Metus!"_ the demon with the bowl cut growled.

"Oh! I get it! It's Latin for ' _fear'!_ Like as in your power!" answered the blonde. " _Neat."_

"Are we going to kill each other, or are we going to talk all night?!"

 _"You're_ the one who wanted to chat about names, mate." Alois said with a shrug. "Whoa!"

He quickly jumped to the side as the other demon tried to jab him with his claws. Upon realizing that he missed, Metus immediately made an attempt to follow through and swipe at the boy again with his other hand, shifting his weight on his feet so that he wouldn't lose balance in the process. Reflexively, Alois raised his gauntlet, using it to block the assault before he was finally able to create some distance between them. His eye widened, however, when he looked at his weapon, and saw deep scratches across its surface. His opponent smirked.

"Looks like your toys are about to reach their limit." Taunted the bowl-cut demon, flexing his hand. Alois narrowed his eyes at the other young man.

"That doesn't mean that _I_ am." He said, his eyes flashing crimson before he went on the offensive.

Even if they were starting to weaken, his weapons still worked, so Alois was going to make the most of them until they finally did give out. He swung at Metus, whose senses were surprisingly sharp. The demon dodged most of his attacks, only allowing himself to be grazed by the blonde's fists. It was frustrating, but the demon would have to be worn down somehow.

Unfortunately, Metus spotted an opening, and launched his own sequence of attacks, forcing the blonde back. He didn't allow the boy any chances to recover or dodge, but the menace was still somehow able to guard at the expense of Jarnglofar. The boy's gauntlets now were decorated in deep gashes that only got more so as time went on. Alois had to find a chance to turn the tides again before he lost his shields completely.

 _"Break!"_ Metus roared during his onslaught. "Break, dammit! Break so I can see it! I want to see your fear!"

Alois grimaced at the declaration. There was no way that he was going to allow that. He was not going to allow himself to suffer anymore. Since his arms were preoccupied, the boy swung his leg, hitting the other demon in the side with his foot.

 _"OW!"_ Metus snarled at the action. Even with his ghastly injury, he swung his tail at the Macken. Alois' eyes widened and he swiftly retracted the appendage. He leaped backwards, getting out of the other demon's range, but judging by the small pain in his leg, he was a bit too slow. Fortunately, from the looks of it, it was only a scrape. He could still win this yet.

"Looks like that won't be enough for you, huh?" the demon with the bowl cut asked. "That would've been enough to send a human into hysterics, but I guess that just leaves me with more time to play with you, huh?"

 _"Gross."_ Alois replied, wrinkling his nose at the other lad's words. He did not like the vibe of this demon. He did not like it one bit.

In addition, he didn't appreciate the burning sensation in his leg. The Macken knew that he needed to end this quickly, but how? He was almost out of bullets, and close-range combat wasn't advisable either. His gauntlets were becoming weaker, and his opponent need to get close before he can finish off his enemy. While he was pondering this, however, Metus decided not to wait.

Icy blue eyes widened and the blonde's arms raised themselves in defense as the other demon appeared right in front of him. Metus cocked back his arm and slashed at the menace with all of his might, causing the boy's weapon to crack before a large chunk of it fell off. He repeated the action again and again, until finally, Jarnglofar MK II shattered completely.

 _"Ah_ …" was all Alois could utter in his state shock.

" _This is it!"_ Metus declared as his claws tore into the blonde's forearms with one last swipe and cutting through the fabric of his shirt and jacket, staining the area red. Just to be safe, when the blonde took a step back, he made a follow-up strike, cutting across the blonde's chest. Alois stumbled back, terrified and uncertain of what was to happen next.

 _"Now, show me what it is that you fear."_ The demon with the bowl-cut said, watching with great amusement as the other boy positioned himself again in order to continue fighting.

Alois' heart rate quickened, and his anxiety grew. He would just have to turn it into greater motivation to fight, but his vision began to blur and everything began to sound further and further away. His cuts burned, and his head was spinning.

Eventually, his legs gave out, but he found himself caught in someone's arms. He blinked before clenching his eyes shut and shaking his head, but when he opened them again, he couldn't believe what he was seeing. Terror shot through him as he found himself in the Trancy master bedroom, but it was not as he left it. It was adorned with red and gold, with old knick-knacks that he, himself, would have never chosen to decorate any space.

" _You're shaking."_ Called a voice, the sound of which caused the boy to whimper.

It was rough and disgusting, just as he remembered. He reached a hand up and placed in on the arm of whoever it was that was holding him upright. Slowly, he looked up, his eyes widening when he saw a certain face, that face staring back at him with a vile grin. The sight of it alone would have made him scream, but the sight, the sounds, and the feeling of being held by this person, devoured his ability to do so, rendering him only capable of whimpering while tears stained his cheeks.

" _Don't worry, Alois,"_ said Metus as he gently stroked the boy's hair with a laugh, back in reality. _"This will be fun."_

 


	439. Worst Case Scenario

_"JIM!"_ Ciel shouted from his side of the castle as he watched the fight unfold. He took a few steps forward, only to be stopped by Mary's blade. The boy furrowed his brow at the girl, offering her his most sinister glare.

"Don't interfere." She said. "That's _his_ fight, not yours."

" _I don't care."_ Ciel snapped. "I don't care whose fight it is. Jim doesn't deserve that. _No one_ deserves that! I'm not going to stand by and let him be tortured!"

"You will." Mary stated. "Do you really think you could reach him in his current state? Do you think you could convince him he's okay? Right now, he can't see anything but his fear. Even if you go to him, he won't see you."

"It doesn't matter. What matters is his safety. I'm not going to let that monster torture and kill him!"

"And if I were to stop you?"

"You would have to kill me." The Phantomhive declared, only causing the girl to grin.

"All the more reason to keep you here." The demoness stated. "The deal is still on."

 _"Forget_ the wager. Jim is more important than _you."_ Ciel said.

 _"You can't save him if you're dead."_ Pointed out his opponent, causing him to grimace.

She was right, but he had to save his beau. The boy had been through so much, and didn't deserve to suffer any more. Ciel wanted nothing more than to make the blonde happy, but he would never be able to, if he lost his life in the process. That would only _destroy_ the Macken boy.

Alois shoved his foe away, escaping the grasp of the other demon. He tried to run away, but his legs worked against him, and forced him to fall. When he couldn't run, he decided to crawl, only to have Metus grab his leg and pull him back roughly, causing him to yelp.

" _And just where do you think you're going? We've only just begun!"_ Metus stated, watching as the boy on the ground before him curled up defensively.

The blonde pulled himself into a fetal position, protecting himself to the best of his ability. His body shook violently and his eyes were tightly clenched shut as he grit his teeth and prepared for the worst. Why did he feel so weak? Why couldn't he escape? He was scared; so scared. He couldn't even find the strength in himself to fight back.

When Metus spoke, he heard the Earl of Trancy. He _saw_ the Earl of Trancy, the man who defiled him and made him worth even less than the "nothing" that he was before. This wasn't something that he was willing to do anymore. Alois' body was no longer a tool to use as a means of achieving power, and he wasn't going to reduce himself to that ever again.

He was worth more than that. Alois was strong, he was intelligent, and had a sense of pride. He is valuable, and he knows it, so why, when confronted with his past, did he lock up? Why was he weakened to the point where he couldn't even run away? Maybe he was worthless, after all. Maybe, no matter what he did, he could _never_ escape.

Soon, he found himself pulled by his hair into a sitting position. He tried to keep his head down, but it was forced upward. Metus held his head in his hands and stared at the boy with a wicked grin on his face.

"Open your eyes." He instructed. "Let me see your eyes." His smile faded when the blonde tried to shake his head in refusal.

"I said: Open your eyes!" Metus shouted, cutting the boy's cheek. Alois let out a small yelp, and tried to turn his head away. "Open them, dammit! Open them right now, or I'll claw them out!"

The blonde's eyes snapped open at the order, but he looked down. In his mind, he was still at the Trancy estate, and he was still before the Earl. He clenched his fists as he waited for whatever was to come next.

"Look at me." Metus instructed. "If you don't, I'll cut you again."

No matter how much he didn't want to, Alois felt as though he had no choice. He was completely and utterly powerless. Hesitantly, he looked into the face of his foe, expecting to see the Trancy Earl, but instead seeing nothing but red. The blonde was trapped in the other demon's gaze.

" _Show it too me…"_ murmured the demon with the bowl-cut. " _Show me your worst case scenario…_ "

The two sat still for a few moments before a wide grin appeared on the older demon's face. He stared into the other boy's blank eyes, seeing everything. He gently caressed Alois' face as the blonde shook, all while barely containing his own self.

" _Oh…"_ Metus said. "Oh! This is… This is so… _Delicious!_ "

He laughed as he pulled away, standing up and taking a few steps back. The boy before him could see nothing. He could hear nothing. All he knew at this moment was fear. Alois was drowning and he couldn't keep his head up. The murky blackness kept pulling him back in, and the darkness was attempting to eat him alive.

" _Wake up, Alois."_ Called a familiar voice, immediately snapping him back to his senses.

Suddenly, he was back on the roof of the castle. He wasn't in the Trancy master bedroom, and he wasn't sinking into an abyss. His shaking never lessened, and his throat felt dry. The blonde was still crying, but he was back. He was back in the real world.

"What's wrong? You look awful." The voice said again, prompting Alois' attention. There, before him, stood the one person that he did want to see.

" _Ciel…"_ he whispered as the bluenette looked back at him with a warm smile. He was so preoccupied in the Phantomhive's face, that _he didn't notice the claws that replaced his fingers._

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so, there's a thing about the next chapter. As y'all know, I have no idea how to actually USE AO3, so I don't really understand tagging. When I first published the next chapter, though, I posted a warning at the beginning for sexual assault.
> 
> Now, it's nothing particularly graphic, but everybody's threshold is different. Some might be like "NOPE." while others might be like "psh, that ain't nothing. I've seen worse." Either way, I don't want anybody to be caught by surprise.
> 
> If you have better ideas as to how to post these warnings for things, please tell me or explain the norm of how it's done on AO3. It would be incredibly helpful.
> 
> We cool?
> 
> Until the next chapter, my duckies~!


	440. Zakuro

" _Ciel…"_ the blonde whispered. He was afraid that his voice would crack if he spoke any louder.

The bluenette looked at him kindly, walking over and crouching down in front of him. Gently, he reached out to touch the other boy, moving some of the boy's bangs out of his face and placing them behind his ear. He watched as the blonde sniffled and tried not to cry. He scooted closer, wrapping his arms around the Macken boy.

 _"It's alright, I'm here_." Metus lied, gently stroking the blonde's hair.

With tears in his eyes, he hid his face in the demon's shoulder, and hugged him back. His head was fuzzy, his ears were ringing, and he was scared. Alois wanted nothing more than to go home, but he didn't know if he could just yet. After a few moments, he shakily pulled away from the other boy.

"What happened to Metus?" he asked, closing his eyes as the bluenette wiped away his tears.

"You don't need to worry about him, anymore." His enemy stated. " _Right now, it's just you and me._ "

Alois smiled somewhat, at this. He leaned forward and kiss the corner of the other demon's mouth, much to the surprise of Metus. The imposter wickedly smiled, pulling back before kissing the blonde. Alois' eyes widened in surprise, but kissed back. In this moment, Metus' lips felt the same as his Ciel's, even if their movements were somewhat " _off"._

It became apparent, however, when he decided that the kiss had lasted too long, and tried to pull away. He was more than understandably not in the mood for anything especially heated, but the bluenette persisted, holding him in place. Alois pushed on his shoulders, but the boy didn't stop. Finally, he turned his head so that the contact was broken.

"What the fuck? _Not now_." He said, averting his gaze, but he soon found his chin between the imposter's fingers and forced to face him.

" _I told you I'd make up for lost time, didn't I?"_ Metus asked, keeping a firm grip on the other lad. "I want to start as soon as possible."

"Now isn't the time for that." replied the Macken boy. "I… I don't want anything like that right now… Sorry… You know how it is…"

He let out a small yelp as he found himself pushed on his back. His face was twisted with fear as his arms were pinned above his head by one of the other boy's hands, the other tracing patterns down his torso. The imposter was right on top of him, positioned between his thighs, smiling the entire time.

" _What are you-?!"_ Alois demanded, only to be cut off when the other boy roughly pressed their lips together. He managed to shake his head free and turn away to break the kiss, if you can even call it one. "Stop it! It's not funny!"

"I thought you _loved_ me, though?" Metus cooed, kissing the boy's cheek and down his now exposed neck. He felt him wiggle beneath him in an attempt to escape his grasp and smirked.

"Oh? _Does it scare you when I hold you down?"_ inquired the imposter. "I'm so sorry…"

" _Stop_ …" Alois whimpered. " _Ciel… please… just… just stop it_ … _I don't like it…"_

"But you're so cute like this…" the other demon said, cutting open the boy's shirt with his claw. When the boy tried to close his legs, he roughly split them again with his free hand.

"What the fuck are you doing?" Metus demanded.

"I don't want to do this!" the blonde said, tears running down his cheeks. Soon, he found his face held between the other demon's index finger and thumb.

"Tough." The faux-bluenette said harshly. "You're mine, and I'll do whatever I want with you."

"N-no… _That's not_ …" Alois began. "That's not how…"

"How _what?_ How we normally do things?" the other demon snapped. Soon, another smirk formed on his face. "That was just us _warming up_. You'll get used to this, soon."

"You… _You wouldn't do that_ …"

"Wouldn't I?"

"No…"

"Oh, Alois…" Metus cooed. " _It's not like you really have any other options._ No one will _ever_ love you like I do. Don't you want me to stay with you?"

The Macken boy was sobbing at this point. He nodded, even though he didn't like what he was hearing. He loved Ciel. He wanted to be with Ciel. The Phantomhive boy had been so kind to him and taught him how to have faith in himself. Right now, though, he hated himself. The boy felt dirty. He felt worthless, like a toy that could be thrown away at any moment. Alois loved Ciel and wanted to be with him, so he allowed him to use him as he wished.

He let out another yelp when the other demon sank his teeth into his neck, drawing blood. The blonde violently shook at the unwanted advances, but what choice did he have? It was either this, or lose the one who showed him what it could be like to live happily.

"You sound cute, even when you're crying!" Metus laughed, tracing his claws up and down the lad's chest. Alois wanted this to be over. He didn't want to do this anymore.

" _Jim!"_

The boy's eyes, which had been squeezed shut, snapped open at the sound. What was that? It sounded far away, but it sounded important.

" _Jim, get up!"_

There it was again. It was slightly louder, cutting through the numbness that plagued the lad's mind. For a moment, Alois focused on the sound, ignoring what was happening to him. That sound; what was it? It was frantic, but somehow calming to the boy.

" _JIM MAKEN, GET UP!"_ shouted a voice, piercing Alois' consciousness. _"GET UP AND KILL THAT BASTARD! DON'T LET HIM TOUCH YOU! No one's allowed to touch you if you don't want it, not even ME!"_

Suddenly, the blonde's tears stopped falling. The fear that he had felt up until now had died out, and in its place grew anger. At long last, the boy was awake; his mind clear again. He furrowed his brow.

"Get off of me." He said firmly, alerting the attention of his attacker.

"You still are acting like you don't want this?" Metus asked. "Don't you _love_ me?" Alois grit his teeth and snarled.

" _No, I don't! NOW GET THE FUCK OFF OF ME!"_ roared the blonde, turning his head and opening his mouth, taking the other demon's ear between his teeth. With one swift motion, the piece of cartilage came off, forcing Metus to draw back.

" _AUGH! FUCK!"_ the other demon screamed, standing up on his knees and clutching at the side of his head.

Blood dribbled from it, spilling between his fingers as the blonde spit the organ off to the side. The boy then raised one of his legs, drawing it in close to his chest, before releasing it and kicking the imposter in the jaw. Once he was free, he stood up, creating distance between them both. Alois almost smiled, as he could almost hear his beau's proud laughter.

"You… You son of a-!" Metus growled as he wobbled to his feet

"Can it, fuckwad." The blonde interrupted. "You poisoned me with your freaky, trippy, hallucination shit, take the form of my boyfriend, and then try to rape me? I'm in no mood for your shit, pal, and you're going down."

"But how did…" the other demon began, resuming his usual shape. "How did you get rid of the poison?"

"You should be able to figure it out." Alois answered. "After all, you kissed me, didn't you?"

The blonde stuck out his tongue, causing fear to wash over Metus' face, for once. The clawed demon couldn't believe what he was seeing. He knew that the Phantomhive boy collected demons, but never did he once think that he would make a contract with the Macken boy as well! A pentacle with five smaller circles between the star's points decorated the tongue of the menace. After a few moments, the boy put the muscle back in his mouth and smiled.

" _A demon becomes more powerful with every contract."_ The blonde stated.

It was true. All this time, Alois had been using the mark to detect the bluenette's presence. It's how he knew that Ciel was still alive. The Phantomhive had trusted him wholeheartedly with the task of returning him home, so in their final moments before their parting, the lad had made the contract with the blonde, earning the boy's mark. In return, Alois allowed the Phantomhive to mark him as well. That trust made them open up completely and capable of allowing each other to mark them as theirs for eternity. They did all of this with one, single kiss.

"He left his mark on me, and I left mine on him." Alois said. "I thought there was something off about you, but you preyed on my weakness to make me question myself. That was clever, but _unforgivable_."

Soon, the blonde was surrounded in black flame. His horns grew, sprouting from his head in their usual forward-facing manner and his tail became visible. His demonic garments materialized as well, however, there were a few things oddly different about them.

Alois' usual black, sleeveless shirt that exposed his midsection now had a small caplet of a similar hue, sprouting from underneath the grey chest piece and covering his shoulders. His gloves still covered his arms and his boots still covered his legs past the knee, but his shorts now reached the joint, leaving his legs completely unexposed. The lad's naval was still visible, however, and his shirt was the same length. On the metal plate on his chest, the word _"Judas_ " had vanished, and in its place was _"Salvatio"_ ; a word for " _Salvation"._

For now, however, the menace ignored all of this. Instead, he chose to focus his attention on his opponent. With that, he took a fighting stance.

"I'm gonna have to kill you for that." He said. "C'mon, bowl-cut boy! _Let's dance!"_

 


	441. His Finest Hour

A wide smile appeared on the bluenette's face as the menace recovered. Somehow, watching the boy stand up and keep fighting in the face of adversity filled him with pride. Alois' demonic appearance had even changed! That meant that something significant had transformed in the blonde, and Ciel couldn't be happier for him. Oh, how he loved the blonde menace.

Admittedly, though, the Phantomhive did feel a twinge of jealousy over the fact that another had touched him. He looked forward to observing the Macken boy do away with the scum that was intent on violating him. Ciel was the only one allowed to know what it felt like to have his lips on Alois', so naturally, the unwanted third party must die. The Phantomhive smiled as he watched the battle continue in the blonde's favour, a fact that didn't go unnoticed by his own foe.

"I didn't know you were capable of making such a face." Mary said, capturing the bluenette's attention. Ciel's somewhat dopey grin turned into a haughty one as he glanced over at his foe.

"How could I not?" he asked. "My man has evolved."

"Only because you shouted at him like an irate football coach." The demoness replied. "This still isn't over. It could still go either way."

"Just keep telling yourself that." Spoke the Phantomhive. "Jim _will_ win, and when he does, you will die with your disgusting little impersonator down there."

He was confident in the boy's abilities. The Phantomhive was fully aware as to what his beau was capable of, even if Alois, himself, was not. Alois was powerful, both in his will and his wit. He had conquered foes who were infinitely stronger than he with those two things alone, even if he didn't realise it. The blonde had done this from the time he was human. Alois would not lose. After all, according to history, the lad was absolutely _horrible_ at _dying_.

Alois stood before Metus with all shame transformed into anger and defiance. His lips burned from the memory of being kissed by someone other than his beau, and his body tensed with the desire to destroy the other demon entirely. No one makes him feel worthless. No one uses his heart as a convenient ploy. This was not pride talking, but rather, his own sense of human decency.

It was self-respect, not self-love, or vanity, something that the menace had struggled with obtaining. Jim Macken does not shirk in the face of foes that are far more powerful than himself, but he does crumble before himself. That, however, would happen no more. He would return to the Phantomhive, just as he said he would, and he would do so in a manner that would make his beau proud.

He looked to the side, toward the direction that the boy's voice had come from, spotting him on the opposite roof. He had to admit, he was a bit embarrassed that the other boy saw all of this, but he would indefinitely make it up to him. It would seem that he was saved once again by the Phantomhive, even if it was just by the other boy's usual barking of orders. A wide grin crawled across the blonde's face at the thought. With that, Alois raised his arm out to the other lad, holding up two fingers.

"A ' _V'_ for ' _victory',_ my darling!" he declared, not caring as to whether or not his beau could actually hear him. "Sit tight, I'll see you soon, m'kay?"

Then, the boy turned his attention to Metus, his happy grin becoming more taunting. His eyes were crimson as they stared his opponent down, and for a while, it worked. Metus stared back, his face somewhat fearful as he clutched the side of his head, his bleeding starting to lessen. Yes, the master of fear itself was afraid of this boy before him; this delicate, timid boy, who was so easy to pick apart from his tattered esteem.

That was not the boy who stood in front of him, now. This boy was like iron. He stood tall and powerful, as if nothing could touch him. For a moment, Metus believed him, as his posture was not arrogant; it was simply _sincere_. Metus flinched as his foe took a step forward, his blonde tail swishing from side to side.

"Let's end this quickly, shall we?" asked Alois. "After all, _I've still got that date,_ remember? It's important to keep all of your appointments and promises, after all."

The older demon snarled with dissatisfaction as he removed his hand from his head. The shell of his ear was trying to regenerate, but it takes time to replace body parts. Metus bared his fangs and stood up straight as well, trying to imitate the other lad's stature.

"You're right, but you forget, I made a promise to you, too, didn't I?" the demon stated. "I told you that I would ensure that you don't make that date, and I intend to make that happen."

"I'm sorry, but I never RSVP'd, and I already had prior engagements." Replied the blonde. "And one of my conditions was that I must eliminate you. No hard feelings."

" _We'll see!"_ Metus roared charging at the menace at full speed.

He was a complete blur. Alois' eyes couldn't detect him! Therefore, they closed as the boy took a deep breath, throwing himself into complete darkness. Suddenly, his body moved on its own and he felt a gust of air fly past him and a growl. His fist made contact with the other demon's face and his other followed through, hitting his ribs. The other demon grunted and shifted his weight, slashing upward toward the other lad's throat, only to be avoided and struck again in the jaw.

Metus jumped back, spitting off to the side. "How are you doing this?!"

"By not allowing fear to eat at me anymore." The Macken boy replied, running at the other demon.

His foot pressed down against the roof beneath him as his other one stopped his advance. Alois' arm cocked back and he swung, hitting the other demon, but instead of simply defending himself, the demon dug his claws into the arm of the menace as his face was impacted. Even though he was bleeding, so was the blonde. The boy winced and he pulled away before swinging his other arm and hitting the other demon in the stomach. Metus did the same thing as before and tore into Alois' skin.

"I'll wear you down…" the demon with the bowl-cut growled. "I'll wear you down even worse than before _… I'll tear you apart!"_

"You're not the only one who's _tried."_ Alois stated. "You're not the only one who's almost _succeeded!_ I'll never let anybody crush me!"

With one last swing, Metus was sent flying. He crashed into the wall of a higher floor that connected to the roof, cracking the stone. Alois charged at him again, preparing to strike, only to have the other boy dodge before his fist could make contact. Instead, he tore the wall down.

" _Behind you."_ The demon with the bowl-cut said, preparing to strike.

" _I know."_ Replied the blonde, turning and grabbing the other boy's wrist and pulling, sending Metus stumbling past him as he created some distance. Alois stopped by the edge of the roof, watching his foe intently.

" _Kaspar_." He called, holding out his hand. Flames began to appear in his palm and with a grin, he made them spiral. Soon, his weapon appeared as he twirled it.

"' _Howdy'_." Alois said mockingly as he took aim at the other demon. Metus snarled.

" _This isn't over!"_ roared the demon with the bowl-cut as he made his advance.

Bullets whizzed by him, some actually hitting him if he failed to move in time. He hissed as they became imbedded in his flesh, but he was not down yet. They hadn't struck his head or his heart. Onward, he still rushed the blonde menace, dodging the lad's rounds. Soon, he was right on top of him and cocked his arm back. A gun was shoved in his face, the barrel kissing the center of his forehead.

But it did not fire. Instead, the blonde's eyes widened before looking down. Alois' chest hurt, and it wasn't any mystery as to why. Instead of slashing, the other demon had made a stabbing motion, and pierced his chest with his claws

When he opened his mouth to make a sound, blood dribbled past is lips and down his chin. A wicked smiled contorted his foes features as he dug deeper into the blonde's body, forcing a grunt out of Alois. The Macken's hand was shaking and he tried to pull the trigger, but as the demon before him wrapped his claws around his heart he simply couldn't find the ability.

"You won't let fear ' _eat'_ you?" Metus inquired, struggling against his injuries. " _You know that's not true…"_

Alois grit his teeth and tried to force himself to fire, only to utter a pained cry when Metus pulled his hand out of his chest. The blonde struggled to keep himself upright as the other demon continued to speak. He kept his arm raised, holding the gun to Metus' forhead as he tried to maintain his stance.

"Now you'll be able to see it as well as I can..." Wheezed the demon with the bowl-cut, "…the fear that's still lurking inside your heart."

Alois coughed, hacking up blood. It splattered against the surface of the rooftop, but he still remained standing. He shook his head.

"I know it's still there…" he croaked. "But it will never be the thing that kills me…"

With that, he grit his teeth and forced himself to pull the trigger. The gun went off, firing a shot right between the eyes of his foe. Metus fell as the bullet exited the back of his skull, landing on his back and staining the rooftop a dirty shade of crimson. Alois kept his promise. Metus died.

The recoil of the gun was enough to make the menace lose his balance, however, forcing him over the edge. He felt weightless all of a sudden, and couldn't quite put together why. It hit him when he heard a voice; that he was going to make contact with the earth below.

" _ **JIM!"**_

 


	442. For You, I'd Gladly Surrender Virtue

He was falling. Alois fell off of the roof with the firing of his own gun, his chest in pain and his breathing stopped almost completely. Was his heart still in his chest, or had Metus torn it out? The blonde couldn't seem to tell. He couldn't even tell he was falling until he heard a voice; the same voice that had snapped him to his senses before.

_**"JIM!"** _

Ah, it was the Phantomhive boy. Alois smiled at the realization, but was troubled by the frantic sound of the lad's voice. Why was it that it was always the sound of the bluenette that always brought him back to reality? He was so loud, despite his usual "cool and reserved" attitude. Alois wondered for a moment if it was the sheer volume of the other lad's speech that always snapped him to his senses.

Truth be told, he simply loved hearing Ciel say his name. It seemed to shake him at his core, somehow, all while giving him butterflies. Alois loved Ciel. He loved the sound of his voice, his funny demeanor, and every hair on his head. The Phantomhive lad brought him happiness that he didn't even know existed.

As he made his descent, the blonde looked toward the roof that Ciel had been standing on, and watch the boy lean over its edge and reach out toward him. Alois extended his arm and reached for the bluenette as well, a smile gracing his face. Even though he knew Ciel wouldn't be able to hear it, he felt the need to say how he felt.

" _I love you."_ He whispered before landing with a gut-wrenching _thud_.

" _ **JIM!"**_ Screamed the Phantomhive lad as he watched the scene in horror. His eyes were wide and his throat hurt as he called out to his beau.

Ciel reached out, even though he knew he wouldn't be able to catch the blonde. His hand remained open, even as the Macken collided with earth. It stayed that way moments longer, before falling limply, just like Alois' body. His eyes never left the blonde's person, even as he stopped moving.

The Phantomhive's lip trembled and he shook his head. That did not happen. That most certainly _did not happen_.

" _Looks like neither of them won_." Mary said, her sweet voice sounding far away. Ciel didn't want to talk to her. He didn't want to look at her, or be near her. All he wanted was to go to the blonde's side in that moment and hold him. He wanted the boy to be alright.

"Are you awake, Phantomhive?" asked the demoness, watching as the boy's breathing became erratic and his mouth hung open. " _We still have to finish what we started."_

" _Shut up."_ Ciel growled. "Just… _shut up."_

"Quit being _pathetic_." Mary said. "We've all lost someone dear to us. It's not the end of the world. Once something's gone, you can't get it back; _isn't that the lesson of the evening?"_

" _I said shut up."_ The Phantomhive ordered once more. He clenched his fists, his pressing his knuckles into the rooftop and grit his teeth.

Once more, he was at a loss for what to do. He heart fell with the menace, and was broken along with the boy's bones. It happened again. Ciel swore that it never would, but it did. He found himself plunged back into the depths of despair once more, as he had lost someone he loved, and loved dearly. What was he going to do, now?

Why couldn't he just be allowed to live happily? Why wasn't he or the blonde menace ever allowed peace? He tried. He tried so hard to protect the blonde from getting hurt, and all of it was for nothing. Everything was pointless. How was he supposed to relearn how to live with hatred and sorrow? He didn't want it. He didn't want anything but the boy who was lying motionless on the ground below. That, however, wasn't going to be happening.

How did he do this before? Back when he first lost everything? He solved it with hatred, but he was so tired. Ciel was tired of hate, and yet hate burned in the pit of his stomach after he was left empty. There was no escaping hatred, for Ciel Phantomhive. It was as though it was his purpose.

"If you aren't going to get up and fight, I suppose I'll just have to finish you off like this." Mary said, raising her sword. "Such a disappointment. Goodbye, Ciel Phantomhive. May you meet your love again."

She was about to send the blade crashing down over the bluenette's head, but stopped. Instead, she watched as the boy stood up again. Her eyes watched the boy with much curiosity as he turned so that his body faced her, while at the same time, keeping his head down.

"Oh? Ready to face death head on?" she asked.

" _Always."_ Ciel replied. "I'm not afraid of death, and now that my true fear has become a reality, there's nothing left… there's nothing left at all…"

"It would appear that there's _something_." The demoness replied. "Otherwise, your voice wouldn't be shaking."

"That's true. There is _one_ thing that remains…"

 _"A thirst for revenge?"_ asked Mary. "How simple…"

"I'm tired of complex emotions…" Ciel stated. "I don't want them anymore… but still, I…"

The boy clenched his fists tighter, his nails digging into his palms and drawing blood. He grit his teeth and he growled, snarling at the demon before him. Finally, he met her gaze, one eye glowing crimson, and the other glowing with what appeared to be a purple flame.

" _I'm going to kill you."_ He said. " _Even if I lose what remains of myself in the process_ , I _will_ kill you. You _have_ to die. You have to…"

"You're losing it." The girl said, raising her sword again. "You're willing to become a mindless beast for him?"

"For Jim, I'd gladly give up what little remains of my humanity…" Ciel stated. "I'd become a monster a million times over. He's… more important to me… I just…"

The air around the bluenette seemed to get thicker as his face contorted with pain. Some of the threads of his coat came undone as patches of his ignited with onyx fire. The ends of his coat was in flames, as were his shoulders. His canines became elongated, as did his horns. They wrapped further around his head as he resumed a somewhat ghastly appearance.

" _I just wanted him to be happy."_ He said finally, accidentally allowing a tear to fall before his foe.

 


	443. What More Is There?

Ciel had lost the one person whom he trusted his heart with completely. Alois had been the first person whom he allowed to see his true colours since the bluenette was ten years old. With that, it felt as though Ciel had lost his heart. Now, what more was there to lose?

Despite the fact that his foe stood between him and his weapon, and was armed, herself, he was going to kill her. Somehow, he would find a way. Mary had to pay for what she has done. There was nothing left of Ciel Phantomhive but his body, his hatred, and his despair. That was all he needed to accomplish his task.

With this, he charged at his foe. His image became a black blur at the speed that he was moving. The boy appeared right in front of Mary, and swung his fist as hard as he could. It was caught in the girl's palm with a loud _boom_ on impact. Some of the flames that flickered off of his coat aimed themselves toward the girl as they became spikes. They ended up stabbing Mary through the gaps of her armour, but the girl was unfazed.

" _How unsightly."_ She said as she raised her blade and thrust it into the boy's shoulder.

Ciel winced and spun them both around before pulling back. He made a mad dash toward his own weapon, as his foe was no longer blocking his path. Quickly, he picked it up and raised it, despite the pain in his arm. This wound would heal. It was not a problem. Instead, the problem was how on earth was he going to pierce his foe's heart with this blade? It didn't matter. There was no time to think.

So the boy charged again, swinging his sword, only to be blocked by that of his opponent. The tremendous force behind his strike, however, was enough to cause cracks to form beneath the demoness' feet. His eyes were burning as he snarled. When his first strike wasn't successful, he tried again, pulling back and making another swing of his sword.

"You're really so willing to sacrifice yourself?!" asked Mary, blocking his strike and making one of her own. "It would be funny if it weren't so sad! You've become such a brute!"

" _I don't care!"_ Ciel roared as he defended from his enemy's attack. He viciously attacked his opponent again and again with no planning or thought. He had one objective in mind, and he wasn't going to have another thought until it was met. " _You have to die!"_

No human eyes would be able to see them as they moved. Only the brief flickering of moonlight hitting a sword and a few small glimpses of black was visible at these speeds. The sound of metal crashing against metal tore through the night as they danced in a way that only devils could. Bits of roof crumbled and Ciel's legs almost gave way at several points, but he did not waver. He couldn't fall. Not yet. Not until his foe was dead.

Finally, with a particularly powerful swing, the bluenette sent the girl flying. Even though her blade had blocked the attack, the force was still enough to make her soar onto the roof that the blonde menace had duked it out on. She landed on her feet and looked up to see the bluenette leaping after her with another strike at the ready. Instead of defended, Mary attacked forcing the bluenette to reconsider. He had to prevent the girl's blessed blade from piercing his heart, so he swung in order to knock the point out of his path.

He fell to the floor of their venue as the girl casually stepped to the side. With a roll, he managed to evade being stabbed while he was down. The Phantomhive was back on his feet, and prepared to strike once more.

"Don't you know when to give up?" inquired Mary. "It's useless!"

"So are _you!"_ The bluenette shouted as he closed in on his foe. The girl's blade pierced his abdomen, but he still smiled, all the same.

His sword had made its way through the gaps of the girl's armour as he stabbed upward. Mary's face was that of shock for a moment before a black substances spilled from her lips. She let go of the handle of her sword, placing her hand on her chest. Ciel hit it. Her heart.

The lad pulled his sword out of his opponent before taking a few steps back. He removed the girl's blade from his own body, grimacing as he cut his flesh on its exit before tossing the weapon to the side. Mary hadn't expect the boy to risk his death for hers. She thought him as more careful, and decided not to kill him immediately. That, however was a mistake.

" _Guh…"_ the girl wretched as she vomited up her own, tainted blood. She wobbled as she tried to stay standing. A blessed blade to the heart was fatal with all certainty and yet, she still smiled.

A laugh bubbled up from her throat, causing the bluenette's smirk to fade. Why was she laughing? She shouldn't be laughing. Terror washed over the boy's face as she wiped her mouth with her cursed hand.

"That… _was a very good try."_ She said, her voice hoarse and grainy. She looked up at the Phantomhive, smiling with sharp teeth. "I, however, won't be killed by something like that…" She held out her hand toward the boy.

" _Let me show you what Akeldama can do_."

The blackness that had stained her skin began to spread. Her skin became rough and her horns branched out more as they grew in size. Mary's face began to elongate, as did her limbs. Armour creaked and complained before finally giving way to the new proportions and clattering at her feet. Rows of sharp teeth lined her jaw and her nostrils flared as she grew and grew, towering over the bluenette. It would have taken at least three of him to match her new height. Her tail, which she had cut off long ago had returned and Mary's fingers stretched to arms' length; the gaps of which becoming held together by a membrane to form ghastly wings.

Her blackened skin became scaly to the touch, and Ciel realised just what happened on that night that Akeldama went on his rampage. The beast that destroyed an entire territory was now standing right before him. The Phantomhive had only thought that he'd see this monstrosity in fairytales, but it would appear that the stories were true. They were alive and puffing smoke in his face right at that moment.

The creature roared, forcing the boy to cover his ears as its cry beat against the sky like thunder. Ciel was way in over his head. Still, what more did he have to lose? He gripped the handle of his weapon and took up arms against this beast.

" _Laughable…"_ he uttered. "I'm no knight… I'm a monster… and _monsters don't fight dragons_."

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> These chapters feel shorter to me for some reason... I don't know if they actually are, or are just the same length as the others, or what. At the time, I was writing them pretty rapid fire. I was so into them, that instead of posting a chapter once a week like I had fallen into the habit of doing, I got back into posting one a day. Then that turned into two. It was nuts. I kinda wish I could still do this. The chapters have gotten even longer since then, however, so it's back to once a week. Still pretty fast, I'd say.
> 
> Until the next chapter, my duckies~!


	444. Saint George

There was a dragon before the Phantomhive; a bona fide _dragon_. It toward above him even while standing on all fours. It put one winged forearm forward and stared down at the lad. In all honesty, Ciel didn't know how to react. That is, until the creature opened its jaws and small flame began to flicker. Then, the Phantomhive simply took it as an invitation to run.

Ciel ran along the rooftop while being followed by a raging inferno. Soon, the fire stopped following him along, and the creature's long neck extended toward the boy. Swiftly, the bluenette darted out of the way before he could be captured between the dragon's teeth. He was followed for a few paces before it ducked down and scaled along the side of the castle before making it's way in front of the Phantomhive, closing off his path.

There was a fire to his back, and a dragon to his front. What on earth was Ciel going to do now? He was no hero. He was no champion for justice whose goal was to vanquish evil. He was Ciel Phantomhive, the queen's watchdog; _"the evil earl_ ". Dragons are to be defeated by good Christian knights, and he was a demon who desired revenge. That's how the story always goes, after all.

Where the stories wrong, though? Legends say that demons are servants to the devil whose sole purpose is to lead humans astray. Ciel, however, just wanted to live peacefully. Was that too much to ask? He wanted to live happily with the strange little family that he had gathered together. Could he not live without having to go on some life-altering quest? That sounded very nice at that moment, but it was impossible. He knew it as he looked down and saw Alois laying on the ground below.

The Phantomhive snarled at the sight. Demon or not, he still had to kill Mary. It didn't matter if she took the form of a dragon. He had to kill her!

With that, Ciel charged the beast, paying no mind to its gaping mouth and jagged teeth. He was Ciel Phantomhive! He did not shirk in the face of peril! His foe opened her mouth wide as he approached, leaving a distance of mere feet between him and death. At the last second, the boy jumped, flying over the demon's head. He grabbed onto the large horn in the center of her forehead and held on tightly.

Immediately, the beast tried to shake him off, howling and protesting the entire way. Ciel hugged the horn with one hand and clutched his weapon in the other. His eyes were shut tightly as the dragon wrestled against his grasp. Once he saw an opportunity, however, he seized it, raising his sword before bringing it back down in the other demon's eye socket.

Mary roared and shook harder. Once realizing that this wasn't working, however, she raised her wings before bringing them back down again. With a bit of a running start, the dragon was up in the air before latching onto a nearby tower. She leaned her head back before crashing it into its walls, causing stone to crumble and the bluenette to relinquish his grip.

He coughed as he found himself indoors, in the same room that he had first started in. Ciel stumbled to his feet and looked up to see the dragon open her mouth again and shoot forth flames. With nowhere to go, the Phantomhive turned and ran, cocking back his fist before _making_ an exit.

The boy punched a hole in the wall before leaping through it, flames following him soon after. Gravity took over from there, and he found himself falling toward the earth. Ciel would have to find a way to not shatter his bones on impact, or how to stop falling quickly as he only had a few seconds to decide.

His decision was taken away from him, however, as he found himself side-swiped by an airborne lizard. Blood escaped his throat as he was struck in the abdomen by the horn in the center of the monster's forehead. He fell before finding himself caught by the beast's toes, being held upside-down by the tails of his coat as he was hoisted high into the air.

Ciel looked down to see the castle getting smaller and smaller. He would most certainly become a nice stain on the stone if he fell from this height. Would he die? Probably not, but he would be incapacitated enough to allow the dragon to have her way with him. Unceremoniously, the bluenette dangled as he tried to think of a way to gain the upper hand.

Mary flicked her ankle and ducked her head down as she soared, releasing the boy from her grip before catching him between her teeth, her sharp fangs digging into his arm, causing him to scream. She then lifted her head, allowing him to hang there momentarily as she debated on how to deal with him next. Her mind was made up, however, when the boy swung his free arm upward and thrust his blade into the underside of her jaw.

She released him briefly before clamping down on him again. At this point, the boy wasn't sure if he would keep his arm. It didn't matter anymore, however, as the dragon flicked her head upwards and let go of the boy, allowing gravity to do send him falling into her jaws for the final time.

This was it. Game over. Ciel was out of ideas. He had lost everything, already. He was tired, and hurt almost everywhere. Thus, the Phantomhive closed his eyes and waited for what was to come next. But then, he heard it.

_BOOM!_

 


	445. Friends Are Beautiful

" _Where are they?"_ asked Daniel, squinting as he searched for the other two lads. The air smelled like smoke as the group ran outside, lured by the sound of crashing and explosions. His attention had shifted when another loud boom went off, followed by the sound of crumbling. Immediately, both his and the eyes of the rest of the group ventured toward the tower.

"Is… I-is that a…?" Kris stuttered.

"It's a dragon…" Travis stated.

The boys could not believe their eyes as a real-life dragon scaled the tower before them on the other side of the castle. They feared for the lives of their friends as they saw the tower burst into flames. There was no way that this could be happening. There was no way that the demonic duo could get out of this one. The lads' stomachs dropped as they saw a hole being punched in the wall and a figure leaping out of it, followed by fire.

"Cyclops!" shouted a certain wolf-girl, pointing her finger at the bluenette's silhouette.

"But where's…?" Audrey began as his eyes scanned the tower, searching for the blonde menace. _"Ah!"_

 _"Ciel!"_ shouted Oliver, watching as his relative was caught in the jaws of the beast. He took a step forward as he observed the dragon leap from the tower and flap its wings, only to be stopped by Sebastian.

"Stay back!" The butler instructed, worry present in his voice. He looked to the group's commanding officer. _"Sir Integra!"_

The woman stood by calmly, lighting a cigar. She took a drag on it before tiredly looking back at the butler. She said:

"I don't know what you're so worried about. Honestly _, I've seen worse."_

"You liar!" the faux-blonde of the group accused. "Are you just going to let him get torn to bits?!" For a moment, the Hellsing woman paused.

" _Seras."_ She called.

"Yes, sir!" dutifully answered the draculina. She offered a small salute toward the woman, only for Integra to motion for her to stop.

"How many rounds for the Harkonnen to you have left?" Sir Hellsing asked.

"Two." Replied Seras. "You want me to shoot it?"

"Of course I do." Integra stated. _"Prepare your first shot, and aim for membrane of the dragon's wing."_

"Yes, sir!" her assistant answered, removing the strap that carried the weapon on her back from her shoulders.

She opened the weapon before digging in her bag, pulling out a round bigger than a large can of soup. Her fingers couldn't even wrap around it, but she loaded the cannon, regardless. With that, she raised the weapon toward the sky, placing the monster in her sights.

"No!" shouted Daniel, as he watched the Phantomhive be grasped between the monster's teeth. The butler of the bluenette looked to the draculina.

" _Seras!"_ he shouted, causing the woman to furrow her brow.

"I'm working on it!" replied Miss Victoria as she waited for her shot.

The boys covered their ears while they all waited, bracing themselves for the loud sound that was sure to follow, some closing their eyes, the others watching in horror as their friend was thrown up in the air and awaited to be devoured. Once the target was lined up…

" _Now!"_

 _BOOM!_ The cannon went off, striking the dragon's wing with precision. The beast howled in pain; its flight pattern completely thrown off. Ciel's outline could be made out to be landing on the creature's back as it missed.

"Excellent." Spoke Integra. "Reload and fire the other round when ready."

Seras opened the cannon back up, sending the shell of the massive bullet falling to the ground with a loud clunk. She dug into her bag and grabbed the one that remained before shoving it into her gun as if she had done this countless times before. The blonde took aim once more, waiting until the weakened wing came into focus.

_BOOM!_

The second round went off, sending the dragon falling from the sky. With one of his arms injured, Ciel simply couldn't hold on, causing himself to let go of the beast and fall independently from it. He opened his eyes, noticing that he wasn't dead yet, but found that the ground was approaching fast. The Phantomhive saw the dragon falling as well, so there was nothing to grab onto to at least cushion his fall. The ground was closing in, now. This was going to hurt. It was going to hurt a lot.

_Or so he thought._

Next thing he knew, he found himself in the arms of his butler as the man leaped from the top of the closest roof. The man had been making his move from the moment the first round shot went off, giving him plenty of time to catch his master. He smiled as he looked at the boy.

" _Se-Sebastian?"_ the boy asked, his voice hoarse as he struggled to force out the words.

" _Just like old times, isn't it, master?"_ inquired the butler before he landed on another roof.

He braced himself for the shockwave that ensued after the dragon collided with the earth, sending winds whooshing past them and causing the ground beneath them to tremble. He turned, looking down as the creature roared. The man shook his head.

"You always did have a talent for getting into trouble." He said before leaping off the edge of the roof and landing on his feet. "Would you like some assistance?"

" _No_ …" Ciel said. " _This is my fight… put me down…"_

The man did as he was told, helping the boy to his feet. He blinked as he felt something warm and wet in his palm. Upon further examination, it was covered in blood. Sebastian looked up in surprise at his master.

"Master, you're hurt. Are you sure you don't want-"

" _Don't_ interfere, Sebastian." Ciel said, holding up his arm. The wounds made from the beast's teeth healed shut right before the man's eyes. _"I'm_ going to finish this…"

"Are you sure you're alright?" the man asked, his concern growing as the boy took his time to answer.

" _Jim…"_ the bluenette began, his voice cracking slightly. He swallowed before trying to continue. _"Jim… he's…"_

" _Good luck, master."_ Sebastian said, for once in his career as a butler, interrupting his master. "I'll go and assist the others."

"Good." The boy said. "I'll see you soon…"

With a bow, the man walked away, leaving Ciel alone with the dragon. It wobbled to its feet and stared angrily at the lad, growling. In response, Ciel raised his sword once more.

"… _Hopefully_ …" he added as soon as his friend was gone. With that, the dragon uttered a loud roar as he stood before her.

"Come on, Mary…"Ciel said. "It's just you and me…"

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the home stretch. The final countdown. Three more chapters to go. Thank you all for putting up with this fic for so long! 400+ chapters! That's a certain breed of dedication that borders on obsession...
> 
> Like I promised, though, I'll talk about posting the sequel. You could probably walk away from this once it's done and never ever have to put up with it again. There's more stuff, though. Like what happens to Preston and Ciel and Alois' wedding and all that. Good stuff, good stuff. Anyway, the next installment of the series will be posted the same day as the final chapter of this. Like, almost immediately after. So you can just go to my page and find it, like, right away, if you're desperate. It's called "Devils Like To Prove" and it's still ongoing. That means that you might actually have to wait like the FF readers to see newer chapters at some point. There's a lot, though, so it might take a while to get to that point.
> 
> Until the next chapter, my duckies~!


	446. Safe Journey

Ciel's breath was heavy as he awaited the beast's next move. He was tired; perhaps too tired to keep fighting, but he couldn't stop until this was over. Despite the pain from his stab wounds, and despite the pain in his heart, he had to finish this. Mary had to die.

To his surprise, however, after the dragon uttered its final roar, it laid back down quietly. Then, without warning, the monster burst into black flames. It looked as though it were dying, but Ciel knew the truth. Those flames indicated change. The dragon wasn't dead. It was changing shape.

He waited patiently for what was to come next, even if he wasn't quite sure as to what that pertained. Slowly, the flames began to die down, leaving a small figure before him. It was a woman.

Mary stood up, dressed in her plain tunic. She stared at the boy, almost dumbfounded by what has happened. Ciel was still standing and ready to fight. The Phantomhive glared at her, panting as he waited for her to make the first move.

 _"Well?"_ the boy asked. "Let's go. Let's finish this…"

"Why do you keep on fighting?" the girl inquired as her reply. "You'll destroy yourself."

"I already told you that I don't care." Answered the bluenette. "I'm tired. I'm tired of sorrow. I just want this to be over."

"Then why don't you just die?" questioned Mary. "Wouldn't that be the easiest solution?" Ciel shook his head.

"I can't do that." The boy stated. "Not yet. I have to get revenge… I have to…"

"You won't profit from it." His foe bluntly said with a shrug. "It won't bring him back."

"That still doesn't mean that you shouldn't be stopped." Wheezed Ciel. "You're responsible for Jim getting hurt… You made him suffer… For that, you must pay…"

" _How romantic."_ Jested the demoness. She reached into the collar of her tunic, pulling out a dagger tied around her neck with a string.

"Let's make another wager." She said. "Demons love deals, you know. The game is simple. You kill me before I kill you."

"How is that a ' _wager'?"_ the boy asked.

"Simple." His enemy replied. "You're betting your soul."

With that, she unsheathed the dagger, revealing its blade. It was jagged, and green with yellow trim. Ciel's eyes widened as he recognised the weapon.

" _The shard of the Lævateinn."_ Mary stated. "Any wound inflicted by this blade will never heal, and the soul pierced by it will come to a complete end. Take this from me, and do with it what you will."

Ciel furrowed his brow. He didn't really have a choice in the matter, now did he? With that, he took his stance.

" _So be it."_ He said before charging at the girl.

His body ached with every step he took but he kept rushing forward. Soon, he was right in front of the girl. She made a stab at his head, but missed by a mile. Ciel's eyes glanced at her face and they widened. To his complete and utter confusion, Mary was smiling warmly at him.

With that. The Phantomhive shifted his weight, and swung his sword, lopping off his foe's left hand. He earned a pained cry at the action, and watched as the girl fell to her knees and clutched her arm. This was the second time she lost her hand that evening. She was done.

The black markings faded from her skin, leaving it reddened and irritated. Mary didn't look up and only stared at her hand. She stayed that way for the longest time, waiting for whatever it was that the bluenette was going to do next. Soon, she found the tip of his blade shoved in her face.

" _What was that?!"_ Ciel demanded in a low growl. " _Take this seriously!"_

" _I am_." The girl replied. "I'm done."

"What do you mean?"

"You're not the only one who wants to fight anymore, Ciel." Mary said. She looked up. "I'm done. I don't want to suffer anymore. I'm tired…" She looked down again.

"The castle has fallen." She continued. "There's no one left. Even with the hand and I as one, _Akeldama is_ …" The girl paused.

" _I'm all alone_." His foe said. "Please… Maybe _you_ can keep fighting… But I _… I can't_ …"

Ciel listened intently, anger rising with every word. It made him angry. He was nearly bested by someone so weak? His beloved was bested by someone so weak?! Still, there was something that Ciel couldn't be angry with. The girl was weak, yes, but that didn't mean that she didn't give it her all. She had dutifully exhausted all of her pawns and used all of her assets to the fullest, yet here she was. She was tired. He was tired. They both were tired. The Phantomhive, however, still had one last thing that he wanted to do.

With that, he took away his sword before turning it over in his hand so that the blade was poking out from the bottom of his fist. He raised his arm high into the air and prepared for his strike. To this, Mary smiled and closed her eyes.

"Akeldama is still out there." Ciel stated. "Go find him." Unless his eyes were mistaken, he thought he saw the girl shed tears.

The sword came crashing down again, piercing the girl's chest. She choked, blood pouring from her mouth as her eyes widened from the shock. Soon, however, her features softened again as she whispered:

_"Thank you."_

"Goodbye, Mary." Replied the Phantomhive as he retrieved his weapon, causing the girl to fall over. Once it was over, he looked toward the castle ruins.

" _Godspeed."_

 


	447. Last Waltz

There was one last thing that Ciel needed to do. He lugged his heavy body across the courtyard in order to do it, trailing blood the entire way. His eyes were dead-fixed on a crowd standing over by a wall. That was his destination. He was sure of it.

He hobbled and he ached, but he desperately needed this. He desperately needed to know. Ciel needed to see what happened to his beau with his own eyes, and he was going to do it, even if his body gave out in the process.

A few of the others turned at the sound of his wheezing as he approached, causing the heads of the others to turn. They said the blood, dripping from his wounds, the sweat coating his skin, and the dirt and rubble that decorated his clothes in hair. They also saw the pain that he was in and how monstrous he looked in that moment, causing horror to wash over their faces. The boy looked as though he came back from hell, and that he might drag them back with him.

Parts of Ciel's skin was peeling off, revealing blackness underneath, as if he were shedding. His horns were larger and his teeth were sharper. He walked while on fire, but he didn't seem to notice it. The shoulders and tails of his coat were aflame with darkness that seemed to devour the light around him. His demonic appearance had become normal to the others, but not this. This was something that wasn't supposed to happen. In his rage, the boy had almost truly lost himself, so it begged the question as to what would happen when confronted with what remained of the blonde menace.

Still, a few of the boys took a few steps forward in order to help the poor lad. He was their friend, after all, wasn't he? Alas, they were stopped as the adults blocked them. At first, they feared that it was dangerous, but soon realised that this wasn't the case, as they were pushed out of the way as they all silently cleared a path for the Phantomhive. If they offered him aid, he would refuse it. Thus, the only way to help him was to step aside.

The Phantomhive's sluggish moments hastened as he approached, despite the pain he was in and the fatigue he was experiencing. He had to see Alois. He had to.

The blonde's outline became visible as the others moved out of his way. Alois was laying on his back, surrounded by blood from both the wound in his chest, and the wound on his head from his fall. Dafydd sat beside him on his knees. It looked as though he moved the boy to examine him, but he, too, soon stood upon seeing the bluenette.

Slowly, Ciel walked past the others and took the sorcerer's place at the Macken boy's side. He crouched down so that he could meet him. Gently, he moved the boy so that he was laying in his lap, not caring if he got more blood on himself, as he was already covered from head to toe. He caressed the blonde's cheek with his own, bloodied and blackened fingers, carefully, as if he were afraid that his beau might break.

Alois was freezing. His skin was cold to the touch and his already pale face was drained of colour completely. He didn't respond, even when he was moved; not even the slightest twitch. With one hand on the back of the boy's head, and the other holding his cheek, he looked down as his beau and felt a pain more intense than any of the wounds he had sustained that night. Alois Trancy was dead.

Ciel's face contorted with agony at the sight and he moved to hold the boy tighter, placing the hand that was once on the blonde's cheek around the boy's waist. The bluenette hung his head. For once in his long, miserable life, he allowed himself to shed tears freely.

" _Jim…"_ he nearly sobbed, stroking the boy's hair as he called out for him. _"Jim…"_

He must have looked weak to the others, but he did not give the slightest care at that moment. Ciel Phantomhive loved this boy with all of his heart. He was worth crying over. The boy's years landed on his beau's cheeks as he pressed their foreheads together. He never got to kiss the boy one last time. He never even got to say "goodbye". Ciel could never tell the boy enough times how much he loved him, and now he would never get the chance to even try.

Gently, he planted a small kiss to the boy's lips one last time. To his surprise, however, weakly, faintly, Alois pressed his lips back against the bluenette's. Immediately, Ciel pulled back and scanned the boy's face for any sign of life.

"Jim?" he called out. " _Jim?!"_

" _You're… so loud…"_ the boy finally groaned, furrowing his brow. "Why is it… that you're always… able to call me back from demise?" He opened his eyes and tried to focus them on the Phantomhive's stunned face.

"With a voice like that… you should've become an opera singer…" he jested, forcing a wide grin to form across his beau's features. Ciel wasn't smiling at the boy's joke, however, he was smiling at Alois himself.

"Jim!" he called, squeezing the blonde tightly in his arms.

_"Ow… my chest…"_

_"Sorry."_ Ciel stated, pulling back a bit to see the blonde's face again. The boy slowly reached up and cupped the bluenette's cheek, smiling as the Phantomhive nuzzled his hand and held it there with his own.

"You look like hell." Alois said, noting the bluenette's appearance. He wiped away one of Ciel's tears with his thumb. "You having a crummy day, too?"

"The worst." His beau replied. Still, he smiled at the blonde amorously.

"I can tell." Answered the Macken boy. "Don't cry… I'm not going to leave you… It's hard to regenerate major organs…"

"I thought I'd lost you…" Ciel admitted, causing the menace to pout.

"You killed me off so easily?" the blonde jokingly asked. "How could you? I'm _offended_."

"I love you." Spoke the Phantomhive boy, interrupting the other lad's games with sincerity. Alois looked back at him with a smile.

"I love you, too." He answered. "I love you so much, and I'm sorry about that kiss. _There was blood in my mouth."_

"In that case, I'm sorry, too, because there's blood in mine." Ciel replied. "Also because I haven't been able to brush my teeth in a few days."

"Ew, you sicko." Alois said. _"Do it again."_

To that, Ciel's smile widened tenfold and he said: " _Yes, your highness."_

 


	448. Devils Like To Dance

When he woke up, he was back in London. His aches and pains were gone. Ciel opened his eyes to find himself in the H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. medical wing.

The room smelled like medicine and cleaning products and was obnoxiously plain. White decorated the walls, ceiling, and the tiles on the floor, while the furniture in the room was either grey or metallic. It always was disturbing to the bluenette, but what was even more disturbing to him was how he had no idea what day it was. His cellphone would have told him the date, but alas, it had been stolen by Black Annis upon his initial capture, never to be seen again. Hopefully, he would be able to replace both it and his work files.

His eyes scanned the room to see a fresh set of clothes placed on top of the dresser on the other side of the room. The bluenette uttered a grunt as he stretched his arms and shoulders, noting the bandages that wrapped around his hands and forearms. After getting up out of bed, and feeling cold hit his backside, he also noticed that he was wearing a hospital gown. He must have been especially out of it, if he was able to be dressed while unconscious.

After getting dressed and noting more bandages on his face in the mirror, he was told that he had been asleep for three days. He had been drained both mentally and physically, so when he and the others were lifted via helicopter to H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. headquarters, he promptly fell asleep as he was being patched up. His stab wounds had healed with in the first day, but the black marks on his hands and face where his skin peeled away were taking more time to recover. The boy noticed that there were red patches of skin on his face, presumably where they had already sealed shut. That was scary. He almost became a beast!

The boy got ahold of a telephone and called his butler in order to take him home. He missed his mansion and wanted a proper bath. He was sad to hear, though, that he wasn't able to visit Alois in his condition. He wasn't given details as to why, no matter how hard he pressed, but by the contract that marked his tongue, he was certain that the boy was alright.

That was embarrassing. Now that Ciel thought about it, he could have sensed that Alois was still alive at any time during the battle. His brain simply shut down as he saw the boy fall, and reason failed him. It was visibly obvious to him, as he looked at his reflection in the chrome of the elevator on his way to the lobby. Ciel uttered a sigh. There was no way that Alois was going to let him live that down.

As for the others, Doctor Ackerman said that they were treated for minor injuries and were promptly sent home. All but Preston, that is. The Phantomhive boy was somewhat shocked to hear about his condition. The boy was still somewhat facing a problematic patch, as he was closely observed by the H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. research department. They managed to make the growths on his torso cease growing, but they couldn't get the boy to wake up, even though he was stable. According to the doctor, the boy was in a bit of a coma. They weren't quite sure when he would be coming out of it, either.

Sebastian came to pick the lad up in the Rolls Royce, opening the door for the lad as he got into the vehicle. The butler was genuinely happy to have his master back, as the household simply wasn't the same without its head. He was an odd man. It was somewhat strange to see him so excited.

According to the butler, the others went on with life as usual, for the most part. Audrey went back to work and was a bit bummed about leaving the reapers. He seemed to feel as though he made the right decision, though. Travis went back to school after a few days of rest and so did Daniel and Kristopherson, however, the two weren't on very good terms anymore.

Admittedly, Ciel was somewhat shocked to learn that Daniel had kissed the faux-blonde, but at the same time, he somehow figured that it would happen eventually. From the explanation he was given, the Phantomhive could hardly blame Kristopherson for reacting the way he did. It must be rough for them both, given the fact that they now share a flat, from what the butler told him. So much had changed in his absence, and it was only two weeks!

The Phantomhive was a tad disappointed that he didn't get to see his beau off on his first day of school, but found great amusement in the story about how his butler rounded the blonde up and dropped him. He was saddened, though, hearing about how Alois handled things almost coldly. He didn't mean to spark such a reaction in his capture, but as long as the blonde was alright, all was well.

A content sigh escaped his lips as the car approached the manor. For having burned down again for the umpteenth time, Sebastian had repaired it perfectly. Finally, he was home again and could relax a bit, thanks to the blonde menace. Not only did Jim ensure his rescue, but he also did most of his paperwork in his absence. The blonde's productivity when he was serious was almost frightening.

Ciel opened the door and stepped out of the car, taking a moment to stretch his legs a bit before walking up the steps to the manor. His butler opened the front door and held it open for him as he entered the household. There, he was met by a peculiar sensation; one that made his eyes light up. Quickly, he looked back to the butler, confused.

"Oh? Has the surprise been ruined already?" the man asked, closing the door behind them. "It would appear that your senses have gotten sharper." He arched an eyebrow as his master continued to stare.

"Well, _go!"_ Sebastian instructed, pointing toward the stairs. To that, the bluenette quickly threw off his coat before taking off.

"Honestly, that boy makes you lose all common sense…" the man muttered as he pick up his master's coat from the floor and watching after him.

Ciel ran up the stairs and down the hall, trying to find what he was looking for. The lad almost tripped over poor Luka in the process. The boy only smiled and pointed.

 _"He's that way."_ The youngest of the Macken brothers said. "In your office, probably."

" _Thanks."_ The Phantomhive replied, pausing to pat the boy on the head.

And so, Ciel made his way toward his office, like Luka had suggested, and to his delight, the trail grew stronger as he approached. Soon, his contract led him to a door and he stopped. His target was just on the other side, but somehow, he felt somewhat nervous. Hesitantly, the bluenette gripped the doorknob and gave it a twist, opening the door and removing his obstacle.

Upon entering his office, he noticed that the chair behind his desk was turned away to face the window. He shut the door felt a smile on his face as the person sitting in his seat turned around. It was Alois, contrary to what the good workers at H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. and Sebastian led him to believe. He sat, wearing his suit pants and a dress shirt, stroking a stuffed platypus with a grin.

 _"So you came at last, Mister Phantomhive_." Alois mused. " _I've been expecting you_ ~ _!_ "

" _Jim…"_ Ciel began, watching as the other boy stood up and placed the platypus on the desk in front of him.

The blonde trotted around the desk and made a beeline for the Phantomhive boy. He Ciel not been greatly anticipating this, he might have been knocked to the ground as his beau pounced, wrapping his arms around his waist and locking the bluenette in a tight hug. It was almost immediately returned by the Phantomhive as he made them sway from side to side. Alois kissed his cheek as he ran his hands through blonde locks.

"Welcome back." The menace stated, nuzzling his beau.

"It's so good to be back." Ciel replied, kissing his boyfriend's temple. "I see you've kept everything in order, too."

"It sucked a whole lot, and _not_ in a good way." The other boy replied, closing his eyes and enjoying the bluenette's presence. "Heard you fought a dragon."

"Yeah, and it wasn't fun. Still, I had to for my princess." Teased the Phantomhive, earning a giggle. Alois pulled back, slightly, placing his hands on the sides of Ciel's head and examining it.

"I think you might look worse with the bandages…"

"At least I'm not covered in blood and dirt anymore."

"Hmm…" hummed the blonde, running his fingers through the Phantomhive's hair. "I did notice that you smelled a lot better."

"I still want a bath in my own bathroom. The showers at H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. are rubbish." Ciel said. "I also really need a cup of tea…"

"No, Ciel, you don't understand." Alois replied, cupping the bluenette's cheeks. " _I'm having a severe deficiency of hugs and kisses._ If I don't have smooches and attention, soon, I might die! For real this time!"

"Oh, no, I think you're right." Spoke the Phantomhive, playing along with a smile. "But the situation may in fact be _worse_ than we feared, though…"

"Oh yeah? Why's that?"

" _I think the condition might be contagious_." He said, leaning in and pecking the blonde on the lips before pressing their foreheads together.

"This amount is insufficient." Alois replied. "Surely you can do better."

"Of course I can. If I couldn't, then what kind of boyfriend would I be?"

"One that did butler impressions instead of actually kissing me." The blonde answered before pulling his beau in for another kiss.

The bluenette's eyes fluttered shut and he sighed through his nose. Oh, how he missed this. His grip on the other boy tightened as their lips moved in unison. Alois did the same as he tried to take all of the kisses that he was deprived of at once, causing his beau to grin against his mouth. It was their first, proper kiss in over two weeks and it was everything they needed at that moment. Finally, they forced themselves apart again, touching foreheads and rubbing noses.

"Are you trying to take my soul, or something?" Ciel teased, noting his beau's unintentional aggression. He chuckled as a blush formed on the other boy's face.

"No…" embarrassedly replied the Macken, averting his eyes. "I just missed you a lot…"

With a grin, the Phantomhive moved the blonde's head so that he was looking directly at him. "I missed you too. So…"

" _Eep!"_ Alois squeaked as the Phantomhive boy picked him up and carried him over to one of the office's unbearably uncomfortable couches. Ciel sat down with the Macken boy seated sideways in his lap and wrapped his arms around the lad's waist. He leaned his head up so that he could meet his beau for another quick kiss.

"Much better." He said. "We have all the time in the world to catch up, so we can take it slow and really enjoy it."

" _Perv_." Alois accused. Still, he kissed his beau again, regardless. Ciel knew him all too well. He enjoyed slow starts and gentle touches; it was the only time that he didn't mind a slow pace. It was probably for the best, as well, seeing as though he didn't feel like anything too intense at the moment.

He rubbed the Phantomhive's shoulders and tangled his fingers in his hair, occasionally massaging the boy's scalp in a soothing fashion. Part of him felt as though they should really be talking and catching up, but the rest of him was enraptured by the bluenette's taste and softness. The boy was warm, like a small, steady flame. It encased the blonde as he was held, something that he had desperately wanted over the past few weeks. Truly, Alois would most certainly perish without affection.

Soon, he found himself on top of the boy as Ciel leaned back on the sofa as he ran his tongue across his beau's bottom lip. Immediately, he was granted access to the Phantomhive's mouth, both shuddering as their tongues made contact. It was almost intoxicating, how touching their contract marks together felt. Alois put both elbows on either side of the bluenette's head for better reach while his beau began to rub the small of his back. His breath hitched slightly as Ciel uttered a low groan.

That was when the blonde forced himself to separate from the Phantomhive, leaving a small strand of saliva that connected their lips before it broke and pooled at the bluenette's chin. Alois shifted so that he could wipe it away with his thumb before pausing to catch his breath. He was breathing heavily, and so was the boy beneath him.

"Sorry…" he said. "I don't really feel like going much further right now…"

"It's alright." Ciel said with a nod. "I was honestly hopping for a bit of cuddling. We have all of the time in the world for that later." The Macken boy grinned before leaning back down and pecking the boy on the lips.

"Those contracts are quite something, though…" he noted. He paused for a moment before asking: "Hey... do you think I can see it?"

With that, the bluenette opened his mouth and extended his tongue. Lo, and behold, there was a pentacle tattooed on the muscle's surface. It had vine-like swirls between the points of the star like how Ciel's had circles, and had three lines with dots on the end stemming from the top point in the center. That was it. That was Alois' mark. He smiled a goofy grin at the sight, excited about the fact that he had marked Ciel as his.

"Your turn." The bluenette said finally, instructing the other boy to show off his brand. Upon seeing it, a proud look adorned his visage.

"Yes, yes, this is good." He said, rewrapping his arms around the blonde. "You're mine."

"And _you_ are _mine."_ Alois said, scooting over so that he was positioned almost between the other boy and the back of the couch. He rested his head against Ciel's chest and snaked his arms around the lad's waist.

"Always." The Phantomhive said leaning his head over to kiss the top of his beau's hair. "I don't intend on letting you go anytime soon."

"How about _never?"_

 _"Perfect."_ He said with a grin, causing the other boy to giggle.

"So do you intend to allow me to mooch off of you forever?" Alois asked.

"You're not ' _mooching'_ , you're my assistant. You earn your keep."

"I suppose. Though, I'm sure Sebastian would do a better job."

"Sebastian would do a better at _my_ job." The bluenette answered. "I'm not sure if there's a job that he _can't_ do."

_"Dog breeder?"_

"Ooh, that's a good one." Ciel said. "I'll have to remember that."

Silence ensued, as neither of them were quite sure of what to say after that. They both simply laid there on the couch with their bodies tangled together. Neither of them were complaining. They were simply content with just being close to one another. Alois nuzzled into the crook of the Phantomhive's neck, kissing it before simply staying put. To his surprise, Ciel chuckled.

"What is it?" the blonde asked, causing the bluenette to shake his head.

"It's nothing." Ciel stated. "I just remembered that one time before we started dating, were we danced together because we skipped out on the school dance. Sebastian interrupted us before I could kiss you."

"I thought _I_ was the one who tried to kiss _you?"_

"Maybe we both did. I thought it was odd that your face got so close, but I didn't think about it because I was convinced that I screwed up."

"I wonder what would've happened if we had kissed?" the menace mused, sitting up slightly in order to look at the bluenette. "Do you think things would end up the way they are now?"

"I'm not sure, but I wouldn't want to change it." Said his beau, sitting up as well. "It's just another funny story we have."

"Funny stories _are_ important…" Alois stated. He arched an eyebrow at the other boy as Ciel stood up. "What are you doing?"

"Well, I was thinking that I might ask you to dance." his boyfriend replied, holding out a hand to the blonde with a small smile.

"But there's no music?" said the Macken boy, taking the lad's hand and standing up, regardless of that fact.

"We don't need it, do we?" Ciel said, taking the other boy's waist in one hand, while keeping that of his beau in the other. Instinctively, Alois placed his free hand on his partner's shoulder. He looked up at the bluenette and smiled.

"I guess we don't." he said as he began to follow the other boy's lead. "I thought you didn't like dancing?"

"How can I? It's a devil's specialty, after all." The Phantomhive jested, prompting a chuckle from the other boy. To his surprise, the Macken lad took his hand away from his shoulder and used it to cup his cheek. Ciel's eyes fluttered shut as his beau leaned in.

"That's true." Alois said against his lips. "Devils _do_ like to dance."

 

** _The End_ **

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's over, isn't it? Isn't it? Isn't it over?
> 
> Nah. There's still more shit. It's just that this particular installment is. We did it, though, guys. We finished this long-ass fic. If you want to see more, I'll be uploading the next one in a few minutes, or however long it takes me to figure this shit out again. 
> 
> That's a few minutes to an hour from 4:13 p.m. American Central time, on 5/9/2017. If it's not even close to that at the time you're reading this, then it's definitely up. Just click around on my page or wherever you wanna try and find that shit and look for "Devils Like To Prove."
> 
> Finishing DLTD for the first time made me wanna cry. It pained me to type "the end". It's my baby. But, there's always more because I apparently have some kind of addiction to writing this shit. I can't stop. 
> 
> So, with that being the case, it's still business as usual.
> 
> Until the next fic, my duckies~!


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